Help with Phillips, please.

[catalice]

I have tried this approach already and the courts are not willing to me as there is a distress warrent

they say i have to speak to phillips i told them not less than 7 times that i have already tried to talk to phillips and i even begged and cried on the phone for someone from the courts to please help me all to no avail

[cas93]

cat

it says on bailiff advice line hat if you contact the fines office and tell them you are on benefits they can stop the bailiff action and deduct from your benefits

 

 

 

The Fines (Deductions from Income Support)(Amendment) Regulations

2004.

 

have a look at their site: bailifadviceonline

 

 

cas

[catalice]

i will ring them monday morning thank you so much Cas

fingers crossed they will listen this time

[cas93]

Cat

 

just found this post on the forum it makes interesting reading

 

 

 

 

www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bailiffs-sheriff-officers/168245-distress-warrant.html

 

cas

[Big Boss Man]

here is the letter that i have sent to phillips i have also sent a copy to OFT and a copy to myself i just hope there wasnt too many spelling mistakes and that i worded it correctly

 

 

Dear Mr N Bradley

 

 

 

I am Writing this email to you in the hope that you can help me please

I have been fined by magistrates court for not having a TV licence in december 2007

phillips has been passed the debt for collection of said fine phillips reference number 1526977

I have been bombarded with constant telephone voice texts asking me to call phillips urgently on 0844 800 4588 when i have done this as requested to try and come to some arrangement to pay the debt that i can afford i have been told that they will not accept less than £40 a week

i am a single parent on benefits and the only way that i can afford to pay this amount is if my son and I go without food, gas, electric or a roof over our heads.

I am not willing to put my son through this again as we have been homeless and had nothing except the clothes we had on due to escaping domestic violence in january 2008

On 18th February 2009 i got home after collecting my son from college to find a letter put through my letterbox this letter was not put in an envolope and my son read it so i have had to explain to him what has been happening

I called phillips immediatly on this date and tried once again to set up a payment plan and i paid them £10 off the debt (which i could not afford) i did this to show them that i am willing to pay but that i need some leeway they accepted the £10 and then told me that i have to pay them £40 a week and that they can not accept any lower than this.

i repeatedly told them that i am on benefits and that i had recently lost my job through illness all to no avail.

On 11th March i received another visit (again this visit was not prearranged with a time and date) the man that came to my house saw that he was distressing me and indeed told me that he had made a note of my distress when i told him i had no money and that i am happy to make an installment plan with him for the debt he told me that wasnt good enough and that he can have the locks changed on my home he asked me if the car on my drive was mine i told him no it isnt it belongs to my father who has lent it to me as i can not afford one of my own.

we got into a heated arguement in which he became abusive and started to shout at me in the street so all my neighbours could hear what was going on i found this even more distressing and very embarressing

I tried to tell him that i had rang CAB for advice and he told me he doesnt give a f**k what CAB told me he has more rights than i could imagine as he is a court bailiff he said that he will be back with a locksmith to change the locks on my home and seize goods from the property.

As he was walking down my drive he shouted=2 0names at me calling me a big mouthed little tart and to go and get some clothes on (i was dressed as i am not in the habit of answering my door naked)

As he was getting into his car he told me he was having that car even after i told him that i can prove the car is not mine and he took down the registration number of the car.

I have received more telephone calls since this day and more letters telling me that

 

"Unless the full amount including costs (as shown above) is paid IMMEDIATELY we may make attendances to your premises on any day at any time without further notification

we may attend your premises with a locksmith to remove any siezed goods (as in accordance with the law), even in your absence.

 

If you continue to ignore you responsibility to pay this fine we may recommend to the court that they issue a warrent for your arrest due to your wilful refusal to pay."

 

Now I have not refused to pay the debt I just have not got the means to pay it in full I am seeking advice from CAB next week if they can fit me in and i am asking that you please hold off until i can get legal advice and a representative to help me get this sorted.

 

I hope that you will deal with my complaint about the phillips representatives that have been to my home and phoned me.

I had a telephone call today (05/06/09)again from phillips asking me if i was going to pay the debt i told him that i am on benefits and that i do no t have £440 and could we not reach some agreement for me to pay it in installments

he said no and informed me that i was getting another visit i asked him not to send the last person that came as he was abusive and he hung up

 

I am more than happy to make reasonable installments to pay my fine at an arrangement that i can afford i am happy to fill in a means test form with incomings and outgoings to show what i have left over and then i will be offering half of what is over to pay the fine.

