Collectica & fees for unpaid dvla fine

[clint1974]

Hi all

 

To cut a long story short my car was clamped for being untaxed last september. I paid the release fee and then retaxed, and had to go to my local dvla office in Shrewsbury to show the new tax disc which would enable them to release the £100 surety fee paid upon release of the clamp.

However i recently recieved another letter stating that my car was seen in shrewsbury at 11.31 on 16/09/09 and i should pay another £78.

 

Now i think they are being crafty knowing that i was in shrewsbury on this date to sort things out at there offices. I have wrote to them today to ask for evidence to show me it definately was. A couple of things, firstly i cannot remember exactly what date it was but if i was there i would have had the new tax disc as that was the point in going. 2nd, on their letter the road i am supposed to have been seen on was tudor rise, on searching online i can only find a tudor road two different roads altogether so does this make it void ? Any advice appreciated.

[clint1974]

HelloI recently had a car which was untaxed and not sorn towed away by the dvla. i signed the letter saying i didnt want it back and absolve myself of anything further to do with it and any monies raised from scrappage etc would be used to cover their costs. Anyway i have had a letter since chasing me for £170 in unpaid tax. I only bought the vehicle recently and the dvla should be able to see from the date of ownership change that i'm not responsible for any tax prior to this date. I have to either attend court or pay the fine but i would like to dispute it. any advice ?

[clint1974]

bump?

[renegadeimp]

Reply to it and state what you said above.

[clint1974]

Recieved a final demand today, not heard off them since August, and as i said originally as far as i'm concerned i don't owe them a penny due to them taking the vehicle. Why are they still harrassing me!? The demand is for £545 off central finance & enforcement unit. How to proceed ?

[Raykay]

They are two different matters, the charges etc. for the removal of the vehicle, and the outstanding duty for the period the vehicle was unlicensed.

You may have settled the removal charges, but DVLA are claiming the missing duty.

[clint1974]

That maybe but it never amounted to £545! I will write to them to clarify

[Raykay]

It is the court that are claiming the £545, not DVLA. There has been a court case, you were found guilty and fined, and you have not paid the fine, you need to contact the fines officer at the court.

[clint1974]

ok will do, have spoken to them and my appeal was dismissed but i never recieved any correspondence saying so until now. Checking on the vehicle status it is still showing as unlicensed even though it was impounded in april. I dont want any further fines so how can i go about stopping them? why havent they scrapped it? Maybe i should send them a letter advising they have a vehicle which doesnt have a valid tax disc and is not currently sorn??!!

[Raykay]

It is the court you need to contact - they are claiming the £545, not the DVLA.

 

As far as the DVLA are concerned, you have been found guilty at court and the case is closed.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Raykay

[clint1974]

If the vehicle is still showing unlicensed and i am still the registered keeper then surely further enforcement action could be taken? I get your point about the court but dont want any more fines. So how do i stop them trying to get further cash from me? They impounded the vehicle and i have no control on that but it is still in my name as they havent scrapped it or if they have they havent updated the records cause as of the 9th oct 2012 which is the date thats shown when i look at the current licence status as last updated on it shows unlicenced.

[Raykay]

At this stage it is the court you need to deal with, according to their letter in post 4, you only have a few days left to appeal (in writing) before they consider further steps.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Raykay

[clint1974]

Yes indeed, have replied today so should just make it in time. In the mean time i am going to send off form V888 to the dvla to get all data from them which should include the letter i returned to them with the box ticked absolving me of any dealings with this vehicle as proof should any further charges land on my doorstep. Thanks.

[clint1974]

Hello

My magistrates court fine has been passed to collectica who phone me sevral times a day and leave robotic voicemails,

they have already added £200 for a visit which i dont know ever took place a

s the debt is under my parents address and they were out at the time.

 

I got a letter which looked like the address was hand written.

 

I have phoned them and offered to pay £10 a week but they are saying £47.50 minimum per week is what they will accept.

 

Secondly the fine was for keeping a vehicle without a tax disc and the vehicle was towed away.

 

I signed a letter from the dvla stating they can scrap/sell the car and all proceeds go towards my fine but this hasnt happened.

So can i get the car back or insist they do this and forward proceeds to collectica ?

 

Who else has had dealings with these?

[seanamarts]

Did you attend the court hearing?

Was a payment plan put in place?

 

Im sort of guessing you didnt.

