Help, bailiffs clamped work vehicle

[Frantic23]

We got a call at 7.30 to say my husband's work vehicle has been clamped. We had put in an official complaint last week, so shouldn't the case be put on hold? We were disputing the excessive charges. Should we pay to remove clamp and contest later? We can't actually afford to pay what they are demanding.

Also can they clamp a work vehicle? It is on HP and my husband owes more than 1/3 to Volkeswagon still.

Help!!

[Saffronflowers]

Is it your husbands company is he self employed?

[Saffronflowers]

I am sure that they cannot take the car if it is on HP or needed for self-emplyed business. However, it is up to you to prove this to them - will try and find some hard facts for you

SFx

[Saffronflowers]

Right - they cannot take any goods that are rented, hired or on hire purchase - phone them and tell them that you will either email or scan the credit agreement, they CANNOT charge you for the removal of the clamp. Also you need to find out why they are continuing persuing this when the account is in dispute.

SFx

[Recycler]

Originally Posted by Frantic23

We got a call at 7.30 to say my husband's work vehicle has been clamped. We had put in an official complaint last week, so shouldn't the case be put on hold? We were disputing the excessive charges. Should we pay to remove clamp and contest later? We can't actually afford to pay what they are demanding.

Case should be on hold if complaint in progress

did the bailiff call on you prior to clamping the vehicle - ie provide an opportunity to pay without incurring the extra fees?

Originally Posted by Frantic23

Also can they clamp a work vehicle? It is on HP and my husband owes more than 1/3 to Volkeswagon still.

Help!!

should be exempt as required by husband for business use "personally"
+ husband doesn't own the vehicle - the HP co does untill fully settled.

[Frantic23]

Hi there,

They say they can clamp the vehicle but aren't charging for it. They just want us to pay the (inflated) amount owed. I've just spoken to the borough liaison officer who is going to call them. He told me they can't put a clamp on a work vehicle - my husband is self employed & his clients will go mad if he doesn't turn up in time.

The borough will hopefully call back soon - the bailiffs aren't budging from their position.

Thanks for the early post, this is horrible.

[Saffronflowers]

NO they cant- this is harresment, can you get someone to take a photo of it as proof of harresment, and write down every word or if poss record the phone call.

SFx

[Frantic23]

Thanks, will go & take a photo now. They were obviously searching around as it's parked 2 streets away!

[powelll]

Doesn't matter if they have charged you to clamp it or not! Cheeky b******s - they CANNOT clamp a vehicle on HP it belongs to the HP company. What part of not belonging to you do they not understand??

[Recycler]

have you seen the bailiffs yet? are they in a van with cameras on each corner?

Do you have a named individual & have you checked whether they are certificated? 0207 210 0516 HMCS Bailiff Register



don't post bailiffs names on here!

[Frantic23]

My husband just got a call from Equita, they want him to pay up or they are leaving the area. Just spoke to Borough liaison officer who says not to pay as the breakdown of costs, therefore final sum owed hasn't been confirmed yet. Lets hope they don't set the final amounts at something unreasonable as we can't afford to pay! If they have added on costs that we don't agree with, would we have to pay then contest later or should we stick with it?

[Frantic23]

No, I haven't been outside yet and my husband hasn't spotted one. He's actually had to get the bus to work as his client will go mad if he doesn't turn up. He's got no tools though...

[Saffronflowers]

You have a perfect case of harresment here. Also loss of earnings but we will go through that when this bit is over. Remember when it comes to the charges - they are set they cannot make them up and in all honesty the council should at this point pull it back to them so no fees are chargeable.

SFx

[Frantic23]

Just taken photos, no sign of van. Contacting TEC to find out when warrants were issued....

Underneath the sign posted onto the van window there was a letter in a plastic envelope, should I open that or just leave everything as is?

[Saffronflowers]

Open it - will be interesting reading

SFx

[Frantic23]

Ok! I have got an appointment I can't cancel so will read it on the way. Hopefully nothing scary happens while I'm gone!

[Frantic23]

Latest movement is that I went to the van to get the letter attached (which says we owe £575) and the clamp had been removed! At least husband can get tools to work now. Hopefully the rest of this can get sorted out...

[Frantic23]

And by end of afternoon borough had negotiated that I pay £223.39 for the first PCN (as they sent someone out today) and the original amount (£163.16) for the second PCN.

The borough are instructing Equita to send me a letter stating these are the full and final amounts owing before we pay them and that they put the cases on hold for two weeks to give us a chance to pay.

I still object to the fact that we have to pay for the call out today since we had sent an official letter of complaint before hand so the matter should have been put on hold - can I claim the difference back? Also, as my husband couldn't use his work vehicle until 12.30pm (he was meant to leave for a job at 8.00am), can I look at recovering work costs?

I don't want to push it too far as I'm just pleased we have got the costs back to their original amounts!

[The Watcher]

Originally Posted by Frantic23

I don't want to push it too far as I'm just pleased we have got the costs back to their original amounts!

Push it as far as possible - it's the bailiff firms that is guilty of illegal harrassment - not you !