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bladeboy

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Everything posted by bladeboy

  1. So, so typical of an industry out of control and that no one seems to care what they get up to. This is essentially fraud since all the bailiff has done here is to 'levy distress' and the fees for this are capped and subject to statute in the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts order as amended. The fee he can charge will be in the region of the Penalty Charge plus £28.00 and that's all.
  2. You were given good advice from the Debt Advisory Service. If you have no assets to speak of, Bankruptcy is a very good option for you and this legally halts all enforcement action by any unsecured creditor that's pursuing you. It also draws a line under all of the debt and you cane then move on. It will also halt the hassle from the High Court Enforcer. If you had your own home - that is to say you had a good junk of equity in it - then bankruptcy might not be the best option should you want to keep it but given your situation and providing you can front the debtor's petition fee then go for it. No stigma these days so don't worry there.
  3. Sorry, but re paragraph 1, this is WRONG!!!!! Bailiffs may ONLY enter 'peaceably' and with the 'permission' of the occupier. This permission may be implied - as in a front door being left open - but if the debtor finds a bailiff has just entered his hallway then it is perfectly lawful to ask the bailiff to leave and they must comply. Until the bailiff has actually started the process of compiling an inventory then they must leave. The case law in this matter is: Khazanchi v. Faircharm [1998] 2 All ER 901 and Snook v. Mannion [1982] Crim LR 601 The 'threshold move' in this case, under the circumstances you describe, is nothing more than a 'forced entry' and as such is trespass. Under the circumstances you could forcibly resist the baillif attempts to enter the property and focibly eject them using 'reasonable force'. Using 'forced entry' even goes against the National Standards forn Enforcement Agents. The case law for 'forcible resistance' is: [1968] 1 All ER 1154; (1880) 44 JP 781 & (1894) 58 JP 350. As is usually always the case, through ignorance more than anything, the attendance of the police in these cases is more hinderance than help. Officers at the scene will usually side with the bailiff and attempt to put pressure of the debtor to let the bailiff in. THIS IS WRONG. The role of the police is to 'prevent a breach of the peace' and not to assist in the recovery of civil debt. The aforementioned words are very important in wording your complaint to the police and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Here the police have assisted in an 'unlawful entry' since the bailiff does not have a power on entry per se. Complain to the police and the Bailiff Regulators. Copy the IPCC into the complaint to the police and make sure the local officers know you have done this. As far as I see it, unless the bailiff at the time was able to produce a part completed and accurate inventory to prove peaceable access have been obtained then it's difficult for them to actually claim that the entry was lawful.
  4. Have you paid the money and are seeking to recover it? If so, fire off a letter before action and, assuming they ignore it (they usually do) issue a claim through the small claims track in county court. I did this and, armed with the statute law, won my case and got a refund. The advantage of the small claims track is that your exposure to costs is very limited.
  5. As previously stated, there is NO POWER OF ENTRY for the bailiff and they know this! Given that they have limited powers they will bluff and misrepresent their powers. They will nearly 100% of the time inflate their fees like all bailiffs - just seems that no one seems to care that this is a widespread practice in the industry. Don't let them in.
  6. Indeed, on the basis of what I have read on here would just go the 'small claims' county court route and not be exposed to costs - apparently going the form 4 route can expose you to costs and it seems there is little to be gained from complaining there. I went the county court route with a bailiff firm and won.
  7. Complete crap, they have no power of entry and they know this hence the threat re the police. The police would only ever attend to prevent a breach of the peace and would not attend as a matter of course to assist a private bailiff recover a civil debt. In these cases, especially re parking fines, the usual bailiff tactic is to 'levy' or seize the car, which is usually outside the property and this is an easy way to enforce the debt. However, from what you say so far it does not appear that such a tactic is open to them here. Bailiffs powers are very limited and it appears that virtualy all firms train new recruits to bully, bluff and blatantly lie in order to circumvent the obstacles. Worse still, they will almost certainly have loaded the bill/debt with bogus and non-statutory fees such 'van fee' attendence fee' - well know tricks of the trade that are fraudulent in a criminal sense. OK, don't under any circumstances let them and complain to the council (issuing ticket) that the bailiff is completely misrepresenting their powers and abusing their authority.
