Hello all.

Just to give you some back story and my problem.

I was taken to court for a driving offence at the end of 2009,

I was finally charged early 2011.

I was given legal aid for the case and therefoer the solicitors costs were covered,

in early 2013 I was contacted by rossendales to say that and had not told them that I was married

and they were going to review my case to see if I need to pay any extra,

I contacted the solicitor who dealt with the case and they wrote to rossendales to confirm they are incorrect and I did state I was married,

I then didn't hear anything from rossendales until now,

this morning I received a letter from them stating that due to me having £30,000 equity in my property

(which is in joint names with my wife) that I now need to pay them over £3,400 an need to pay this within 28 days of the letter.

I rang them and informed I do not have this sort of money and that the house is in joint names therefore

I do not have £30,000 equity as any equity would be split between myself and my wife at a 50/50 split.

They said that as it is owned with my wife that this was not the case as we are financially jointly liable.

After looking online I found that it goes on the value of your home when the application was made which was some time ago,

how would I prove what the property was worth at the time, non of the houses on my street have sold in the last 9 years.

Where do I stand? What can I do? Are they correct in what they are saying?

Thank you in advance for your helpful advise

Have you contacted the solicitor again?

Hi Dandilion112

Welcome to CAG

Your thread has been moved to the correct forum.

Have you contacted the solicitor again?

No as they are not open today.

tell rossers to go away off.

they are acting as a DCA here

and chasing a supposed gov't debt.

NEVER EVER EVER speak on the phone

and never ever pay them or any DCA for a supposed Gov't debt

if there IS an issue deal with the legal aid system directly

you are being HAD.

dx

tell rossers to go away

Thank you dx

I'm a bit worried that they will put a charging order on the property as the letter states.

They cant. Unless they go to court and win. Rossendales are known liers. Both their DCA and baliff arms think they can do as they please.

total crap they cant do anything of the sort for a supposed gov't debt.

bet they didn't tell you they'd poss need a CCJ FIRST mind?

the ONLY PEOPLE that could go legal on this in the legal aid system [ the owner]

IMHO you need to TOTALLY IGNORE the rossers.

they have you over a barrel cause you been on the phone to them I bet!!

oh and READ THE LETTER PROPERLY

it does NOT say WILL anywhere

dx

What do you think my next step should be then, should I not worry about this letter and get in touch with my solicitor or not do anything.

You dont need a solicitor. They are doing what every other DCA does and theyre issuing threatograms.

If you need to do anything will be down to rossers clients.

who is listed as they client, who are they writing on behalf of?

dx

Morning all ,

Quick inquiry , do Rossendales like Marstons make their threat o grams look like they are acting as bailiffs /hceos , hoping to fool people ?

From what I can remeber it does not state they are acting on behalf of anyone,

it does have the legal aid header on it.

It states that the bailiffs could be enforced or they could go for a charging order on the property.

It my be scaremongering but it works. I'm worried about it.

Morning all ,

Quick inquiry , do Rossendales like Marstons make their threat o grams look like they are acting as bailiffs /hceos , hoping to fool people ?

yup. although they are very careful not to say they are acting as bailiffs. They use every other phrase except that.

Scan, edit out personal info and post the letter up as a pdf. I bet it says might, if could, may etc etc. Not will.

**you can post up images/letters by this method immediately..you don't need 10 posts**

.

set your default scan page size to A4 less than 300DPI [150 will do]

scan the required letters/agreements/sheets - as a picture[jpg] file

don't forget you can use a mobile phone or a digital camera too!!

'

BUT......

ENSURE: remove all pers info inc. barcodes etc

but leave all monetary figures and dates.

.

************************* ************************* *******

{DO NOT USE A BIRO OR PEN OR USE SEE THRU TAPE OR LABELS]

************************* ************************* ***********

.

DO IT IN MSPAINT.EXE or any photo editing program

goto one of the many free online pdf converter websites ...

http://freejpgtopdf.com/

http://www.convert-jpg-to-pdf.net/

..

if you have multiple scans/pics

put them in a word doc FIRST and convert that to PDF

or http://www.freepdfconvert.com/

or

use www.pdfmerge.com

convert existing PC files to PDF [office has an installable print to PDF option]

..

it would be better to upload a multipage pdf if

you have many images too rather than many single pdfs

.

or if you have PDF as an installed printer drive use that

or use word and save as pdf

try and logically name your file so people know what it is.

though dont use full bank names or CAG in the title

i'e Default notice DD-mm-yyyy TSB

.

open a new msg box here

hit go advanced below the msg box

hit manage attachments below that box

hit the add files button on the top right

hit select files, navigate to your file on your pc

hit upload files

...

YOU DONT have to put a link to the attachment in the msg box..just upload it ..job done

.

dx

it would only ever been handed to bailiffs if you had been taken to court,.

and lost

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/59506.article

My scanner has stopped working and also can't post links yet as not posted enough.

