Debt collection over tiny Fedex fee

deformat

Hello All,

I've got a letter from Controlaccount for £72.50, for an original charge of about £15 for some import duty on some clothes I had sent back when I moved home from China.

They have posted it to my Building and not directly to me, am I right to ignore this letter as £72.50 is such a pitiful sum they are unlikely to take it to court?

Can they increase the amount further?

sorry for any newbie questions

K

marliepanda

If it's such a pitiful sum, why don't you pay what you owe them?

powerful_Rogue

deformat wrote: »

Hello All,

I've got a letter from Controlaccount for £72.50, for an original charge of about £15 for some import duty on some clothes I had sent back when I moved home from China.

They have posted it to my Building and not directly to me, am I right to ignore this letter as £72.50 is such a pitiful sum they are unlikely to take it to court?

Can they increase the amount further?

sorry for any newbie questions

K

They can add fees for chasing they debt - as they already have done.

The can issue court proceedings against you which left undealt with could result in a County Court Judgement.

They wouldn't really have a great deal to do if they took it to court. You imported the goods, they cleared them on your behalf and you failed to pay the debt. They would also add all the court costs to the claim - So they have very little to lose and the outstanding debt to gain.

bod1467

Are ControlAccount acting as debt collectors or bailiffs? If debt collectors then the debt is not theirs therefore they have no standing to bring a claim in court - only their principle (FedEx) can do this. So CA may well threaten court but they never will - if it went to court CA wouldn't get any money.

Now if FedEx have signed over the debt to CA (and sent you a letter of assignment) then CA could take court action. But without any notification of assignment then their claim should fail.

deformat

"we refer to the above matter passed to our legal department this morning and note that despite requests for payment the above amount remains outstanding to our client"

So I am guessing using the word "client" suggests acting on behalf and only the principle can bring a claim?

Just to clarify this is the first time I knew of any debt, the letter was not addressed to me but to "North Bristol Offices" a coworking space that contains 10 separate businesses. So i'm annoyed I now have a huge bill that I didn't know existed until two days ago.

Just was also curious if MSE forums had ever seen a court proceedings over sub £100 sums?

bod1467

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=64350592&postcount=4
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/63774734#Comment_63774734

If your letters are in any way similar to what is linked there, then my previous comment applies.

Was the delivery to your business or you as a consumer?

bap98189

deformat wrote: »

Just was also curious if MSE forums had ever seen a court proceedings over sub £100 sums?

It won't be less than £100 by the time it gets as far as court. There will all sorts of fees on top, and then possibly court costs.

agrinnall

"Pitiful sum" becomes "huge bill" in just 18 hours - quite remarkable!

visidigi

deformat wrote: »

"we refer to the above matter passed to our legal department this morning and note that despite requests for payment the above amount remains outstanding to our client"

So I am guessing using the word "client" suggests acting on behalf and only the principle can bring a claim?

Just to clarify this is the first time I knew of any debt, the letter was not addressed to me but to "North Bristol Offices" a coworking space that contains 10 separate businesses. So i'm annoyed I now have a huge bill that I didn't know existed until two days ago.

Just was also curious if MSE forums had ever seen a court proceedings over sub £100 sums?

FedEx address these letters according to the shipment you had imported.

The failure of the letter to turn up is your shipper's not FedEx.

And that would not be a defense for you not to pay in court. It has the potential to be significantly expensive for you.

powerful_Rogue

bod1467 wrote: »

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=64350592&postcount=4
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/63774734#Comment_63774734

If your letters are in any way similar to what is linked there, then my previous comment applies.

Was the delivery to your business or you as a consumer?

They relate to unpaid parking charge notices which is an entirely different kettle of fish. A lot of parking companies didnt go ahead with court action due to the debate of whether a parking charge is realistic of the loss etc. However im sure that will all change due to the recent win of the parking company in the Supreme Court.

macman

Are you disputing the bill? You imported the items, so import duty is payable.
However they cannot take any civil action against you without naming you on the paperwork, which they don't appear to have done.
But not really worth getting your credit history trashed for 6 years for a 'pitiful sum'?