Hello. My 23yr old daughter has received a letter from collectica bailiffs saying they intend to visit to collect the money she owes, if not the money then goods. The letter says we will be liable for locksmiths fees etc. the 1st letter dated 29/8/14 says £1325, she arranged a weekly payment but forgot to pay it, the letter received today says £1225. When she phoned them today she was told they will take mine and my husbands property and we will have to apply to the court to get them back. I've done abit of research and I don't think they can take our things, she had not received a notice of enforcement. I gave managed to get the money together and they are coming back tomorrow for it I need to know I'm paying the right people the right amount. Any advice please? The original fine was from magistrates court for £945 and she hadn't paid any of it since receiving it in June 2014 ( arrrggghhhh!!) Thankyou

Can you give some background to this please? original credit, history with them and how its come to be with a bailiff?

STAY OFF the phone!

The bailiffs CANNOT get locksmiths, and the CANNOT take anyone elses property.

DO NOT let them in, and get onto the court and try and set up a payment schedule, court fines must be paid without fail, if you can pay them direct

then that will be preferable, bailiffs will always lie deceive and intimidate those who are uneducated in what powers they really do have.

To levy goods, they first need to gain ''peaceful entry'' and they can ONLY do this if you invite them into your property, which you're NOT going to do.

As for Locksmiths, that is a classic lie, and unless the warrant expressly states they are allowed to force entry, then laugh at their puerile threats.

Can you give some background to this please? original credit, history with them and how its come to be with a bailiff?

Court Fine I believe Renegade??

Can you give some background to this please? original credit, history with them and how its come to be with a bailiff?

Original fine was £945 and because she hasn't paid any of it its now with the bailiffs. I just don't want to give someone £1225 who has his info on his iPad. There's no mention of the bailiffs fees or anything. Don't want any hassle and would rather pay it than it going on forever but wondered if I could take the money to the court and pay it. I'm trying to get out of paying it for her but need to know its all legal and proper. The only history with the bailiffs is that she arranged to pay £76 a week but didn't, that was 2 weeks ago, they say she now had yo pay in full and not by installments.

Thanks for advice everyone.

Is the defaulter working or on benefits please? Are there any vulnerable people within the household? Does the defaulter own a car if so move it to a safe place so the cannot take control of the goods, "levy" in old words

Working, no vulnerable people and no car or assets to take from her. All of the household possessions belong to my husband and I. Bailiff told me yesterday he'd bring his iPad so I could see and take screenshots of the documentation. I am going to ask for his ID, breakdown of charges and the court order authorising them to collect the money, and receipt if all ok. Is that about right?

Fees will be £75 compliance - to send the notice of enforcement. And £235 for the visit. They dont have to carry a copy of the warrant but they do have the details either on an ipad or an a4 piece of paper. As for id, yeah you would be right in asking for that. Company id and bailiff certificate.

As for paying the court, they automatically give the money to collectica so that would be pointless. The payment is split between the fees and debt itself, so until the full balance is paid there is always a balance outstanding to the fine

But he still cannot have YOUR goods away for her debt, evwn if he says he will take them and demand interpleader, as in you pay a fee and the value of the goods into court.

Did I read somewhere there is a machine (like a cashpoint) in the court that you can pay on? Thus avoiding having to deal with the bailiff.

Original fine was £945 and because she hasn't paid any of it its now with the bailiffs. I just don't want to give someone £1225 who has his info on his iPad. There's no mention of the bailiffs fees or anything. Don't want any hassle and would rather pay it than it going on forever but wondered if I could take the money to the court and pay it. I'm trying to get out of paying it for her but need to know its all legal and proper. The only history with the bailiffs is that she arranged to pay £76 a week but didn't, that was 2 weeks ago, they say she now had yo pay in full and not by installments.

Thanks for advice everyone.

Your daughter has a court fine for £945 which she failed to pay. As soon as the account is passed by the court to the bailiff company then they are legally entitled to charge a Compliance Fee of £75. If payment is made or a payment arrangement agreed within the 'compliance stage' (the date of which would have been outlined in the Notice of Enforcement) then the only fees will be the £75.

If payment is not made or a default in a payment arrangement occurs then the debt is passed to an individual bailiff to make a personal visit to the property and he can legally charge a 'one off' Enforcement fee of £235. The legal basis for charging these fees to court fine accounts is outlined in Schedule 13 of the Tribunal Courts & Enforcement Act (that came into effect on 6th April 2014).

Under the new regulations, all payments made (whether to the bailiff or to the local authority or court) are 'split' on a 'pro rata' basis with the Compliance Fee of £75 being first deducted. The actual pro rata rate is slightly complicated but for ease of reference, is split 75% towards paying the court fine and 25% to the bailiff company for their fees.

Since 6th April (when the new bailiff regulations took effect) most HMCS courts are now forwarding all payments made to them over to the enforcement company so that they can allocate the payment correctly.

Did I read somewhere there is a machine (like a cashpoint) in the court that you can pay on? Thus avoiding having to deal with the bailiff.

Correct. This is called an HMCS 'Drop Box' which is located in the foyer of most larger Magistrate Courts.

Given the 'pro rata' distribution of payments made as outlined in the new regulations, it is the case that since 6th April debtors can no longer avoid paying bailiffs fees if they make payment to the creditor (local authority or HM Courts) in person or on-line.

Also, the new regulations specifically provide that from any payments made (no matter how small) those payment must first be allocated towards paying the Compliance Fee of £75 to the bailiff company.

Making payments direct to the creditor are sadly costing debtors a lot of money.

For instance, debtors receiving a Notice of Enforcement in the post are searching on the internet for 'advice' and frequently come across websites with connections to the Freeman on the Land (or other similar 'movements) and are being told to ignore paying the bailiff company by either making payment to the local authority or HM Court either in person or on line.

The websites are deceiving the debtor by failing to advise them that all payments made are now split on a pro rata basis and most importantly, that making payments to the council or court will typically take between 5-7 days to appear on the account and by the time that the council or court have advised the bailiff company of the payment the 'Compliance Stage' has passed and the account referred to an individual bailiff for the purpose of making an making a personal visit which adds a further £235 to the debt !!!