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    • further polished WS using above suggestions and also included couple of more modifications highlighted in orange are those ok to include?   Background   1.1  The Defendant received the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) on the 06th of January 2020 following the vehicle being parked at Arla Old Dairy, South Ruislip on the 05th of December 2019.   Unfair PCN   2.1  On 19th December 2023 the Defendant sent the Claimant's solicitors a CPR request.  As shown in Exhibit 1 (pages 7-13) sent by the solicitors the signage displayed in their evidence clearly shows a £60.00 parking charge notice (which will be reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days of issue).  2.2  Yet the PCN sent by the Claimant is for a £100.00 parking charge notice (reduced to £60 if paid within 30 days of issue).   2.3        The Claimant relies on signage to create a contract.  It is unlawful for the Claimant to write that the charge is £60 on their signs and then send demands for £100.    2.4        The unlawful £100 charge is also the basis for the Claimant's Particulars of Claim.  No Locus Standi  3.1  I do not believe a contract with the landowner, that is provided following the defendant’s CPR request, gives MET Parking Services a right to bring claims in their own name. Definition of “Relevant contract” from the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4,  2 [1] means a contract Including a contract arising only when the vehicle was parked on the relevant land between the driver and a person who is-   (a) the owner or occupier of the land; or   (b) Authorised, under or by virtue of arrangements made by the owner or occupier of the land, to enter into a contract with the driver requiring the payment of parking charges in respect of the parking of the vehicle on the land. According to https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/44   For a contract to be valid, it requires a director from each company to sign and then two independent witnesses must confirm those signatures.   3.2  The Defendant requested to see such a contract in the CPR request.  The fact that no contract has been produced with the witness signatures present means the contract has not been validly executed. Therefore, there can be no contract established between MET Parking Services and the motorist. Even if “Parking in Electric Bay” could form a contract (which it cannot), it is immaterial. There is no valid contract.  Illegal Conduct – No Contract Formed   4.1 At the time of writing, the Claimant has failed to provide the following, in response to the CPR request from myself.   4.2        The legal contract between the Claimant and the landowner (which in this case is Standard Life Investments UK) to provide evidence that there is an agreement in place with landowner with the necessary authority to issue parking charge notices and to pursue payment by means of litigation.   4.3 Proof of planning permission granted for signage etc under the Town and country Planning Act 1990. Lack of planning permission is a criminal offence under this Act and no contract can be formed where criminality is involved.   4.4        I also do not believe the claimant possesses these documents.   No Keeper Liability   5.1        The defendant was not the driver at the time and date mentioned in the PCN and the claimant has not established keeper liability under schedule 4 of the PoFA 2012. In this matter, the defendant puts it to the claimant to produce strict proof as to who was driving at the time.   5.2 The claimant in their Notice To Keeper also failed to comply with PoFA 2012 Schedule 4 section 9[2][f] while mentioning “the right to recover from the keeper so much of that parking charge as remains unpaid” where they did not include statement “(if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met)”.     5.3         The claimant did not mention parking period, times on the photographs are separate from the PCN and in any case are that arrival and departure times not the parking period since their times include driving to and from the parking space as a minimum and can include extra time to allow pedestrians and other vehicles to pass in front.    Protection of Freedoms Act 2012   The notice must -   (a) specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates;  22. In the persuasive judgement K4GF167G - Premier Park Ltd v Mr Mathur - Horsham County Court – 5 January 2024 it was on this very point that the judge dismissed this claim.  5.4  A the PCN does not comply with the Act the Defendant as keeper is not liable.  No Breach of Contract   6.1       No breach of contract occurred because the PCN and contract provided as part of the defendant’s CPR request shows different post code, PCN shows HA4 0EY while contract shows HA4 0FY. According to PCN defendant parked on HA4 0EY which does not appear to be subject to the postcode covered by the contract.  6.2         The entrance sign does not mention anything about there being other terms inside the car park so does not offer a contract which makes it only an offer to treat,  Interest  7.1  It is unreasonable for the Claimant to delay litigation for  Double Recovery   7.2  The claim is littered with made-up charges.  7.3  As noted above, the Claimant's signs state a £60 charge yet their PCN is for £100.  7.4  As well as the £100 parking charge, the Claimant seeks recovery of an additional £70.  This is simply a poor attempt to circumvent the legal costs cap at small claims.  