Unfortunately cant scan in but have typed it out:-

The letter has ' Legal Aid Agency' at top left of letter, top right it Says Rossendales (and the PO Box address)

25th March 2014

Dear Mr XXXXXX

CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION ORDER

You applied for criminal legal aid and because you were convicted in the Crown Court you must pay a capital contribution tothe cost of your defence. This is in addition to any amount you have previously been ordered to pay.

The amount of your Capital Contribution Order is £3406.54

As a result of this capital contribution order being made the amount you must pay has increased. This is known as your current balance and must be paid by 22/4/2014 which is 28 days from the date of this order was made

How is this broken down?

Income contribution order £1980.00

Payments made to date £2145.00

Final Defence Cost £5386.54

Disposable capital £12573.00

Capital Contribution order £3406.54

Enforcement costs £0.00

Current Balance £3240.94

Your current balance is the sum of your income and capital contribution orders plus any enforcement costs or other fees incurred minus and payments made to date. Your total contribution wil not exceeds your Final Defence Cost, plus any enforcement costs or fees. Your capital contribution will not exceed the amount of your disposable capital.

The Current balance that you need to pay is £3240.94 which must be paid by 22 April 2014.

Why are you required to pay?

Because you have been convicted of an offence by the Crown Court (or you were acquitted and the

trial judge considers that there are exceptional reasons why you should pay), the Legal Services

Commission must calculate the cost of your defence . If this is more than any payment already

made the Legal Aid Agency must conduct an assessment of your capital. Where your total capital and equity exceeds £30,000, the Aid Agency must make a Capital Contribution Order requiring you to pay. If you have any unpaid payments under your income contribution order these must be paid.

How is your Capital Contribution Order calculated?

Capital Contribution orders are made where you final defence costs exceeds any amount due under an income contriution order and you have more thn £30,000 in capital. The calculation take all of your capital and equity and deducts £30,000. The remaining amount is know as your disposable capital. The order is made for the amount of your final defence cost minus the amount of your income contribution unless this amount exceeds your disposable capital, in which case the order is made for all of your disposable capital.

How has your capital been assessed?

The amount has been calculated in accordance with the regulations and is based on the capital and equity that you delcared on your application for criminal legal aid or has been found in the course of our investigation and any additional checks which have been undertaken to protect against fraud.

Equity in main property £42573.00

Capital (in equity or additional property) £0

Total capital and equity £4573

Disposable capital £12573.00

What if you dont pay?

If your payment is late or if you do not pay at all, the Legal Aid Agency will charge you

interest at a compound rate of 6% per year with yearly rests from the deadline for payment. Enforcement action to recover the debt and interest can also be taken against you

If enforcement action is taken, the costs incurred will be added to the amount you owe. The

enforcement options available include applying to a court:

- For a charging order to be secured against any property you may own

- For an order for sale of your property

- To visit your home to seize goods to the value of this Order

- For a third party debt order against any money you may have deposited in an account

- to deduct monies owed from your earnings

- for an order for your bankrupcy

What if you disagree with the calculations in this order?

If you want more details of what we have taken into account when calculating your capital contribution order or if you disagree with the amounts outstanding from an income contribution order you should put your request in writing to Rossendale and they will consider the matter further with the Legal Aid Agency. If you consider there has been a miscalculation of your capital or defence costs or if there has been an administrative error any application for review must be made within 28 days of this order or other such period agreed with us. If your capital circumstances have changed since you applied for legal aid you must notify and provide documentary evidence of the change in your capital including details of the date the change occurred. Unless you have reasonable excuse you must notify us of the change in your capital circumstance within 28 days of this order.

What to do if you think you would suffer financial hardship as a result of paying the capital contribution order?

If you believe that you would suffer financial hardship as a result of this order put the details in writing with any supporting evidence for the matter to be considered by the with the legal aid agency.

Ways to pay:-

Telephone/by post/Online

When I spoke with them yesterday they said that the equity in the property could be assessed at any time and as the property is now worth more than when I applied for legal aid back in early 2010 they stated they are now entitled to take more money. I asked why I had received a letter more than 2 years since the end of the case and 3 years since my application they asking for more money they said it was due to the the time it had taken them to process. They also said they didn't have to prove how the equity was calculated and that it didn't matter that the property was 50/50 shared with my wife.

Many thanks for reading.

To me, it looks like a typical threatogram. If may, might etc, with a hell of a lot of form stock filler. Designed purely to scare you into paying.

you don't need links

you don't need a scanner

use your mobile phone or a digi camera

need to see the letter please

dx

I have tried to attach photo images but I get a message saying ' to be able to post links or images your post count must be 10 or greater' the copy typed version I added is only missing the letter head and the 'how to pay' at the end. As soon as I can attach images I will upload them.

Many thanks for your help

Host it on photobucket or similar then post the link.

You can also convert it to PDF and post it up.

here in pdf

top right under the rossendales logo

what does it say in the small print

and the www site under the telephone number please