Here is a thread where I received invaluable help from TT. She gave me good advice on the thread, then she asked another member to PM me with her email address. Her reply to my email was to ask for my telephone number, she called me and explained exactly what I needed to do. She gave me a telephone number for the person who could sort my problem out, his reaction, to hearing TT's name, was very impressive. He realised I had received good advice and knew that I was in the right. One week later my problem had been solved, I was even kept up to date on the progress of his investigations. As I've said before, TT you are a star!

Yes, but I do believe mentioning your name in the letters, phone calls and emails helped. When I mentioned you, on the phone, I heard an audible groan, that sounded like, "Oh No!, this bloke is getting good advice and won't be fobbed off!". Thanks again, you are a star!.

Sarah, I don't know who the Contract Manager for South Yorkshire is, but this is the email address for the gentleman I contacted, [email protected], I think he is just for the North East. I suggest you contact him and ask for the email address you need. Good luck and don't give in.

I'm eagerly awaiting the next edition of Private Eye, I bet some of the quotes from this thread will be used in their 'From The Message Boards' feature. I've already read posts that could be from Family_Man or Emily.

I've just had a telephone call from the Contract Manager to tell me that he has instructed Philips to return the account to the court marked as paid. He also assured me that the only further correspondence I should receive from Philips would be confirmation that this account is closed. Thanks again tomtubby.

tomtubby has just helped me draft a superb letter of complaint that I have sent to the appropriate Contract Manager. Thanks Sheila you are a star. I'll keep you all posted on what happens next.

I've just received this by email from the court: Obviously Philips have not sent the transcript of the call where I did offer to pay the £100 that I accept I owe. When I last called the Community Legal Advice Team they merely suggested I contact the court. I've written a letter of complaint to Philips, I've spoken to the Community Legal Advice Team and I've asked the court itself for help, what do I do now? I have letters from Philips that prove they added fees to the account before the time limit they had set, surely they can't get away with this.

If the message was meant for me, I haven't received it.

I phoned Newcastle Magistrates court yesterday and explained what had happened. I then emailed them copies of the letters I have, that demonstrate why I dispute the extra fees Philips have added. They phoned me back, in about twenty minutes, and told me they had contacted Philips and put a two week hold on the case, until Philips can explain the extra charges. Guess I've just got to wait and see what happens next.

North East England, Newcastle actually. Thanks for any help you can give me.

I've just received a letter from Philips, here in an excerpt: If I disagree that the fees mentioned should ever have been added to my account, and have written to them detailing my objections, what do I do now?

Why are we advised not to sign a S.A.R.?

I've no need to look elsewhere, I have received superb advice and guidance from the contributors on here. However, my problem was not one where I was trying to avoid paying monies that I owed. You have admitted that you borrowed this money and are now trying to wriggle out of your obligation to repay it.

I read this reply as a notification email this morning, but couldn't access this site, guess it was all locked up to keep the bailiffs out. So, I telephoned the Ministry of Justice and asked them for the telephone number of the person I needed to speak to. The person I spoke to didn't know what I was on about, but made sure he found out. He contacted HMCS[sic?] and got me the number. I called this number and explained my problem, the lady I spoke to gave me an address to write a complaint to at Philips, and said this was the best first course of action. So, I wrote the following: Cheers for the last bit BURP I've just got wait and see what happens now.

This thread has totally amazed me! I thought the idea of these forums was to help people who had been overcharged, underpaid, harassed or generally abused by companies or organisations. In my opinion the only advice to give to anyone who makes a statement such as: Would be, "Glad they've caught you, now pay your debts!".

Thanks for the advice and the link BURP. I'll send the form away tomorrow, I'll post on here when something happens.

Well, Philips must have decided to try and get some more money out of me, by this strange method. They seem to have ignored the simple rules of mathematics, the 1st of September plus 7 days is the 8th of September, the 10th if you consider only working days. And, they have tried to levy the charge for a visit that, even they claim, hadn't even happened yet. There must be some way I can just make them stop, no one could possibly agree with them, that I should pay.

My problem isn't with the size of the fees, although they do seem a bit steep. My problem is that they shouldn't have charged them at all. If I'm given 7 days from the 1st September and try to pay it on 5th of September it shouldn't have gone up at all. Especially as they now claim that the extra £100 was for a bailiffs' visit that isn't supposed to have happened until the 9th of September. It would be funny if it wasn't so annoying.

The original sum was for a fine I forgot to pay and Philips costs, £100 in total. I've paid that money, but Philips are still trying to get me to pay the fictional extra costs as detailed in my original post.

Thanks for that, I might just give it a try. I can't believe they think they can get away with what they have attempted. I've sent them 12 emails asking for them to explain how the amount I owed, and had 7 days to pay, could increase in only 4 days. And, for a visit that hadn't even taken place, and which never did as far as I know.

I had a £50 fine to pay and forgot about it, just before I went on holiday I got a final reminder from Newcastle Magistrates court and forgot about it again. When I returned from holiday I had a letter from Philips demanding payment of the fine and another £50 for their fees. "Okay, my mistake, I'll pay the £100 and put it down to my stupidity", I thought. The letter was dated 01/09/2008 and stated that I had 7 days to pay the £100. I phoned Philips on 05/09/2008 to pay them by debit card and was told that the amount I owed had risen to £200. When I asked why, they said that the extra £100 was for a bailiffs visit. I argued that no visit had taken place, but the person I spoke to wouldn't listen. I then phoned Newcastle Magistrates court and explained this to them. They agreed to me paying the fine and the original Philips charges at £25/month. I emailed Philips with this information and received a reply confirming this arrangement, but insiting that I owed them £200. On 08/09/2008 I received another letter from Philips dated 05/09/2008 demanding £200. When I emailed Philips again, asking for an explanation of the extra £100, they replied stating that I still owed them £200 because there had been a visit from a bailiff on 09/09/2008. In short: 1st September - They said I had 7 days to pay £100 5th Sptember - I now owed them an extra £100 for a bailiff's visit that would take place on 9th September I paid the first intallement of £25 on 3rd October. Further email exchanges with Philips made no progress in establishing how they could increase their charges as they had. I decided to pay the remaining £75 of the amount that I agreed I owed, and did so on 23rd October. Today I have received a letter, posted by hand, demanding a further £150! Can they do this? Can they enforce payment of a debt that obviously does not exist? Any advice greatly appreciated.