Should You Pay Advantis Credit HMRC Debt Collection?

Should you pay Advantis Credit HMRC debt collection and how should you respond if you do? This post is for you if you’re wondering what to do!

I explain who Advantis Credit works with and why you should never ignore them over an HMRC debt. Read on to find out more!

Do you have to pay Advantis Credit

You might not have to pay Advantis Credit.

If you genuinely can’t afford your debt repayments then looking into whether you could have your written off might be just what you need. 

If you want to find out whether you qualify for having debt written off or payments lowered then fill out the short form below.

Is Advantis Credit a debt collection agency?

Yes. Advantis Credit is a debt recovery company that acts on behalf of its clients. They are considered among the largest companies that chase down people who owe money.

Also, their client list includes some of the largest UK companies and HMRC! In total, Advantis claims to work with more than two million ‘debtors’. The figure includes their clients and the people they chase for payment!

Their turnover is around £10 million a year.

Is Advantis a legitimate debt collection company?

Yes. Advantis is a legitimate debt collection agency that’s regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). They are also members of the Credit Services Association (CSA) and must follow their Code of Practice.

Can you lower your repayments?

If you’re struggling to pay back your debt, then you might qualify for a debt solution.

Some solutions lower your monthly payments while others write off a portion of your debt. 

To find out whether they could work in your situation, hit the button below.

Get Started

Who uses Advantis Credit?

As mentioned, Advantis has a long client list which includes government departments. Other companies that use Advantis to recover debts include:

• DVLA
• N Power
• SSE
• Vodafone
• Next
• HMRC

Why have I got a letter from Advantis? 

Advantis Credit would contact you on behalf of HMRC if you have an outstanding debt with them. For example, did you receive an overpayment on tax benefits? Or are you in trouble over VAT?

You may have received more money than you should which means HMRC will chase you for repayment. If they can’t get in touch with you, HMRC could pass your details on to Advantis!

Check out what happened to one person Advantis Credit contacted over an HMRC debt:

Source: Moneysavingexpert

What can debt collection agencies do?

There are things that a debt recovery company can and cannot do. Moreover, there are behaviours that debt collection agents must not do when they contact you!

A debt collection company can:

• Contact you about an alleged HMRC debt whether by letter, text, phone or in person
• Discuss the alleged debt with you showing understanding and empathy
• Ask that you pay the alleged debt to them directly

What can’t debt recovery companies do?

A debt collection agent cannot legally do any of the following:

• Force their way into your home
• Seize any of your possessions or clamp your vehicle
• Infer they have the same powers as a bailiff (court-appointed enforcement agent)
• Discuss an alleged debt with your family, friends, employer or neighbours
• Encourage you to take out more loans to pay an alleged debt
• Use documents that appear to be issued by the courts
• Talk to you confusingly using legal jargon

Can a debt collection agent visit you at home?

Yes. If all other ways of contacting you fail, or you refuse to respond to phone calls or letters, an agent could visit your home!

If it happens, you don’t have to open the front door. In fact, you should speak to the agent through an open upstairs window or through the letterbox.

Moreover, you have the right to ask an Advantis debt collection agent to leave and they must respect your request!

Do debt collectors have the same powers as bailiffs?

No. Debt collectors don’t have the same powers as bailiffs (court-appointed enforcement officers). Plus, they can’t pretend they have the same powers which is unlawful!

You don’t have to let debt collectors into your home and you don’t have to let them call you at all hours of the day. It’d be deemed harassment which is also unlawful.

Can you stop debt collection agencies from contacting you?

You can’t stop debt collection agencies from contacting you. But you can tell them when to contact you and how you’d like to be contacted!

So, the first thing to do when you receive lots of calls or correspondence is to write back to Advantis. Tell them when and how to contact you. Maybe you prefer to be contacted in writing so you have records of everything that’s said!

Debt collection companies must respect your request! However, if a debt recovery agent still persists in contacting you in ways you asked them not to – it’d be harassment.

Harassing behaviour is unlawful and you should file a complaint with their head office. After this, you can lodge a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Services (FOS).

What happens when you ignore Advantis?

