Hi, this is my first post on the site and I hope someone can help. I am self-employed, based at home and have 2 Limited companies (1 active and 1 dormant). Business has been very difficult over the last couple of years and cash flow has been a major problem. On the 9th July a high court writ was issued against my dormant business for £1,717.66 and Court Enforcement Services Limited were given the job of enforcement but I did not receive any Notice of Enforcement from them. On the 1 Aug, 2 enforcement officers came to my home (where the dormant business is registered) and said they were High Court Bailiffs and had come to seize goods. I asked to see the writ but they only very briefly showed my an Ipad type device but wouldn't let me examine it. They then just brushed passed me and entered my home through a patio door. I informed them that I had not received any notification which they just dismissed out of hand and said that we were now at stage 2 anyway. I told them I didn't know what they were talking about and needed to see the proper documentation. I asked what the amount owing was and they told me £3,399. I told them that the business was dormant and had no assets and they said that they would take whatever they wanted from the property and began collecting my laptop and printer. I told them that those items did not belong to the dormant company but I was told I had to prove it. I began finding proof for them and I also told them that removing any other items was going to affect my ability to work and run my active business. They ignored this. Having proved I owned the items I was asked if I was refusing to pay which I said I wasn't refusing to pay I just needed some time to get the money. I was told I needed to pay immediatley or other goods would be removed. They threatened to remove a horse transport lorry whose value is far in excess of the amount owed. I was able to prove that that vehicle was on a HP agreement. They also threatened to remove horses from our field. I had to repeatedly ask to see paper copy of the writ and they eventually went to their van and printed one. That is when I saw that the original amount was only £1717.66 and I asked why they were demanding so much more. They said it was down to the fees that had been added. I asked for a breakdown of their fees and they said they would provide that later but said that because I wasn't going to pay we were now at stage 3. I told them I still didn't know what they were talking about but they didn't explain. I had also been telling them that I could pay because I was owed money through my active business and the payments were due to go into my account at any time (I even had remittance advice notes from companies making payments but they were not interested). They repeatedly threatend to remove goods and apply more fees unless I paid immediately and they then began going round the whole of my house (kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, childrens rooms etc.) looking for things to remove, I told them I needed some time to make some calls and get the money, which I did. Luckily I was able to get someone to pay me straight away and once I had received the money in my account I paid the enforcement officers by debit card. They wrote me a receipt but failed to give me a breakdown of the fees. I asked for one but they claimed they couldn't get an internet signal to print it from their van. They said they would email it to me but I didn't get an email from them either. I emailed their office the next day and they provided this breakdown: Dear Sirs With reference to your email dated 2 August, please see below a breakdown in this matter as requested: Writ amount: £1,717.66 Interest on writ amount (@8%) from date of writ to date of payment: £9.46 Compliance Fee: £90.00 Enforcement Stage 1 Fee: £228.00 7.5% Fee of amount over £1,000.00: £65.41 Enforcement Stage 2 Fee: £594.00 Sale of Disposal Fee: £630.00 7.5% Fee of amount over £1,000.00: £65.03 Totals: £3,399.56 The above fees are inclusive of VAT at 20% They also added: "There is no requirement to actually remove goods for the Sale or Disposal fee and 7.5% fee to be applicable, the commencement of the process is sufficient for the application of the sale or disposal stage fee." Having done some reading and trying to check the facts I think they have charged too much because this was their first visit and full payment was made, no initial Notice of Enforcement was received, they failed to give proper notice of moving to the next fee stage, no 'Notice After Entry' form was given, nothing was itemised or removed, no control of goods notice was written up or issued. They also knew the exact total figure (Including the fees) shortly after entering the premises. They provided no explanation of that, or their fees and no explanation of my options/consequences etc. They were just very high pressure and applied more pressure whenever I asked a question. I am going to make a complaint to them because I believe they have charged too much and I think I should be refunded some the fees. I accept that they attended my property so up to level 1 Attendance on the fees scale is correct but above that I think is incorrect. Can anyone with knowledge in this matter please advise me? Sorry if my post is too long but I wanted to give as much info as possible. Any help or guidance will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

