This is an ongoing file, basically concerning my unwillingness to pay three Penalty Charge Notices issued by Blackpool Council.
This is a lengthy post, feel free to flick back to Big Brother Live if it bores you.
A brief history
As some of us are aware thanks to Neil Herron's campaign at
www.thepeoplesnocampaign.co.uk, many Penalty Charge Notices across the country should be invalid due to unlawful and incorrect wording. Plenty of court cases are in progress around the country at the moment.
I'm a simple man and not a lawyer but I do have a strong sense of right and wrong. I do my best to work hard and bring my kids up in the best way that I can.
From my point of view, if a council wants to 'fine' me £30 for overstaying for a few minutes in a parking bay they have two responsibilities.
1) That they do so in a lawful and correct manner
2) That they ensure that collection of the monies due is done so in a fair and reasonable manner
On point one Blackpool Council are in the wrong and need to be brought to task, along with many other councils in the UK that have implemented Decriminalised Parking Enforcement.
On point two they are so far off the mark they all deserve the sack.
Phoenix Commercial Collections
This firm of certificated bailiffs, like many others, accept files from councils for the collection of unpaid Penalty Charge Notices and unpaid Council Tax.
The council do not pay them anything for taking on these files, Phoenix take the files on for free.
Phoenix make their money from the charges they add on.
Many bailiffs that turn up at your door are not employed by the bailiff firm, they are self-employed and on a 40% commission on the added charges they collect.
Call me a cynic if you like, but surely this system is ripe for exploitation.
Phoenix want me to now pay almost £1200.00 for these outstanding PCN's. By letter they have made varied threats such as the removal of my goods for sale by public auction, the removal of my vehicle etc etc.
It's strange but there is always someone in at my house through the day, it is never empty. Through the day my wife is always in, then the kids from school, then me. None of us have ever witnessed the visit of a bailiff from Phoenix Commercial Collections nor the arrival of a van to take goods.
Recently I sent a letter requesting all the information about me that they have on file and details of all the charges they have made against me.
Their reply makes interesting reading and I would appreciate some input from others on this forum.
"You have stated that you consider the fees imposed as extortionate. We maintain that we have applied fees in accordance with the statutory fee scale under The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Order 1993 (SI 1993 No. 2073 (L.1
, as amended. This includes a letter fee, attendance fees and other 'reasonable' charges in relation to the execution. You should note that each fee for every action undertaken is applied per warrant not per visit as per the schedule of fees.
The dates of the actions and the fees imposed (inc VAT) are as follows:
24/11/2005 PCN #1 Letter £13.16 x 1 £13.16
14/12/2005 PCN #2 Letter £13.16 x 1 £13.16
27/01/2005 PCN #3 Letter £13.16 x 1 £13.16
16/03/2006 Visit £35.58 x 3 £106.74
30/03/2006 Visit £47.29 x 3 £141.87
12/06/2006 Visit £62.85 x 3 £188.55
In addition, on the 10 May 2006, the reasonable costs of attending to remove where a removal did not take place were added to each warrant. the reasonable fee (inclusive of VAT) charged by the company is £144. This was added to each case (ie. £432).
You should be aware that the regulations provide that each warrant maintains each fee regardless of how many other warrants are executed at the same time. This means that the more warrants you have outstanding the higher the real cost of each visit. You will also note that the visit fee itself increases for each subsequent visit. this is as the Regulations set out the fee scale and is not an interpretation by the company.
However, in respect of the fees imposed and having reviewed the situation, I am prepared, subject to your agreement to settle the outstanding warrants, to reduce the 'attending to remove where a removal does not take place' fee to a single fee of £144, reducing the total by £288.
We do not hold copies of notices left at your address as these are entered onto the system and maintained as computer records only. this is in line with our commitment to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment."
Rest assured people that I have as much inclination to pay this firm a penny as I have to become a Jehovah's Witness and thus fund the burgeoning coffers of the Bible & Tract Society of New York, inc.
I digress, thats another scam that I shall come back to at a later date...
£437.16 for visits that we swear never happened and they by their own admission they cannot substantiate?
£432 for sending a van that never was? hmmmm... I wonder?
Another Bailiff Firm on the make 
