collectica and CTAX payment account confusion

[morty09]

Hi could someone please advise me as to where I go next with Collectica? .

 

Had a visit back in Jan from them regarding council tax arrears from the last property I lived in

(wasn't aware i owed it and when i did contact them the council wouldn't take the debt back) .

 

I started making random payments as when i spoke to collectica they would not accept a payment plan

so just thought i would pay what i could when i could which was around £20 per fortnight

 

 

never heard from them so assumed that its was getting paid and i wouldn't hear from them ...

 

 

. Then got another visit in May ,

 

 

2 blokes from collectica saying i haven't made any payments

told him i had been paying a £20 per fortnight no set dates just when i was paid

but made sure i got 2 X £20 payments in within the month

 

 

after looking slightly confused and phoning head office he told us the law had changed

mumbled on about people on low income didn't really understand what he was talking about if i'm honest

and told us to pay £40 a month no dates just to carry on as we were as long as i got 2 payments to them within the month

and if any other debt collectors came from collectica

tell the we are vulnerable and to p**s off (his words)

 

 

he also left no paperwork other than something to say he was going to take our car

and told us to ignore it and he would change the paperwork .

 

 

So since Mr H**** came to see us we have paid £40 every month always within the end of the month

but and here's the but ..

.i have been paying it into their account using the client ref and not their ref

so had a lovely gentleman (not) on the phone this afternoon telling me we haven't made a payment since July !!!

what !!

got my online banking on and reeled off the dates i had paid it in

always with the same standing order details i have been using since jan

and now they are telling me i have defaulted on the agreement

and now want £100 a month .

 

 

I think it is rotten that for 8 month i have been paying it using the wrong ref

and they have only just let me know and now they are saying that i have to pay £100 a month and thats that.

 

 

Is there anyway i can get the original agreement reinstated as £100 is just too much ,

struggle to get the £40 together each month never mind £100,

told him this on the phone and he said the original one at £40 should never have been set up anyway

so thats the best your gonna get and hung up on me !

 

 

Im sooo angry any advice would very much be appreciated ,

 

 

Many Thanks

[unclebulgaria67]

Make a formal complaint to the council in writing explaining the situation and send a copy to Collectica.

 

If Collectica agreed to a payment arrangement which you kept to, then I don't think they can change it. I would be pretty unfair.

 

I would suggest that when you write to the council, that you ask for full details of the liability order they have obtained and proof that there was outstanding council tax.

[morty09]

Thank You for the reply . There was a debt with the council they have sent me out details of this when i phoned them i also asked

if they would take the debt back which they declined to do .

 

Im just worried as when they visited in may they had taken details down about the car and gave us a copy never signed anything and he did say to ignore it and he would sort the paper work out at his end ?? but does this mean they have the right to take it if i cant get this resolved as my partner starts a new job next week after looking for months and he will need it .

 

The lad on the phone was horrible no manners and up his own backside i said to him how can u say we haven't paid when i have it all in front of me he then changed tac and said its cos i was paying it on the wrong ref so they wasn't getting it till at least a week later as they had to search for it ...not convinced as i pay it by faster payments so leaves my account straight away and surely it still shows going into their account within the month , we have nothing in writing regarding the payment plan just don't know what to do he wasn't interested on the phone said it wasn't his problem

[morty09]

Just to update .... Phoned the council and they wont help or take the debt back as they would be liable for any charges that have been added by collectica

 

The council gave us a number for complaints dept that turns out to be collectica's complaints number and that doesn't exist anymore rang the number what the complaints line advised and thats just collecticas normal offices so cant see much been done there.

 

Sent collectica an email with attachments of the bank statement showing the transactions to their account also asked for a statement of all charges/fees added by them as the debt was for £465 and has now risen to £750 even though we have paid the £280 and not defaulted ???

 

Not heard anything from them as yet ...any advice on where to go next would be muchly appreciated .

 

Many Thanks

[unclebulgaria67]

The council have got to deal with your complaint and cannot shirk their responsibilities. They are responsible for the actions of Collectica.

 

As far as I can tell, you are not asking the council to take this debt back. You are unhappy with they way Collectica are dealing with the account. So the issue about the council being responsible for bailiff fees is not relevant.