7.5 Since 2019, many County Courts have considered claims in excess of £100 to be an abuse of process leading to them being struck out ab initio. An example, in the Caernarfon Court in VCS v Davies, case No. FTQZ4W28 on 4th September 2019, District Judge Jones-Evans stated “Upon it being recorded that District Judge Jones- Evans has over a very significant period of time warned advocates (...) in many cases of this nature before this court that their claim for £60 is unenforceable in law and is an abuse of process and is nothing more than a poor attempt to go behind the decision of the Supreme Court v Beavis which inter alia decided that a figure of £160 as a global sum claimed in this case would be a penalty and not a genuine pre-estimate of loss and therefore unenforceable in law and if the practice continued, he would treat all cases as a claim for £160 and therefore a penalty and unenforceable in law it is hereby declared (…) the claim is struck out and declared to be wholly without merit and an abuse of process.”  7.6 In Claim Nos. F0DP806M and F0DP201T, District Judge Taylor echoed earlier General Judgment or Orders of District Judge Grand, stating ''It is ordered that the claim is struck out as an abuse of process. The claim contains a substantial charge additional to the parking charge which it is alleged the Defendant contracted to pay. This additional charge is not recoverabl15e under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4 nor with reference to the judgment in Parking Eye v Beavis. It is an abuse of process from the Claimant to issue a knowingly inflated claim for an additional sum which it is not entitled to recover. This order has been made by the court of its own initiative without a hearing pursuant to CPR Rule 3.3(4)) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998...''  7.7 In the persuasive case of G4QZ465V - Excel Parking Services Ltd v Wilkinson – Bradford County Court -2 July 2020 (Exhibit 4) the judge had decided that Excel had won. However, due to Excel adding on the £60 the Judge dismissed the case.  7.8        The addition of costs not previously specified on signage are also in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Schedule 2, specifically paras 6, 10 and 14.   7.9        It is the Defendant’s position that the Claimant in this case has knowingly submitted inflated costs and thus the entire claim should be similarly struck out in accordance with Civil Procedure Rule 3.3(4).   In Conclusion   8.1        I invite the court to dismiss the claim.  Statement of Truth  I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.   
    • Well the difference is that in all our other cases It was Kev who was trying to entrap the motorist so sticking two fingers up to him and daring him to try court was from a position of strength. In your case, sorry, you made a mistake so you're not in the position of strength.  I've looked on Google Maps and the signs are few & far between as per Kev's MO, but there is an entrance sign saying "Pay & Display" (and you've admitted in writing that you knew you had to pay) and the signs by the payment machines do say "Sea View Car Park" (and you've admitted in writing you paid the wrong car park ... and maybe outed yourself as the driver). Something I missed in my previous post is that the LoC is only for one ticket, not two. Sorry, but it's impossible to definitively advise what to so. Personally I'd probably gamble on Kev being a serial bottler of court and reply with a snotty letter ridiculing the signage (given you mentioned the signage in your appeal) - but it is a gamble.  
    • No! What has happened is that your pix were up-to-date: 5 hours' maximum stay and £100 PCN. The lazy solicitors have sent ancient pictures: 4 hours' maximum stay and £60 PCN. Don't let on!  Let them be hoisted by their own lazy petard in the court hearing (if they don't bottle before).
    • Thanks for all the suggestions so far I will amend original WS and send again for review.  While looking at my post at very beginning when I submitted photos of signs around the car park I noticed that it says 5 hours maximum stay while the signage sent by solicitor shows 4 hours maximum stay but mine is related to electric bay abuse not sure if this can be of any use in WS.
    • Not sure what to make of that or what it means for me, I was just about to head to my kip and it's a bit too late for legalise. When is the "expenditure occured"?  When they start spending money to write to me?  Or is this a bad thing (as "harsh" would imply)? When all is said and done, I do not have two beans to rub together, we rent our home and EVERYTHING of value has been purchased by and is in my wife's name and we are not financially linked in any way.  So at least if I can't escape my fate I can at least know that they will get sweet FA from me anyway   edit:  ah.. Sophia Harrison: Time bar decision tough on claimants WWW.SCOTTISHLEGAL.COM Time bar is a very complex area of law in Scotland relating to the period in which a claim for breach of duty can be pursued. The Scottish government...   This explains it like I am 5.  So, a good thing then because creditors clearly know they have suffered a loss the minute I stop paying them, this is why it is "harsh" (for them, not me)? Am I understanding this correctly?  
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I own a small recording studio in a business park (for which I have a lease). It is not a business so I didnt pay business rates for 2009, which I now know is wrong! I do have to pay, but with a 50% reduction.

