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    • Just to clear it up, sorry I don't make sense sometimes. I have paid £4000 £1200 of that was suppose to clear the £1200 debt.   Meaning I have sent a extra £2800 on top of my normal mainternance money.   Thank you
    • Try CPR 31.15 Possibly but a party is not compelled to disclose any documents pre allocation
    • Hi, I shown my key worker a letter that was sent to me saying that I owe £1200, she setup a standing order around 2021, this was to pay back money I owed, with my mental health status I have had complex issues to deal with and I just simply forgot about this standing order so it has been running for about 3.5 years acording to my key worker, anyway I'm not worried about the money that was sent that I call a overpayment, it went towards supporting my child's household so I am just happy with that, I am a little sad that I am being told I still owe this £1200, I have sent bank statements over 3 years worth but they have not taken away this £1200 bill and still say I owe it   Thank you
    • She did try contacting EON in the early days of the debt but they refused to speak to her because she could not pass the security checks. She didn't know the answers on an account she hadn't opened?   I also saw this article recently which could be what has happended here: Debt collection agencies in the UK are using fair means or foul to link people to an address where an unpaid debt has been run up, sometimes years after they have moved out The Guardian Anna Tims Mon 22 Apr 2024 The letter from the debt collection agency arrived out of the blue, and it was intimidating. It informed Joshua Simpson* that he owed £2,212 to Octopus Energy, and accused him of ignoring previous requests to settle the bill. If he did not stump up within 14 days, he was told, further action would be taken to recover the money. Simpson checked his Octopus account – it was in credit. Then he noticed the address where the debt had been accrued between 2022 and 2023. It was his childhood home – which his family had sold 18 years previously. "Since I was only 16 when we left the property, I was astonished that they'd linked my name [to it]," he says. "The debt collection agency insisted I provide a tenancy agreement to prove how long I've lived at my current address. I couldn't, since we bought our home. "They are now actively pursuing me for this debt, causing me a huge amount of stress. We are about to remortgage, and if this debt prevents us switching to a better deal, we will face real financial hardship." Simpson had been sucked into the shadowy world of "identity tracing", whereby investigators recruited by creditors seek to locate individuals who have moved home without paying their bills. It is an unregulated sector where anyone can set up as an agent in a back room without a licence, or scrutiny, and use fair means or foul to identify debtors. Reputable companies join a trade association that operates a code of practice, but membership is not mandatory, and mistakes are common. Last year, a teenage boy was chased for a debt of more than £900 by debt collectors acting for the energy company Ovo. A "trace agent" had somehow linked him to the debt because his parents had previously rented the property in question. An investigation by the Observer established that the debt had been run up by a subsequent tenant. The consequences of mistaken identity can be catastrophic. Individuals who are erroneously linked to a debt face, at worst, court action, bailiffs and a ruined credit rating. At best, they can endure weeks of stress and paperwork in order to prove they are not the debtor. It is estimated that 20m identity traces are made in the UK every year, many on behalf of companies that are owed money. Personal data is often obtained from credit reference agencies, which record applications for credit, and details are supposed to be verified with several different sources before being used for debt enforcement. In practice, however, this does not always happen. Simpson's details had been passed along a chain of intermediaries before the demand was issued. Octopus had given the unpaid account to a debt collection agent, which had contracted a tracing service, GBG, to find the debtor................ Full Article: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/oct/04/a-cry-for-help-energy-providers-play-the-villain-in-dramas-to-chill-the-blood ..............The Financial Ombudsman Service, which investigates complaints about financial firms, states that debt collection agents have to produce convincing evidence to link an individual to a debt, rather than rely on names, addresses and birth dates. According to the trade association, the Institute of Professional Investigators, an unknown number of investigators and trace agents are operating below the radar. Many more are merely inept, as data protection compliance training is not mandatory. "We have been campaigning for many, many years to try to get all private investigators regulated," says secretary general Glyn Evans.
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Ex DCA/Bailiff employee here to help Caggers.


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Greetings all,

Firstly I will give a brief explanation of my past....I am an ex-employee of a debt collection / bailiff company who work on behalf of many local authorities / councils. I left this business due to the sickening actions of these rich money grabbing people. There are so many things I could say but again I will keep it brief.

The owners of the business I worked for were adding 'illegal' fees to many accounts and then giving permission to their staff to remove these fees 'if debtors complain about them'.

