No, he hasnt given me a date.

Can a bailiff working on behalf of a magistrates court with regards to a fine get a locksmith and the police? Just had one knocking on my door, saying he was going to get a locksmith and the police out. Then he said it was my "lucky day" as there was no locksmith available and so he would issue a warrant without bail for my arrest. Now i am classed as vulnerable under the national standards 2002 as i am disabled (its a physical disability) and also unemployed.

Aye PT, it would appear i have clamps on the mind today! DOH!

Obviously this has been on the news a couple of days ago. For those that dont know, the government are planning to ban clamping on private land (currently clampers have to be licensed). So how would that affect the already doomed bailiff industry, as private clamping would no longer be allowed, so that would mean bailiffs couldnt clamp any vehicles, full stop! Discuss hehehe

They cant use the walk in agreement for a different debt. Write and letter to them and send it via email and registered post explaining you have been away and come back to find your van clamped. Explain its a tool of your trade and that you have had no chance to inform them of this as you were unaware of the clamp until your return. I dont know if they will release the clamp or not, but they are supposed to! Also they are allowed to charge £24.50 and £18.00 for a first and second visit where no levy is made, but then i dont know where you stand if they made the levy on the third visit?

Was the letter for 6 weeks time from the actual court? If its asking for income/expenditure forms to be filled in then it sounds like its a means assessment hearing. This would mean they would look at your income and determine how much you should pay a week (the ones i have been to in the past have usually been sympathetic). But if your on benefits there is a prescribed ammount which they are allowed to take which i believe is lower than the £5 a week. The fines officer is just trying to scare you into paying the debt in advance. If there is nothing on the court letter stating about imprisonment i wouldnt worry about it.

I would also look at the first levy, as the car belonging to your brother in law, belongs to him, not the debtor, therefore the bailiff has no rights to it.

Forgot to say, the £42.50 is for 2 visits by the bailiffs, £24.50 first visit and £18.00 second visit. If they havent made any visits then dont pay this!

If you have the account number for the outstanding council tax i would pay it online to the council. I would also contact the council and confirm how much the liability order was for, then as i said, pay the council direct, but add £42.50 to the ammount to cover the legal bailiff fees, that way you never have to deal with the bailiff again. The council will say you have to pay the bailiff, but this is completed and utter codswallop and you can pay the council using their automated online payment systems

With reference to the chargeback, tell mastercard that the card holder was under duress by the payee or their representatives when the payment was made. I believe this is one of the rules.

First off stop panicking, i know its hard, but you have no need to. A bailiff cannot gain entry to your property unless he has previously had peacable entry, which basically means he cannot break in and take your stuff! Secondly i would find out the account number the council assigned to your debt and pay them directly online the ammount you can afford each month. That ammount goes direct to the council as when you pay the bailiffs they take their fees first. Eventually the bailiffs will pass the account back to the council as they are unable to collect on it. Then you can point out to the council that you are already paying an ammount monthly and they should set up a plan thats more realistic to you to keep to.

My mother had a cold call from Sky a month or so ago asking her if she wanted to protect her sky boxes (she has 3) with their repair insurance. Normally she wouldnt entertain these calls, however the previous week one of the sky boxes had died and she had had to replace it as it was well out of warranty. The other thing she liked about it was that it covered her tv's in the house for accidental damage. The bumpf she got through the post stated that she would get unlimited repairs/replacement for any accidental damage or breakdown of the item. So cue the 4th of July on her 50th birthday when we have all the family round and there are young children! One of the littler ones threw a ball at someone, missed that person and hit the telly, smashing the screen! Me mother rings the insurance company up and they duly collect the telly the next morning, however the letter she has recieved today has me quite concerned as it doesnt seem to add up with the previous bumpf. They have told her that she has to pay the rest of the premium up front before they replace the telly, and once the telly is replaced the insurance will be ended???????????? Now we have read through the small print, but this small print is on the same page as the bit that says she has unlimited repairs/replacement!! Now does this not seem right to others???

Its a bit iffy that one, but if you pay the council the £42.50 for the visits as well as the debt then there is no comeback and its dealt with.

A levy is made where they come to your property and take an inventory of items - the other part of is it is a walking possession order, but if they havent been in your house then the most you owe in charges is for the 2 visits (if they have made 2), but i would pay the council directly using their online system.

You can contact your local councillor. They are generally pretty good at getting through to these people and getting results. Failing that there is always the local government ombudsman, they should be able to help, however, you should always exhaust the complaints system of the council before going down this route.