If you cannot afford to make the payments due under a fine and you are not receiving benefits, you must contact the Magistrates Court immediately and the court will require that you attend a very simple hearing where you will have to complete a list of your Income & Expenditure. It would be for the Magistrate to consider your circumstances and set a payment arrangement that is affordable. For a hearing such as this, there is no fee to pay, and normally you will simply be able to turn up at the Magistrates Court without an appointment.

 

Following the hearing, the court will advise the fines office of the arrangement that has been agreed and this should ensure that bailiff action will cease…..you must keep to the payment arrangements.

 

With thanks to tomtubby for the above information.

[seanamarts]

Moved to bailiff forum.

[clint1974]

no i didnt attend as i was disputing it as the dvla had taken my car and i'd agreed they could keep it and the proceeds raided from it could be used against any fines/costs imposed. no payment plan was agreed. i f i remember correctly i just had a letter from the court asking for full payment which i ignored and shortly after i started recieving letters/calls from collectica.

[seanamarts]

I would try and get to the court and see if you can have this dealt with. It is the only way that the bailiff can be called off. The longer you leave this the more you will have to pay.

 

Im not sure about the predicament with regards to your car being towed, however eventually it will be squashed as they will only hold on to a car for a certain amount of time depending on the circumstances.

 

Do you know where your car is.

[clint1974]

Yes the car is in telford at one of their pounds, it was towed off last may and is still showing as unlicensed if i do a search on it so presumably not yet crushed. So can i go back to the court that issued the fine and ask them for a repayment option ?

[seanamarts]

You can sure try.

[rockyrover]

I have just dealt with these today! See my thread! I managed to get it added to two other fines by speaking to the HMCTS collection and enforcement centre.

[clint1974]

do you have a number for them or do i contact the original court that dealt with it ?

[tomtubby]

It is a shame that you have provided such a short reply. You say that the court has agreed to add this fine to 2 others. Has the court agreed to take the case back from Collectica? If so, this is very unusual.

 

What has happended to the fees charged by Collectica?

 

This court appears to have been most helpful. Have they given you a reason why they have taken it back?

 

Also, is this a London court?

[ploddertom]

It is a shame that you have provided such a short reply. You say that the court has agreed to add this fine to 2 others. Has the court agreed to take the case back from Collectica? If so, this is very unusual.

 

What has happended to the fees charged by Collectica?

 

This court appears to have been most helpful. Have they given you a reason why they have taken it back?

 

Also, is this a London court?

 

Think you may need to look at this one

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?384377-Urgent-help-needed-collectica-bailiffs**Update-account-returned-from-bailiffs**

[rockyrover]

It is a shame that you have provided such a short reply. You say that the court has agreed to add this fine to 2 others. Has the court agreed to take the case back from Collectica? If so, this is very unusual.

 

What has happended to the fees charged by Collectica?

 

This court appears to have been most helpful. Have they given you a reason why they have taken it back?

 

Also, is this a London court?

 

Hi Tomtubby

 

I apologise for my short reply.

 

A short while ago I received a a letter from the HMCTS Collection & Enforcement Centre (Leeds) with a notice of arrest. Is was an unpaid TV license fine. I called the Enforcement Officer and she arranged for me to go back to the Magistrates Court to discuss reasons why I hadn't paid my fine and also to set up a payment. She advised me that I had a further 2 fines (another TV license & a DVLA fine for not transferring ownership) which would also be dealt with. I went to court and sat in front of a judge and he reduced my 2 license fines and set a payment. The 3rd fine was not dealt with - the magistrate just said "I note you have a third fine which is currently with the bailiffs".

 

When I got out of court i telephoned the enforcement officer to inquire about the third fine and she said "I don't know why it has been sent to the bailiffs because normally they are all dealt with together" I asked her what I need to do and was told basically to ride it out with the bailiffs for 6 months (fob them off) as it would then be passed back to her to deal with.

 

So yesterday a bailiff appeared at my door from Collectica. He wasn't taking no for an answer and was explaining just what rights he had due to this being a Magistrates fine. He parked outside my house for 45 mins and said he was calling the police & a locksmith.

 

I desperately tried to get hold of the enforcement officer but she was unavailable. I called Stepchange for advice and was told "pay the debt" (I kid you not). I then spoke to someone at the HMCTS Collection & Enforcement Office and she explained that the enforcement officer was aware of my call but was on a police operation and would call me back.

 

I then received a call from the office who advised me that they had spoken to Collectica and cancelled the distress warrant. She then said that she had taken of their fees and added my fine to the back of the fine I am currently paying. She did say that Collectica *may* pursue me for their charges but she added that they would do that as normal bailiffs (not with special powers).

 

Hope this explanation helps x