 

2 weeks ago I got suspicious that my mail is being mixed up with other peoples mail. The postman does not directly put post into my pigeon hole. It is down to me and surrounding studio tenants to pick the mail up and put in the correct pigeon hole. I found a letter in someones huge pile of letters, from brent council magistrate court for a court hearing (which I of course missed). I immediately wrote a letter and small busines relief form and sent it to brent council, requesting that they send me the new bill so I can pay immediatly. No response so far, but they bailiff has now left a letter threatening to force entry and sieze goods (im only there part time asi work full time elsewhere). I rang him and he arranged to come on monday and he claims he will ring brent council to hurry my new bill.

 

Now, what are my rights? I dont trust him. He surely wants to just make sure he gets his worth out of the mess (which is VERY valuable and vintage music equipment!). Do I have to let him in? His letter had some company name on it. Can he force entry? I want to pay direct to brent council so ill go there monday morning and INSIST. TO brent council id have to pay roughly £600, to the bailiff...£1800!!!!!!

 

Added: Equita is the bailiff company. I really need to get this sorted without him taking my equipment, or I'll miss my own record label launch! I just rang him again and hes refusing to tell me how much he is expecting to collect, and that i should wait until monday.

Edited by mr_spine
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someone with more knowledge will come along but i do know that they cannot force entry. dont have any windows etc. open. if you dont allow them access they cant enter. dont even open the door. they are after their own fees....if they cant collect from you all they can do is hand it back to the council. make sure you phone the council first thing. all the charges they add on for each visit is just to line their own pockets.

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someone with more knowledge will come along but i do know that they cannot force entry. dont have any windows etc. open. if you dont allow them access they cant enter. dont even open the door. they are after their own fees....if they cant collect from you all they can do is hand it back to the council. make sure you phone the council first thing. all the charges they add on for each visit is just to line their own pockets.

 

 

not 100% but pretty sure this was discussed in another thread, being a business property they can force entry as long as they secure with equivalent or better.

 

also, the amount seems rather wrong... what are the charges applied etc ?

 

Deffo try deal with the council, and if you did not receive the summons go to the court and ask for the judgement to be set aside. Siteing that you did not receive the original paperwork in time for the hearing.

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The charges i quoted were the full business rates and charges incurred for missing the court hearing. I have no idea of the amount the bailiff wants, he refused to tell me until monday morning. He seems very very eager to not talk about it until he is in the property, which is making me panic. If they can force entry then I might be in trouble. I've read other posts and theres no way Im handing money to him. So its all on the council to find my small business application and take full payment of it early on monday morning. I'll also ring the courts explaining to them that I had not received the letter until well after the court date. From what I understand, he will be able to charge for 2 visits. Hopefully, I can avoid him completey.

