Should I pay..Civil Enforcement Ltd?

MustangP51

Thanks esmerobbo,this only gets better.I have gone from worried to bring it on as I am ready for them now.

Maybe if they ever got as far as a county court, I could choose Cornwall and work a holiday around it.

TheGruffalowsChild

Hi, I got a similar letter in the post today demanding £150!!! At first I was sat crying because I do not have the money to pay this and as a single mum of 2 this is a huge amount of money!!! I recieved the second letter "the final reminder" and did not get the first one so I didnt even know where I would have incured this fine and called my local council to establish if this was genuine. They had no record of me on their system and told me it was more than likely a scam. I then called the police who the council had advised me to call and they pretty much laughed at me!!!! anyways I did a bit of digging and realised that it was from my local gym!!! Where I pay membership every month!!! I am so outraged and am even tempted to stop my memberhsip.

Anyways the first thing I did when I opened the letter was to call the number on it. I didnt get through to anyone but left a very shouty message and asked someone to call me back....I then found this website and realised it was a scam.

I fully intend to ignore the letters but will it make it worse for me now I have contacted them and that they have my phone number???

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am having a lot of health problems at the moment and this stress really is the last thing I need.

Thanks!x

esmerobbo

TheGruffalowsChild wrote: »

Anyways the first thing I did when I opened the letter was to call the number on it. I didnt get through to anyone but left a very shouty message and asked someone to call me back....I then found this website and realised it was a scam.

I fully intend to ignore the letters but will it make it worse for me now I have contacted them and that they have my phone number???

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am having a lot of health problems at the moment and this stress really is the last thing I need.

Thanks!x

Simply ignore everything from now on. All they do is send out the usual letter chain then go away!
You will find what to expect here! https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2214803

The_Slithy_Tove

TheGruffalowsChild wrote: »

I fully intend to ignore the letters but will it make it worse for me now I have contacted them and that they have my phone number???

All it means is that you're likely to get a few more letters than average, but now you know they are meaningless and can be ignored, that shouldn't be a problem. It's likely it'll be passed to a debt collection agency, who will also send you silly letters. They can also be ignored, as can the fake solicitors letters that will follow. As they have your number, it's possible that the fake solicitors will call you. There's a wealth of information here on how to handle them, from putting the phone down (off the hook) and getting on with something else, to being very rude, to denying the alleged debt and telling them to go to hell. Whatever you do, don't enter into any sort of conversation, be it phone or by letter.

And getting stroppy with the gym is a good idea. Let them know that you aren't too chuffed with how their contractors are treating their customers, and they can't fine you for what I presume is a free car park at said gym, and you'll be going to XYZ gym in the future, where they treat their customers better.

Kite2010

If you can get out of the gym membership (not tied into a contract) then threaten to do so and say that you shall be taking your custom to *name local rival* and telling your friends, family & work colleagues which quite a few are members of this gym [even if they ain't] because the actions of their contractor.

Wisespender

Had our last letter in November/December threatening legal action. Since heard nothing so can only assume they now know they are flogging a dead horse. Scum of the earth imho and should be treated as such.

Cluker

I have read all the current 33 pages of posts in this thread after being directed here from a motoring forum.

I know THIS thread is not the most up to date one but I'm not going to go through multiple pages in other threads.

One reason for that is that I do not have a parking notice of this nature to defend.

BUT I DO HAVE A SERIOUS SUGGESTION THAT OTHER RESPONDENTS MIGHT LIKE TO THINK ON.

First of all, as has been said allready, these tickets are invioces and not fines and I also thought it a good idea to actually get the term ' speculative invoicing ' embeded in the thread for Google's benefit.

I don't recall seeing it in this thread before.

RIGHT - NOW TO MY MAIN POINT, AND IT RELATES TO POSSIBLE HMRC INTERVENTION.

These invoices ( or fines as they like to pretend ) that have been issued should have an entry in the company's ( I use that term loosely in this context ) accounts.

I'm sure many here already know this but for those that don't I'll explain.

The tax payable to HMRC by the company on those invoices becomes a liability to them at the DATE OF THE INVOICE as entered in their accounts and NOT on the date they recieve payment on the invoice.

If the invoice is not settled, ( IE you don't pay the fine ) then at the end of the company's fiscal accounting period, then, the company has two options tax wise.

1/. To follow up chasing the debt and pay the tax on it for this fiscal accounting period.

2/. To write it off as a bad debt and not pay the tax on it.

If they take option 2 they have no further claim as I understand it from being in a similar situation relating to bad debts to a bussines I ran about 20 years ago.

My then accountant explained that I could pay the tax of about £6,000 on bad debtors accounts ( that were never likely to be paid, see below ) or write them off.

I remember his words exactly even after 20 years ' just because you have been willing to wait for the money from your clients doesn't mean the taxman is willing to wait for his money from you '.

Wait, in that context, was an enforced wait due to a particular difficult client - I wasn't really waiting at all, I just was not able to force payment easily without looking ' into a very deep precipice ' - as my accountant said - and that possibly could, in the end, cost you your home.
My business closed shortly after, I had no option but to write them off.

So what I am wondering here is whether these invoices are actually in the company's accounts books and whether they actually have paid the tax on ones carried over from one, to the next fiscal year.

Ony HMRC would be in a position to know if they were inclined to investigate.

And, as there have been so many over the years ( with many unpaid but probably still persued ) has the tax been paid on them or have they been written off.

If they are in the company's accounts they can't remain there unpaid without the company taking action as in 1 or 2 above.

If they are not in their accounts - why not.

Attack is the best form of defence and maybe someone following up on this could put an end to this finally.

I'm sure the HMRC would take great interest to ensure their accounting is being done properly.

Rather than concentrating all efforts on the individual defence of all respondents here - one at a time - why not load a BIG cannon.

I won't, I have no ticket.

I realise there may be mitigations and complications regarding seperate entities in other companies.

Just my 2p's worth.

give_them_FA

On the face of it a good idea! I suppose I would point out that it appears that most of these tickets are de facto "written off" if not collected at the end of the paper chase; about 3 months? but there must be some that go from one accounting year into the next. Certainly worth shopping them on, though.

Oopsadaisy

cluker....close but no cigar.

they are simply able to carry the outstanding amount as [iirc] a 'debtor' provision ie they DON'T have to pay tax as if they had received the money.

All businesses do this [ie carry over unpaid fees earned in the relevant tax yr].

So nothing worth doing on this front, sadly.

ali.252

I have received one of these scam invoices where someone else was driving my car and it was parked in one of their so called observed car parks according to them for almost 4 hours. The driver was in 3 travel agents in the centre trying to find out details about a holiday and may possibly have been there for that length of time. My wife wanted me to pay the £40 before it becomes £70 but after reading the posts on here I have decided to do the same as the rest of the victims and just ignore it. Looking forward to the next set of recycling items although they will be kept until they stop harassing me.