Can debt collectors add their fees onto your debt?

dannydel54

Don't know if this is the right place to ask but need help!
Last year I did some work at a call centre through an employment agency, which finished in September last year. Then in April of this year I got a letter saying that through a timesheet error (on their part) they had overpaid me by 40 quid- the previous July! So this was nine months after the alleged overpayment & six months after I'd left the employment agency!
I thought this was extremely dodgy & sent them a letter saying that I refused to pay the amount as I didn't think they were entitled to it (due to the law relating to mistake). They have ignored my letter and passed it onto a debt collection agency who have added their fees onto the original debt of £41, bringing it up to £116.

My question is, are they allowed to do this? I've heard that debt collectors are not allowed to add their fees onto the original debt. Is this true? And if so can I report them?
Please help!

poorandindenial

Try this link:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/cca/debt-collection

Or www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

Sorry I don't have the answer, but if nothing else I have bumped you up the board....

dannydel54

Thanks! Having read the OFT document, I'm pretty sure they're not entitled to add their fees to my (alleged) debt. Does anyone know how I'd go about reporting them?

poorandindenial

There is this although I don't think this is for us randoms http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/cca/debt-collection

But you probably have to exhaust the DCA's complaints procedure first, if they don't let you have a copy of the procedure then you might want to have a chat to someone like www.nationaldebtline.co.uk to get some advice about your next port of call