It’d be a mistake to ignore Advantis Credit when they contact you over an HMRC debt. Chances are HMRC tried to contact you without success and passed your details on to the debt recovery company.

However, first, make sure the letter you get is genuine because there are lots of scammers out there! First, check your old mail to see if you received any letters from HMRC.

Next, you can check whether the letter is genuine by visiting the government’s website!

If it all proves genuine, contact Advantis sooner rather than later. Otherwise, things will escalate making it harder to settle the debt!

When you just ignore everything, hoping it’ll all go away, things could escalate quite quickly. Moreover, you could be missing out on receiving important information about the HMRC debt.

For instance, you may not realise the following:

• The debt isn’t yours and Advantis is chasing the wrong person. If you ignore things HMRC enforcement agents will still pay you a visit!
• You could have been offered an affordable repayment schedule over several months!

Will Advantis take you to court?

No. Advantis won’t take you to court if you don’t pay the amount owed to HMRC. But the debt recovery company will inform HMRC that they failed to get you to pay!

Things take a turn for the worse after this, because HMRC doesn’t need to take you to court. They can use their own enforcement officers to visit you at home!

HMRC enforcement officers have the power to seize your possessions and sell them at auction to cover the money owed. Plus you’d get a County Court Judgement (CCJ) on your credit file making it harder to borrow money in the future.

You may have to deal with an attachment placed on your bank account and/or your earnings!

How should you respond to Advantis?

You should stay in touch with Advantis when they contact you. Whether it’s by letter, text or phone call. Staying in touch with debt collectors is a positive move that gets better results!

So, the first thing to do is contact Advantis Credit asking them for proof you owe money to HMRC. Advantis must provide you with solid evidence the debt is yours and that the amount is correct!

Next, seek advice from one of the debt charities or an independent debt adviser. However, there would be a fee to pay if you contact a specialist debt adviser who works in the private sector.

On the other hand, debt advice provided by one of the charities is free!

Should you pay Advantis Credit?

It’s wiser to deal with Advantis once you establish the debt is yours. Why? Because if you don’t, the debt collector will tell HMRC they failed to get you to pay.

HMRC would then escalate the process and you’d have to deal with enforcement officers knocking on your door. Plus, you risk getting a county court judgement on your credit file.

So, in short, staying in touch with Advantis Credit ltd is definitely the wiser when they’re chasing you for an HMRC debt!

How do you contact Advantis Credit Ltd?

I’ve listed how to contact Advantis debt collection here:

What sort of debt help is there in the UK?

If you’re struggling financially, you’re not alone. People throughout the UK are finding it harder to make ends meet and many are falling deeper into debt. 

There’s no shame in seeking advice when you need it after receiving a debt letter! As such I’ve listed a few of the debt charities that are there to help you.

Their advice could be invaluable when you’re confronted with an Advantis Credit HMRC debt collection problem.

You could contact any of the following to receive free debt advice:

• Citizens Advice
• National Debtline
• StepChange

You could also contact debt specialists but you’d have to pay for their advice which might not be the best option when you get a debt letter.

“It will only get worse” 😩

It’s cliché to say, but with debt it’s true; the longer you leave it, the worse the problem gets. 

There are straightforward and effective ways to deal with debt, but you have to know your options. 

Fill out the short form to find out about the debt solutions that could reduce your monthly payments or even write off some of your debt.

Get Started

Lastly, should you pay Advantis Credit HMRC debt collection?

Should you pay Advantis Credit HMRC debt collection and how should you respond? The key to a successful outcome when dealing with a debt collector is to remain in touch.

Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. If anything the problem just gets harder to resolve. So, when Advantis Credit gets in touch, write back to the debt collector asking them to prove the debt!

If you feel the amount requested is incorrect, contact HMRC directly and discuss your concerns with them.

The one thing to avoid is ignoring official correspondence from HMRC or debt collectors. Instead, check whether the letters are genuine and not a scam. Next, deal with the problem head-on to achieve a better outcome when Advantis debt collection agency contacts you.

You also have the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you feel Advantis has threatened or harassed you in any way!

Thanks for reading my post. I hope I’ve answered the question, should you pay Advantis Credit HMRC debt collection so you achieve a better and more affordable outcome.