 

Im holding out for the 50% reduction on rates (to which i am definatly entitled). Otherwise I simply havent got the money to pay full rates. Have £800 in cash right beside me! very frustrating. My mistake was informing Brent council that I had not received the letter, instead of the court.

Edited by mr_spine
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Ive done more reading but still can not find a 100% answer to 'can they force entry?'

 

Also, on another post they had a link to a page where it said the following:

 

If you miss an installment for business rates you will be served with a reminder notice asking for the installment to be paid in 7 days. If after a further 7 days you have still not paid or made an arrangement, the entire balance will become due and the local authority will ask the magistrates’ court for a liability order for the full amount they say you owe plus court costs. The liability order says that you are due to pay your business rates and have not paid.

 

The court must issue the liability order unless:

 

  • the council has not gone through the proper procedures;
  • you have paid the amount owed;
  • the amount has been incorrectly calculated;
  • the name on the summons is wrong.

I can confirm the name is a bit wrong. My surname is correct but they have me down as 'Mr C'. I am in fact Mr K. Seems stupid, but could that get the bailiff off my back so I can pay the council?? And by law, how can they take any equipment if it would disrupt my business operations? Apart from sofa, everything is vital to the studio...

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Collection of Business Rates or more properly Non-Domestic Rates is essentially the same as Council Tax.

 

The charges the bailiff can make are the same - £24-50 1st Visit & £18-00 2nd Visit. He cannot just break in unless he has already gained entry peacefully previous. For most businesses a Bailiff can usually just walk straight in off the street eg shops, pubs etc. You do not have to let him in and I don't doubt he wants to gain entry in order to make a levy on your goods inside - if this happens then it is a different ball game.

 

If you can before he gets to you find out from the Council the amount on the Liability Order and the actual amount still outstanding. If they have reissued the rates bill then they should be calling the Bailiff off and you may have an opportunity to then pay them. If they say they cannot do this then you can still pay them direct by using their online payment facility, may well put the Bailiffs nose out of joint.

 

If he does attend then the chances are he will levy on a vehicle he spots outside, does not even have to be yours as he will see this as a lever to extract cash from you, however he should check first.

 

The name being slightly wrong will probably not affect anything as on the basis of probabilities he has found the correct person.

 

Best solution is to deny him any entry regardless of what story he spins you, get on to the Council and sort out with them.

 

PT

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Go to the council first thing monday morning and pay what you think you owe Rates @ 50% make sure you get a receipt the text not call the bailiff saying that the bill has now been paid in full and he can check that with the council, if he wished to waste his time to come and check that you have a receipt to prove you have paid then more fool him because he wont get paid for it as he can only charge you for two visits, better still you can pay the bill online and print off the receipt yourself. He cannot force entry to your property and he cannot just take what he likes either he has to gain a peaceful entry to the property and levy on goods first before taking anything. you cannot be arrested or taken to prison .. sounds like to me he is just trying it on. So if you cannot pay online then get to the council first thing on monday and get this paid, If the have already told you you are entitled to a reduction then the bailiff cannot pursue you for the rest. But you need to get this in writing usually the council will put on hold with the bailiff whilst they are looking into it

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The council wont respond. In fact they just sent me straight through to the bailiff over the phone. The bailiff wants £600 in equita charges alone!!!!!!!!! All hes done so far is made one visit and left a letter.

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He cannot charge you £600 in charges this is totally illegal. If he has just made 1 visit then all you owe in charges are £24.50 . You need to write to the council explaining what they are trying to charge you, and also write to the bailiff company asking for a break down of their charges. When writing to the council tell them they are responsible for the bailiff actions, tell them you will place a complaint with the Local Government Ombudsman if they do not investigate this fully. In the mean time DO NOT let this bailiff in the property.