 

I am also sending a copy of this email to OFT

And i further request that in future all correspondence from phillips be done in writing please i will no longer be accepting phone calls or visits from phillips

I hope that we can sort this out without further distress as this is making me ill

 

 

 

That looks a great attempt, sounds as though your getting stronger already ! please do not let Philips grind you down, i am a grown man ( sometimes ) they did exactley the same thing to me !

 

I would also recommend you forward a copy of this letter to your local MP, together with a brief description of your concerns with Philips, i am sure he or she would like to hear from you.

 

Here is a link to enable you to find your local MP:

 

www.theyworkforyou.com

 

Pleased to hear your progressing and sounding a little better with this matter.

 

Keep us informed, take care.

[catalice]

thank you big boss man

 

i have done this now so my MP should have an email from me when he gets in on monday

[Big Boss Man]

thank you big boss man

 

i have done this now so my MP should have an email from me when he gets in on monday

 

Thats good, you will most probally get an envolope through the post. with the House of Commans emblam on it, i did, i was real worried at first but it will be from your MP !

 

Here are some more horror stories that you may find of interest:

 

Debt collectors? error anguish for widow, 91 : Express & Star

 

 

You take care, keep us updated.

Edited June 6, 2009 by Big Boss Man
Fault with link

[Big Boss Man]

Thats good, you will most probally get an envolope through the post. with the House of Commans emblam on it, i did, i was real worried at first but it will be from your MP !

 

Here are some more horror stories that you may find of interest:

 

Debt collectors? error anguish for widow, 91 : Express & Star

 

 

 

You take care, keep us updated.

 

Correct links :

 

Armley pensioner's ordeal with council debt collectors - Bramley Today

 

Edited June 6, 2009 by Big Boss Man
Fault with link - Again

[Big Boss Man]

Correct links :

 

Armley pensioner's ordeal with council debt collectors - Bramley Today

 

 

Correct Link :

 

Wakefield Council debt firm under investigation - Wakefield Express

[tomtubby]

CATALICE.

 

 

You have stated that you were unaware of this fine and that you did not know that you had been summoned to the Magistrates Court. If the is CORRECT then you have grounds to file a Statutory Declaration to have this set aside ad this will then take the case back to the Magistrates Court. The bailiff fees will then be REMOVED.

 

When filing a Statutory Declaration, this MUST be done within 21 days of being aware of the offence.

 

In addition, due to your circumstances you would appear to be in a "vulnerable" position and as such Philips SHOULD return the debt back to the Magistrates Court.

 

You MUST copy your letter to the COURT.

[catalice]

thats right

i didnt know until i started to receive threatening letters from philips which started in february they told me what it was for on the first telephone conversation i had with them

unfortanatly the time has passed now for me to have it set aside

i have spent months on the phone to philips trying to get it sorted and if they would have accepted my payments offer i would have it nearly paid up by now

i hope that it does go back to court due to my being a vulnerable person so that philips do not get a penny from me

i do not even know what the amount of the original fine is

i just know that it was £450 when i received the first letter from philips but do not know how much of this is charges and how much is the original fine

[gustavius rex]

Hi C,

 

First of all, you have a fundamental problem here as you have a court fine. The bailiff or High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) actually has the right to break in to your home in order to levie distress or obtain money to pay for the fine. It is not a civil matter and consequently more tricky. lt is the verbal abuse in front of neighbours and the refusal to even consider your circumstances that may be of interest. The best way to solve the problem is for you to obtain witness statements from your neighbours regarding the abusive language. Then go to your GP and explain your situation, the abuse you suffered in the hands of your ex boyfriend and the current pressure you are experiencing from the bailiff have caused you to become seriously depressed and suicidal. You need help and medication as you are right now very vulnerable and that continued harrassment from the bailiff may just drive you over the cliff. Then return to the court with all the documents and ask for a stay and a reasonable payment plan. Finally, why did you not receive the summons? Did you change address? There is always the possibility of a set a side, although, that way is costly and will not change the outcome re. the fine. You must pay, but, should not be forced to pay more than you can afford. These private jackals do not care, for them it is business and business only, they get paid by you, remember that. Finally, go to the Thread Mass Complaints About Bailiffs here and log in your story. Gods speed and good luck.