  8. Bankcruptcy my arse! The creditors petition will cost them around £1,000 and then they lose control of the debt - it passes to the official receiver! Don't worry about that, they won't do it. It's all part of the bully boy tactics. All they want to do is to get you scared into borrowing off friends and family to pay them. ********s
  9. Every time I read about bailifs on here it is due to them either threatening to do what they can't legally do or overcharging! When is the governernment going to get a grip on this industry!! As the above poster has stated, there are very view circumstances under which a bailiff can force entry into a property. One of them is collection for Magistrates Court fines and the other is Inland Revenue Debts where a special warrant has been applied for.
  10. Can you confirm this was a parking fine? If so, you need to complete a Statutory Declaration. Get the form from the HMCS court website and fill it it in. It's in PDF format. You'll need all the details of the original contravention, PCN number, date, time and location. You'll also have to outline why you are unaware up to this point of the matter generally. Go to your local county court to get it 'sworn' for free or expect to pay £5.00 at a local solicitors office. Send the forms recorded delivery to the Northampton County Court - details are on the form itself. This will freeze all enforcement action and the bailiffs should be notified of this. If not, and they turn up, go outside to speak to them and tell them that you have completed and sent off a stat declaration. Don't sign anything and don't let them into your property. Their fees are bollocks, but we'll get to that later. PS: how many parking tickets, one?
  11. Don't be surprised if they reject that, come round to your property and either clamp any vehicle there or bang on the door threatening that they will force entry. This is an industry completely out of control and they just keep getting away with it. All firms see to routinely charge outside the scope of the relevant statutes. You may end up having to pay the amount charged and then pursue through the small claims court, as I did. By the way, I won! OK, for penalty charge notices the fees that can be recovered are governed by the 'Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Order' amended in 2003. A quick google search will outline a table with the exact fees but for sending a letter, the amount permitted is in the region of £11.20. This cannot increase until the first visit to 'levy distress' is made so for them to say that the amount 'has now gone up to...' is, frankly, complete bollocks and they will know this. However, the complete arrogance of the bailiff firms is disturbing and indicative of the fact that other than court action (which most people just won't bother with) they have absolutely nothing to worry about. In addition to the penalty charge you should have a letter fee of £11.20 and what they have done with this first visit is 'attend to levy distress when the levy is not made' - this carries a fee cap of £28.00 The 'visit fee' and 'attedance/removal fee' are complete bollocks. They are not mentioned in the statutes and are therefore cannot be charge for. VAT can ve charged on the lesser amouts that the statute permits. Let us know how to get on with that 'offer' and then we'll take it from there.
  12. Also, you MUST buy the book by Patricia Pearl advertsied at the top of this site Small Claims Procedure - a guide. It's a very good book and will prove to be an excellent reference for the whole process. I love it.
  13. Have you sent a formal 'letter before action' and actually written letter before action as a header for the letter? This should be a simple, bullet-pointed outline of the facts of the case and how much you should be refunded and how you have calculated that figure. The rules for this 'pre-action conduct' are outlined in ANNEX A of the Civil Procedure Rules. Point out to them them that they have 14 days to respond to your letter before action and that if they chose to ignore it they are contavening Paragraph 4 of ANNEX A of 'the rules'. What this means is that it gives the court discretion re costs since failure to respond to a letter before action can be deemed to be 'unresonable behaviour'. State that you'll be inviting the court to consider this. Wait 14 days, then bang the claim in. They'll either defend or pay up. You ok putting particulars of claim together?
  14. What Baloney! The assessment process can cost you dearly, or more than the small claims track, as there is no pressumption to 'no costs' on the assessment process. The only way you can be stung for costs in the small claims track is if the court/judge deems that you have acted unreasonably and in your case with properly compiled Particulars of Claim that simply won't apply. As High Court Enforcer knows, it's far more profitable to blag and make up fees and exploit debtor's lack of knowledge.
