Newlyn putting on humungous fees! Please help!!!! Am sure somethings not right!

[Jimbo1986]

Hi all,

 

Right am after some serious help here!!

 

I forgot about a parking fine which i got last year and never paid it. I got a bailiff letter the other day saying the fine was £167 and had gone up to £358 pound! Apparently I made a formal agreement to pay the full amount of £167 at the beggining of the month which i dont recall doing and apparently I had a letter in december which i dont recall getting! I have 2 other fines which arent my fault as didnt own the car so may have got the letters mixed up somehow. I dont have a problem paying the £167 as at the end of the day its my own fault (even though I did ask them if they would reduce it and they said no!)

 

Any way I rang them 2 days ago when i got another letter saying that i owed £358 to find out what was going on and the woman said that cos the "formal agreement was broken" the fees had gone up but the actual balance was £280 and I advised that I couldnt pay until next week and offered a small payment of £25 to show that i'm willing to pay and she said thats not enough and fees may carry on and that Bailiff action is continuing. They rung me tonight and I missed the call so rang them back and he asked if i was going to pay. I explained the same thing saying i couldnt pay till next week and he then said the balance was actually £358 despite the woman saying two days ago it was £280!

 

So my question is this. Legally how much can they apply to an account for a "broken agreement" and how mcuh can they apply per day for non payment despite me offereing a small sum of money until next wednesday!!!!

 

I dont mind paying the £280 just to get rid of it cos I cant be bothered with the hassle what with the other fines going on (which i would like to enforce arent mine! I dont make a habit of this!) but fo them to say one amount less than 48hours ago and to now say its gone up again is beyond a joke.

 

I'm sure i read something on here once before about fee's and that there is only a certain amount legally they can put on...especially seen as I have offered some sort of payment.

 

Someone please help!!!!

 

James

[Laydee Danielle]

Have the bailiffs visited your property?

 

Have you confirmed with them that this is just for the one parking ticket that is yours?

 

I would suggest that you write to them requesting a breakdown of the fees they have added, and no they can't add a charge if you break a repayment plan with them.

 

Bailiff fees:

 

For preparing and sending a letter (if sent before visiting) £11.20

 

For levying distress is debt under £100 - £28.00

over £100 for the first £200 28% and 5.5% for anything over £200

 

For attending to levy distress but was not done - reasonable costs but cannot be more than if they have levied (see above)

[Jimbo1986]

Have the bailiffs visited your property?

 

Have you confirmed with them that this is just for the one parking ticket that is yours?

 

I would suggest that you write to them requesting a breakdown of the fees they have added, and no they can't add a charge if you break a repayment plan with them.

 

Bailiff fees:

 

For preparing and sending a letter (if sent before visiting) £11.20

 

For levying distress is debt under £100 - £28.00

over £100 for the first £200 28% and 5.5% for anything over £200

 

For attending to levy distress but was not done - reasonable costs but cannot be more than if they have levied (see above)

 

Hi,

 

Yes its definately for the one fine. Checked that already. So even though i made a supposed formal agreement they still cant add charges for breaking it? Is that right??

 

I dont understand what levying distress is about?? Does that mean if a bailiff comes and has to take something to pay the debt??

 

And whats the situation if I have offered to pay a small sum of money now and the rest next week. Are they legally obliged to take that as an offer or can they decline it??

[Laydee Danielle]

no the charges are set in The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 and there is no fee for debtors breaking agreements.

 

Yes, levying distress means if they come and remove goods

 

they are not legally obliged to accept your payment offer but if you write to them advising them you are aware of your rights and will not let them into your property to remove goods they are usually more willing to accept.

 

Before paying them request a full breakdown of the account showing all the fees that have been added.

 

Also if you still have the car park it well away for your house until you get the matter sorted

[ambershadow]

If this is in dispute you need to file an out of time declaration from the traffic enforcment centre here

[ambershadow]

This will stop all action for approx 1 month

 

these fee;s are not right But tomtubby needs to see this

[Jimbo1986]

Hi ambershadow,

 

Its not necessarily in dispute as I admit its my fault for forgetting about it not paying it. The only thing thats in dispute is the charges. I was sure that they couldnt put extra fees on for breaking a formal agreement.

 

Technically the only thing that they should have applied to the account at this stage is a further charge of £11.20 (or what ever the pence may be) for an additional letter to be sent.

 

Yes i know tomtubby quite well. She has helped me out on my other ones...very very helpfull lady.

 

So if i quote The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) (Ammendment) 2003 Regulations will they know what i'm going on about and remove the charges?

 

Also where do I stand with payment? If I have offered them a payment plan of £25 this week and full payment next week do they have to accept that or can they decline but on the basis that they offer their own repayment plan as an alternative?

 

Many thanks for everyones help so far.

 

James

[Jimbo1986]

Also before I froget, I just re read the letter and they reckon on the 14th of Jan (the date on the letter) they reckon they came to my property to seize and distrain my possessions to satisfy the debt. This I know is rubbish as my partner is at home every day with our daughter and no one has been there.

 

How can i prove that they havent been as they will say they have and use that as an excuse to get around the charges and say they have put extra "reasonable" charges on the account as they attempted to levy and couldnt!!

 

They are a nightmare!!

 

The letter was also delivered by a motor cycle courier through my letter box. Dont know if that makes any difference to you guys.

[Jimbo1986]

no the charges are set in The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 and there is no fee for debtors breaking agreements.

 

Yes, levying distress means if they come and remove goods

 

they are not legally obliged to accept your payment offer but if you write to them advising them you are aware of your rights and will not let them into your property to remove goods they are usually more willing to accept.

