Collectica

[ploddertom]

Re: Collectica

If you are currently on any type of Benefit the Court would only expect a payment of £5 per week, so any offer should be based upon this.

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

Thanks ploddertom. We are currently on benefits, my OH receives JSA, I told Collectica this in an e-mail and I offered to pay them £15.00 per fortnight but they rejected it. I also explained to them my illness (Systemic lupus erythamatosus) and asked them to lay off the visits as I wanted to try and make agreements before further charges could be added but they refused and since told us that they "dont do means testing" they asked for £35.00 per week and when we explained that we couldnt afford it right now, they told me that was the minimum they could accept ( even though, when confirmation came through the post, it said £35.00 per fortnight and not per week as they had told me!) and if we didnt agree, one of their bailiffs could force entry, day or night, and collect goods with or without levivies on them.

[The Cosmic Connection]

Re: Collectica

Also, if an Attachment of Benefits Order (ABO) or Attachment of Earnings Order (AEO) is in force, no secondary form of enforcement may be pursued against the same person for the same matter at the same time.

[The Cosmic Connection]

Re: Collectica

Thanks ploddertom. We are currently on benefits, my OH receives JSA, I told Collectica this in an e-mail and I offered to pay them £15.00 per fortnight but they rejected it. I also explained to them my illness (Systemic lupus erythamatosus) and asked them to lay off the visits as I wanted to try and make agreements before further charges could be added but they refused and since told us that they "dont do means testing" they asked for £35.00 per week and when we explained that we couldnt afford it right now, they told me that was the minimum they could accept ( even though, when confirmation came through the post, it said £35.00 per fortnight and not per week as they had told me!) and if we didnt agree, one of their bailiffs could force entry, day or night, and collect goods with or without levivies on them.

Such threats are potentially illegal. I am going to submit a FOIA request to HMCTS to clarify the situation about Magistrates Distress Warrants, the DIY warrants that Marstons use and what the contracted bailiff companies can and cannot do and what they are required to do in the case of person in vulnerable situations. I will also ask them to clarify the situation regarding Clamping Orders and Forced Entry.

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

We told them that we were happy for them to do an attachment of benefit, and we also told the courts we were happy for them to do the same if they recalled the warrant. Both refused. Dammit!! They wont be able to do an attachment of earnings order when OH returns to work as he is a self employed sub-contractor

[ploddertom]

Re: Collectica

Of course there will be the other matter they may have neglected to tell you and that is each contractor is allowed to take instalments - usually over 6 months. In your case however I think greed has got the better of them by insisting on monies you don't have - getting blood from a stone comes to mind. Your case should have been handed back to HMCTS and they could then make an Attachment to Benefits as you should have been means tested at the beginning and at each stage when your OH has had work.

To my mind HMCTS should be shot with s**t for allowing things to progress as they are. If someone cannot afford to pay in the first place then how do they think an extra £300 is going to sound. Maybe the new system may rule a lot of this out but possibly the Bailiffs have one eye on this and see their income stream drying up - if they can get it to work that is.

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

I e-mailed the courts a week or so ago and explained our situation in full, i explained that we had twice made "reasonable offers" of payment and that both had been rejected. I told them that we have 3 young children aged 5, 4 and 8 months and explained that, having never been in this situation before we were not aware of what was expected of us and that our priority was to pay the debt but at a decent rate.........i didnt want to commit to an amount i knew i couldnt afford. I beg and pleaded with them to take the debt back and told them to do an attachment to benefit until my partner was back in work, I explained my illness and that i am currently having a "flare" and how stress only makes the symptoms worse etc etc. A lady from the courts called the following day and said there was nothing she could do, they Cannot recall warrants once they are in the hands of the bailiffs. I also spoke with someone who works in the enforcement dept of the courts who told me a crock of s*** about how they could come and break in my house and take what they wanted because the court says so. When I explained to collectica that we are completely reliant on benefits and couldnt maintain payments of £35.00 per week with other "priority debts" needing repaying also, they told me the same as the arse from the enforcement dept. According to collectica your means dont come into it at all and according to the courts any issues regarding vulnerability is down to the individual bailiffs companies standards. Its SO infuriating knowing that they are BSing you!! But arguing seems to get you nowhere, they stick to their stories and carry on feeding you the same old rubbish. Im hoping, given all the info i have and our circumstances, that i can convince the courts to take the debt back. I dont have a problem paying what i owe but i refuse to be ripped off by that bunch of cowboys! Given that I have 2 e-mails from me to them,(before they made a visit) making offers of payment (which according to info from you guys they should have accepted) I dont see why i should have to pay the £215.00 for the pleasure of them posting a letter!! I dont fancy my chances of getting round that one though!!

