We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that dates on the Forum are not currently showing correctly. Please bear with us while we get this fixed, and see Site feedback for updates.

marlins earnings arrestment ran concurrent with DAS (SCOTLAND)

hi new poster.i had recently signed up to a DAS (JANUARY 2014)creditor is Marlin who bought off clydesdale debt.i am paying £400 a month to clear it but i had an earnings arressment in place that should have been stopped but wasn't.it was for £138 a month so i was in effect paying £538 a month which was seriously affecting quality of life and limiting expenditure severely.
last month i pointed out arrestment still in place to DAS administrators and they said they would contact Marlin on my behalf.Marlin agreed to send back these overpayments and told administrators it would take 2 weeks.3 weeks later not a sausage so contacted administrators who were given runaround again.finally got this from administrators today
"I explained that you have entered into a DAS and any funds taken from you after the DAS was set up outside of the arrangement needs to be refunded. The refund amount in question being £521.20. I advised that we called them on 26th June & 14th July and have not received the refund yet. I said I also called yesterday but received no reply. It appears that we have been incorrectly updated when I previously called Marlin, as they have today said there is currently an ongoing query on this account. They said they are querying the refund request to find the correct course of action & are currently awaiting a response from original creditor Clydesdale. They said the account is on hold in the meantime.I asked them for a time frame however they could not provide this. I asked whether this could be treated as a matter of urgency as you are expecting the refund and were previously advised it would take a matter of days. They confirmed this matter is already being treated urgently & they are currently liaising with the original creditor to find an outcome. I am sorry that they did not advise us of this previously. Marlin said they would raise this as a training issue at their end. The Creditor Team at Wilson Andrews will continue to monitor this & will be calling Marlin back to make sure this is resolved as soon as possible."
the administrators are doing their best for me but i wonder if anyone can advise on my next action?thanks

Comments

  • coolcait
    coolcait Posts: 4,803 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Rampant Recycler
    Welcome to the forum, Mr Spartacus (love the name!)

    Quick question - you've talked about getting in touch with the DAS Administrators, but the email you've quoted says that "the Creditor Team at Wilson Andrews will.... "


    Have you been talking to people at Wilsons Andrews - I guess they're your money adviser - or the actual 'DAS Administrator' (Scottish government official/department)?


    If you've been talking to Wilson Andrews, ask them to make sure that the 'actual' DAS Administrator has sent Marlin a notice that the arrestment has been recalled.


    Wilson Andrews can also use this to put more pressure on Marlin to lift the arrestment, and reimburse you asap, because Marlin are actually in breach of Scottish law here.


    HTH
  • coolcait wrote: »
    Welcome to the forum, Mr Spartacus (love the name!)

    Quick question - you've talked about getting in touch with the DAS Administrators, but the email you've quoted says that "the Creditor Team at Wilson Andrews will.... "


    Have you been talking to people at Wilsons Andrews - I guess they're your money adviser - or the actual 'DAS Administrator' (Scottish government official/department)?


    If you've been talking to Wilson Andrews, ask them to make sure that the 'actual' DAS Administrator has sent Marlin a notice that the arrestment has been recalled.


    Wilson Andrews can also use this to put more pressure on Marlin to lift the arrestment, and reimburse you asap, because Marlin are actually in breach of Scottish law here.


    HTH
    thank you for the advice.
    im sorry i got mixed up who is who.i have only been talking to WA at the moment and to be honest they do seem to be very helpful.i will follow your advice and contact WA re arrestment being recalled via DAS administrator.
    you have been most helpful and it is very much appreciated:T
  • just got a reply from my money advisor after i contacted them

    "I have contacted Marlin today and have asked for an update on the refund request and have explained the urgency of the matter. They said they are still awaiting a response from the original creditor and cannot speed up their process. They also advised that they have not received correspondence from the DAS Administrator regarding the removal of the wage arrestment. They asked us to call back around the second week of August for a further update.

    I have spoken with the Money Advisor at Wilson Andrews and he has advised that can feel free to contact the DAS Administrator (AIB), however it may be more effective to raise a complaint directly with Marlin themselves. "

    should I contact Marlin myself now? I reckon they will just give me the same runaround:cool:
  • coolcait
    coolcait Posts: 4,803 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Rampant Recycler
    It's your call Mr Spartacus.


    There's probably no harm in raising a formal complaint with Marlin. If they have bought the debt from Clydesdale, then all their talk about contacting the original creditor is nonsense. If they're just acting for Clydesdale, then send your complaint to Clydesdale too - as they should be making sure that their agents are following the law!


    Marlin/Clydesdale are receiving money through an arrestment which was effectively recalled when your DAS was approved. They shouldn't be taking that money.


    They know about the DAS, they know that they should not be taking any more money from the arrestment, and they know that they should be reimbursing you with all the money they have received through the arrestment since your DAS was approved.


    If you raise a complaint with them, then you might get your money back. If you don't, then you can take the complaint forward to the FCA.


    Also no harm in contacting the DAS Administrator. If they've already formally told Marlin that the arrestment has been recalled, then Marlin really don't have a leg to stand on. If the formal recall hasn't gone out (did WA tell the DAS Administrator that Marlin had an arrestment?) then they can send one out now.


    They should also send a formal recall to your employer, so that no more payments are made:


    http://www.dasscotland.gov.uk/help-centre/employers


    (The arrestment info is near the bottom of the link)


    To be fair, if you're paying WA money to manage your DAS, they should be the ones who are making sure that formal recall has gone out, and they should be the ones who are making a formal complaint to Marlin, rather than trying to negotiate.


    I hope you get this sorted out as soon as possible.
  • quick update
    decided to bite the bullet and phoned Marlin.Spoke to a lady there who proceeded to ask me irrelevant questions such as bank account details and mobile number.I told her as I'm on a DAS I have no obligation to do so.
    I asked if they had received the forms from the DAS administrators she said she doesn't know.then she said she would arrange for a cheque to be sent to my money advisors and the amount she said was double of what my money advisors had said it was which just confused me more.She then said it would be up to my money advisors if I was to get the money or not!
    Got the feeling i was being fed a story so not happy.
    Have informed money advisors (Wilson Andrews) of recent call but not heard back from them yet.
  • coolcait
    coolcait Posts: 4,803 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Rampant Recycler
    Hi MrS


    Well done on bearding the lion in their den!


    I hope that things have become clearer since then - in a good way!


    If Nolans have been taking money through a wages arrestment - after the DAS was approved - then they are in the wrong!


    The money they took should go back to you, as I understand it.


    You'd think that WA would complain to the law society of Scotland about the way Nolans have acted! 'Ordinary' creditors might be able to say that they don't understand DAS, but members of the Law society...?!


    Anyway, I hope you are feeling calmer - and richer - by this time.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 241K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.7K Life & Family
  • 254.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.