Hi there I had been bullied for 2 years at work and was off sick twice within this period with long term sickness due to stress and depression. In the end, with the help of a solicitor we negotiated a settlement agreement which included a payout and a reference. I left my last organisation in December 2013. I have just found out that an ex-colleague of mine doing the same job as me in the same team working for the same manager as the one who bullied me (we were both managed by her as we were in her team) is leaving to go to a new job. This colleague of mine has had an unpleasant time since I was last physically in the office (July 2013 and I never returned). He to has been bullied with exactly the same issues as me, driip feed criticism, intimidating emails, etc, etc. He made a compliant to her line manager (the director) and she denied it when confronted. It frustrates me that she is still getting away with the same behaviours, especially when her manager has known all along that she did the same to me and had to agree the settlement agreement. My question is, whilst i know that I am legally bound not to discuss the settlement agreement that i made with them, am I able to act as a witness for him to state that she bullied me, without compromising my agreement? Does the settlement agreement restrict me from stating that she also bullied me if he should wish to make a complaint. Your advice would be much appreciated, as whilst my ex-colleague has gotten away with it, I feel that this woman will continue to make people ill and stressed unless she is challenged over her behaviours. Many thanks in advance!

Hi there, I have a personal injury claim currently underway at the moment. The third party insurer has admitted liability and I have had an appointment with a 'medical expert'. My solicitors have sent me a copy of the medical report, the contents of which I am satisfied with. At the same time they have placed a valuation on the claim, They have also sent me a form to sign with three different options: Option 1: Agreement with the contents of the report and wish to settle claim on the basis of this report and authorising the solicitors to settle my claim between their valuation figures as FULL & FINAL Option 2: Disagreement with the content of the report Option 3: Agreement with report but settlement is delayed pending prognosis period, etc... My question is how can they ask me to settle my claim based on their settlement figures and sign to this effect until we have had an offer from the TP insurers? What happens if the figure I am offered is higher than their valuation figures? I'm not happy with signing anything until I have had an offer from the TP insurer. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi there, A few weeks ago I was hit from behind by another driver. He was driving a company vehicle. After taking down his details, I rang his company and reported the accident to their fleet manager as well as informing them that their driver was using a mobile phone at the time of the accident. Their fleet manager arranged to get an accident report from the driver in question and then arranged for their insurers (Zurich) to set up a claim and arrange the repairs to my vehicle and provide a courtesy car for me to use whilst mine was in the garage. It was within 2 weeks of the accident that the car was taken in for repairs, so pretty quickly. I also sustained whiplash and this has set off another occurrence of TMJ (Temporomadibular Joint Pain) Disorder that I suffer from. Apart from my neck feeling very sore and stiff to move, I am suffering from referred pain down the right side of my face (headaches, ear pain, teeth, jaw pain, eyes) etc which can be very difficult to deal with. As a result of this I spoke to Zurich about a PI claim which they said they would look to settle. They immediately arranged for a medical examination by their medical examiners and have instructed a rehabitation company to assist with recovery. I also naturally informed my own insurers of the accident. My dilemma is do I use my legal cover I have on my own insurance / or through my union to instruct PI solicitors or do I deal with Zurich directly and try to settle the claim with them. My inclination is that it would be quicker dealing with Zurich directly, but I want to be assured that I get the best possible result for myself. However, what I don't want is for solicitors/claim assessors to drag it out for their own benefit. Has anyone got any view on the best course of action - dealing with the TP insurers who have acted pretty swifly thus far or appointing a solicitor through my legal covers? Many thanks

