What can a bailiff charge for a first visit on a PCN?

[Slowmo45]

Hello All

 

I recently received a first visit from a Marston Group bailiff who insisted that he was entitled to charge £175 for an 'Attendance to Remove' fee.

 

He arrived at my business address and I immediately indicated that I would pay the amount owing on a parking ticket.

 

He handed me a 'Removal Notice' which included the false phrase 'despite previous visits and notices' which the Bailiff conceded was untrue. he seemed to think the fact the notice was 'computer-generated' allowed it to contain inaccuracies!

 

Anyway, having read through some of these threads, it appears that they are entitled to charge 'reasonable' fees but I am not certain of two things:

 

a) can they charge an 'Attendance to Remove' fee on a first visit before they know whether there is anything worth removing? In my case, they attended my business premises (I drive a company vehicle) and I do not own any of the contents of the office so they were wasting their time.

 

b) can they charge that fee if I make a full payment?

 

I accept that I failed to respond to the court paperwork, I maintain I did not receive any prior letter from Marstons (they say they sent one) and I feel certain that they have abused their powers in suddenly 'attending to remove' without knowing if they could actually take anything of value.

 

Many thanks to anybody who can provide some guidance.

 

Best wishes

 

Simon

[ambershadow]

I think its about 25.00 But I will be corrected If I am wrong

[lets fight bailiffs]

i think this £175 is correct but not 100% sure but if that is the case i would have thought they would of written to you first and there would be an admin fee of £50 also.

 

LFB

[Marincor]

These 2 links below provide information on what they can charge. Hope this helps.

 

The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) Regulations 1993

The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) (Amendment) Regulations 2003

[seanamarts]

examples of charges on PCN's taken from TT's website

 

Original Parking Ticket: £100. If paid within the discounted period of 14 days: £50. If unpaid, original debt of £100 increases by 50% to: £150 Court Fee: £5 Warrant of Execution amount: £155 The amount of £155 is passed to the bailiff to collect. If you pay on receipt of a first letter you should pay: £168.16 If you pay when a first visit is made you should pay: £222.84 Original Parking Ticket: £80 If paid within the discounted period of 14 days: £40. If unpaid, original debt of £80 increases by 50% to: £120 Court Fee: £5 Warrant of Execution amount: £125 The amount of £125 is passed to the bailiff to collect. If you pay on receipt of a first letter you should pay: £138.16 If you pay when a first visit is made you should pay: £182.97 Original Parking Ticket: £60. If paid within the discounted period of 14 days: £30. If unpaid, original debt of £60 increases by 50% to: £90 Court Fee: £5 Warrant of Execution amount: £95 The amount of £95 is passed to the bailiff to collect. If you pay on receipt of a first letter you should pay: £106.20 If you pay when a first visit is made you should pay: £143.10 Original Parking Ticket: £40. If paid within the discounted period of 14 days: £20. If unpaid, original debt of £40 increases by 50% to: £60 Court Fee: £5 Warrant of Execution amount: £65 The amount of £65 is passed to the bailiff to collect. If you pay on receipt of a first letter you should pay: £78.16 If you pay when a first visit is made you should pay: £111.06

this should give you an idea on what you should of paid... depending on how much your PCN was in the first place.

have they already written to you asking for payment?

[Slowmo45]

Thanks everybody.

 

To be honest, I am still confused.

 

The parking tickey was for £80 and there was a court fee of £5.

 

Marstons claim to have written a single letter.

 

They maintain they are entitled to charge a 'reasonable' fee for an 'attendance to remove' so have rejected my complaint.

 

This £175 seems inconnsistent with the statutory regulations and the information detailed in the previous post.

 

Also, are they entitled to charge for an 'attendance to remove' after sending just a single letter (which my company's receptionist insists never arrived)?

 

Thanks again.

 

 

Simon

[seanamarts]

your letter ended up with the thousands of other letters they send and thats on the island of make believe, I would send a letter of complaint off to the council that issued the PCN out lining what Marstons have done. The council IS responsible for the behaviour of the bailiff