PCN in dispute, bailiffs clamped my car! HELP

[essexbird]

hi
i have a PCN in dispute from last year, i never received the original parking ticket on my car and knew nothing about it until the notice to owner came thro the post.
i appealed to Northampton court for a stat dec and won. the council claim they re-sent my NTO at the reduced rate, which i never received and subsequent default letters-again i never received. i asked them to prove they had been sent and prove i had received them.
the reply was it wasn't up to them to do that.

anyway today i woke to find my car with a nice clamp and a letter pushed thro the door stating that if i didn't pay by 10am they would be taking my car, i spoke to the bailiff who was a complete twit. he said if i didn't pay, the car would be auctioned today and that any shortfall on the debt would be collected from possessions in my home.

my problem is i never received any notifications from the council or the bailiffs regarding this and it came as one hell of a shock. my solicitor has said i would do better to pay up and fight it out in court after, but then if i wasn't able to pay i would lose my car-which i will never see again- even if i win my case the car will be long gone so i am in a no win situation.
the bailiff kindly gave me until tomorrow morning to find the money which is why my car is still on my driveway.

are they allowed to clamp on my private property without informing me?
are they allowed to seize my possessions without informing me?
Northampton court said i have a good case for appeal regarding the parking ticket but that doesn't stop them taking my car in the first instance.

i have just filled another stat dec regarding out of time for the letters i didn't receive yet the council will not call the bailiffs off until they receive the declaration back from court-about 2 weeks- and in the meantime my car will have been sold at auction.

this is a no win situation and stinks to high heaven. the bailiffs tried to scare me on the phone by saying he could take whatever he wanted from my home, and that it didn't matter who it belonged to they would take it

also the warrant of execution to remove goods that was shoved thro my door at 5am had the '24hrs notice' of intended removal part scribbled out and 'today' written above it. can they do this?
i have until tomorrow morning to try and get my facts straight before they get here.
all help gratefully received

[essexbird]

p.s. the original council ticket is £120. plus £411.00 bailiff charges i will be asking for a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) and if i pay to keep my car will i be admitting liability for the debt or can i get away with scrawling on the receipt that i do not accept liability and only paid to prevent further distress?

[essexbird]

pps.
i never saw any documentation or identification from the bailiff as he came at 5am when i was still asleep.

[PizzaMaker]

Out of interest what company is it?

They can clamp on your drive way.

[essexbird]

the company is
equita certified bailifs.

another q?
if i go to the council or pay via the automated system the PCN charge will this prevent the bailiffs asking for money as i dont want to give them jack sh**

[PizzaMaker]

So its equita.

Ok, when was their first visit and their second visit. If you have a seizure notice, could you possible give a breakdown of what it says.

What council was the PCN at?

You could try and pay it direct to the Council and you would have to pay £125. They may still ask you to pay the charges.

Have they still left the clamp on your car?

Get your stat dec to Northampton NOW! It only takes 24hrs to go through. Is the car on finance?

[rambo]

I keep having the problem with two london councils. It's a bloody nightmare!.

[i_spam]

you need to contact the tec who will order the council to back off and also will undo any bailiff action. you are looking at approx 3-12 weeks before you recieve a reply. Have you got any sort of legal cover on your car policy ? As you may be able to get assistance from them !!!

[TheRealAvengers]

If you have filed another stat dec, they cannot sell the vehicle or take further action till your case is re looked at by Northampton.

If they refute your reasons, then you will be given another opportunity to have the matter heard with an N244 which you will receive with the notice from Northampton and information about your stat dec.

Information is here - TEC

Your solicitor is correct in that it is advisable if you need your vehicle back, to pay and then fight back for a refund on any over charges or to dispute the process.

Yes they can seize property on private land.
Yes the warrant does give them the right to seize goods to pay the debt, however they should follow protocol and send you a first letter and at least attempt to make contact via visits.

The letter is charged at £11.20, the first visit and second visit are also chargeable, however if you believe none of these happened, then you can file under Section 7 of the Data act for a full breakdown and information about fees.

If anything is in dispute for fees visits charges etc, and the Section 7 highlights this, you can file against them with Money Claim online which is a simple process and costs £35.

It will not proceed to court if you have not followed the process of gaining the Section 7 and outlining your issues and request for monies to be returned before filing.