Hi there, This morning I had a visit from a bailiff from JBW Group who had clamped my car parked on private property. I had not had any previous visits from them and they had not previously levied the goods (car) via a signed walking possession order. As he clamped the car without this would this be classed as illegal as it is an abandoned levy? What he did provide me with was a notice of seizure of goods & inventory. I explained to him that my circumstances were classed as vulnerable and that I could put a payment plan in place. He informed me that he would have to speak to his manager. Meanwhile I went inside and printed out some documents to prove my vulnerability. I went outside to give him these documents and discussed a payment plan. I was prepared to offer £50 per month (given that I am currently not working). He laughed and stated he would be able to accept £50 per week, and there is no way I can afford that. Amazingly however, he did agree to remove the clamp!?!?!? However, he did stated that the case would still be live and he wouldn't be sure when the next visit would be, could be later today, tomorrow, but I got the impression maybe not him (would he be passing it over to another bailiff?) - perhaps he was concerned about the whole vulnerability aspect? Immediately after he went I phoned their office at 8am and explained the situation and emailed a letter over to them explaining my circumstances of the vulnerability (suffering from stress and depression for 2 years and now being classed as disabled due to this having had to have my employment terminated in Dec 2013 as a direct result). I also sent letters to TfL (Head of Contracted Services & also their Director for Congestion Charging & Traffic Enforcement Directorate for whom I managed to get the name of the Director). I sent these by secure recorded & signed deliver and guaranteed next day delivery. I also copied the letter I sent to JBW to TfL as well as sending the letter to JBW in hard copy. Within both letters I included all my evidence as proof of situation. The fees listed on the Notice of Siezure of Goods& Inventory are listed as: PCN & Court Costs £202 Sending a letter £11.20 Levy/attendance to levy £57 (I have had no previous visit from them, so I am confused about this) Other £175 (what does this mean?) VAT £48.64 TOTAL £493.84 Later today at 3pm and 8.30pm I received 2 further knocks, this time I had parked the car away from the house and did not answer. Is it possible that they would revisit my property another 2 times today? Any general advice on the situation gratefully received and advice on fees would be good. Also, the continued visit are making me very stressed and adding to my general state of ill-health. Thanks for you help in advance!

Hi there, I received a notice of siezure of good and inventory and the bailiff had carried out a walking possession and levied my vehicle and states payment within 5 days. It is with reference Council Tax arrears of £435. With regard to the fees, they have added a £64.00 statutory levy fee and enforcement costs of £115. I'm a bit confused about these costs. The bailiff in question has not visted previously nor gained access to our property. I was under the belief that a first visit was £24.50 and second visit £18.00, but having spoken to the bailiffs (outsourced to another council with in-house bailffs) they say that it was a statutory levy fee of £38 (but it states £64). Can someone advise as to the legality of these costs. I have tried to contact the bailiff without any success to set up a genuine payment plan, but I ony have a mobile number and it consistently goes to voicemail, I have also left a message and sent a text message asking for contact. So I am concerned about not being able to set up payment plan as I really cannot afford to pay it in one go.I have also spoken to the council who would accept a payment for the arrears of £435. If I paid this, then am I correct in stating that there is no longer any debt to enforce? However, I would still need to dispute their fees, based on any advice i get from the forum here. Just for point of reference, i also believe that both my husband and i would be classed as vulnerable under the National Standards for Enforcement Agents and I have written to the bailiffs to inform them of this. My husband is currently unemployed and I am diagnosed with severe stress and depression (have been on mediation for the last year) and I was off sick from work for the last 5 months of last year (2012).Any advice you can provide would be most appreciated.

Hi there,I was off work for 5 months with stress and severe depression. At the start of the sickness I was sent two letters one inviting me to a stage 2 meeting under the sickness absence policy and the second stating that upon my return they would be inviting me to a formal stage 2 capability meeting under the capability policy.The union wrote to my management and said that I felt bullied by this and that they shouldn't be dealing with me under two different policies. They then put the capability process on hold until my successful return. I returned earlier this year (Jan 2013) with a phased return in place, alternative temporary line management, counselling provided by the organisation and a risk assessement to be completed.I am now back at work full time and my phased return has now ended. They have now written to me inviting me to a formal stage 2 capability meeting. When I had my last meeting with my union rep and mangement, the union rep requested that they provided evidence as to the capability. The capability evidence they have provided is poor and I have challenged them to review their decision to hold it as I believe it is misuse of the capability policy. The main points being:- 2 of the 4 points have been added retrospectively since my return (they cannot add new points that are being raised for the first time)- 1 of the points relates what they deem as poor work, although I have evidence that it went through the formal sign off processesIn essence I have managed to pick holes in all their evidence. So it is my belief that this is evidence that my management is trying to "manage me out" of the organisation.I am quite sure the capability will not hold out or even take place. However in response I want to take out a grievance for misuse of the capability policy and for causing additional work related stress. Does anyone have suggestions for a letter that I could use on this basis?Any help gratefully received.Thanks

DCA's have no more powers than the gas man!! Don't worry about them.

