Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
in july 2007 i was parked in a road that borders westminster/camden boroughs,i was parked on the westminster side of the road with a camden parking permit (underneath the westminster sign it has another sign saying"and camden pa-k permits).So i'm damn sure i was legally parked..anyway usually thick traffic warden comes along and issues a ticket..
i rang westminster and they advised send back a letter and the visitors permit i had used which i did ..fast forward to january this year and a bayliffs letter arrives...i'm suprised as i thought it was dealt with..so i end up doing a statutory out of time declaration..which gets refused and the bayliffs are on my back again
so now i have to fill in a N244 form? i think which costs £75...do i have any redress against westminster for my time and money i have lost/going to lose fighting something which should have been nipped in the bud 2 years ago??
There's no means of recouping your costs unless you were to sue the council in a private action.
When you filed your statutory declaration, it was out of time and therefore, Westminster can decide whether they are willing to accept it. They don't have to. The N244 is a challenge to their decision to reject it and does not have wider implications (eg it does not challenge the pcn itself).
How good is your case for filing it out of time? Did you say on the stat dec that you did not receive the Order for Recovery? If so, were Westminster writing to the correct name and address? If they were, is there a reason why you might not have received their correspondence?
These matters will have a bearing on whether it's worth filing an N244.
my case for filing it out of time is pretty poor/i lost paper work. i work away from home so i'm not sure if a order for recovery was recieved at home although i did fill in a form to appeal to a independent tribunal..but heard nothing and as the ticket was inactive on westminster's system i thought it was in the process of being cancelled...as i had sent them my original parking permit proving i was legally parked
Sorry to say that from the info you have given here, I think it's a gamble going down the N244 route. It's a scandal that you are now faced with either paying £75 to proceed, or pay bailiffs and their fees, especially as it sounds like there was a procedural error on the way - you applied to the adjudicator for a hearing and were not given one.
What to do??
I'm not sure how much the bailiffs are chasing you for, but it's likely over £100 and could be much more than that.
If you do pay £75 and your N244 is successful, you will probably end up with a modest parking charge to pay, and on appeal might even get it cancelled down the line, but the £75 will be lost. The courts are often sympathetic with N244 applications as they tend to regard the Council's refusal to allow you the additional time as somewhat petty and even a waste of their valuable time. On the other hand, it's not the Council's fault that you were out of time (more's the pity).
I suppose your decision will be based on how strongly you feel about this and how much money the bailiffs are after. Do you have a figure for that?
It may be best to bite the bullet and pay - I know that's not what you want to hear. It's a sickener, but if a warrant has been issued then the bailiffs are legally entitled to collect on this, regardless of what happened with your original appeal.
They can and do turn up and clamp cars to force payment, and even tow them away to be sold. They could show up and do this to you, and charge you for the priviledge, and there's very little you can do to stop them, bar filing an N244.
The N244 route will cost £75, and even if successful will not cancel the original charge, which I guess is at least £60. You might eventually get it cancelled through the appeals route, but then again you might not.
It's make your mind up time I guess. Sorry I can't suggest something better for you.
westminster cowboys
form? i think which costs £75...do i have any redress against westminster for my time and money i have lost/going to lose fighting something which should have been nipped in the bud 2 years ago??
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