JTR Collections

[Esmith]

Re: JTR Collections

Just received this from the council Recovery email address:

'Dear Mrs ......,

Thank you for your email below, the contents of which has been noted.

I can confirm the position of your Council Tax account is as follows:

£939.73 outstanding for the period 01.04.2008 to 31.03.2009
£1353.91 outstanding for the period 01.04.2009 to 31.03.2010
£584.78 outstanding for the period 01.04.2012 to 31.03.2013
£1453.45 outstanding for the period 01.04.2013 to 31.03.2014

The above listed debts were issued to our Enforcement Agents, JTR Collections, for collection on 22nd April 2014 as the Council were unsuccessful in collecting the debts. Please contact JTR Collections direct to discuss your payment options.

My Manager has contacted JTR Collections today with regards to your letter being delivered to the wrong address and they have confirmed it was an error and apologise for any inconvenience cause. In terms of your mail being opened by your neighbour, whilst the letter was delivered incorrectly, the Council has no control over a neighbour opening post that does not belong to them. I apologise for any inconvenience caused and for the error on JTR Collections part.

I have instructed JTR Collections to hold all action on your account for fourteen days from today to give you time to contact them.'

By my calculations JTR have added on £769.89, not £469.89 as the Notice of Enforcement states... All I have had is one visit, which was not even to my address so surely they can't charge me for that?! As debts were from previous years are they still supposed to deal with them under the new regulations? They only took them from the council on 22nd April 2014.

[bluebottle]

Re: JTR Collections

Just received this from the council Recovery email address:

'Dear Mrs ......,

Thank you for your email below, the contents of which has been noted.

I can confirm the position of your Council Tax account is as follows:

£939.73 outstanding for the period 01.04.2008 to 31.03.2009
£1353.91 outstanding for the period 01.04.2009 to 31.03.2010
£584.78 outstanding for the period 01.04.2012 to 31.03.2013
£1453.45 outstanding for the period 01.04.2013 to 31.03.2014

The above listed debts were issued to our Enforcement Agents, JTR Collections, for collection on 22nd April 2014 as the Council were unsuccessful in collecting the debts. Please contact JTR Collections direct to discuss your payment options.

My Manager has contacted JTR Collections today with regards to your letter being delivered to the wrong address and they have confirmed it was an error and apologise for any inconvenience cause. In terms of your mail being opened by your neighbour, whilst the letter was delivered incorrectly, the Council has no control over a neighbour opening post that does not belong to them. I apologise for any inconvenience caused and for the error on JTR Collections part.

I have instructed JTR Collections to hold all action on your account for fourteen days from today to give you time to contact them.'

By my calculations JTR have added on £769.89, not £469.89 as the Notice of Enforcement states... All I have had is one visit, which was not even to my address so surely they can't charge me for that?! As debts were from previous years are they still supposed to deal with them under the new regulations? They only took them from the council on 22nd April 2014.

And they think an apology for going to the wrong address and discussing your affairs with a third party is enough? They really do need to get real. Report the matter to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO has the power to fine them up to £500,000.

The Council need to proceed with care as it appears they did not comply with correct legal procedures, i.e. notices, summons. If it is established the Council has by-passed or side-stepped correct legal procedures or due legal process, the lawfulness of the enforcement action by JTR may be brought into question.

[Esmith]

Re: JTR Collections

So, after much going back and forth I finally received the breakdown of charges from JTR yesterday. They have sent me 4 sheets of paper, one for each CT period I owe money for.

£939.73, +£75.00 compliance (inc £15.00 VAT)
£1353.91, +£75.00 compliance (inc £15.00 VAT)
£584.78, +£75.00 compliance (inc £15.00 VAT), +£448.00 enforcement (inc £89.60 VAT)
£1453.45, +£75.00 compliance (inc £15.00 VAT)

They want me to fill in an income and expenditure form which is fair enough, but they also want wage slips and 3 months of bank statements. My husband is self employed so no wage slips, I am employed by my in laws, they haven't printed/given me my last 4 wage slips and they are away until 20th August. My bank account is used for general spending - food, the odd McDonalds as a treat for the kids, kids clothes, school shoes, I have a gym membership (on advice of GP), and other stuff which probably looks frivolous (I buy christmas presents etc throughout the year when I see a good deal instead of panicking and overspending in mid-December). I'm worried they will judge me on my spending! My husband's bank account is mainly wages coming in, bills and work expenses coming out.

My mum is awaiting an operation on her neck and has asked me to take her to her caravan for a rest this week as she's not doing very well at the moment. Think it will do me some good too as I need to snap out of this 'not leaving the house' phase. We are leaving early this afternoon and I wont have a chance to sort everything out before I go, how much time will they give me? We are back on Sunday 17th, but if I say I'm on holiday they will probably think I'm spending money (even though it's not costing anything) The most we ever do for a holiday is a few soggy days in a tent once a year at a free campsite, so staying in the caravan will be like a luxury hotel :tinysmile_twink_t2:

[Esmith]

Re: JTR Collections

Can anyone let me know if these fees are right before I send anything off? Although still don't have my payslips, and no ink in the printer to print off bank statements

[Milo]

Re: JTR Collections

Under the new regulations that took effect on 6th April the enforcement agent is permitted to charge an INDIVIDUAL Compliance fee of £75 for EACH debt. In this case there appears to be four Liability Orders and accordingly, the Complaince Stage fee comprises of £75 x 4 which equals £300.

If the debt remains unpaid during the Compliance stage the account will be passed to an individual enforcement agent who will attend the premises in person for the purpose of 'taking control of goods. At this stage an Enforcement Fee of £235 becomes legally payable. However, if the debt owed is in excess of £1,500 an additional figure of 7.5% can legally be applied.

The amount of the debt to the local authority is £4,331 and the figure of £235 is applied to the 1st £1,500.

With regards to the balance of £2,831 this is calculated at 7.5% which works out at £212.35 making a grand total of £447.35.

The bailiff has charged you £448 which seems to have been rounded to the nearest £1.

Sorry for long winded answer but this may assist others on the forum when calculating the amount of fees for debts that are over £1,500.

[Esmith]

Re: JTR Collections

Thanks so much Milo.

Do I legally have to give them that much personal information (wage slips/bank statements)?

[wales01man]

Re: JTR Collections

The more info they have the more they will know of your true financial situation giving them little may make them think your trying to hide something.
You could give the info and a repayment proposal that you can afford don't offer more than you can pay regurly that's no use to you if you default they will come back with more fees ?

[Wombats]

Re: JTR Collections

You don't have to give them the information, but the more you supply the more they are likely to agree to the plan.