GR

Edited June 7, 2009 by gustavius rex
Correction

[catalice]

Thank you GR

I didnt receive any mail ever when i lived with him he was very controlling

and violent

 

i have a couple of questions

what do they mean by seized goods?

is that a walk through where they write things down that they will take?

and then come back and take them?

 

if they have NEVER entered my house how can they have seized goods?

 

 

sorry im blonde and new to bailiffs

 

i was reading the HMCS website and it says on there that i can ring the fines department at the court and tell them that i am in receipt of JSA and they will call the bailiffs off and do an attachment of benefits thing

what it doesnt tell me is does this still apply if a distress warrent has been issued?

 

also if the case went to court in december and i moved out in january did the courts really do enough to track me down before calling in the bad guys?

i have been on benefits all the time so i was fairly easy for the courts to find :confused:

[skintflint]

Cat, I just want to wish you the best of luck with these guys, I'm too suffering from these ppl with their constant telephone calls and text messages. Keep fighting, and like me barricade yourself in the house, good luck!

[catalice]

thank you skintflint

 

OK

I have today rang the courts and even though i am classed as vulnerable they can not take back the fine as there is a distress warrent with philips

the warrent was issued on 11-12-08

 

original fine was for £300

so now i have got myself £150 in charges from philips

woohoo

 

how they come to this figure is beyond me as the £450 figure has never gone up the very first letter i received from them told me it was £450

i have since then had 2 visits and numerous phone calls

How can they charge me £150 before they ever made contact with me??

[tomtubby]

thank you skintflint

 

OK

I have today rang the courts and even though i am classed as vulnerable they can not take back the fine as there is a distress warrent with philips

the warrent was issued on 11-12-08

 

original fine was for £300

so now i have got myself £150 in charges from philips

woohoo

 

how they come to this figure is beyond me as the £450 figure has never gone up the very first letter i received from them told me it was £450

i have since then had 2 visits and numerous phone calls

How can they charge me £150 before they ever made contact with me??

 

 

I do still think that you can file a Statutory Declaration. I have sent you a message.

 

The fees that this company can charge are a £50 a fee and a visit fee of £175.

[catalice]

Hi Tomtubby

I do still think that you can file a Statutory Declaration.

whats one of them?

[catalice]

can somebody help me to draft a letter to mr bradley please

or point me in the right direction for a template letter?

 

i just want to ask him to due to my vulnerable position could he not take me back to court?

i need to persuade them to have my case taken back to court before they break into my home

 

im not sure if the 180 days is nearly up on my warrent??

if it is i am running out of time

[catalice]

i might be wrong

but i believe that today is 179 days since the warrent was issued

i darent leave my home

 

warrent issued on 11-12-08

 

 

is this ruling that they have to execute the warrent within 180 days for a distress warrent or is it for a differant type of warrent?

 

sorry i have a so many questions and i cant find the answers

[Maggie_moo]

yes they cannot execute the warrant if it is over 180 days, you have two days to go! It will then be passed back to the courts where the bailiff fees will be removed. If they come don't let them in - they do have a right of entry but I doubt they will break in - they also have no powers unless they show you their bailiff certificate not an i.d. card or anything else.

[catalice]

yes they cannot execute the warrant if it is over 180 days, you have two days to go! It will then be passed back to the courts where the bailiff fees will be removed. If they come don't let them in - they do have a right of entry but I doubt they will break in - they also have no powers unless they show you their bailiff certificate not an i.d. card or anything else.

 

 

 

Thank you Maggie

 

Im getting scared now

these people are really nasty

[Maggie_moo]

oops 1 day my adding ups rubbish! Don't be afraid, these people seem to enjoy frightening people but I suspect that's all he's trying to do. DON'T open the door if he comes back, if you can stay online today there are good people on here who will give you loads of support and advice.

[catalice]

can they break my gate open to access my garden shed?

I have my freezer in there due to house being too small to hold it

can they take my freezer?

 

yes i can stay online all day

 

in fact since finding this forum i have been online 20/7

[catalice]

I wish it was for unpaid council tax instead of a fine

i could fight them off then as i know they would have no rights to break into my house

 

 

I have yet another question too

 

if they bring a locksmith to the house and he breaks in for them is the locksmith not breaking the law?

 

do they not have to prove that they live in a property to be able to get the help of a locksmith?

or will the warrent be sufficient?

[Maggie_moo]

No they can'take anything that you would need to live such as washing machines fridges etc. They could take things from your garden, but I think it's highly unlikely they will try as they are only really interested in getting their fees.