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.
Apologies if this is in the wrong place, please feel free to move it, I see a lot on recouping Bank Fees but not much on recouping from Baliffs etc, so here goes!! I was directed here from another forum only a couple of days ago and have been avidly reading as much as I can ever since, great forum guys thanks to whoever set it up and maintains it.
Brief synopsis, I split up with my ex around 3 years ago and she left me with a ton of debt and other problems, stupidly I had let her take out loans, credit cards, catalogues etc etc in my name as she could not get credit, needless to say when she left she left all the problems and debt with me.
Anyway, things move on I paid some and did deals with others as best I could, and in March last year I unexpectedly get a call from Philips bailiffs (Darlington) acting on behalf of the Local Authority, they said I owed them around £1604.36 for unpaid Council Tax which had been unpaid by my ex when she lived with me. I of course argued etc etc but the top and bottom was it was easier to find me and make me pay rather than try and find her! So in a panic I ended up having to pay them £620.56 there and then and agree a payment plan of £200/month to pay the rest, even though it was not my debt, but I was told it was joint and severable??
However, before the bailiff had left my house, the debt had suddenly risen to £2103.35 with their fees. So I started to pay monthly, got behind a little but always informed them when I would pay and how much, nothing left to chance, then in September last year I was in Ukraine and I got a phone call on my mobile to say Philips had been back to my home, had clamped my car and would not release it as I was a few days late in making a payment, so in their eyes I was in default!! I told them on the phone I had recently sent them some money (£200) but they said it arrived late, so would not listen.
The day I got home I had to arrange for them to come and see me, (no option with car clamped that I needed to get to work) again I ended up paying another £300+, and again the debt rose once more by another £300 - £400, this was added on to the overall balance. So each time I paid the monthly £200 I was in effect just paying more lumps of their extortionate fees.
Site which shows quite clearly what bailiffs CHARGES FOR COUNCIL TAX/POLL TAX should be, as an example it states:
First Visit £22.50 - I was charged £160.00
Levy Fee £22.50 - I was charged £139.00
Walking Possession Fee £11.00 - I was charged £200.00
and so on, in fact I think over the time period this went on I was probably charged close to £1000.00 in charges, fees etc by them!
What I want to know is and sorry for taking so long to get to the questions,
1.has anyone successfully reclaimed Baliffs fees?
2.has anyone tackled Philips before on something like this?
3.what is my best course of action, I thought I would write first asking for all documentation held by them on me under Section 7 of the DPA, what do you think?
Thanks for everyones help in advance. This is the first of a number of claims I want to start, but the others seem fairly straight forward compared to this one.
Let me know how it goes and if you want owt Just PM me.
Good luck!
Tyger
Thanks Tyger....I think? mine may be a little different as it was bailiffs working on behalf of the LA...who would have provided all the relevant documentation for the case.
I believe they have overcharged me fees in a big way and it is those that I want to recoup. As it is bailiffs rather than a normal DCA I hesitate before doing anything or until I can get someones opinion from here or their personal experiences.
2.has anyone tackled Philips before on something like this?
No, but they're all as bad as each other.
3.what is my best course of action, I thought I would write first asking for all documentation held by them on me under Section 7 of the DPA, what do you think?
Yes that's the first step. Ask them also to provide you with a Breakdown of their costs.
When you get the information in response to your S7 request, you can go through it and see where the charges have been applied.
Check these threads, there's some others here chasing bailiffs for their money back.
I was told by a bailiff today that he charges 75p per mile petrol and £35 per hour.
Well Lueeze....I don't know a lot about what they can and cannot charge apart from what I got from the National Debtline site above, but 75p/mile seems excessive and I am pretty sure it is a lot higher than standard HM Revenue & Customs guidelines for authorised mileage allowances are, unless of course he drives Bentley!!
I was told by a bailiff today that he charges 75p per mile petrol and £35 per hour.
Just checked rates and it says the first 10,000 miles per year 40p/mile over 10,000 25p/mile that is assuming they are self employed and the rates are what they reclaim from their company.
There are different charges depending what they are after collecting - there's a scale of charges for parking fines, Council tax, rent etc. bailiffs can't charge more than the fixed scale of charges.
There's no scale of fees for bailiffs charges for collecting fines in the Magistrates Court but the Courts themselves are supposed to coem up with a scale of fees proportionate to fine they are collecting.
There are different charges depending what they are after collecting - there's a scale of charges for parking fines, Council tax, rent etc. bailiffs can't charge more than the fixed scale of charges.
There's no scale of fees for bailiffs charges for collecting fines in the Magistrates Court but the Courts themselves are supposed to coem up with a scale of fees proportionate to fine they are collecting.
