Help please!! - is this right?

[jaylee15]

This morning we found our car clamped with a sticky notice to call them, when I called he said this went to court and the letter was sent out to us last year August, since then we have heard nothing( the amount would have been £155, this man now said the fee is £568 and if we dont pay by 9am this morning they will take the car away. we have had nothing what so ever in writing from this company, I queried this and he said " We dont need to send out a letter". I said the car is under HP an dhe said " he can still take it" ( I have paid 2 years out of a 5 year pyt on this car so far).
Unfortunately i was taking my daughter to school and couldnt turn back, my husband was there when they turned up and refused to let them take the car saying we have had nothing at all from them, they then called the police , who turned up and tried to deal with it calmly, in the end they lifted the car and went.
Am I wrong? can they do this if the car is under HP? and plus are we not suppose to recieve some letter from them in first instance to say that the fine has risen from £155 from the court to £168.13?( which we would have paid if received) then obviously if we ignored that then they could clamp and take it away. We've recieved nothing from this company and he said they dont need to send anything out - is this right?

[pin1onu]

You're right they can't take the car if it is on HP.

You need to fill out statuatory declarations.

I think this will be better handled in the bailiffs section as they have some really helpful posters there. I'll ask a mod to move it.

[Screw The Bailiff]

What was the debt? parking ticket? c-charge? Give amounts and name of the authority who instructed the bailiff we can advise further.

The bailiff cannot sell the car because the new owner becomes liable for the finance, and the finance co will probable go to the new RK's address with the keys and take it anyway. The new RK will want his money back from bailiff and bailiff comes back to you. its messy but remeber the bailiff cannot enforce the same debt twice.

Inform the finance company and they'll notify HPI and that stops a sale. Dont bother reporting it stolen to the polcie, they'll pass it of as a civil matter.

If you 100% certain the debt is invalid, then you can take out a rental car or buy a new car like-for-like at a dealership and you can charge the costs to the authority that instructed the bailiff inbcluding any cost of finance.

[jaylee15]

It was for a parking ticket (which we appealed in the first instance but was turned down). we would have acknowledged the £168.13, had the company (Task Enforcement Ltd?) snet a letter out , but they didnt, and the man I spoke to even said to me " we dont need to send a letter out".
They just clamped it this morning and asked for £548, which gave me 1hr after after first spotting the notice then came to take it away. I phoned the actual company and queried the HP and she couldnt give a straight answer just said i had to speak to this man, which i had done anyway! - then said " oh well the courts said we should take the car away"!!
I said where in writing did the courts say that? " Oh it was an email" she said, I told her, I want to see proof of that and I will be sending in a letter of complaint. Do I have a leg to stand on??

[Screw The Bailiff]

Task enforcement? Last I remember they are committing an offence under Section 39(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for trading in debt recovery without a Category E Consumer Credit License. Check their credentials, and if you find an irregularity then file a complaint of criminal activity to the local police by writing to them using this template.

I cant advise on how to get your car back, I can only suggest speaking to a soilicitor or someone more informed than me on car ownership, finance agreements and liabilities therein.

I do know you can ask the certificating court via a Form 4 complaint for your financial losses if your car is sold at a disproportionately low price than you would otherwise have attained at an auction e.g. Ebay.

If you have access to a credit card then pay the bailiff whatever he wants and get your car back and get a breakdown of fees. Report back here and we'll sort out the fees and we can screw the bailiff! The last laugh will be on him.

[jaylee15]

Thank you very much for your reply.
The only bit I'm scared of is I just dont have £548 to pay them and I dont have a credit card.

i will find out their credential though. The company sound very dodgy. I can pay the £168.13, which is what they should be charging but they didnt even send me any correspondance before hand, they just clamped the car and towed the car away.

[Carriep]

Hi,

I work for a BBC1 consumer affairs programme called "Don't Get Done, Get Dom", in which presenter Dominic Littlewood attempts to resolve issues that have arisen between consumers and companies.

Having read your story, we would be extremely keen to hear from you to see if there is anything we might be able to do to help.

If you would like to talk to us, please get in touch at:

robertgee@flametv.co.uk
0207 713 6868

Thanks very much,

Robert Gershinson
Don’t Get Done, Get Dom (BBC1)

[Screw The Bailiff]

Do you know the breakdown of fees? You may need to go down the Form 4 route to recover your car because the bailiffs have acted unreasonably by taking it and giving you no time to pay. You can ask the court for its return and ask the bailiff for your losses to be paid out of his bailiff bond. Its also within the courts remit to award you compensation. Never be hasty with a Form 4, have ducks in a row before shooting and this isn't going to yield results overnight.

[jaylee15]

Thanks again for that. He only relayed the fees over the phone and made sure he told that I can pay by credit/debit card but not cheque and that I am subject to a card fee when paying by card.
I will call the company again and ask for a breakdown of these charges, I have a feeling they will ask me to provide that in writing , which will stall things no doubt.
I wasn't aware of asking the court for return of the vehicle, is this something to do before filling in the Form 4?
I'm sorry about the questions, I just feel so helpless especially as they have physically taken my car away, i feel so powerless

[PizzaMaker]

Any bailiff company should send you a letter which is at a cost of £11.20 plus VAT. The letter should state you owe £168.16.

The bailiff is wrong to say "they do not need to send you a letter".

They have probably charged £46.54 for a 1st visit then £120 ATR, £120 Van fee and then £30 for the clamp.