hi guys back in 2012 i got a speeding fine which i totally forgot about. it got taken to court eventually and i got fined a vast amount. the reason for never getting around to sorting it was the fact i was looking after my terminally ill dad and everything went by the wayside for at least 18 months i started to pay this fine through my wages and paid £397.00 towards the £600 they fined me. when i lost my job i didn't think about the fine until a couple of months later, i contacted the court involved and they sent me out some forms to fill in along with income and expenditure. i filled in and sent back with my wage slips showing the amounts paid within the time frame they gave me. lo and behold some weeks later there is a bailiff on my doorstep. i phoned the courts to be told that the material i sent back hadn't been received until three weeks after i had posted them! that serves me right for sending it snail mail - i also sent some other documents to another company the same day and they didn't receive them at all!) despite the fact they had all the information they needed they would not call off the bailiff and i was forced to pay £900 on the spot or the bailiff was ringing the police to attend to remove goods. the court has said it has only ever receive one payment from my last employers. when i contacted my old employers they very nicely sent my a breakdown of all the payments they had sent to the courts. my dilemma is this - can i claim back the money already paid to them somehow? it seems unfair that i have paid £397.00 that they claim they have not received? any help would be greatly appreciated

Hi! I sincerely hope you will be able to advise me in a very stressful situation. I had an outstanding penalty charge notice of £130 for clipping into a bus lane, issued by the Harrow council. I've made my complaint to the council arguing that the bus lane was not correctly and adequately indicated. I have not received any further communication after that, and most certainly have not received the Rejection Notice of any kind. Soon after, I've suffered a heart attack followed by two surgical procedures in April last year and since have been unemployed and on jobseekers allowance as my sole income. As soon as I was physically able I approached Stepchange and CAB with the advice on what to do about the matter since I wanted to do the right thing, and they advised me to contact Harrow Council and explain my medical and financial situation, and ask for a manageable payment arrangement, which I did. I have since written to Harrow Council several times sending all the relevant hospital and other medical documents, as well as my financial details. Despite my repeated requests for such, my correspondence has neither been replied to, nor acknowledged. On March the 5th I was in a shock to find a handwritten letter Take Formal Notice pushed through my letter from Newlyn Plc, requesting almost £500 to be paid immediately. I've contacted TEC in Northampton straightaway and was instructed to fill in the PE2 and PE3 forms and email them, after which TEC would inform Harrow council, and they should halt the baillif action pending further court decision. I have done as instructed and received the confirmation from TEC that they have formally informed Harrow council on the 10th of May, and that the procedure will take its due course, of which I would be duly informed by the court of and when a final decision has been made. I haven't heard anything from either the court or the council since. Today another hand-delivered letter by Newlyn Plc appeared at my doorstep - this time even more stressful and upsetting Control of Goods, demanding the immediate payment of £696.44. I've contacted the TEC again and was told by the officer (who was very surprised at this course of action) that Newlyn's action should have not gone through, I should have NOT been given this letter since TEC has informed the council, and my case has still not come to court, so no decision to escalate action has not been made. I have written and emailed Harrow council, sending all the forms and copies of emails, I have faxed and written to Newlyn with all the forms and I have not heard a thing. I am a 62 year old heart patient, not working, deeply distressed and frightened by all of this. The matter of the deepest concern and worry is that all my previous payment offer, detailed correspondence to either Newlyn or Harrow council has seemingly been ignored, and ignored on purpose, because I find it hard to believe that none of my letters, not even the official communication from TEC has not made through. I am at my wits end, in deep distress and not a little scared. What should I do? Many thanks for any advice.

Hi , Do I have to let the bailiffs into my home for a non domestic rates bill ? .