The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 came into effect in April 2014. A significant change to the regulations was how bailiff fees are to be deducted from any payment made. This is explained in detail on the following STICKY: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?453047-Bailiff-enforcement-Setting-up-a-payment-arrangement-and-whether-you-can-pay-the-court-or-the-council-direct Almost as soon as the regulations were introduced, local authorities around the country were inundated with Freedom of Information requests to ascertain whether or not the council would properly deduct the bailiffs fees in accordance with legislation in cases where the debtor defied the instruction on the Notice of Enforcement, and instead, paid the council the amount of the liability order only (minus bailiff fees). If nothing else, these FOI requests have highlighted to the councils the way in which the regulations had changed. With the regulations having now been in place for 20 months it is now the case that paying the council direct (minus bailiff fees) rarely ever succeeds and instead, is leading to debtors being in a much worse financial position than ever before given that by the time the payment has been processed by the local authority, the 'compliance stage' outlined in the Notice of Enforcement would have ended and with it, the opportunity to enter into a payment arrangement without the need for a personal visit from the enforcement agent and a charge of £235 being applied. Given that this is a discussion thread, it may be useful to debate this subject but please.....no arguments or squabbles.

Hi, We moved out of our flat which was run by Urban Development Projects Ltd. at the end of August and have been waiting to get our deposit of £650 since. I have been chasing our first point of contact who said that they have been busy with a music festival (I know) and that it would be done 'soon'. We finally got a quote from a company by the name of Urban Moor Construction Ltd. with a quote for £648 to: Re paint areas to rectify scuff marks and damaged plaster work £365 This was literally a hole in the plasterboard which we had replacedbut not skimmed over. I more than expected deductions for this but not this amount. There was also a few marks in the bedroom which needed painting over which were behind the wardrobe so we didn't see them until it was too late Fill, sand and polish kitchen work surface where hole has been drilled £85 We had a space for the washing machine under the kitchen side but the plug socket was way too far under the sink, so one of the handymen on site drilled a hole through the countertop so that we could plug it in where the microwave goes Deep clean flat ready for letting £90 There was a bit of soap in the soap pan and a small amount of buildup on the shower head which we didn't see. I had a look at the company who quoted this (Urban Moor Construction Ltd.); their logo was very similar to Urban Development's so I searched them both in Companies House... Lo and behold, they're both registered to 51 Selby Road in Leeds! Has anyone ever heard of a company doing this before? I can assure you that there definitely isn't £650 worth of repairs there so I feel as though they're trying to make a quick buck off of us. Oh... Just had a very patronising phone call off of Marc, the MD. He said that if we take it to TDS, they will look at the pictures and throw it out and then he called me a d*ckhead. How lovely. Luckily the call was recorded.

Hi, I have my P800 calculation from HMRC which states I underpaid tax in 2012. Upon investigation this was because my employer at the time did not pay the taxman when they paid me. Now I am left with this lump sum. Do I have to pay it, or should the employer pay it?

I live on a first floor flat on top of a shop. The whole building is owned by the landlord. My bath was hardly draining and I unscrewed the bath drain screw thinking I could remove some clogged material (it being a hot day on a Sunday afternoon). I screwed it back on (after not being able to fish out anything). Unbeknownst to me I had broken the seal so the water was running out of the bath, onto the floorboards and through the ceiling downstairs, down the walls, and even down the light fitting downstairs. The landlord says I am responsible for the long list of repairs such as the laminate flooring downstairs may need re-doing as it's squelchy underneath, the wall need repainting, the ceiling may need to be re-done, his paper files are sodden, and as the electrics aren't working, his employer might not be able to come to work the following day. Landlord says if my deposit doesn't cover the cost of the repairs, he will charge me the excess. It transpired that the poor drainage was due to a lack of maintenance where years of gunk were trapped in the drainage pipes. I have only lived here a year. I have the plumber's invoice describing this. Am I totally liable for all the damage, which I suspect he is exaggerating?

Hey there, I have a bit of a problem with my old letting agency (I knew I would have problems with them when I moved out but had no choice but to move in to the property anyway). The brief outline is that I hande dthe keys back and didn't hear anything for a week. I then received a text from the deposit scheme saying that the agents had arranged for my depoist to be released so I logged in - only to find they were trying to deduct a few hundred pounds. I had received no correspondence at all from the agency, not by phone or email. So I sent an eamil explainiang that I wanted to know what the deductions were for. I received a voicemial the next day explaining that they had the invoice and pictures but they had problems with the internet and the files were too big, so they weren't sending. I emailed back and said it is not acceptabel and I wanted the information. I then received a copy of the invoice, which looked dodgy, so I went on the website and it said "Temporary website" and looked fake...I called the number and it rang abroad. When the phones answered, no one sadi anything. I then didn't hear anything. After 10 working days, I emailed the agency explaining that they breached the dispute service's recommendation for length of time to get info to me and that I would refer it to them and the ombudsman. I received another voicemail explaining that they had problems sending them, so I replied asking them to resize the photos or post them to me. I received a rude email back saying "we will not print them" but they had resized them. All i received was pictures, no comments or narratives. I also requested (again) a copy of their inventry and also an itemised list of the cleaning that needed to be done as the invoice simply said "general cleaning" I also asked for confirmaiton of the date and time the chekcout was completed. No reply. I chased and received an email from the agent saiying they were on oliday and were back now. I said I wanted the requested documents and I was sent the inventry and their checkout report. I was told that the cleaning required was clearly on the invoice. I have no idea what I should do - some of the cleaning I forgot to do, but they are claiming for som work that had to be done when I moved in, light bulbs (even though the inventry stated one was missing and I actually supplied 1 myself!) they won't tell me which light bulbs, they are claiming for dusty drawers and dusty tops of wardrobes, dirty bins (even though I only stored the bins as I used my own) and carpet cleaning as they have pictures of marks on the carpet - even though the inventry says "some marks" on the carpet. I am happy to offer 50-quid for the extractor fan, washing machine and the dusting but that's it. Have you got any idea what I should do now? They didn't even call me to tell me what they had done on the checkout and they knew the emails hadn't sent (I have voicemail with them confirming that!) The checkout report says they sent me letters on a certia date which have NEVER been received.