Hi there, A young friend of mine was accompanying us on a short tennis break. However, recently he suffered an injury and ripped 3 of his ligaments in his ankle and now wont be able to play tennis for a couple of months, so he has had to cancel the holiday. The company in general are quite slack about their booking procedure. So because he was struggling to pay in one installment they agreed that he could pay a deposit (covering flight costs) of £200 (about six weeks before the holiday) and the remainder the following month (about 3 weeks before the holiday) to spread it over 2 salaries. They never took a booking form from him at the time of payment of his initial deposit nor provided him with a receipt nor terms and conditions. They also didn't remind him to take out travel insurance something that they do state in the T&C's that should be done at the time of booking. They are now demanding that he pay the full remaining balance for the holiday however he does not want to lose any further money. The original accomodation would have been a 3 bed apartment, which he would have shared a bedroom with one other, the other double room occupied and the remaining room occupied by one person. This accomodation has now been scaled down to a 2 bedroomed apartment, so I'm not convinced that the holiday company will be making a financial loss other than the flights. Any advice welcome MadAboutTennis

I wish I could go to the councils website and pay the PCN, but I just don't have that amount of cash spare. Due to hubbie's continued periods of unemployment life has been a struggle, hence things like this have occasionally been overlooked. Is there anything else I could do such as agreeing a payment plan with the council?

Just to add that the original penalty charge £75 and the Charge Certificate increases the Penalty Charge by 50% to £150. How can the total amount now be £422..17?

Hi there, I have just received a letter regarding an unpaid penalty charge. At the top of the letter it has my name and address; date; collect ref; PCN ref; and client name (an outer London Borough). It then goes on in the letter to state: "Dear Sir/Madam We have called today with a view to levying Distress for the unpaid Penalty Charge Notice shown above. Unless cleared in full within 24 hours, we shall be re-attending your premises to enforce the Warrants of Execution in our possession by levying upon and removing sufficient of your goods and chattels to Public Auction. You should note that it is now to late for a payment arrangement." The original penalty was for £150, but the overall total has now risen to £422.17. I'm slightly concerned about the increase in costs. What is the best thing to do? I realise that I need to pay the penalty charge, but I certainly don't have the £422.17 to pay all at once. I am aware that: 1) Do not let the bailiffs enter the property But other than that not quite sure of what to do next. Would the local authority take the fine back so I can put a payment plan in place? Thanks everyone and all advice appreciated, MadAboutTennis

Hi all, I have had a certain amount of success with SP. I spoke to their customer services team today. I have agreed an up front payment of 25% of the total plus the first monthly installment then after than a payment plan on a monthly basis. Whilst I was unable to pay the amount immediately, I was able to offer them my account details in order to set up a direct debit for this payment and it will come out after myself and my husband get paid on the 18th, so the direct debit has provided them with reassurance of the payment. However, after the first payment I am tempted to set this up as a standing order rather than direct debit as it my belief that they are able to take what they like with a direct debit? Is that correct? The rep was very helpful in actual fact. I simply pointed out my vulnerability and their responsibilities under the industry codes of practices and our willingness to pay. It was very quickly resolved and all sides are happy. She said that they will update power2contact so action will be cancelled by them. So all I can say is well done SP, in this case good customer service has been provided! By the way, when I posted up a thread for advice on council tax arreas without help of many CAG members and relevant letter templates I would never have resolved my problems with the bailiffs. I don't think posting them on the boards has made them any less effective. I adapted a fairly standard one to suit my needs and came to a successful conclusion so I do think they can be of benefit when posted up. Anyway thanks to everyone on here for all the useful advice and to the SP rep, more customer service such as I have received I'm sure would be fantastic!! MadAboutTennis

Thanks for that. You are right the letter has come from an address listed as Crewe. Is there a copy of the letter you refer to that may help me? Would it be worth me trying it? Thanks

That would be great! If you would. I'm emotionally drained right now and dreading the w/e in front of me worrying about this

No Scottish Power don't know that I am vulnerable. In terms of contacting them, what would I be best to state in terms of what I have said here? Your advice is much appreciated

I have just checked the most recent correspondence from Scottish Power

No that is our total bill £676.13 to SP. So it is a current bill, we fell behind with our payment plan that we had in place.

