Anyone paying a fee when paying a bailiff company by debit card??

[consumer_justice]

Sorry to clog up the board a bit tonight.

I'm just wondering if anybody is paying a fee when paying their monthly/weekly payments by debit card?

Surprisingly there are companies who charge as much as 2 pound per payment from a debit card, calling it an 'admin fee'. These are completely extortionate and, in my opinion, unlawful.

There is definitely a way we can stop this and save money for thousands of people out there.

If anyone is willing to help (it is as simple as a phone call or email) then please let me know!

 

Thanks

[Yoshiro]

Unfortunately this is legal, as companies are charged by the banks for taking debit/credit card payments.

 

Debit cards tend to be a set ammount between about 50p and £2.00, credit cards are generally a percentage of the ammount being paid.

 

But as i say, all that is is the company passing on the charge to you.

[fwog]

Unfortunately this is legal, as companies are charged by the banks for taking debit/credit card payments.

 

Debit cards tend to be a set ammount between about 50p and £2.00, credit cards are generally a percentage of the ammount being paid.

 

But as i say, all that is is the company passing on the charge to you.

 

I think you'll find this is unfair business practice. It was ruled that debit collection companies cannot reasonable add more charges to a debt. This should be accounted for under business expenses.

Theres a thread on here relating to the illeagal charges and to the court case that set the president.

 

Fwog

[Yoshiro]

I disagree, i do not think this is an unfair business practice. If they are being charged for allowing us to accept this method then why should they not pass this charge on to us???

[MRSWESTHAM]

i actually think everything about bailiff companies is unfair lol

 

i was paying 3 account and being charged £1 for each one.

 

the council told me it was legal. then again the council told me they couldnt take back my council tax and i HAD to deal with bailiffs ! Hmmm

[ambershadow]

I am on the understanding £1.00 is the limit for paying by debit card

[Yoshiro]

I am on the understanding £1.00 is the limit for paying by debit card

 

I think it all depends on the bank.

 

I used to work at a car dealership and the bank were charging us £1.75 for each debit card transaction and 2.5% for credit cards!

[sillygirl1]

I suspect Yoshiro that it was because of the high value of your claims, many of these people paying to bailiff companies are paying less than £100 a time, sometimes only £10 a time.. £2 on top of £10 is a lot!

[Yoshiro]

No, this was on any transaction. We took most payments on the card machine as deposits for cars as most people opted for finance plans - so the deposits were usually £50 on average.

[lets fight bailiffs]

It all depends on what bank the bailiff is with as to the fee debit cards are fixed fee and credit is on % so if you are paying large amounts its less to pay by debit but under £150 you will save by paying by credit card or like i keep saying its free to put it into there bank most of the time you can do this on internet banking for free because all you are doing paying by card is paying another bank charge.

Edited July 25, 2009 by lets fight bailiffs
my kids put me off put wrong thig down

[fwog]

Ah!

 

 

Found the thread

 

I think this will clear it up

 

All the best

 

Fwog

[hallowitch]

Ah!

 

 

Found the thread

 

I think this will clear it up

 

Fwog your are a star

[fwog]

Many thanks!

 

Flattery will get you everywhere

 

Fwog

[consumer_justice]

Thanks for the replies.

To be completely honest, when starting this thread, I didn't really care if it is 'ethical' or legal to charge a fee to make a payment by debit card...Jacobs bailiffs (my ex employer) charge a fee of £2 per transaction unless the council tells them to accept otherwise. This is the important part. Most councils don't even know they are charging this fee. The ones who have had complaints to them (Barnet, Sheffield, Chester Le Street, Durham...the list goes on) have told the bailiff companies to waive fees or reduce them significantly (50p on most occasions)

 

I actually started this thread because I know how easy it is to have these fees reduced or waived for everybody. All it takes is a few phone calls or emails to councils and they will force the bailiff companies to do this. I have the email addresses and phone numbers for the back office for almost all councils in the uk, all I need is enough people to complain and the fees will be stopped. Remember that these companies take hundreds of payments per day so you can only imagine how much they make per year in fees...so we must stop them!

 

If anyone is willing to help, even just by sending a quick email, then please help me know! £2 might not sound a lot, but for a family with children paying £5 p/w (there are lots of these cases) it would cost £104 per year, which makes me sick to be honest.

 

Please get back to me. It is easier to stop these fees than you think.

[consumer_justice]

And just to remind everyone, it doesn't matter what bailiff company you have dealt with, it is possible to stop all of them removing fees, I assure you.

[JrnyFan4Life]

I'll be up for this, after going through the statement they sent me I found out Philips have taken an extra £5 in charges on top of what I was already paying them, plus a £50 "registration fee" and a £100 visit fee for a visit that never happened!

[k1mmie]

I have had several dealings with Newlyn over the years. Off the top of my head they charge a whopping 5% (if I remember correctly). AM awaiting a SAR so will soon find out, but I know it was a very high figure. Let's see if they declare that with the screenshot!

[consumer_justice]

Excellent, thanks, it would be good to know what all the bailiff companies charge for taking a payment and also what council were you dealing with? Jacobs bailiffs charge a different amount per council because certain councils won't allow charges.

Thanks

[JrnyFan4Life]

Excellent, thanks, it would be good to know what all the bailiff companies charge for taking a payment and also what council were you dealing with? Jacobs bailiffs charge a different amount per council because certain councils won't allow charges.

Thanks

 

 

Philips charge me 50p for a debit card transaction and £3.00 for a credit card.

[consumer_justice]

Yoshiro,

The companies do NOT usually get charged for taking a debit card payment, and if they do then it is definitely not more than 50 pence. These fees are unlawful and should be banned.

 

Good news though, a few more councils have abolished or reduced the fees!

If you are willing to help and send an email or make a phone call to your local council to ask the fees to be abolished the please PM me!

Thanks again

[1970]

Companies should swallow the transaction costs as a cost of sale. It cannot be considered as a cost that must be passed on to the payer.

 

When I but my shopping in Tesco I don't expect to see a portion of the cashiers hourly salary on my bill.

 

I paid £400 to Swift Credit bailiffs and they actually took £420.

 

These fees are not laid down in the regulations and are therefore unlawful.

 

1970.

[Yoshiro]

First of all its not the cashiers your paying for with the fee, its rental of the machine and a cost per transaction for handling it.

 

Consumer_Justice, i would like to point out that you are wrong. Any company that uses these machines to take payment are charged by the bank that issues them for each transaction.

 

It is not illegal for them to charge it, the difference between the bailiffs and the shops is that the shops factor this cost into the pricing of their products.

 

As i have stated, it is not "illegal" for them to charge it, however it has been deemed by the councils, and possibly the courts to be an unfair charge, so therefore there is a difference.

[hallowitch]

it may not be illegal for a shop to charge is

 

but it is illegal for a bailiff to charge it

[lets fight bailiffs]

it is not illegal but is classed as unfair fees

[bailiffbasher69]

I have investigated this a little it seems bailiffs cant charge a credit card fee there was a detailed asessment on the subject and the out come was that they can not charge a credit card fee but I think it seems any one is yet to challenge the debit card fee in the same way I was considering a detailed asessment for this myself we shall see