Collectica, put my mind at easy please

[old shaver]

Ive just had a weird conversation with a collectica representative. I think he was lying but...

 

Just after moving into my new place about a month ago, I had a letter through the door addressed to the brother of the last tenant "notice of intention to search..." for outstanding fines HMCTS

 

I rang the "enforcement agent in charge" and explained that the person they were after had left a few months before (there was also best part of 2 months while the flat was renovated after the state it had been left in). The guy seemed pretty reasonable, he took my name and said he would send a form for me to fill in stating that I was the new tenant and that would be the end of it.

 

Well I never received the form but today I got "removal visit". I was in at the time and there was no knock, I heard the letter box and that was it. A couple of hours later as I was leaving for work (late shift) I picked up the letter and thought "oh sh*t" so I phoned the new "enforcement agent". I told him who I was and why I was ringing and that was when it got weird.

 

First he said that he knew that the person he was after still lived at the address.

I said he was mistaken.

He said that the person he was after must live with me.

I said I lived alone.

He said that the person lives at the address with his sister and gave the correct name of the last tenant.

I said that he was mistaken and that I lived at the address alone , not with the guys sister.

He said that what I was telling him was suspicious as he had just ended a phone call with the person he was after; that the person had told him he still lived at the address with his sister , and that he was going to meet the person at the address in the next 30 mins.

I said great, ill be waiting for you here.

 

I called my boss and explained the situation. My boss is a diamond and said that I should take the time off to get it sorted.

 

I waited 45 mins but no show, so I called the "agent" again who said he was 5 mins away. I suppose you realize he never turned up.

 

Ok so Ive read a few threads and think I need to get a statement

1: can this be done in a magistrates court? I work next door to the local one.

2) but really, why should I spend £10!

 

Can I contact the bailiff firm and tell them to stop harassing me? will this do any good? oh and BTW if this was a "removal visit" shouldn't they have knocked the door? And what about the time Ive lost from work?

 

finally, as this is a matter of court fines I assume that the bailiffs will be able to force entry, although this is unlikely is it only by paying the £10 for a statement that I can stop this?

 

Finally finally, isn't it a bit of a sh*t that you have to pay the legislature to stop the legislature illegally breaking in and taking money from you? Isn't that what the mafia do?

 

Thanks for your help

[renegadeimp]

Bailiff was lying. He knew the person wasnt there but sounds like he was trying to get you to pay anyway. Sadly there are a few bailiffs that do this. head to the court or a solicitors office, get a signed Stat dec done, and give it to the bailiffs office. They would be very stupid to ignore it. You can also inform the court what is going on too.

[old shaver]

I think he was insinuating that I was living with the guys sister but pretending that I was living here alone.

 

I'm sure bailiffs get loads of old soap, but in this case its true and annoying me that I have to prove I'm the innocent party.

 

Those citizenship classes I took in school all those years ago suggested it should work the other way.

[renegadeimp]

Bailiffs have heard EVERY excuse going. Unless they get an order from the court to cease activity, they will do whatever is in their power to collect. Thats why you need to do a stat dec. It stops them in their tracks. They have to take it seriously as it is a legal document. If you lie on it, you can face jail time and a substantial fine.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

All the bailiff needs is that stat Dec. But usually, just a current council tax bill or copy of your tenancy agreement(ideal) will do. The bailiff doesn't want to enforce against you but believes that you are shielding the def. He is in a job where 90% of people lie to him so this is understandable.

 

I would just ring him and ask him to come around, dont let him in, but show him docs. That will probably be the end of it. If not, then start stat Dec etc.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Bailiff was lying. He knew the person wasnt there but sounds like he was trying to get you to pay anyway. Sadly there are a few bailiffs that do this. head to the court or a solicitors office, get a signed Stat dec done, and give it to the bailiffs office. They would be very stupid to ignore it. You can also inform the court what is going on too.

 

Why do you think the bailiff was lying? Could the def have not been on the phone a few mins earlier saying that he did live at address with his sister just to waste the bailiffs time?

 

Or how about a neighbour that confirms def still lives there as he was not aware new tennants had moved in recently?

[old shaver]

well he was lying about coming around. I wish he had because I had all the documentation ready for him

 

He's wasted my day by lying twice about coming.

 

I know its not nice to tar everybody with the same brush but he lied.

[ploddertom]

If they have told you which Court then that would be my first port of call tomorrow morning rather than waiting for the knock at the door. However please also be aware that he could come knocking from 6am.

[old shaver]

I didnt actually think which court. It just says HMCTS on the form.

 

Um, Ive just realized that I should be filing the stat dec with the court rather than the bailiff so it would be important to find out the court yes?