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I just paid via the internet. The council keep fobbing me off, not sure who I can speak to. Bailiff is on his way down. Im happy to argue with him. But how do I get him off my back? His tone has changed from ffriendly to firm and p'd off. 'If thats how you want to play it, then fair enough' is what he just said to me. He called this a recovery/enforcement fee.

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I just paid via the internet. The council keep fobbing me off, not sure who I can speak to. Bailiff is on his way down. Im happy to argue with him. But how do I get him off my back? His tone has changed from ffriendly to firm and p'd off. 'If thats how you want to play it, then fair enough' is what he just said to me. He called this a recovery/enforcement fee.

Mr Spine you dont have to talk with him at all get writing some letters you often only talk to the lower staff when dealin with the bailiff matters at the council writing a letter always gets to the right person especially if worded correctly Tis good yo have paid.. print out a receipt and send it to the bailiff company or better still email them a copy of the receipt and tell them to call off their dog.. The bailiff will be most p**ssed that you have already paid.. as for his charges he will now have to take you to a small claims court to get them as his charges will not be on the liability order and he has to prove the charges are lawful which we all know they are not and a court will see that too. I doubt very much that he will take that route

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Update: I am shocked and disgusted with the law and my local council (Brent). They sent me on a very annoying merry-go-round of phonecalls, most of the time they transferred me straight to the bailiffs mobile. This is after I stated that he is defrauding me according to various legal acts and regulations. Noone was interested! I asked one lady 'so if he added bailiff charges of £8000 for one visit in which he left a letter for a £1000 fine, you couldnt comment or do anything about it?'. She replied with 'thats correct sir'. I paid the council everything I owe them and he is still claiming £600 for one visit (for which he left a letter). I sent a text to him telling him ive paid and requesting a breakdown of what Im paying £600 for, no answer given apart from an idle threat.

 

I went to the council in person (to two different buildings) and not a single person could help me with this blatent fraud. They gave me a number to call, who again, put me through to the bailiff! The police told me (at the police station) that its up to bailiffs what they charge and that they could do nothing. So when the council or police want to enforce any regulation, law, act youre screwed. If you approach THEM with a case of fraud, theyll throw you to the wolves. Amazing.

 

Theres no sign of the bailiff at the studio, im back home now. Interestingly two neighbouring studios have had the same problem with this exact same person from Equita (Im tempted to name him on the forum). Except they paid him! £400 and £700 in his own costs for one visit. I now want to file a complaint with brent, name members of their staff for ASSISTING with the defrauding of a member of the public.

 

Is it better to write a letter or a email? To both equita and Brent council. I'm stunned. Sorry for the the long winded post. I've lost a days work because of all this. Best way to avoid and fix this mess? Be organised and pay your bills :) And thanks to this site, Ive saved alot of money.

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What bailiffs can and can't do

 

If County Court bailiffs come to your home, you don't have to let them in.

They can't force their way in on their first visit, but they can enter through an open window, or an unlocked door. Forced entry includes pushing past you once you have opened the door to them or leaving their foot in the door to prevent you closing it. Such action would make the whole process illegal.

Bailiffs trying to recover money you owe to HMRC are allowed to break into your home, providing they have a magistrates' warrant.

Bailiffs recovering unpaid magistrates' court fines, however, do have the power to force entry.

 

 

This is from Bailiffs and debt collectors : Directgov - Money, tax and benefits

 

 

According to them, they can force entry when enforcing a magistrate court fine, is that true?

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Update: I am shocked and disgusted with the law and my local council (Brent). They sent me on a very annoying merry-go-round of phonecalls, most of the time they transferred me straight to the bailiffs mobile. This is after I stated that he is defrauding me according to various legal acts and regulations. Noone was interested! I asked one lady 'so if he added bailiff charges of £8000 for one visit in which he left a letter for a £1000 fine, you couldnt comment or do anything about it?'. She replied with 'thats correct sir'. I paid the council everything I owe them and he is still claiming £600 for one visit (for which he left a letter). I sent a text to him telling him ive paid and requesting a breakdown of what Im paying £600 for, no answer given apart from an idle threat.

