I came home work today and have found this on my floor

Dear sir
Our client child maintenance and enforcement commission
outstanding amount £365.00

You have failed to pay this debt despite our previous communication


You are leaving us with no option but to take the enforcement options referred to in our previous letter.

Please note action will be suspended ONLY if you do one of the following:

Make a payment over the phone via DEBIT/CREDIT CARD
Make a payment using the BANK GIRO credit slip
CALL US TODAY on##13 823 338#

You are strongly recommended to contact us to discuss this situation. This is a serious matter which requires your attention now.
We trust that we will not have to act further and look forward to receiving your payment proposal.

Eversheds


First off I have never received a letter from this eversheds, or in fact the csa ever demanding any arrears.
I have paid all that the csa asked and since my ex returned to full time work last year we no longer even go through the csa. there are certainly no arrears to be paid, in fact they owe me money as although they finally acknowledged I have my son 2 nights a week, I was never reimbursed.
This is where it gets sinister I rang this company Who have threatened me with an liability order which could lead to me losing my driving license recieving a deo or even be sent to prison.

I have contacted the csa who don't seem to have a clue


So I am being threatened to have my driving licence away from me or sent to prison for a debt they have no proof I owe.

I have arranged to meet someone at the cab but in the meantime do I just ignore these evershed shower of *****?

And can these people legally have my driving licence taken away over a £365 debt

 

Have a read here... particularly the debt collection sections; it will tell you exactly what they can- and can't do.

The Consumer Forums

 

There is some civil procedure going through parliament proposing suspension of passports and driving licences of parents that don't pay. Load of bloody nonsense, but it doesn't surprise me massively that bully-boy debt collectors are using this to try and scare people into capitulating.

 

I had a moblile phone contract with orange in 2002, i stopped paying it because i couldnt get a signal at work or home, i sent the phone back to orange, and rang them and explained why.

At the start of last year, i ran a self check on my credit, and orange was not on the report, but out of the blue in april last year, a company called eversheds sent me a red letter, claiming that i owed orange money, i rang them and told them to **** off, as orange was not on my credit report.

When i checked a couple of weeks later, it was on there as default from 2002 to present, turns out eversheds had bought a load of bad debt from orange, and while orange didnt persue me in anyway, cos they were in breach of contract (salesman clearly stated that it would work both at home and in the office, it didnt), eversheds rang me everyday, and sent twice weekly letters for a debt that i didnt know existed.

On taking advice from citizens advice, the only way i could get eversheds to stop is by taking them to court, and the orange debt on my credit report would be there until it was all settled.

In the end i paid them, and made sure the orange debt was taken off my report, and a not added to say what happened.

But, my point is that eversheds are approaching large companies and buying bad debt for a fraction of the real debt value, then trying to scare people into paying the full amount, in my case from nearly six years ago!

They know they are operating borderline illegal, but they CAN register debts on your credit report, if they do that, your legally fcuked for credit until its paid, and they know the sort of people they chase dont have family solicitors, and dont have a clue how to begin fighting them, so just pay up!

Underhanded bunch of *****!

 

i think the Guardian Money section had a report on these "bottom feeders"

 

That is one very helpful forum ,had a few problems with alliance & fester recently

 

All sounds a little sinister - it was my understanding that the CSA normally went for recovery via the DEO (deduction from earnings order) route. This forces the employer to deduct and pay over the the money and basically if they refuse to , they get done! So regardless of where your companys loyalties might lie, they're over a barrel.

 

Be careful, seek legal advice.

These companies charge big dollar for phone calls, letters and house visits.

I dont know their tariff as I have never worked for them, but certain tariffs are criminal, yet these agencies can claim it legally.

These companies buy bad debts for a percent of the worth and pursue them, they are usually not interested in the reclaimation of the debt, they make their money via the above mentioned phone calls, letters and house visits....beware.

 

Sounds like a scam to me - you could try calling the number for Eversheds in the phone book rather than the one in the letter to confirm this.

 

They do exist.


Introduction - Eversheds LLP

 

KoT, I'd be very wary of this. As far as I know, CSA do not use debt collecting agencies. Legal advice as soon as possible, if I was you

 

I have been told Eversheds are classed as solicitors, although they have been known to act like debt collectors. I have also been told I am entitled to see proof of the debt, which sounds fair surely I am booked in to see the cab so hopefully they will shed more light on this.

 

This might be of interest. No idea if it ever did happen. Seems a bit suspect to me all the same. Glad you are seeking advice. CSA makes me sick. a bloke I know nearly topped himself with their persistance of him, even though he paid his money on time, all the time. They just got their facts wrong as usual

BBC NEWS | Politics | Private firms to chase CSA debts

 

found this on the csa

It also says if the debt is not agredd, to contact them for my personal data file, which I bet will take more than the 7 days I have


Looks like they have me by the *****, pay up or go to effing jail lose your licence or your passport. Leagalised blackmail

 

Get advice asap. Contact Eversheds, and let them know, in writing you are disputing the claim. Same with the CSA. Don't let the buggers win. It's a disgrace. I detest what this Country has become

 

Sounds to me like you are actually considering paying them. If you are genuinely in the right then you should either ignore them or send them a special delivery letter explaining why they are wrong and you don't want to hear from them again (keep a copy of course).
Only the courts can half-inch your driving license, or you can voluntarily surrender it to a policeman in certain circumstances.
Eversheds sound like the bailiffs, they think that because they have some kind of mandate from the government that they can treat us all like arseholes.

Kevin

 

It may also be wise to send them this, just in case...

 

Special delivery letter explaining/query and that will 100% buy you some time as they need to reply, and photocopy it for yourself so you have a copy to prove if needed.

To take your license from you would need to go to the courts and it would just get thrown out !

 

Sounds to me they are in contravention of the "Administration of justice act 1970"
Also have a look at the Office of fair trading file number "OFT298" (just type oft298 into google)

 

Nice letter! Even better, I note the point of law referred to was established by none other than Lord EVERSHED!!!

 

I had exactly the same thing, they sent it to an address that I haven't lived at for years... Then placed a defult on my credit score for a phone bill with Orange 9 years old!!

The guy on the phone was such a ******* **** as well. If he had been in front of me speaking to me like that I would have killed him to death.

 

Tw@s arent they?

You would think there would be some sort of legislation about this, chasing debts that are nearly a decade old!

I hope eversheds go under, and the ***** that run it file for bankruptcy!

 

I thought debts over 6 years old were considered null anyway?

 

Yep - just checked. If there has been no contact for more than 6 years then the debt is time expired. You need not acknowledge anything they have to say.

Nice thread explaining it here: Moneysupermarket.com - Debt over 6 years old