 

Think you will have to speak to a local councillor about the problems you are facing with the council tax department refusing to deal with your complaint. Most local councillors are quite willing to make phone calls on residents behalf to senior people in the council and you will get a quick resolution.

 

If you check your councils website, it will have the telephone numbers for your local councillor. Give them a phone call now or if they are not there send an email with your telephone number and what your problem is. They won't mind helping you.

[morty09]

Thanks for the reply

when we spoke to the council the person we spoke to 1st said they had sold the debt to collectica and are no longer responsible so we asked to speak to his manager.

she called called back and said council bailiffs wont deal with it now as we live in a different council borough and our only option was to complain through collectica .

 

I can't see how complaining to collectica will help as the man who we spoke to there wouldn't listen to us he said he made the rules and we don't tell them what is going to happen ! plus the number for the complaints dept is the same number we spoke to the little weasel on thursday .

 

Will email our local counselor a.s.a.p

 

We just want this resolved as we can not afford the £100 per month they have demanded and really don't want them turning up on the doorstep

 

I cant understand how they can do this we have not missed a payment and surely all the ref no's will be linked ???

[renegadeimp]

Council rep is lying

[morty09]

We did a bit of reading up before we phoned them so knew he was lying thats why we asked for the manager

although she didn't say they had sold it she was adamant there was nothing they could do .

[brassnecked]

As renegade imp has stated the cxouncil are liars, they own the debt at all times, and can recall at will, as suggested above get your local elected councillor involved.

[ploddertom]

Unfortunately if you are saying you now live in a different Council area then your local Councillor will be of no use.

[brassnecked]

Unfortunately if you are saying you now live in a different Council area then your local Councillor will be of no use.

 

Good point PT

[morty09]

The bill if from council tax at our last property and was not aware we owed it until collectica came knocking at our new address .

 

I have e-mailed the council a complaint regarding collectica and asked we pay the council direct .

I have also sent a complaint to collectica as they will see from the bank statements we have not defaulted just paid it on the wrong ref . Which to me if they were reasonable people would except it was a genuine error , the money still left my account and went into theirs on time . and if it was such a big issue why didnt they contact me after the 1st payment in feb they have our tel no and address .

They have allowed it to be paid in on that ref number for 7 months .

 

I am going to make an appointment at the citizens advice bureau see if they can help us .

[Queens_king]

You will get much better advice with the guys here. The CAB are useless in some towns and cities with reference to Bailiffs.

[morty09]

Yes thats why I came here 1st my friend told me about Cag and i am so glad she did ...Never been to cab before just thought they might help if the counsellor cant .

[unclebulgaria67]

Yes thats why I came here 1st my friend told me about Cag and i am so glad she did ...Never been to cab before just thought they might help if the counsellor cant .

 

If you contact the councillor related to where you previously lived and this tax is apparently due from or your local councillor if still within the same authority area, they will help you.

 

I think you can get this resolved tomorrow, if a human decides they can be bothered.

[morty09]

Just to update ....

 

After writing to the councillor from our previous area we have had no rely we also wrote to the council through there complaints procedure and had no reply !

Called the council on Tuesday and was told someone would call us back still not heard anything tried to call today but was told they were closed .

 

We have today though recieved a letter from Collectia after complaining to them apologising and as a gesture of good will they will reinstate the the original agreement . They also acknowledged that the call was not handled in line with the high standards they expect their operators to adhere to and he will be monitored .

 

Just the charges we are trying to get our heads round now , they have sent us copies of our statements but we only pay £20 payments and there are payments made on the statements they have sent of £15.50 , £9.00 , £11.00 ,£4.50 so where has the rest of the £20 payment gone ?

 

Also been charged £235.00 +VAT as enforcement and another for £26.50 for costs incurred ?

 

We will try to contact the council again as we would prefer to pay them direct .

 

I will update when we do .

[unclebulgaria67]

Just to update ....

 

After writing to the councillor from our previous area we have had no rely we also wrote to the council through there complaints procedure and had no reply !

Called the council on Tuesday and was told someone would call us back still not heard anything tried to call today but was told they were closed .

 

We have today though recieved a letter from Collectia after complaining to them apologising and as a gesture of good will they will reinstate the the original agreement . They also acknowledged that the call was not handled in line with the high standards they expect their operators to adhere to and he will be monitored .

