HMRC signs up 10 DCAs following mega-tender - 26/05/2011

[bernardski]

Oh, i see. I expected no less from a government that can turn Gold Reserves to horse manure!!

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Absotivly Posolutly!! bunch of bandits

[WhatALife]

I owe money to HMRC, wonder how long it will be before the DCA's start sending me even more love letters than they do already

[harrassed senior]

Hope these are ok:

 

[alfwithhair]

I like the bit

"an offer to pay by installment that we are able to accept"

Whats the betting they will not be able to accept what ever amount is offered

 

I am waiting to see how long before members are posting on here about demands for non-existent debts to HMRC

[harrassed senior]

The amount is around 1.5 K and I was informed that installments could last no longer than 3 months, so even if my sister paid all of her state pension and pension credit over to them every week it would still not clear the 'debt' in 3 months, so she is 'doomed'.

[PGH7447]

pity it is not credit solutions that sent the threat-o-gram

 

Three of the four DCAs used in a previous HMRC debt collection pilot project have been retained - iQor, Fairfax and CCS Collect. It is believed the fourth, Credit Solutions, was not retained.

[twoman]

Hi,

Just read this on Credit Today...Haven't Apex been selected by HMRC!

Just goes to show what an industry this is.....****!!

OFT warning to debt management firms - 27/05/2011

 

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned debt management firms that their licenses will be revoked if they do not operate within guidelines and withhold cash from creditors.

 

The comments come following a BBC investigation that alleged some firms held on to clients' cash rather than paying it to creditors in a bid to secure lower settlements.

 

David Fisher, OFT director of consumer credit, said businesses that operated a full final settlement model had a responsibility to tell consumers what they were doing with their money.

 

"We would be very concerned should a business mislead consumers," he said. "This would call into question its fitness to operate.

 

"We have warned the industry that it needs to improve its business practices and in June 2011 we will publish further guidance setting out the standards we expect of businesses that we license."

 

The BBC alleges that in one case Bolton-based Global Debt Solutions offered to arrange a repayment plan for £40,000 of credit card debt and loans but did not pass the money paid over to creditors.

 

As a result the creditors took the couple who had used the firm’s services to court, resulting in County Court Judgements against them.

 

Global Debt Solutions, which became 3 Step Finance, has since been shut down by the Insolvency Service.

 

Another company, Apex Debt Counselling & Management, is also named in the investigation as having withheld money from creditors.

 

Industry guidelines state that any money taken from debtors should be passed on to creditors within five working days.

 

Lisa Colclough, national money advice policy and development manager at Citizens Advice (CA) that offers free debt advice to consumers, said that some firms offered a useful service that people were prepared to pay for but a lack of regulation provided a fertile breeding ground for rogue operators.

 

"We continue to see far too many people whose debt problems have been made much worse by the high fees and poor service of some debt management companies - including cases where money is not passed on to creditors," she said.

 

The CA is calling for the Consumer Credit Act and data protection legislation to be updated to tackle these problems and has made a super complaint to the OFT calling for a ban on cold calls and upfront fees. A response is expected from the OFT next week.

Edited May 28, 2011 by twoman
DELETE PICKIE

[harrassed senior]

My sister had another letter this morning for CCS saying they were now chasing a second amount!!! I assume there can only be one amalgamated debt to HRMC? The first claim amount covers all the period since she became 60 up to date so who knows now where this second claim is coming from. Sadly she is now in a very distressed state and we do not know who to turn to next. It has been confirmed by a voluntary company helping 'older' people with tax affairs, that all her assessment are wrong and she owes much, much less than they are claim, the charity has written to them with her new calculations which HMRC are just ignoring. She is too ill and disabled to ever deal with this herself or appear in Court.

 

How did she get in debt - well originally when she was first eligible for State Pension they sent the gross amount to Pension Credit who topped her allowances up to the basic minimum. Apparantly this is wrong as they should have sent the net figure after taking into account what her liability to tax on her state pension would be. This has happened over 5 years, hence she now owes the tax from the minimum guaranteed pension income, which should have included an amount to cover this tax. So, basically the State Pension Office owe this money to HMRC but my sister is the piggy in the middle, we have proof of this, and have sent reams of paperwork to all concerned with copies of everything. No one has bothered to come back to her even though they were all sent Recorded. I think we either have to see our MP or write and send the lot to David Cameron to sort out!!

[Satterthwaite]

Don't want to alarm anybody but are friends at CABOT are involved in this,

 

AnaCap buys Cabot Financial from Citi - 08/04/2011

 

AnaCap Financial Partners (“AnaCap”), the European private equity firm that specialises in the financial services sector, acquires Cabot Financial, the consumer debt purchasing firm, from Citi.

 

The purchase will create the UK’s biggest debt purchasing and collection business as AnaCap will integrate Cabot Financial with Apex Credit Management, another market leading debt purchasing and collections agency that is already owned by AnaCap’s funds.

 

Cabot Financial purchases consumer debt from financial institutions and other credit providers that no longer wish to manage that debt internally.

 

Apex manages debt on a contingent basis and also purchases debt from credit providers no longer wanting to manage it internally.

[Surfer01]

Surely a DCA has no powers whatsoever and can safely be ignored. If they push it, perhaps they can be done for harrassment.

[PGH7447]

Your right a DCA has no formal power, however HMRC does, so they will use this to chase and harrass under the guise of working for the HMRC, what is needed is people to collect evidence on abuse in this process

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi PGH, As you may have seen I have had dealings with the DCA's for nearly two years and have been told

that in collecting for government depts. they must conform to they codes of practice in place for all debt collection,

anything further has to be handed back to the dept. concerned.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Up date my MPs' office has acknowledged my communication on the use of DCA'S for DWP

debt/over payment.

Will post up results.

[harrassed senior]

Have an appointment next week with my sisters' MP so will update after that, unless she is arrested and cast in irons before then of course. Any got any ripe tomatoes?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Couple of very large smelly ones HS:madgrin:

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I have received a reply from my MP with regard to the regulating of DCA's and CRA's employed

by the government to collect benefit over payments etc.

He has referred the matter to Lord Freud,Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Welfare Reform)

He been asked to clarify exactly the manner in which the companies are regulated.

Edited June 3, 2011 by BRIGADIER2JCS