Advantis Credit: what a letter means and what to do

A letter from Advantis is a request to pay, not a court order. Advantis is collecting for someone else, and many of its clients are public bodies, so the rules that apply depend on what kind of debt it is. Start by working out which organisation it is acting for and what the debt is.

Who are Advantis Credit, and why are they contacting you?

The company is Advantis Credit Limited, company number 05223252, incorporated on 6 September 2004 and active. Its registered office is in London and its FCA record gives a Stoke-on-Trent address. Companies House shows it has been owned by CDER Group UK Limited since 13 January 2020.

It has been authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority since 3 May 2016, firm reference number 705478. Its permissions include debt collecting, debt administration and exercising a lender’s rights under regulated credit agreements, and it cannot hold client money.

Advantis describes itself as a debt collection agency working on behalf of companies and public-sector bodies, with clients in utilities, government and retail finance. It says it is a member of the Credit Services Association, the debt collection trade body. Its parent, CDER Group, says it collects and enforces debts such as council tax, parking charges and court fines for local authorities and HM Courts and Tribunals Service. See our guide to CDER Group if you have a letter from one of its enforcement businesses.

Who does Advantis collect for?

Advantis says that if it has contacted you, “one of your creditors has passed your account to us”. So you normally still owe the original organisation. The ones we could confirm are:

If the debt is owed to HMRC

HMRC says its debt collection agencies will only contact you by letter, text message or phone, and will never visit your home or place of work. You can pay the agency or talk to it about a Time to Pay arrangement; if you cannot pay in full or agree one, the agency passes your case back to HMRC, which will tell you what happens next. Advantis says HMRC will have written to you three times before placing an account with it, so check whether HMRC has your current address. Our guide to owing HMRC money explains your options.

If it is an Income Payments Agreement

If you have been made bankrupt and have spare income, you may pay it monthly under an Income Payments Agreement for up to 3 years, and must keep paying after the bankruptcy is discharged. The Official Receiver may pass the collection to Advantis, and GOV.UK says the agency or Official Receiver might contact your employer to take the money from your wages if you do not pay. Advantis says that if your income changes you must tell it straight away, and that payments are due for the length of the agreement unless the Official Receiver varies it. See our bankruptcy guide for how IPAs work.

If it is a DWP benefit overpayment

GOV.UK says that if you do not repay an overpayment or contact DWP Debt Management, your case may be passed to an independent debt collector, and names Advantis among them. You should then deal directly with the collector. Our guide to benefit overpayments covers challenging an overpayment and hardship.

Is the debt yours, and is the amount right?

1. Find the client and the reference on the letter, and compare them with your own records, such as tax returns, benefit letters or bills.
2. Ask Advantis in writing for a breakdown of what is owed and what it relates to. Advantis says that if you think a debt is already paid, it will ask for details and investigate with its client. See how to ask a creditor to prove a debt.
3. For a regulated credit agreement, you can ask the creditor for a copy of the agreement and a statement, with a £1 fee. It has 12 working days to reply. This does not apply to tax, benefit or other government debts.
4. If the letter is for someone who does not live with you, tell Advantis. It says the contact will not affect your address or credit file.

Time limits and appeal rights work differently for tax, benefit and other government debts than for ordinary credit debts, so get advice before assuming a debt is too old or wrong. If you want to challenge the underlying decision, such as an overpayment decision, that is usually done with the government body, not the collector.

What can Advantis do, and what can it not do?

For credit debts, the FCA’s CONC 7 rules stop collectors pressuring you, misleading you about their powers or contacting you unreasonably. HMRC says all the agencies it works with are FCA regulated and must follow its processes. Whatever the debt, harassing someone with payment demands designed to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or falsely claiming official authority to collect, can be a criminal offence.

Collection agents and bailiffs are different

A collection agency like Advantis asks you to pay and agrees plans. It has no power to take goods. Enforcement agents (bailiffs) are different: they can only act under a legal authority, such as a court order or a council liability order, must usually give you at least 14 clear days’ written notice first, and cannot force their way into your home to collect most debts. Advantis says that for Legal Aid Agency contributions, enforcement agents acting on its cases follow the Taking Control of Goods rules and industry standards. If anyone at your door says they are a bailiff, ask for identification and the document that allows them to act. Our guide to what bailiffs can and cannot do explains your rights.

What should you do at each stage?

When the letter arrives

Do not ignore it. Identify the client and the debt, and check the amount. If you are getting debt advice, say so. Advantis says it will liaise with anyone you authorise, including debt charities and advisers.

If you can pay something

Work out a budget so priority bills, such as rent or mortgage, council tax and energy, come first. Some government debts, such as tax, are priority debts because of what can happen if they are not paid. Advantis says you can set up a payment plan through its online portal or by phone, and that it helps to have your income and outgoings ready.

If you cannot pay

Tell Advantis and get free debt advice straight away. Advantis says it will not ask you to pay anything you cannot afford. For HMRC debts, if no agreement is reached, the case goes back to HMRC, which has its own enforcement powers, so it is important to engage early.

How do debt solutions affect Advantis?

Because Advantis collects for its clients, any debt solution applies to the client’s debt, and government debts are treated differently depending on what they are:

• Breathing Space pauses contact, interest, charges and enforcement on eligible debts for up to 60 days in England and Wales, but some debts are excluded, including court fines and certain government loans.
• A debt management plan is informal, so creditors do not have to agree.
• An IVA is a legally binding agreement under the Insolvency Act 1986. Creditors bound by it cannot take further action to recover the debts included in it, but some debts cannot be included. Protocol IVAs usually last 5 or 6 years, fees come out of your payments, and it usually stays on your credit file for 6 years from the start.
• A debt relief order is for debts under £50,000, less than £75 a month spare, assets under £2,000 and a vehicle worth less than £4,000. Court fines and some other debts cannot be included.

Each option has costs and long-term effects, and none suits everyone. The debt solutions comparison sets them side by side.

How do you complain about Advantis?

1. Complain to Advantis using the complaints procedure on its website or the details on your letter. Say what happened, with dates, and what you want done.
2. For a regulated credit debt, if you are unhappy with the final response, or 8 weeks have passed, you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You normally have 6 months from the final response.
3. You can also complain to the organisation Advantis is collecting for, such as HMRC, the DWP or the Official Receiver, using that organisation’s own complaints process.

Our guide to dealing with debt collectors explains your wider rights.

Is this letter really from Advantis?

• Check the client and reference on the letter. For HMRC debts, GOV.UK’s list of HMRC debt collection agencies includes Advantis Credit Ltd, and Advantis points customers to it.
• Advantis says it asks security questions, such as your name, address and date of birth, before discussing your account. Do not give bank passwords or card PINs to anyone.
• Use the contact details on your letter, Advantis’s official website or the FCA register (firm reference number 705478). If in doubt, contact the client, such as HMRC, through its official website.
• A genuine HMRC collection agency will not turn up at your door.

What to do next

1. Identify the client and the type of debt, and check the amount.
2. If anything is wrong, ask Advantis in writing, and challenge the underlying decision with the client if needed.
3. Get free, impartial debt advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline. See where to get free debt advice.
4. Keep copies of every letter and a note of every call.