 

Before paying them request a full breakdown of the account showing all the fees that have been added.

 

Also if you still have the car park it well away for your house until you get the matter sorted

 

Just a quickie as well, i am sending my letter tomorrow about the charges and that i think they have been applied wrongly and that I want them removed etc, but does this mean that they have to reduce the debt back to the original amount of money of £120 and then apply the "official" costs of the letter preparation and sending fee etc of £11.20 per letter before a visit??

 

Hope that makes sense?!

 

James

[Jimbo1986]

Can anyone help PLEASE!!!!

 

Really not sure on some of the things i've written above.

 

Cheers

James

[chris600uk]

Then you must contact tomtubby because you have got a much more complicated situation than we are used to here.

 

If you don't I suspect it will get a lot more expensive - and you do need to deal with this, if you are short of time you can always google bailiff advice online, and that'll get you to her commercial website - yep she does this stuff for a living and she's good at it.

[Jimbo1986]

Can someone check this letter over please that I have just written for newlyn and let me know if its ok to send off please. Thanks

 

To whom it may concern,

 

Following a conversation with one of your employess I would like to raise concern with the charges applied to my account for breaking a "formal agreement" of which I am led to believe have been applied un lawfully and not in accordance with the The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) (Ammendment) 2003 Regulations.

 

I have offered to pay the original balance in two payments, part this week on the 20th January 2009 and the remaining next week no later than the 30th January 2009. However, your employee said that they could not reduce the amount on the account and that it had to be paid in full. This was declined and no effort was made from your employee to make an offer of your own repayment plan.

I then recieved a letter saying that the balance was £357.63 even though your employee stated on the phone on the 20th January 2009 that it was only £280. Then within 48hours I recieve a phone call on the 22nd January 2009 saying that I need to pay the account in full and that the account was definately £357.63 overdue. I was also told that more bailiff charges will continue to be applied!

 

I have now looked into what charges that you, Newlyn, as a certificated bailiff, are allowed to apply to my account. From reading The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) (Ammendment) 2003 Regulations and also seeking advice from a bailiff advice company, it has become clear that no charge is allowed to be placed on the account for breaking a formal agreement. Furthermore, from the information that I have on record you have sent two letters of which a maximum charge of £11.20 can be applied to my account (if sent before a bailiff visit, which in my circumstances this is a fact) for preparing and sending the letter as per the previously mentioned Regulation. This amounts to £22.40 maximum for two letters and not the additional £190.63 that you have taken upon yourself to apply to my account. Furthermore, I do not appreciate thet fact that in your most recent letter you have said that a bailiff had attended my property to seize goods which I also know is not true as my partner has been home all day every day recently due to illness.

 

Therefore, given the information I have just provided which I am sure as a certificated bailiff yourself, will be aware is true and correct referring to the afore mentioned act and also including any ammendmants made up to the current date in relation to the act, that any additional charges that have been applied to my account unlawfully be removed with immediate effect and reduced to the correct amount plus the two maximum charges of £11.20 for the letters that have been sent. I would be obliged if you could provide the exact amount including pence.

 

I assume that any harrassing phone calls from your employees will stop with immediate effect and I hope that we can come to an agreed payment plan for the final amount which I will be able to clear in the latter part of next week.

 

I will send a copy of this email/letter by royal mail recorded delivery to ensure that you have a copy of my enquiry/complaint.

 

 

Your sincerely,

Edited January 25, 2009 by ukaviator
Name removed

[Laydee Danielle]

its only £11.20 for a letter before their first visit so its not two charges just one

[chris600uk]

Can someone check this letter over please that I have just written for newlyn and let me know if its ok to send off please. Thanks

 

To whom it may concern,

 

I object to the charges applied to my account for breaking a "formal agreement" which I believe have been applied unlawfully and do not comply with the The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) (Ammendment) 2003 Regulations.

 

I spoke to one of your employees on the telephone and offered to pay the original balance in two payments, part this week on the 20th January 2009 and the remaining next week no later than the 30th January 2009. However, your employee said that they could not reduce the amount on the account and that it had to be paid in full.

I explained that I can't afford to do that but your employee was unhelpful.

 

I then received a letter saying that the balance was £357.63 even though your employee stated on the phone on the 20th January 2009 that it was only £280.

Then within 48hours I received a phone call on the 22nd January 2009 saying that I need to pay the account in full and that the account was definitely £357.63 overdue.

I was also told that more bailiff charges will continue to be applied!

 

I have read The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) (Ammendment) 2003 Regulations and had advice from a bailiff advice company,I understand no charge can be added to the account for breaking a formal agreement.

 

You have sent two letters and made no visits, which means that a maximum charge of £11.20 for each letter or £22.40 can be applied to my account.

That means the additional £190.63 that you have added is wrong.

 

In your most recent letter you said a bailiff had attended my property to seize goods, this is not true, my partner was home all day and no-one from your company visited.

 

Please remove the unlawful charges from my account so that it shows the debt owing plus the two letter charges

 

I would like the harrassing phone calls from your employees to stop.

I would like to come to an agreed payment plan for the final amount which I expect to clear within the coming week.

 

I will send a copy of this email/letter by royal mail recorded delivery to ensure that you have a copy of my enquiry/complaint.

 

 

Your sincerely,

 

 

 

Does that sound any better to you?

Edited January 25, 2009 by ukaviator
Name removed from view

[Jimbo1986]

cheers chris. Have sent it by email and also sending a copy by recorded post!!