  15. OK Madam Thing to do now is write for a breakdown of the fees. The Enforcement Agents Code of Conduct says that they have to do this. Which firm is it? The fees that bailiffs can charge for collection activity of parking PCN's is goverened by the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts order which is a Statutory Instrument. You'll ind a link to the fees and charges here or via google. What you should have been charged is the penalty notice amount, plus a letter fee which is £11.20 and then a levy fee which should be no more than £28.00 or so. All that has taken place here is a 'levy'. After the fee breakdown comes back from the bailiff firm look at it and then take it apart by comparing it to the statue. Work out how much you have been over charged and invite them to refund. Might also be useful to indicate that you're minded to report them to the issuing Council. Chances are they will either ignore you, or fob you off. Next thing to do is a fomal 'letter before action' which must outline your case for claiming the overcharging. Best also to invest in the book by Patricia Pearl (link above) re the workings of the small claims court - this book is like the bible for the small claims court user. There's a section on pre-action conduct and if they ignore your letter before action it can be take to be 'unreasonable conduct' and lay them open to costs even though there is a presumption for 'no costs' in the small claims court. If they ignore that, then file a small claim via your local county court. As an 'individual' the case will be transfered to your local court and to initiate the 'action' it will costs no more than about £45.00 or so - you'll be able to claim that back. If you need help with the particulars of claim, post here. Hallowitch has posted some dynamite law here with the case involving the MARSTON GROUP. The Judge in that case has put some very good arguments together that states that clamping of a vehicle is still part of the 'levy' phase and on that basis it is subject to the 'fee cap' laid out in the Statutory Instrument. Be patient, it will all take time. Despite the ruling above bailiff's, from all firms, are still routinely overcharging in the knowledge that debtors will do very little about it 99.9% of the time. Makes it a right little national fraud racket if you ask me. The police don't care and in some cases act unlawfully to assist the bailiff. Stick to your guns and go get them!
  16. This won't change their practices at all. Bailiffs almost always overcharge and then refund when they have to. A solicitor friend of mine says he's never seen such an industry out of control and that for those that stand up to them and get refunded there are many, many more that don't. The bailiffs are onto a good thing, and they know it!
  17. Seriously, don't worry re this 'threat' of a Stat Demand. If they send it, chances are that it will be a second class post wonder which is not how they should be served. On the basis of what you have posted the Set Aside would be very easy and you'd get costs. 1st Credit Issued me with an SD, via second class post, and they didn't even turn up to the hearing! I got costs. SD's are a frightener, simple as that. The costs involved for the creditor are at least £1,000 and they lose control of the debt completely - all powers pass to the official receiver, who is, after all, a civil servant that wants to be paid first! And as for the previous post that read:" your car is an asset.." if it's a Bentley, yeah, other than that, it's unlikely that the Official Receiver will compel you to sell it. It's not like a bailiff situation, you have to be left with enough to live a normal life and this includes any home that you own unless there's equity in it that's substantial and you can usually make on offer for that anyway. Bankruptcy is not designed to be a punishment process! If you have no assets, you're laughing even more. It's all bluff with these guys, sleep sound buddy!
  18. I understand completely how you feel on this and it shows that the skill in advocacy is to be able to think on your feet and get your point across in as little time as is necessary. 'Applications' can also be tricky things too and Judges vary enormously! I made an application for 'Summary Judgment' against a bailiff firm whose solicitors submitted a hopeless defence to a claim I made. They responded to the application, outside the time limits, with a completely new defence, rather than an amended one and asked me if I wanted to adjourn? For what? I asked myself. The application was made on the basis of the first defence and they were out of time with the submission of the second completely new one! On the day, as in your case, the Judge opened with: "I haven't had time to go through this yet...." Needless to say, I wasn't filled with confidence at that point. The Judge criticised me for not asking for an adjournment even though I had pointed out that the very basis of the application was the first defence and that their new defence had been submitted out of time! "Well, they're entitled to amend their defence...." was the Judge's reply -well thanks very much! I asked for costs on the basis of it being out of time and the Judge again criticised me for not agreeing to an adjournment and asked the other side if they had a schedule of their costs prepared!! Luckily, they hadn't prepared any and when asked why not they said that they didn't think they'd get them awarded!? Judge said: "...well that doesn't help." Case was then referred to the 'small claims track', the Judge reserved the case to himself, after saying that he didn't usually do small claims and he further stated that he would decide on costs for the application later on - at least that gives me time to prepare and argument for that, when it arises! If I had submitted the allocation form before I had applied for summary judgment then the no costs rule would have applied to the application too - you live and learn! The book by Particia Pearl on small claims is an excellent read and well worth the money, it has loads of stuff on the CPT too.