Many debtors received letters saying they had to increase their payments (on the instruction of local councils) or suffer enforcement action but in truth the councils knew nothing about this at all. As well as this, bailiffs were instructed to leave letters saying that debtors would be made bankrupt if they didn't make payments. I spoke to the CAB who advised me that this is not possible as their debts were usually only in the hundreds of pounds.

There are so many other issues I could go into but I fear this message would continue for far too long. My main issue is the illegal fees, surely the owners could suffer severe action for this?

I don't want go go into names but if there are any trustworthy people out there who believe in this cause as well then I would love to help out, as I feel it is so very unfair to those who are suffering and struggling to make small payments when the owners are making so much from them.

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Hi justaconsumer-whilst I'm sure that your thread will get a number of reviews and postings it might attract more attention if you revise your title to something a little more eye grabbing like..

 

ex-employee of a debt collection / bailiff company offers advice

 

or something along those lines.

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Yes I agree.

Welcome to the site,many of our members are very aware of some of these things that you speak of,in fact many will have experienced at first hand those practices too.

You are more than welcome to the site and if you can help some people then thats great.

I have no doubt that there will be lots of questions coming your way,some of which you will be able to answer some which you wont,by nature of what you have already said here.

I will change your thread title to reflect your comments.

Lets hope that the experience here can be a mutual one and that members may well be able to assist you with things too.

Just be aware that over the years CAG has had many DCAs here in the guise of wanting to help,and others have been here (and still are) for all the wrong reasons...therefore it may take longer for some members to give you their trust than others-its nothing personal,just the way it is.

Edited by MARTIN3030

Have a happy and prosperous 2013 by avoiiding Payday loans. If you are sent a private message directing you for advice or support with your issues to another website,this is your choice.Before you decide,consider the users here who have already offered help and support.

Advice offered by Martin3030 is not supported by any legal training or qualification.Members are advised to use the services of fully insured legal professionals when needed.

 

 

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I welcome your views, a close friend has a twin brother who is a bailiff and I am getting them interested in this site, the guy is a 'warrant bailiff' for a large company who are used by some to frighten people into payments they can't make.

 

What I want to know is why the councils employ bailiffs in the first place for council tax, I was told 'its in government legislation' but many people, including myself, couldn't afford the £180 a month for council tax, that represented most of my residual income at one point and I got stung for £1,000 by the time fees had been added, I actually owed the council 4 payments!. The upside was once the council realised their 'mistake' I didn't pay any council tax for the following year...

 

The whole debt collection industry as a whole needs to look at the 'added fees' structure. Most people (I think this is at least 65% of people, if not more) want to pay their debts, and often have very limited means and no help from the DSS or whoever... I didn't get help as I wasn't deemed 'vulnerable' and my income was £1.50 over the 'limit'...

 

Bailiff law goes back to 1247 and needs to be brought up to date, and bailiffs (and the police) need to be aware that many of the practices carried out have been illegal for some time now.

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Bailiff law goes back to 1247 and needs to be brought up to date, and bailiffs (and the police) need to be aware that many of the practices carried out have been illegal for some time now.

 

I absolutely agree SG - I believe we need a campaign to "educate" police forces throughout the UK, too many times we have heard of bailiffs calling the police to assist them and the police taking the bailiff's side. These bailiffs are taking advantage of the fact that most police officers have no idea if they are supposed to assist, but a bailiff waving a"warrant" seems to swing things :mad:

Help us to keep on helping

Please consider making a donation, however small, if you have benefited from advice on the forums

 

 

This site is run solely on donations

 

My advice is based on my opinion and experience only. It is not to be taken as legal advice - if you are unsure you should seek professional help.

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Greetings all,

Firstly I will give a brief explanation of my past....I am an ex-employee of a debt collection / bailiff company who work on behalf of many local authorities / councils. I left this business due to the sickening actions of these rich money grabbing people. There are so many things I could say but again I will keep it brief.

The owners of the business I worked for were adding 'illegal' fees to many accounts and then giving permission to their staff to remove these fees 'if debtors complain about them'.

Many debtors received letters saying they had to increase their payments (on the instruction of local councils) or suffer enforcement action but in truth the councils knew nothing about this at all. As well as this, bailiffs were instructed to leave letters saying that debtors would be made bankrupt if they didn't make payments. I spoke to the CAB who advised me that this is not possible as their debts were usually only in the hundreds of pounds.