[Screw The Bailiff]

Originally Posted by jaylee15

Thanks again for that. He only relayed the fees over the phone and made sure he told that I can pay by credit/debit card but not cheque and that I am subject to a card fee when paying by card.

The bailiff has already stuck his foot in it. The law doesnt provide for bailiffs to charge fees that are not prescribed. Any bailiff charging a non-prescribed fee is committing fraud - I know its only £1 but the law doesn't set minimums when determining a fraud. Don't tell the bailiff you know this, it'll only raise their awareness you are seeking advice.

Originally Posted by jaylee15

I will call the company again and ask for a breakdown of these charges,

NEVER phone the bailiff, If you know how much you have been overcharged then write to them using this template. If you dont know the figures then use this procedure to get a breakdown of fees.

Originally Posted by jaylee15

I have a feeling they will ask me to provide that in writing , which will stall things no doubt.
I wasn't aware of asking the court for return of the vehicle, is this something to do before filling in the Form 4?,

If you are very sure the bailiff has behaved unreasonably and you need your car back then here's what you can do.

Originally Posted by jaylee15

I'm sorry about the questions, I just feel so helpless especially as they have physically taken my car away, i feel so powerless

[tomtubby]

Jaylee.

These fees do not sound right.

In the first instance, could you please send me the name of the actual bailiff by PRIVATE MESSAGE only so that I can check our database to ensure that the bailiff is certificated. If he is not, then he would be committing a trespass under Section 78(7) of the Road Traffic Act.

The next point to be aware of is that there was a Court hearing against Drakes Group just last week and the Judge made it very clear indeed that a bailiff MUST knock at the door first to request payment and must NOT clamp or immobilise a car first.

The Judge went as far as to say that if the Drakes solicitor and Director had taken the oath, then they would now be looking at PERJURY charges being brought against them.

If this was not enough he said that Drakes Group would appear to be training their bailiffs to "rip off" members of the public in their own homes.

He ordered the Bailiff's certificate to be removed from the bailiff and money awarded to the claimant to cover her costs.

Once I have checked the bailiff's certificate for you, I can advise further.

One final point. There was another County Court action against another Drakes bailiff the week before the above case that arose because the bailiff had been trying to enforce a Warrant of Execution for an unpaid parking ticket when the warrant had expired. He was ordered to pay a substantial amount of money from his bailiff bond to the claimant.

I would therefore suggest that you contact the TEC on 08457 045 007 and get details of the date of the warrant and to check that the address was correct.

[jaylee15]

Thanks everyone for this, I am finding today whether or they are licensed, then I will take it from there, they have done so many things wrong, i am fuming. He qouted me £548 on the phone yesterday but after taking the car he left his paper with my husband and the charge was for £601!!.

He was repeatedly told the car was under HP, by me on the phone and my husband when he turned up at my house but he said " Dosnt matter I can take it and it will be sold off under auction".
My husband at first refused to let them take it saying was under HP but they called police and the police were of no use what so ever, they dont know the laws and just kept saying they would arrest my husband if kept standing in the way of them taking the car! - in the end my husband gave in and filmed them taking and said he will take it further, I am so angry. This company seem to be a law unto themselves

[Screw The Bailiff]

Originally Posted by tomtubby

If this was not enough he said that Drakes Group would appear to be training their bailiffs to "rip off" members of the public in their own homes.

Judges have known this for a long time, there was an article on this very subject in the Law Gazette not long ago when Lord Lucas kicked off about it. Drakes sets the charging policy and its the bailiff's neck on the line & his bailiff bond pays.

Drakes have every motive to defraud so its important when a judge makes a finding of fact against a bailiff for overcharging. a report is sent to the police (template). The bailiff and the directors of his firm can be made criminally liable for benefitting from a gain originating from a fraudulent money transfer, assisting an offender and receiving proceeds originating from a crime.

[tomtubby]

Jaylee

I cannot tell you the number of times that our office have queries from the public conerning their cars being taken by bailiffs when on Hire Purchase. This is NOT ALLOWED. The compny know it, the bailiff knows it. In addition I have just put the phone down from a finance company who have had many of their vehicles which are subject to hire purcahse being removed and they of course refuse point blank to allow the vehicle to be sold.

I have sent you a PM.

PS: The bailiff is certificated, but there are others problems.....

[Screw The Bailiff]

If the car is subject to finance then it means...

1. The vehicles does not belong to the debtor, which means
2. it's an invalid levy, which means
2. the owner can take the finance document to a police station and
3. report it stolen, and
4. ask the police to attend the bailiff's address and recover the car

Take a copy of the finance agreement and proof the final payment has not been made.

All costs and expenses are charged to the authority that issued the original penalty. NEVER charge it to the bailiffs. The bailiff acted for the authority and therefore the authority is liable.

The bailiff did not give the debtor reasonable time to pay. Enough to put a bailiff in front of the judge with a Form 4.

Keep us informed.

[jaylee15]

Screw the baliffs - thanks for that.
You've spurred me into action!! - I've found that this man is registered - , however, he has acted wrongly.
I intend on sending a letter to his company to complain first of all, and yes I will go to the police to report my car stolen.
Just a question though, I havnt yet rang the finance company, i'm not sure whether to see if I can resolve the problem( with the complaint letter and going to the police) or should will carry more weight to let the finance company get onto them?

[tomtubby]

Just one small tip.

One client of ours has had a huge problem with their finance company who have stated that she is in breach of the terms of her agreemen