Bailiff Fees

[jn3231]

Hi

I have made a payment to Newlyns regarding council tax with Haringey.

The council tax arrears were cleared before the end of the last financial year but I continued to receive letters etc for an outstanding debt of £295. After several phone calls in which they referred to this debt as outstanding council tax I eventually got a letter breaking down the amount to £95 court fees and £200 bailiff charges.

Having read other threads I realise I've been a bit stupid paying this in full. Is there any way I can reclaim any portion of the £200 fees?

Thanks in advance.

[kermit2482]

Originally Posted by jn3231

Hi

I have made a payment to Newlyns regarding council tax with Haringey.

The council tax arrears were cleared before the end of the last financial year but I continued to receive letters etc for an outstanding debt of £295. After several phone calls in which they referred to this debt as outstanding council tax I eventually got a letter breaking down the amount to £95 court fees and £200 bailiff charges.

Having read other threads I realise I've been a bit stupid paying this in full. Is there any way I can reclaim any portion of the £200 fees?

Thanks in advance.

Why do you think you can just automaticly claim back the fees???
If the bailiff made the necessary calls and did everything by the book then these fees seem quite reasonable, First visit second visit then van call from a bailiff would equate to these figures on a pcn ( im asssuming thats what it was due to the £95 court fees )

But now we will probably hear the same old story of well i didn't get any letters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! About parth of the course!!

[tonycee]

Originally Posted by jn3231

I eventually got a letter breaking down the amount to £95 court fees and £200 bailiff charges.

Exactly what does it state the charges are for.

Did you sign a Walking Possession Order at any stage?.

Originally Posted by kermit2482

Why do you think you can just automatically claim back the fees??

Because like nearly every other post that is made about a bailiff, the fees have probably been applied fraudulantly.

[robin9342]

Kermit, you obviously did not read the first post correctly. The OP has asked about council tax, not a PCN.

Based on the information given so far, you cannot make a judgement about whether these fees are reasonable or not.

jn3231, did you ever let the bailiff into your home and was a Walking Posession Agreement ever signed? If not, the maximum fees the bailiff can charge are £24.50 for a first visit plus £18.00 for a second visit.

[tomtubby]

Kermit.

Not your usual response.....a little snappy tonight !!!! Possibly a tough week.

Before considering whether there has been any overcharging you need to know where any overcharging has taken place.

What is clear is that it IS NOT for the bailiff co to collect court fees. That is because the court fee is already ADDED to the debt BEFORE the local authority has sent the debt to the bailiff.

I would suggest calling the LA on Monday to confirm the amount of the debt passed to the bailiff. As for the remainder of the fees...as kermit has said these may well be correct but it all depends on whether there was a walking possession or how many visits were made.

The query would be the court costs.

[jn3231]

Thanks for the replies.

We signed nothing. We had one note saying that a bailiff had visited but that's all.

I paid the council tax arrears directly to the council and my account shows that nothing is owing.

Will get the figures from the council on Monday as suggested and then update.

[kermit2482]

Originally Posted by robin9342

Kermit, you obviously did not read the first post correctly. The OP has asked about council tax, not a PCN.

Based on the information given so far, you cannot make a judgement about whether these fees are reasonable or not.

jn3231, did you ever let the bailiff into your home and was a Walking Posession Agreement ever signed? If not, the maximum fees the bailiff can charge are £24.50 for a first visit plus £18.00 for a second visit.

Fair point thanks for pointing that out

[jn3231]

AAARGGGH!

Having paid the outsanding £299 in full, Newlyns are now saying that an additional £100 has been incurred (bailiff visit) because the money took 5 days to arrive in their account (I paid by BACS) and that an additional bailiff visit will take place tomorrow.

I asked for a breakdown of these fees but they refused. They also refused to provide any evidence of the earlier visit, saying that a letter must have been placed 'in the vacinity'.

This has the potential to go round in circles with another £100 being added on each time - any advice please?

[tonycee]

Originally Posted by jn3231

This has the potential to go round in circles with another £100 being added on each time - any advice please?

YES...Tell them to, shall we say, GO AWAY..

There is absolutely no legislation, anywhere, that permits them to make these, or any charges, above £24.50 & £18.00 ( Total £42.50 ).

Stop paying them anything, and send this letter .They have to provide a breakdown of charges by law.

When they have incriminated themselves by putting their fraudulent charges in writing, you can then claim them back, while making a complaint about them.

REMEMBER.....Let them, and they will rob you blind.

[jn3231]

Thanks tonycee, have sent the letter off today by recorded delivery with a cheque. Will wait to see what the response is.....

[jn3231]

Update - I've now received a response from Newlyns and the final fee has been miraculously withdrawn.

It shows the following charges:
1st visit - 24.50
2nd visit - 18.00
Levy fee - 52.00
Enforcement (attendance/van) fee - 105

The final two charges refer to a van visit, a comment 'Levied' and the registration details of a car which isn't mine.

As I've not signed a walking possession order is there any way I can claim back the 157.00?

Thanks in advance.

[robin9342]

You need to write to the bailiff demanding a refund of the levy fee and the van fee as they are invalid. Give them 7 days, then submit a Form4 bailiff complaint to the court.

[jn3231]

Originally Posted by robin9342

You need to write to the bailiff demanding a refund of the levy fee and the van fee as they are invalid. Give them 7 days, then submit a Form4 bailiff complaint to the court.

Thanks robin9342 - is there a form of wording I should use for this?

[robin9342]

How To Complain To The Court About A Certificated Bailiff.

I think this link covers it.