[renegadeimp]

Yep. Give a copy to court and copy to bailiff. Bailiff cannot ignore a stat dec.

[Bailiff Advice]

I think he was insinuating that I was living with the guys sister but pretending that I was living here alone.

 

I'm sure bailiffs get loads of old soap, but in this case its true and annoying me that I have to prove I'm the innocent party.

 

I am sorry to sound harsh here but the sad fact is that many people receiving such letters from bailiffs in relation to a court fine get a mother, brother, sister etc to call the enforcement company to 'claim' that the debtor no longer lives at the address and when in fact the debtor does live there. I can assure you that all enforcement companies hear the same excuse daily. It is for this exact reason that all companies will not take a simple telephone call as evidence and instead, will require some sort of evidence.

 

Given that you have just moved in I would assume that you would not yet have received a utility bill but would instead have a new tenancy agreement. This should suffice. You need to get a copy of this (and anything else as well).

 

PS: You need to be aware that the bailiff is acting on behalf of the government in pursing none payment of a criminal fine and he must obey the wording on the warrant. Where the error was made was that the letter that you say Collectica were going to send to you did not arrive and in the absence of this letter you, (quite rightly) assumed that the debt has gone away.

[old shaver]

I don't think its harsh BA.

 

The problem I have with this particular representative is that rather than go to work I sat at home with all the documentation advised in the thread and more, as he said he was on the way around.I was even going to invite him in to look around and see that I lived alone until I read advice to the contrary here and elsewhere.

 

I believe he said he was on his way to meet the other previous tenant to see just how serious i was about living here alone, a kind of "yeah! Prove it" attitude. When I was obviously happy to prove it, rather than backing down he lied twice about being "on the way" leaving me out of pocket (or annual leave in fact).

 

I also believe the reason he didn't show up was that there was no money in it for him, which makes him a liar for money, something I'm old fashioned enough to find despicable.

 

There was also the fact that when he called me "sir" he pronounced it with the emphasis

on "you w**ker*", but that's a minor point.

 

Anyhoo, the cheapest and easiest option for me would be that they send someone around so I can show them the docs, but as I cant trust this lot to stand by their word I suppose I need to find out which court issued the fines, which I suppose means I need to ring them again?

[josephbloggs]

Scan a copy of your tenancy and email it along with the reference number on the letter to [email protected]

[old shaver]

Ok I can see that this is going to become a nightmare. I don't open other peoples post as a rule but I need to protect myself here.

 

The past tenant has never come around for their post nor do I have a forwarding address, but a woman did show up a fortnight ago asking if there was any post for the previous residents, saying that she was the daughter of the guy in the flat downstairs and had been asked to pick up the post by the last tenant on her next visit.

I handed her the massive stack of post expecting her to take it away but all she wanted was a claim form for tax credits and left me holding the rest. Since then the previous residents post has gone straight in the recycling.

 

This morning I opened the three letters that arrived and all three were demands for payment.

 

The most threatening is the "notice of enforcement" for non payment of TV license from Marstons. The other is a letter from a debt collection agency and the last is a letter from a bank stating that an overdrawn account has been closed and they will be chasing the balance.

 

Will I need stat decs individually or once I have one will I be able to submit it each time this issue crops up?

 

How will all this affect my credit score ?

 

I'm starting to feel a little under siege.

[Bailiff Advice]

On the letter that was left with you by Collectica Ltd you stated earlier that the only reference was given as HMCS. Was there anything after this or any letters?

 

You need to scan the tenancy agreement to Collectica Ltd by email asap with a short explanation. Unfortunately, you need to do the same with Marston Group as well. In the email to them I would suggest that you also mention the problem that you have experienced with Collectica Ltd and the other debt recovery letters.

 

Please se assured that the previous tenants debt problems should not affect your own credit rating.

 

If you get any further problems with either Marston or Collectica please post back as we do have alternative contact details if the need arises.

[old shaver]

Thanks Bailiff advice.

no there was nothing other than the hand written HMCTS. The one from Marstons today only has this as well although written in full. No mention of which court at all.

 

I am chasing the landlord over the tenancy agreement , he took it away for "the mortgage company" and promised to post it back (I know, I know but this is London and you grab the first place that you can afford that you don't need to share with rats).

 

I have my insurance policy at this address, a letter from my bank confirming the change of address, 2 utility bills and another couple I can down load from online accounts, and more informally I am a heavy internet shopper so I have loads of parcels addressed here.

 

I was about to send my V5 and License off but I suddenly worried that if they trace cars to the address, mine would show up.

[Bailiff Advice]

Clearly you are someone who is able to demonstrate that you are the new tenant and well done. I would not send the V5 and licence.