Oh the payments were made to Scottish Power

Sorry, yes, in answer to your question we just generally got behind and the agreement put in place was just not manageable. It is an old bill. As far as I know Scottish Power are still our current supplier, I guess the supply is not handed over to power2contact just the debt? Is that right?

The amount is just over £600, we made some payments at the beginning of the year so it is not that we have not payments. Just with the council tax a payment of £66.00 per month was proving too difficult. What do we do in response to the letter, who do we contact? power2contact or scottish power. We may be able to pay up to £200 by the end of the month, my husband gets paid weekly to bring it down and then put in place a payment plan, but I'm guessing they wont negotiate it.... I'm worrying myself silly now

Hi, My husband and I have just received a letter dated the 3 June 2010 from power2contact stating: They have been instructed by Scottish Power to collect an overdue amount and have instructed one of our contact managers to carry out a pre disconnection visit to your premises within the next few day's if you don't make payment before or on the day of the visit we will apply to the local magistrates court for a warrent of entry to yours premisies in accordance in accordance to section 2 of the rights of entry (gas and electricity boards) act of 1954 to disconnect your supply. at this point u will incur considerable charges.. Our problems started last year, around May when my husband was made redundant from his job. He has suffered many, many redundancies over the last 10 years or so (ever since we moved into our house together). Long story, but he was in the printing industry, which died a death, only trade he knew, had basic qualifications and has found it all a struggle. He is now an experienced fleet manager, but was even made redundant from his most recent secure job, last May. Although he is working at present, it is only temporary, VERY low paid work... but better than nothing…. but debts quickly built up. I am suffering from severe depression and now TMJ, probably caused by stress so I am in much pain. It is all very distressing. My only saving grace is that I am in a secure and fairly well paid job, and my employer is very understanding Last year we fell behind with council tax payments and received a visit from the bailiffs. We agreed a ridiculously high payment plan with the bailiffs but then after 3 months began to struggle to maintain it at £350 per month!! I sent letters to the council and the bailiffs, following advice from people on the CAG forums, urging the account to be taken back by the council in order that I could agree a payment plan that I could maintain on the basis that I was classed as a ‘vulnerable person’ and successfully managed to get it returned to the council. And now we have this. Any advice for what we should in view of this? Any advice much appreciated

