thank you both for your help, guess who my solicitor uses to collect the debts for their clients??? yes you guessed it sherforce!! Do you know if there are any standard letters i can use as a template as i am terrible at writing letters especially legal letters. thanks again for your support.

update my solicitor has got no where with sherforce and now the creditor's solicitor has requested sherforce to esculate the dispute with me about my none payment of the fees by coming and seizing goods for the fees owed by me, my solicitor has now advised i pay the amount outstanding which 2 days ago was £699.56 according to sherforce who again phoned me and told me i had to pay by 11.30am that day which i could not. Today I was advised by my solicitor to pay it and take them to court, a felt suicidal I managed to beg, steel and borrow the money and have just phoned them through gritted teeth only to be told the amount i owe is now over £900.00 becaused i did not pay 2 days ago. I have paid it i am so digusted with myself that i had to give in but my business was at stake as i have been took so far to the edge that i was going to put my company into receivership because of them and why should i, i have worked so hard for the last 4 years. I have asked for a detailed breakdown of their fees so will now wait for that and i will somehow take them to court for it they are not getting away with it.

Update seen solicitor today. In brief told me to contact the company we originally had the debt with and ask them to negociate with sherforce on the fees i owe them he said we would have to pay some of the fees at some stage. I Rang the company and was put intouch with their solicitor I tried to appeal to his better nature but he turned out to be very very unhelpful told me that if he contacted sherforce then he would be liable to pay them and that the fees in question are my fees and not their fees i said the he was sherforce's client and not me directly surely the fees are not mine he then point blankly refused more discussion with me. Made contact with my solicitor and explained and he has now said that i need to negociate with sherforce personally in this matter but in his opinion i would not get anywhere in the negociations and he thought that the sherforce fees may by now would have risen to near on £1000 in a week???? The solicitor has now offered to write a letter explaining that i am willing to pay approx £200 of the fees in full and final settlement. I do not know what to do now as i am worried solicitor will not get anywhere and the time taken to sort this out will encurr more charges from sherforce along with solicitors fees. have a look at this i found lord chancellors - fees chargeable by enforcement officers - scroll down to shedule 3 http://http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20040400.htm How are these people allowed to get away with what they do to us surely there should be governing bodies to prevent extortion by these collection companies after all i am governed by trading standards why are they not???

Thank you for your time in getting back to me there was at least no phone call yesterday from them so maybe they are not going to chase me but will not hold my breathe on that one still expecting them to walk in at anytime how can you run a business living on a knife edge. I am seeing a solicitor tomorrow just to clarify exactly where i stand as i did not realise i could have a 30min free consultation with them. So will keep you posted on the outcome of that. thanks again to you both

long story but will keep it brief. - I am a limited company got into trouble lately with owing a supplier gone now to a visit from Sherforce Enforcement officer called to premises last wed @ 17.00. Did not show ID but had a print off of paper work he said he had a notice of siezure. He gave me the paperwork and said that i owed the following- £866.75 judgement order £147.00 judgement costs £6.16 at the rate of 8% per annum £101.75 costs of execution £691.42 charges of the authorised high court inforcement officer total £1813.08 I was agast to say the least i addmitted to the court costs and the original debt but their charges not. Told him i could not make immediate payment there and then he said he would have to make an invetory list but as it was now 5.30pm it was getting late and as we had hundreds of small priced items this would take to long so he wrote down the handbags, gifts etc got me to sign it and said to ring him tomorrow with payment and not to get intouch with their main office as he would negociate with them for me. The next day we made contact with him as we were frighted for our livleyhood and we proposed that we could make a £500.00 payment to them this week and then £500.00 the week after etc. The next thing we new was the sherforce were on the phone every day twice a day demanding that this be paid in full or further expences be put in place and that they would come and seize the goods. I was so distressed i did not know who to turn to and could not afford a solicitor so i phoned my local business link who put me in touch with the national business debt line. Their advice was to try and make payment to the company direct which we did yesterday having beg stealed and borrowed from family members we paid the company we owed in full including all court costs which has now left the £691.42 left that Sherforce demand. Yesterday afternoon i had a phone call from sherforce demanding payment yet again and i explained that i had paid the company direct and that they were happy with out come and that i had a fax proving payment from them. They were furious started shouting on the phone and said i was to have paid them the full money and had no right to have paid the company direct. they then said they were sending someone out to seize the goods. i was terrified i don't know what to do now as i am frightened as to what powers they have for their fees i believe that the advice i was given was that they are governed only to charge 10% of the actual debt and not £691.42 they have charged me. I would appreciate any help in this matter and what i can do now thank you in advance.