 

I went to the council in person (to two different buildings) and not a single person could help me with this blatent fraud. They gave me a number to call, who again, put me through to the bailiff! The police told me (at the police station) that its up to bailiffs what they charge and that they could do nothing. So when the council or police want to enforce any regulation, law, act youre screwed. If you approach THEM with a case of fraud, theyll throw you to the wolves. Amazing.

 

Theres no sign of the bailiff at the studio, im back home now. Interestingly two neighbouring studios have had the same problem with this exact same person from Equita (Im tempted to name him on the forum). Except they paid him! £400 and £700 in his own costs for one visit. I now want to file a complaint with brent, name members of their staff for ASSISTING with the defrauding of a member of the public.

 

Is it better to write a letter or a email? To both equita and Brent council. I'm stunned. Sorry for the the long winded post. I've lost a days work because of all this. Best way to avoid and fix this mess? Be organised and pay your bills :) And thanks to this site, Ive saved alot of money.

 

 

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but here goes:....

 

With council tax the bailiff is entitled to his fees FIRST. How this works is follows:

 

Lets assume that the debt passed to the bailiff by the local authority is £300.

 

If the bailiff visits the property and is UNABLE to levy upon goods then he can charge £24.50 for "attending to levy" (where no levy was made).

 

If you then pay £300 direct to the council, this does NOT discharge the Liability Order. This is because the local authority are OBLIGED to pass £24.50 to the bailiff company to cover their fees.

 

This means that the Liability Order has NOT been paid in full as there is a balance due of £24.50 and the bailiff can....and WILL continue enforcement. This is just one of the dangers of paying the local authority direct.

 

For Equita to have applied charges of £600 the bailiff MUST have levied upon SIGNIFICANT goods....and if so.....he must by law provide a Notice of Seizure of Goods & Inventory (Form 7). Was any such form provided?

 

In addition, it would appear that the bailiff may well have applied an "attending to remove fee". HOWEVER, there is case law that provides that this fee CANNOT be applied UNLESS a bailiff has PREVIOUSLY levied upon goods.

 

It is important to be aware that a bailiff is merely an AGENT of the local authority and as such, the council are "wholly responsible" for the charges applied by their bailiffs. I would suggest that you contact the council asap as they will be able to access your account and advise you of what fees have been applied....by their agents.....and WHY !!

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He visited my business unit when I wasnt there. He simply left a letter stating he had attended with the intention of removing goods, 'I will return and remove goods even in your absense'. There was no 'Notice of Seizure of Goods & Inventory' form. This is the first and only visit he has made, there is no levy, he has not entered my property and I havent even met him face to face. The amount I owe was not put on the letter he left for me.

 

Im happy to pay him his £24 visit fee but so far he's only asked for the 'Enforcement Costs' of £600. The council have fobbed me off all day. Im sending out letters, and now arranged a meeting with my local M.P.

 

Just to make clear: £900 paid to council (full amount) and £600 to bailiff (unpaid)

Edited by mr_spine
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He visited my business unit when I wasnt there. He simply left a letter stating he had attended with the intention of removing goods, 'I will return and remove goods even in your absense'. There was no 'Notice of Seizure of Goods & Inventory' form. This is the first and only visit he has made, there is no levy, he has not entered my property and I havent even met him face to face. The amount I owe was not put on the letter he left for me.

 

Im happy to pay him his £24 visit fee but so far he's only asked for the 'Enforcement Costs' of £600. The council have fobbed me off all day. Im sending out letters, and now arranged a meeting with my local M.P.

 

From what you have said the fees are WRONG !!

 

 

I have sent you a pm.

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Makes interesting reading about these fraudulent fees. Mr Spine I can appreciate your frustration - trying to run a business at the same time as dealing with this sort of s***e is simply not on.

