Collectica

[Milly29]

Please can anybody help me? My partner received a fine last year for not having a tv licence. At the time of receiving the fine he was claiming income based job seekers allownace and so an attachment was made to his benefit for £5.00 per week. When my partner signed off in October 2012 we expected to be contacted to arrange another method of repaying the outstanding amount. We recieved a letter from collectica in february saying that they had been in possession of a distress warrant for 14 days or more and we still hadnt paid the amount in full or agreed an arrangement to pay. My partner is a self-employed sub-contractor in the construction industry and for obvious reasons, work has been really up and down since signing off in october. I e-mailed collectica after receiving the letter and explained our current circumstances in full and I offered to pay £25.00 per fortnight with the intention of increasing the amount when work was back on track again. They sent me a letter rejecting the offer stating it wasnt enough. My partner had to sign on again after work failed to come up as promised and was awarded income based job seekers allowance from 21st Feb 2013. I again e-mailed collectica and informed them of the latest developments in our circumstances. I offered to pay £15.00 per fortnight and again, assured them that as soon as he is working again we would contact them and increase the amount to a mutually satisfactory amount. I didnt get a reply to this e-mail (sent 04.04.13) but at 07:00 this morning a letter was posted through my door from them. It was a notice of attendance. The original balance owed was only £180.00.....and now according to said notice of attendance the amount is now £395.00. Are they allowed to do this?? Even though i e-mailed them explaining my circumstances, explaining that I have a baby and 2 young children and made a fair proposal? Is there anything I can do? Any advice would be very much appreciated x

[bluebottle]

Re: Collectica

This is a common problem with private bailiff companies working under contract to HMCTS. Were your OH's means examined by the court when the fine was imposed? If not, it may mean involving Collectica may be premature. Did you receive a Further Steps Notice? This is a legal requirement before involving bailiffs.

If you could answer these questions first, it will be easier to advise you further.

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

As far as Im aware we didnt receive anything from the courts, only from collectica. I assumed that, as my OH hadnt contacted the courts himself they had immediately passed it on to collectica. I did reply to all of their letters though and, as I mentioned before, i did make an offer of payment. I feel that they were hasty in applying the £215.00 charge given that I had been trying to make arrangements with them and that, the charge is more than the initial debt. I thought about contacting the courts but im unsure how to go about it?

It is a very stressfull time at the moment, I am also having trouble with Bristow & Sutor over a council tax debt. I was contacted in December by my local council and told that I owed around 4 months council tax from a previous year, they told me that i needed to make payments of £190.00 on the 1st of Jan, Feb and March. I wrote to them and explained our circumstances, and the nature of my OHs work etc and asked if it would b possible to make more affordable arrangements with themselves rather than a Bailiff but they flat refused and it was passed on to Bristow & Sutor. I tried to set up a payment arrangement on their website, I told them that We receive Income based Job seekers allowance at 111.00 per week and they told me I would need to pay £57.00 for 1 week and then several installments of £42.00 per week. Obviously I rejected this offer! They told me I had a few days to think about it. I called them yesterday and requested a call back. They called me 2 hours later but i missed it as i didnt hear it over the noise of my children! I got a text asking me to call them, which i did but again couldnt get through and so again requested a callback. I hadnt had a call from them by this morning so I called them and managed to get through. I spoke to a very rude, patronising woman who told me it was a waste of time calling them as a bailiff was out to visit me today and levy my goods. I tried to ask her to let me set up an arrangement to prevent the visit and more costs but she refused. Im so sorry to bombard you with all if this, i just dont know which way to turn! I have an 8 month old baby, a 4 year old and a 5 and a half year old.. I also have lupus and am struggling to know what to do??

[ploddertom]

Re: Collectica

Keep this thread for your Collectica problems but best start a new one for Council Tax here's a link to get you going http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...newthread&f=76

[bluebottle]

Re: Collectica

If you have Lupus then you are vulnerable under Ministry of Justice National Guidelines for Enforcement Agents and under Collectica's contract with HMCTS. I am tempted to email a contact at HMCTS and bring this to their attention. Which part of the country are you in, please?

Could you confirm the following -

1. Did your OH receive a summons?
2. Did he receive a Means Forms from the court?
3. Was he in court when the fine was imposed?
4. Were his means (income and expenditure) examined by the court?
5. Did he receive a Further Steps Notice (a legal requirement)?
6. Have you moved home at all?

If the answer to most of the above questions is "No", then I would be inclined to bring this matter to the attention of HMCTS Enforcement Operations as it means something has gone seriously wrong somewhere.