[The Cosmic Connection]

Re: Collectica

We told them that we were happy for them to do an attachment of benefit, and we also told the courts we were happy for them to do the same if they recalled the warrant. Both refused. Dammit!! They wont be able to do an attachment of earnings order when OH returns to work as he is a self employed sub-contractor

A bailiff company has no authority or power in law to initiate an ABO or AEO. A court does have such a power.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Collectica

How much might the children fetch at auction?

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

Lmao.......... my babies are just priceless Although, a couple of hours with them and I dont think everyone would agree hahaha.......they're too much like me, hyper, cheeky and a lil bit mouthy hahaha

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

Just to update on this one......... As some of you know I have been arguing this issue with Collectica for a very long time. Thanks to bluebottle (and the many others that offered their advice) I was put in touch with the senior enforcements manager for my area. I explained the difficulties I was having with Collectica, their lies, threats and BS. Collectica had told me that the minimum payment that they could accept was £35.00 a week and despite my best efforts to set up a more affordable arrangement they wouldnt accept it. When they were contacted by the Senior enforcements manager they lied and said that I had offered to pay £35.00 a fortnight. Obviously that wasnt true!! The account was put on hold for 28 days while it was investigated. That didnt stop the bailiff paying me a visit though!! I did a subject access request and asked for a copy of the recording of the telephone conversation. Collectica sent me a transcript instead but nevertheless on page 1 it showed them to be the liars they were!! Anyhoo, to cut a long story short....... The warrant has now been recalled from collectica and I no longer have to deal with them!! Couldnt have hoped for a better result. I owe huge huge thanks to Bluebottle for all his hard work and advice, despite having his own problems and I would have got absolutely nowhere without all the help and advice of everyone on here so THANKYOU to everyone who took their time to reply to my ramblings, offer advice and reassure me. You have all helped more than you can ever know. If it wasnt for this site I dread to think what would have happened! Thankyou doesnt seem enough but thankyou xx

[blades1889]

Re: Collectica

blue bottle is very helpfull and has helped me also as im having trouble not so much with collectia just yet even tho they have charged me 300 for posting a hand letter through my door i will be ringing the same man up at derby tommorow hopefully can sort it but its better to have tried and failed than never trying in the first place good news for you tho

[Milly29]

Re: Collectica

Thankyou blades1889. Bluebottle's a star isnt he! It is definitely worth a try. Especially when they are telling bre faced lies and trying to rip you off! Bunch of scumbags they are. Having dealth with both Collectica and the senior enforcements manager my advice would be to always write everything down, send letters or e-mails rather than rely on telephone calls and "words" cos they are a lot more difficult to prove if needed. At least if you get something in writing it can be produced later on if necessary. Obviously I dont know the details of your situation but I personally found the enforcements manager to be really helpful. He got back to me quickly when I needed him to and he was very understanding. Hope it works out well fxor you

[whicko41]

Re: Collectica

I shall be speaking to the Senior Enforcement manager (SEM) for the Northamptonshire area tomorrow. It is clearly evident that Collectica are deliberately engineering a default in order to justify forcing entry and boost their fees. This sort of behaviour is unacceptable and, I suspect, illegal, also. If the SEM does not play ball, then the matter will need to be escalated to HMCTS at Director of Enforcement Operations level.

I am also having the same problem but when i go looking for the SEM i cant find it know where, i have just been visited by the baliff requesting £678.95, even though have already paid £163.50 from a £480 fine, they have added £295.00 to this, £215.00 for today and £80 for sending first letter out, I rang them up and refused point blank to accept any money even though i offered to pay £278.95 off the requested amount, all collectica kept saying was its in the hands of the baliff nothing we can do, i then questioned how does it cost £215.00 for a man to push a letter through the door, he replied we require full payment today or we will be back with another request and £215.00, i wouldnt mind but am self employed but not working, my wife is in bits over this, worried sick she is, how do i stand and who do i contact!!!!!

[bluebottle]

Re: Collectica

I am also having the same problem but when i go looking for the SEM i cant find it know where, i have just been visited by the baliff requesting £678.95, even though have already paid £163.50 from a £480 fine, they have added £295.00 to this, £215.00 for today and £80 for sending first letter out, I rang them up and refused point blank to accept any money even though i offered to pay £278.95 off the requested amount, all collectica kept saying was its in the hands of the baliff nothing we can do, i then questioned how does it cost £215.00 for a man to push a letter through the door, he replied we require full payment today or we will be back with another request and £215.00, i wouldnt mind but am self employed but not working, my wife is in bits over this, worried sick she is, how do i stand and who do i contact!!!!!

You've come to the right place. Which county are you in? Details will follow as soon as you tell us.