There are so many other issues I could go into but I fear this message would continue for far too long. My main issue is the illegal fees, surely the owners could suffer severe action for this?

I don't want go go into names but if there are any trustworthy people out there who believe in this cause as well then I would love to help out, as I feel it is so very unfair to those who are suffering and struggling to make small payments when the owners are making so much from them.

Based on this your first post, a very warm welcome to you, Justaconsumer. :)

We will not be intimidated.

'The pen is mightier than the sword'.

Petition to Outlaw Debt Sale and Purchase

- can't read/post much as eye strain's v.bad.

VIVA CAG!!! :)

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Hello again all,

I really only started this thread to find out if there was a way to stop these people basically stealing money by adding illegal fees but if I can help anyone in any way then that is even better. I shall be here to answer any questions anybody has.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

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Unlawful fees are against OFT guidlines and the CPUTR 2008 (which is law and came in to effect as legislation last year).

 

How did the company that you worked for justify hounding people with these fees?

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Hi Babybear,

What the company does is add 'visit fees' on to unpaid road traffic fines when a bailiff hasn't even been allocated to the debt. Occasionally people call up with legitimate reasons why it was impossible that a bailiff could have seen the car (sold it or was in the garage etc) and they just apologise and say it was a mistake and the fees were added by accident. These fees aren't small either, I remember one lady calling asking why 130 pounds was added to a debt when the car wasn't even at her address and no bailiff had called. Basically the company are adding on fees and hoping people don't question it. They must have made thousands just from doing that.

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Hi Babybear,

What the company does is add 'visit fees' on to unpaid road traffic fines when a bailiff hasn't even been allocated to the debt. Occasionally people call up with legitimate reasons why it was impossible that a bailiff could have seen the car (sold it or was in the garage etc) and they just apologise and say it was a mistake and the fees were added by accident. These fees aren't small either, I remember one lady calling asking why 130 pounds was added to a debt when the car wasn't even at her address and no bailiff had called. Basically the company are adding on fees and hoping people don't question it. They must have made thousands just from doing that.

 

Well then it's your civic duty to report these **** to the police or council and any other clients for FRAUD!!!

 

I sincerely hope you have.

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babybear its easier said than done to stop these things from happening.Even with most of these firms aware of sites like CAG -they continue without batting an eyelid.

Justaconsumer was part of a cog that forms the engine-one which covers up more- than a million MPs expense claims.

 

It is regulation and education that will make any change-one firm of bailiffs uncovered will not impact on the rest.

Justaconsumer-since you have worked in these places and ask the question how they can be stopped-you have probably seen more than most -can you give us some more insights into your experiences-for example how far up the chain it goes who is aware ?

and are there individual incentives given for results ?

Have a happy and prosperous 2013 by avoiiding Payday loans. If you are sent a private message directing you for advice or support with your issues to another website,this is your choice.Before you decide,consider the users here who have already offered help and support.

Advice offered by Martin3030 is not supported by any legal training or qualification.Members are advised to use the services of fully insured legal professionals when needed.

 

 

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I haven't informed anybody yet, I want to do this properly, otherwise they will just get away with it. They know people in the right places too (the ESA for example).

The 'funny' thing about this is everybody knows they are adding on these fees, the owners, the managers/team leaders and other members of staff but because they seem to have built up this image of debtors being the worst people in the world, the staff just think they deserve it and back up the company. I know they are still doing it now as well.

I don't know if there are incentives further up the chain (it wouldn't surprise me if managers/supervisors get extra to keep their mouths shut) but there were no incentives at all for the general members of staff who take the calls and send out letters etc.

There are other fees added on too, these are legal but extortionate and the councils have the power to remove them but most of them are not aware of them. There is one fee that always baffled me called the 'section 5 head h fee' I think, they described it as a fee 'to put the goods back in the ownership of the debtor after the debt is paid'. Anyone else heard of that one?

Anything else you need to know?

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there is a post in the bailiffs section where the have added a fee £24.50 if my memory serves me correct under head h this fee was added the same day as a walking possession fee and levy fee so i know it is an unlawful fee but don't know what a head h fee is

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ps I am not drunk my keyboard is recovering from a rain incident and nt all keys work!

:D:lol:

 

I've got one that's had orange juice all over it and makes me spell like a 3 year old..:rolleyes:

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

 

They say money talks......mine just keeps saying "Goodbye"

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