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gillyann
Posted: 05 November 2020 20:46:08(UTC)
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My partner has received a letter from Advantis saying that he owes tax to HMR& Customs. As far as I am aware, this is a scam. Has anyone else had a letter from this company?
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ANDREW FOSTER
Posted: 05 November 2020 21:23:26(UTC)
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gillyann on 06/11/2020(UTC)
Tim D
Posted: 05 November 2020 21:26:20(UTC)
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Advantis Credit Ltd are listed as one of the agencies that HMRC use at https://www.gov.uk/if-yo...ebt-collection-agencies

Of course it's entirely possible there are scammers trying to pass themselves off as that organization; tread very carefully. https://uk.trustpilot.co.../www.advantiscredit.com looks ugly.

I'd have thought it was quite hard for people who are "in the system" (ie HMRC have their correct address, they're doing self-assessment or on PAYE etc) to get to the point of HMRC setting debt collectors on them out of the blue without them being aware it's likely to happen; see the other pages in that https://www.gov.uk/if-you-dont-pay-your-tax-bill section.
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gillyann on 06/11/2020(UTC)
anglo29
Posted: 06 November 2020 07:36:28(UTC)
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Tim D;136172 wrote:
Advantis Credit Ltd are listed as one of the agencies that HMRC use at https://www.gov.uk/if-yo...ebt-collection-agencies

Of course it's entirely possible there are scammers trying to pass themselves off as that organization; tread very carefully. https://uk.trustpilot.co.../www.advantiscredit.com looks ugly.

I'd have thought it was quite hard for people who are "in the system" (ie HMRC have their correct address, they're doing self-assessment or on PAYE etc) to get to the point of HMRC setting debt collectors on them out of the blue without them being aware it's likely to happen; see the other pages in that https://www.gov.uk/if-you-dont-pay-your-tax-bill section.




You are correct in stating there are scammers operating "within the system". I've had emails purporting to be "official", from TV Licensing telling me my "payment is due"....(it wasn't) and giving the wrong amount anyway. This has reduced my confidence in making online payments to government related organisations, and I've resorted back to paying by cheque, which seems to have resulted in some confusion at the other end!
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gillyann on 06/11/2020(UTC)
Tim D
Posted: 06 November 2020 08:46:02(UTC)
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I note that the OP says they received a letter rather than an email.

Scam emails are rampant... they're essentially free for the scammers to send out and so they do, in industrial quantities. Scamming by post needs a bit more effort and expense so is rarer and/or more targeted, which changes the likelihood it is a scam attempt, I think. It still happens too of course.

As mentioned previously, I think it'd be quite hard for someone to get into a situation where you owe HMRC money - and HMRC have got far enough through the recovery process to offload it to a collection agency - without that someone knowing the debt exists.
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gillyann on 06/11/2020(UTC)
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