Hi all, First of all thanks to all of you for your great advice . I wrote as suggested to the Bailiffs and the Council requesting that the debt be returned to the local authority due to my TMJ and depression possibly placing me in the vulnerable category of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents. The Council came back and requested a statement of income and expenditure which I provided them along with an offer of a payment plan which they have subsequently accepted. At the same time, I received a letter from CCS Enforcement Ltd, providing me with a statement of my account and a breakdown of their fees and charges. To my surprise it had listed a Levy Fee of £74 and Attendance / Van at £121. This was a complete surprise to me as their bailiff never entered the property and therefore was unable to make a levy of goods and did not make a subsequent visit with van to recover the goods on the stated date in their account records. As they had already taken this amount of £74 plus the first visit fees of £24.50 (which I concurred with), I wrote to them with the below letter requesting a refund…. CCS Enforcement Services Ltd Dear Sirs Bailiff Reference No….. I am writing concerning the above account and your recent response to my request for a statement of my account including a breakdown of your fees and charges including a computer screenshot. From your records, I note that your fees breakdown accordingly: X date Visit 1 fee at £24.50 X date Levy fee at £74.00 X date Attendance / Van @ £121.00 Your bailiff never entered the property and therefore was unable to make a levy of goods and did not make a subsequent visit with a van to recover the goods on the [stated date] as stated. I, therefore, believe that your above fees are incorrect. I also note from your records that an amount of £99.50 has been deducted from my first payment of £347.00 making a total to the client of £247.50. I refer to The Council Tax Administration & Enforcement (Amendment) Regulations 2003, which clearly states that amount you should have charged me for the first visit was £24.50 (as listed above). Because there was no levy of goods made and no attendance on the [stated date], I believe you have overcharged me by £74.00. If you think my calculation is incorrect, please provide full details with evidence, failing which, I require a refund of these fees by close of business on the [seven days from receipt of letter]. Due to the seriousness of the matter, unless I receive from you either: an adequate explanation why you believe that my calculation is incorrect, or a refund of the fees as stated above, I intend to issue proceedings against your company for the recover of my fees. I will be providing a copy of this letter, together with your response to the Head of Revenues and Benefits at the [relevant authority] for their information. Yours faithfully **** I received a very quick response from their Customer Services Dept (I addressed the letter to the Complaints Manager as directed) stating that they had spoken to the bailiff concerned regarding my query and that he was adamant that he did indeed conduct a levy as claimed, although due to the time elapsed between the date of levy and date of my query, he was no longer able to provide supporting statements. Therefore, they were willing to refund the levy fee of £74. Clearly, whilst I appreciate this offer, I am a little irritated by it. I appreciate that bailiffs are not always the most professional in the world, but feel that if a company has an account on an individual then they should have a complete set of files on that account including ALL documentation as an evidence base for what action they have taken. Had I not have requested a statement of my account and breakdown of their fees I may not have noticed and lost that fee or indeed have incurred more fees that were clearly incorrect. Despite their refund, is it worth complaining, because I do think that it is appalling practice and in my mind goes to prove that bailiffs rip you off and act very unprofessionally. Is there a route for these sort of complaints, is it worth complaining to the authority on whose behalf they were acting on originally? Any suggestions welcome, as I don’t want them to get away this, despite the offer of the refund, which naturally I will take! Anyway once again many thanks for all the advice that has got me back into a more sustainable position. Regards MadAboutTennis

Thanks, PT. I have also just contacted the council to find out how much the original liability order was for. The original debt was for £1734.71 plus £100 in court charges totalling £1,834.71. However, on the original letter from the Bailiffs they stated that the total due was £2,072.21. They only visited once and didn't gain entry, so I believe the only charge for a 1st visit should be £24.50? That is a difference of £213. Is the bailiff charging incorrect fees? I am going to send the letter, requesting a copy of my account, etc. But if they are charging incorrect fees, what do I do? I have just spoken to the council, and I am waiting for an email to confirm, but they have requested the case be put on hold and no further action be taken from the bailiffs pending a completed income and expenditure sheet and payment offer. Any further advice much appreciated.

Hi everybody, I have now written to both the Bailiff company and the local authority (Head of Revenues and Benefits) requesting that the debt be returned to the local authority due to my TMJ and depression possibly placing me in the vulnerable category of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents. I have also been in touch with my local councillor to request that he takes up my case with the council as well. However, in the meantime, as Calvi36 suggests, I would like to write to the bailiff company requesting a screen shot of your account and a complete breakdown of their charges. Does anybody have a letter template/example for this. Any advice/help much appreciated. Best wishes, MadAboutTennis

Hi there, I sent copies of the above letter (with amendments as suggested) to the Bailiffs and then with necessary amendments to the Head of Revenues at the local council. The bailiffs (CCS Enforcement Ltd) sent me an email stating that they noted all the information that I have sent over but that they must advise that our action will continue unless they are instructed to by their client (the local council). I have not yet heard anything from the council. Now not sure what to do next. I can't afford to pay at the end of the month as paying £346 for the last 3 months has bled me dry. I am concerned that I wont get a reply from the council and that if I don't pay the bailiffs at the end of the month, I will get another visit from them in due course. What an earth do I do? Any advice much appreciated. Best wishes MadAboutTennis