Something else I have found which is very interesting:-
bailiffs CHARGES
You may be able to complain about bailiffs charges. The amounts they are allowed to charge for council tax and poll tax are set out in the schedule on page 5. The amounts they are allowed to charge for council tax are set out on the next page in the schedule. There are lower fees for poll tax collection. These are shown in italics. If you feel you have been charged too much you can complain in writing to the Council and the bailiffs. You may be able to ask the county court to look at the charges for you see below. Phone us for advice.
You can find out what is ‘reasonable’ by making enquiries on a local basis. For example, if you have been charged £80 for attendance with a van, and local enquires indicate you could hire a van for a morning for £40 this is clearly unreasonable, especially as it is likely that bailiffs will be visiting several properties at once, and many companies own their own vans.
In the first instance, complain to the bailiffs themselves. You can tell them you know their charges are excessive and that you will be taking further action if the charges are not reduced to the levels shown in the schedule.
* You can then complain to the council as the bailiffs are acting as agents of the Council. There have been recent cases that have been taken back in front of the Magistrates Court over these issues, with the result that the councils have been forbidden to take any further recovery action, or in other words, the debt has been written off. So it IS worth complaining.
* You can apply to the County Court for the costs to be checked. This is called "Taxation". The court can look at a complaint within 12 months. They will decide if the charges are excessive or not. There is a fee to pay to the court for this application. If the court decides not reduce the bill at least 20% you can be liable for the bailiffs firm’s court costs. You need legal advice first.
USEFUL LINKS
The Secretary
Association of Civil Enforcement Agencies
Kensington House
33 Imperial Square
Cheltenam
Glos
Tel: 01242 241456
Website: www.acea.org.uk
The Secretary
Enforcement Services Association (ENSAS)
(formally The Certificated Bailiffs Association) Ridgefield House
14 John Dalton Street Manchester M2 6JR Tel: 0161 839 7225
Website: www.bailiffs.org.uk
Local Government Ombudsman (England)
Millbank Tower
Milbank
London SW1P 4QP
Advice Line: 0845 602 1983
Monday to Friday 9.00 am – 4.30 pm. Website: www.lgo.org.uk
* You can apply to the county court for the costs to be checked. This is called "Taxation". The court can look at a complaint within 12 months. They will decide if the charges are excessive or not. There is a fee to pay to the court for this application. If the court decides not reduce the bill at least 20% you can be liable for the bailiffs firm’s court costs. You need legal advice first.
This could be a useful tool as if you succeed in getting the charges reduced by the Court by more than 20%, the Court has to automatically refer it as a complaint against the bailiffs whereby their licence to operate will be under threat. The downside is if you don't get past the 20% mark it could end up costing you more than you bargained for as the bailiffs can recover their costs of attending the taxation hearing from you.
A preferable alternative is to use the small claims procedure.
This could be a useful tool as if you succeed in getting the charges reduced by the Court by more than 20%, the Court has to automatically refer it as a complaint against the bailiffs whereby their licence to operate will be under threat. The downside is if you don't get past the 20% mark it could end up costing you more than you bargained for as the bailiffs can recover their costs of attending the taxation hearing from you.
A preferable alternative is to use the small claims procedure.
Yes I agree, I am going to send them an S7 to start with and also ask for a comprehensive Breakdown of their fees and charges, and see what comes back.
But I wonder if you could act retrospectively under guidance of the statement above and therefore maybe get back everything you have paid since the first visit from the council?? Interesting!!! any comments? Maybe a talk with CAB or someone would help?
But I would be happy with just getting the exhorbitant fees back really as the Council Tax was owed but not by me unfortunately, by my ex!
Well done Chris a good start and lots of research !!
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If you are sent a private message directing you for advice or support with your issues to another website,this is your choice.Before you decide,consider the users here who have already offered help and support.Private message facilities are offered for users to communicate issues that are/or could be seen to be inappropriate for posting on the main forum.Site rules explain this in more detail.If you are approached by private message with a view to asking you to visit another website,please inform the site team via the report icon. Advice offered by Martin3030 is not supported by any legal training or qualification.Members are advised to use the services of fully insured legal professionals when needed. Donations help CAG to help YOU Click here
Apologies if I have missed this, but how do you determine whether the bailiff is certificated or not? I have a thread going about DH's traffic fines, which have now escalated to £751. They have also added £230 for van. We were out at the time and have no proof the bailiff came with a van.
Philips Bailiffs
(Darlington) acting on behalf of the Local Authority, they said I owed them around £1604.36 for unpaid Council Tax which had been unpaid by my ex when she lived with me. I of course argued etc etc but the top and bottom was it was easier to find me and make me pay rather than try and find her! So in a panic I ended up having to pay them £620.56 there and then and agree a payment plan of £200/month to pay the rest, even though it was not my debt, but I was told it was joint and severable??
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Originally Posted by Tygermoth