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

Thankyou for your reply. I live in Kettering, Northamptonshire. To the best of my knowledge, yes, he was sent a summons but as he did not have to be present at court, he wasnt. He was at the time, receiving income based JSA and so an attachment was made of £5.00 per week. When his claim ended on 17th October and as far as we are both aware the courts never contacted him about the debt. We were both unsure about how much, if anything, was still outstanding. The only contact we have had about it has been from collectica. As i said, I had e-mailed them twice, the latest being 04.04.13 with a proposal for a payment plan. I have a letter from them dated 11.02.13 telling us that if they visit our property we will be charged a fee of £215.00 but as I have e-mailed them on 2 seperate occasions since then, I didnt think they would visit until we had reached an arrangement. I had no reply to the last e-mail I sent. How do I go about contacting the courts? And do you think they would likely take the debt back and enable us to make payments directly to them? Thankyou again

[bluebottle]

Re: Collectica

Firstly, the court needs to be informed immediately about your SLE. Get a letter from your GP. Secondly, it is a fine defaulter's responsibility to contact the court if their circumstances change. Thirdly, it appears a Further Steps Notice was not received. This is a legal requirement as if it is not complied with enforcement cannot be proceeded with. If it does, the court is breaking the law and so would any bailiff company working for them. As for Collectica trying to make it as difficult as possible to pay the outstanding balance of the fine, this does need to be reported to the court. If they try fobbing you off and telling you to speak to Collectica, ask to speak to the Court Manager and make it clear you will escalate the matter to the Head of Enforcement Operations at HMCTS, if necessary. However, if you have to do that, I will check to see which Head of Enforcement Operations you will need to contact.

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

Thankyou very much for your help. I will contact the courts and my GP tomorrow. Thanks again

[bluebottle]

Re: Collectica

Thankyou very much for your help. I will contact the courts and my GP tomorrow. Thanks again

You're welcome. Only use the threat of escalation to Head of Enforcement Operations level if the Court Manager is totally unco-operative. They are in charge of enforcement, not Collectica, and the court can recall warrants at any time. Collectica know that, but hope you do not. I would emphasise the fact that Collectica are making it as difficult as possible to pay the outstanding balance on the fine and your current circumstances.

[Barney394]

Re: Collectica

Hi this is my first post, Can anyone help me. My mum recently has had post to her house on 2 occasions for somebody who doesn't live there, so without opening the letters sent them back return to sender. Last week she had banging at the door at 7.30am. Scaring my parents into answering the door, they said he were from the council and that there was an unpaid debt in the name of the person on the letter. Letting him in explaining that the person they are after don't live there and never has, he didn't believe them. All the time acting shifty and said he was waiting for a colleague to turn up. Council man 2 arrived and made my father get out his driving license to prove he was not who they were after. They left and sat up the street most of the day. Today they have had a letter hand posted saying pay in 7 days or we are taking possessions.

At this point I find all this out and do a search into collectica on google to which I'm horrified to read that these so called council men were probably bailiffs who have now had access to the house and will probably be forcing entry this week.

needless to say it is making my parents ill with worry and I have not even told them anything I have read on google. Can anyone help it seems bizarre that someone can give a false address and it get this far before realising the information they have is wrong.

[bluebottle]

Re: Collectica

Firstly, Barney, I would recommend you start your own thread for this problem so that we can provide you with advice specific to your enquiry. However, I can tell you that these two goons will not be entering your parents' home by force as they have entered by use of deceit and the debtor does not live there. Both of them could be in very serious trouble indeed and so could the council who employed them.

[wales01man]

Re: Collectica

If barney is not the named debtor and that person gas no connection with him or the property are these muppets going to commit a serious criminal offence by returnig should a complaint be made to the council and the police now

[Barney394]

Re: Collectica

Thank you for you replies, I have started a new thread like bluebottle recommends and would appreciate your input.

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

Hiya, just to update...... I e-mailed the courts and fully explained all that was happening re collectica. I told them how they were making it difficult to make arrangements to pay and how we were unaware that it was our responsibility as the defaulters to have contacted the courts ourselves in the first place etc......apologised profusely and explained the difficulties we would have should it be left in the hands of those ******s. I also explained that I am ill with lupus and currently undergoing treatment etc and asked if there was any way they could take the debt back from collectica. I said that they could put an attachment to my money or we could pay them directly etc etc. We received a call from the courts yesterday and my OH spoke to the lady and recapped all that id stated in the e-mail. She was totally unco-operative and snooty and just basically said that they couldnt take the debt back as collectica had the warrant now and there was nothing that could be done about it. She said that we should have at least paid something to them (collectica) and any problems we had should be taken up with them. My OH explained that we had been trying to make arrangements to pay them but they wouldnt agree to anything. Am at a loss as to what I should do now. Should i persue it and try and get the debt taken back?? (thats certainly what i want to do) or should i just make voluntary payments to collectica seeing as they will not accept any of my (reasonable) offers? My worry with doing that is, (as i have read several different times on here) Collectica wont be satisfied with the amounts I can pay and will just continue to hassle me and apply more charges?! Any advice would be brilliant.....thankyou

[CleverClogs]

Re: Collectica

I also explained that I am ill with lupus

Why not threaten to bite them? :rofl: