Innocent allotment holder sent debt collection letter for fees owed to Sheffield Council

Graham Axelby was shocked to receive a ‘very threatening’ letter from Excel Civil Enforcement demanding he pay the £64.51 yearly allotment fee for land at Hagg Lane Allotments, near the Rivelin Valley.

Dated October 13, the letter directed the 77-year-old to the company website where he then discovered that if he did not pay in seven days he would face an additional pre-enforcement fee of £75.

However, Mr Axelby paid the yearly allotment fee just days prior on October 9 and, after ringing Sheffield City Council, was informed the letter was a “mistake”.

He said: “Some mistake, apart from the stress of receiving the threatening letter from a debt collection agency, I am now on a credit risk list and my credit rating will be affected.

"On top of this the debt collection agency has my details which they should not have. The letter I received was also sent to many allotment holders.

"Many are retired and I can’t imagine the upset caused to them. It’s an absolute disgrace.”

Mr Axelby has been an allotment holder at Hagg Lane for around eight years and has always paid his fee on time and directly to Sheffield Council.

Ringing the authority on Thursday, the pensioner says he was told there had been 30 phone calls from others who had also wrongly received the letter.

"I always think of it in terms of my dad who got a letter from Sheffield Council a long time ago,” Graham added. “He was distressed. He wasn’t on email and wouldn’t be now, he just had a phone. I had to meet up with the council and it was a mistake. This is another mistake and it will have distressed quite a lot of people.

"I want to know why it happened, who is responsible for making it happen, and what assurances I’m going to get that it will never happen again.”

After asking Excel Civil Enforcement about the ‘mistake’ on Friday, October 19, Mr Axelby was told that the case was still active.

Sheffield Council said it cannot comment on individual cases.

Instead, they advised that Mr Axelby contact the authority again so they can assist him further.

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