[old shaver]

Ive just received a text from the landlord saying he will drop the tenancy agreement off tomorrow , so at least something positive has come of it.

 

I'm sort of worried about the V5 and license though as there's a legal obligation and the tax is due next month.

[DragonFly1967]

Ive just received a text from the landlord saying he will drop the tenancy agreement off tomorrow , so at least something positive has come of it.

 

I'm sort of worried about the V5 and license though as there's a legal obligation and the tax is due next month.

 

Don't worry too much about sending off your V5 and driving licence. You can send that away quite safely (or at least as safely as the Royal Mail and DVLA allow). Seeing as you live in London, I'd be surprised if you can ever park right outside your house, so unless the EA HPI checks every car on the street....

 

They can't get vehicle information from the DVLA in-so-much as, 'here's an address, can you tell me if (and what) vehicles are registered there'.

[old shaver]

Strangely for London I have no problems parking outside the house. mostly family homes with few flats in my street and maybe it an advantage of living in an unfashionable bit, not inexpensive, just unfashionable.

 

Is it best to either not park in from of the house or not send the V5 then? I've just realised they no longer send the discs out.

[renegadeimp]

Some bailiffs use ANPR. SO it's best to hide the car a good 10 mins walk away and preferably out of sight, as they will go around car parks.

[DragonFly1967]

Some bailiffs use ANPR. SO it's best to hide the car a good 10 mins walk away and preferably out of sight, as they will go around car parks.

 

Well, yes, they do. But they don't have live access to the Recorded Keeper database. So they'd have to know the registration of the car that they were looking for in the first place so that they could put it on their database to be 'pinged' on their ANPR system.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Ive just had a weird conversation with a collectica representative. I think he was lying but...

 

Just after moving into my new place about a month ago, I had a letter through the door addressed to the brother of the last tenant "notice of intention to search..." for outstanding fines HMCTS

 

I rang the "enforcement agent in charge" and explained that the person they were after had left a few months before (there was also best part of 2 months while the flat was renovated after the state it had been left in). The guy seemed pretty reasonable, he took my name and said he would send a form for me to fill in stating that I was the new tenant and that would be the end of it.

 

Well I never received the form but today I got "removal visit". I was in at the time and there was no knock, I heard the letter box and that was it. A couple of hours later as I was leaving for work (late shift) I picked up the letter and thought "oh sh*t" so I phoned the new "enforcement agent". I told him who I was and why I was ringing and that was when it got weird.

 

First he said that he knew that the person he was after still lived at the address.

I said he was mistaken.

He said that the person he was after must live with me.

I said I lived alone.

He said that the person lives at the address with his sister and gave the correct name of the last tenant.

I said that he was mistaken and that I lived at the address alone , not with the guys sister.

He said that what I was telling him was suspicious as he had just ended a phone call with the person he was after; that the person had told him he still lived at the address with his sister , and that he was going to meet the person at the address in the next 30 mins.

I said great, ill be waiting for you here.

 

I called my boss and explained the situation. My boss is a diamond and said that I should take the time off to get it sorted.

 

I waited 45 mins but no show, so I called the "agent" again who said he was 5 mins away. I suppose you realize he never turned up.

 

Ok so Ive read a few threads and think I need to get a statement

1: can this be done in a magistrates court? I work next door to the local one.

2) but really, why should I spend £10!

 

Can I contact the bailiff firm and tell them to stop harassing me? will this do any good? oh and BTW if this was a "removal visit" shouldn't they have knocked the door? And what about the time Ive lost from work?

 

finally, as this is a matter of court fines I assume that the bailiffs will be able to force entry, although this is unlikely is it only by paying the £10 for a statement that I can stop this?

 

Finally finally, isn't it a bit of a sh*t that you have to pay the legislature to stop the legislature illegally breaking in and taking money from you? Isn't that what the mafia do?

 

Thanks for your help

 

 

 

Hi get a letter off to the bailiffs (who are they) Formally Notifying them that the person they seek does not reside at your address.

 

 

Do you have a council tax bill for the address, driving licence registered to the address of something similar to send in evidence?

[old shaver]

Just a quick update.

 

I sent a copy of my tenancy agreement, the change of address confirmation from my bank and a utility bill to Marstons and got this reply

 

17 October 2014

Dear Mr **************

Re: **************

Thank you for your recent correspondence informing us that the above individual is not known at this address.

I can confirm that we have noted our system accordingly and will now make efforts to trace elsewhere.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

 

 

Does anyone have any experience of them and aree they good to their word? I haven't heard back from Collectica yet.

[ploddertom]

Print a copy off, leave it next to the door in case you receive a visit.