  19. Scots Law is probably different from English but I would recommend Patricia Pearl's book on small claims procedure - it's fab. Could there be a Scottish equivalent?
  20. Had the same thing happen to me and two parking fines came to nearly £600. I am in the process of suing through the county court. Firstly, the person paying needs to 'action' a chargeback. The legislation for the scale of fees applied for the collection activity on parking fines is the: Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Order. There is a specific statutory instrument number for this and the charges are laid out there. 1. Letter fee usually £11.20 and then attendance to levy distress which is usually capped at £28.00. Bailiffs are aware of these fees so what they do is charge for 'van fee', 'attendance fee' and bump up the charges. They are not allowed to do this at the levy stage. The more clever ones will quote section 6 of the Stautory Intsrument where it says: attendance to remove where no goods are removed, reasonable cost and charges. What they are effectively doing here is bypassing the levy stage to increase their fees. There is a case in the Central London County Court (Case number: 8CL51015. Anthony Culligan v Jason Simkin/Marston Group) where the judge ruled that even applying a clamp and calling a recovery wagon was still only effectively the 'levy stage'. He ordered that the claimaint be refunded what he had overpayed and that if MARSTON GROUP continued with the practice then it would be unlawful. I take it all they have done in this case is hand over two letters? They can't even argue any removal costs then! This is typical Bailiff Industry out of control tactics. What they are doing is basically fraud but they get away with it because they exploit the lack of knowledge on the part of those they're chasing. Also, no one seems to care much about the industry. OK, to do. Action chargeback Write again requesting fees Send letter before action outlining what should have been charged according to the fees laid out in the Statutory Instrument. Highlight the difference between what you have paid and what should have been paid. State that you are fully conversant with the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Order and that either they are not, or, they think that you are not. Head with LETTER BEFORE ACTION. No response then fill in a claim form for the county court and put your 'Particulars of Claim' together. The fee should be no more than £45 or so. As it's a small claim you cannot in any normal circumstances get costs awarded against you. Don't be intimidated. I had their solicitors writing to me claiming that they were going for costs and all sorts; it's all part of the bullyinh process. Keep us all posted.
  21. Yes indeed, good site. The way the industry as a whole carries on beggars belief. About time that there were serious sanctions for overcharging and bullying conduct. They usually make charges up as they go along and know that 99% of time they get away with because people don't have the knowledege/resouces to challenge.
  22. If it's for a parking fine then the fees are covered by the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Order. If you google the aforementioned you'll get the actual act and section required as well as the table of fees. However, there should be various threads on here that give case histories and fees etc. The fees they are allowed to charge are set out in there and they are specific and non negotiable. First off, write and ask for a specific break down of the fees. Then, send' letter before action' if you've been charged above and beyond the scope of the 'order' which you almost certainly will have been. Put particulars of claim together (ask on here for advice re particulars, also refered to as POC) and issue via your local county court. Fee should be £45.00 or so. Due to being on small claims track you won't have to account for the other sides costs so don't be intimidated along those lines if they try it on. Also, if appropriate, make a 'form 4' complaint about the bailiff. This form is available on the HMCS website and can be downloaded as a PDF file which you fill in. Here you will asking the court that issued the bailiff with their certificate to consider removing it. If memory serves me correctly, you have the right to attend the hearing. The grounds for the removal, from your point of view, would be the blatant overcharging of fees over and above the scope of the Stautory Instrument. The fees are the cornerstone of bailiff work so for them to claim that they 'didn't know' would be very weak as a defence. Similarly, write to the council/parking authority that the bailiff firm is acting for and inform them that their 'agents' whose conduct they are resonsible for are profiteering on their back. Ask them to reconsider using the firm. Sock it to them!
  23. Sorry, forgot, can you provide a 'link' to the caselaw that you mention? Or tell me where we can find the material. Many thanks again.
  24. Thnak you so, so much. Have fired a letter off to the DLA agency today informing them that we'll be contesting their decision. Will start compiling and keeping a diary. Thanks again.
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