 

Iam in the process - and nearly there of getting the Police to arrest and charge a bailiff that blatantly overcharged me on fees of £1500.00 for 1 visit!

 

Its no good just reporting it to the Police - I tried that first, and they gave me the usual - 'bailiff can charge what he wants - we know its wrong but there's no real law governing this. That is until 2012 when new laws on bailiff work are due to come into force.

 

This however is the worst statement the Police could make to me as it just made me more determined to get these **** off the streets.

 

Mr Spine try reading this (link below) and then politely tell the Police to get on with what they are paid for.

 

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2006/pdf/ukpga_20060035_en.pdf

 

PS Commiting an act of Fraud is arrestable

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Guest Happy Contrails

Its no good just reporting it to the Police - I tried that first, and they gave me the usual - 'bailiff can charge what he wants - we know its wrong but there's no real law governing this.

 

Communicate in writing and you cant go wrong. If the police fob you off with excuses then the law says concealing a crime under a pretence it is a civil matter is an arrestable offence, its called Perverting the Course of Justice and you should be contacting the Parliamentary Ombudsman asking why the police officer isnt charged under Section 4 of the Criminal Law Act 1967. The law is not discretionary, so make lots of noise but in durable communicable form only - otherwise police start being vexatious and threaten you with arrest etc.

 

The Chief Constable

Name of Police Authority

Address 1

Address 2

Address 3

Postcode

 

DATE

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re: Reporting a crime committed under the Fraud Act 2006

 

I enclose a document given to me by a man saying he is a bailiff firm [and threatened to commit breaking and entering and take property unless I pay him £AMOUNT]. He charged fees £AMOUNT when the law prescribes a fee of £24.50.

 

I appreciate the police have a propensity to dismiss bailiff crime to be a civil matter, but the official legal position is the bailiff commits an arrestable offence under the 2006 Fraud Act. Lord Lucas at the House of Lords on 20 April 2007 when he asked HM Government whether it would be right for the police to claim that such an action is a civil and not a criminal matter. The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal) replied with, inter-alia (quote) A bailiff or any other person who dishonestly charges for work that has not been done will be committing an offence under the Fraud Act 2006 (unquote).

 

Section 1 means by which this offence can be committed is set out in Section 2, on fraud by false representation. This section applies where a person dishonestly makes a false representation and intends, by making the representation, to make a gain for himself or another, or cause a loss to another, or expose another to a risk of loss. It is also possible that, where a bailiff repeatedly charges for work that has not been done, this conduct will amount to fraudulent trading either under Section 9 of the 2006 Act or under the provisions on fraudulent trading in company legislation.

 

The law can provide reasonable costs in respect of bailiffs transporting goods in a van (attending to remove fee) however no goods have been levied and no document has been signed by me. District Judge Advent on the 9th & 24th September 2008 presiding over Case 8CL51015 Anthony Culligan (Claimant) v 1. Jason Simkin & 2. Marstons (Defendants). The court ruled that (quote) because the bailiff produces no evidence as to how the charge had been arrived then he unable to show that it is reasonable (unquote).

 

Any offence committed under the 2006 Fraud Act is an arrestable offence under Section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Please assign a crime reference number and I request the crime is investigated professionally and objectively and I am happy to help you in your enquiries and stand as a prosecution witness at trial.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

 

 

YOUR NAME

Enc: copy of bailiff document giving contact details

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I have had a few conversations with various people at the MOJ, and they commented that new enforcement/bailiff laws will come into force in 2012.

They said that it will give proper clarity to what can and can't be charged/what an enforcement officer can /can't do. At the same time I said that I hoped the Police will be updated and will be properly informed to which the reply was 'we would expect so'

 

It looks like the the SIA will become the bailiffs regulators - don't they regulate door staff too? Oh dear.

 

Click the link

Tighter regulations for bailiffs announced - Ministry of Justice

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