 

Just the charges we are trying to get our heads round now , they have sent us copies of our statements but we only pay £20 payments and there are payments made on the statements they have sent of £15.50 , £9.00 , £11.00 ,£4.50 so where has the rest of the £20 payment gone ?

 

Also been charged £235.00 +VAT as enforcement and another for £26.50 for costs incurred ?

 

We will try to contact the council again as we would prefer to pay them direct .

 

I will update when we do .

 

Write back asking for more detailed information on payments and fees due. Say you are confused why they are deducting so much from the £20 payments you are making. They will deduct sums related to their fees, but they should explain this.

 

The £235 is the enforcement fee due.

[mikeymack2002]

The fact you are making £20 per fortnight does this mean you are on benefits? can you confirm this?

[morty09]

Thanks will write to request that .

 

Yes we was but just started work Monday , only part time , 24 hours .

[Bailiff Advice]

In order to provide an accurate response can you post back to let us know the following:

 

How much was the Liability Order passed by the council to Collectica Ltd?

 

Had the bailiff previously (by this I mean before 6th April when the new regulations took effect) levied upon any goods of yours? If so..when and on what items?

 

The bailiff is permitted to charge £235 but this is wholly dependent on whether or not goods had been 'levied' upon before 6th April.

 

Can you please provide a list of the exact fees charged and the dates.

[morty09]

Hi ,

There are 2 accounts they are from an over payment of housing benefit , we since moved and was not made aware until jan 2014 .

I did ask collectica for the liability order but they said the council concerned had it so still trying to get this as they have not replied to emails or telephone calls .

 

On the statements Collectica sent it says initial debt one for £294.91 and another for £309.64 .

 

The bailiff never levied on any items . it says in the letter ......

 

Our agents attended your address on the 16th of january and spoke to you . Our agents imputed notes on both accounts and following the attendance , removed themselves from both accounts to allow you to contact our contact centre and set up payment arrangements . You contacted us on the 16th jan and were offered an arrangement of £109 per month but it has been noted on both accounts that you were unable to commit due to financial constraints . We are aware that you made payments but as payments were not made as part of an arrangement that we could accept ,action continued on your account which led to the attendance of mr ..... & mr ...... on 14th may 2014 and the addition of the enforcement fee of £235 on the same date .

 

Regarding the fees and charges

the 1st account ......12/12/2012 debt £294.91

16/01/2014 Sch 5 head H £ 24.50

14/05/2014 Enforcement £235.00

 

2nd account .......12/12/2012 debt £309.64

16/01/2014 Sch 5 Head H £ 24.50

22/01/2014 payment by D/C £ 2.00

 

I can scan and upload the letter and statements if needed .

 

Many Thanks .

[Bailiff Advice]

Thank you for providing the above. There is no need at all to provide a copy of the letter.

 

Collectica have wrongly stated that the amount of £24.50 is a 'Head H Fee' when in fact it should have been referred to as an 'attending to levy' fee. Despite the wrong title the fee is correct on both account and I am pleased to see that Collectica have properly charged only one 'enforcement fee' of £235 against both accounts. The new fee scale introduced on 6th April provided that enforcement companies should combine all accounts together and apply just one 'enforcement fee'.

 

A query that I do have is that in your post number 16 you stated that Collectica had charged £235 plus VAT. An enforcement agent is not permitted to charged VAT on bailiff fees when enforcing either council tax, road traffic debts or magistrate court fines. Can you clarify that VAT was not charged?

[morty09]

Thank you for clarifying the charges .

It does state the Vat amounts on the statements but it does not look like they have been applied to the balance .

[morty09]

Just received a letter from the council after trying to speak to someone all week !!

1st complained on 30th august ...should have had a reply within 14 days according to their complaints procedure .

letter dated 10th sept so has taken 16 days to be delivered !! mmm dont think so ! (no postmark on the envelope )

 

They state they wont let us pay direct to them as we no longer live in the area and the council does not have enforcement agents who can visit out of the area . They also state they cannot let us pay direct to them as it is being held and collected by Collectia . They have added fees and charges to the amount owing for the action that they have taken which you are liable to pay . Any payments should be made to Collectica so that it can be deducted from the amount you owe .