a few questions help!!!

[Firey]

:? Hello ,

I have several questions. My husband owed common charges on our flat and I made an agreement to pay monthly starting in August. I just had the bailiff at the door last week stating this had been taken to court in July and 150.00 was added. We never received any court summons or judgement although I see he had the paper on him. Is it legal to enter a judgement if you were never informed of the proceedings to begin with? Also I have a loan thru clydesdale financial services (like a charge card) for car services and If i am late they charge me 22.50 for late charge letter. That eats up all my payment and the balance is growing. I am self employed so its hard to determine dates to pay. Also I was wondering if its legal to charge for not paying by Direct debit. My car payment is made by standing order because I have more control on the date but they charge me 10.00 a month for not doing it DD. Also my phone company charges me 2.50 a month for not paying DD. Also I am sorta thick with this forum and have problems wording letters I could use some help in that respect.

 

Thanks

[chopperclaire]

Hi

Can't help on the Bailiff thing as I don't know much about that, but sure someone will be along soon to help you with this.

With regards to the bank charges, have a look in the FAQ's and the relevant Forum for further info. You need to familiarise yourslef with the process and then send the initial Subject Access Request and a £10 cheque to obtain your last six years statements.

With regards to Companies charging for you not paying by Direct Debit I think this is standard and have not seen anything to say they cannot charge these fees.

Keep looking through the site as there are loads of helpful forums and sections.

Claire

[mazzab]

Charges for not paying by direct debit are not penalty charges, but are supposed to reflect the expense of alternative collection methods. It's gonna be difficult to get them back i would think. A lot of companies give you a discount for paying by DD which makes them untouchable, so I guess it might be worth a go.

 

Maybe you just need to get your head above water and then start paying by DD. Visit MoneySavingExpert.com for advice on debt management. It's saved me £2-300 a month within 3 months.

[lookinforinfo]

The £22.50 bank charges yo can reclaim and there are lletters that you can copy on the forum to make it easy for you. If you read the faqs and the

step by step guide you will soon understand what you need to do.

 

 

I know that most companies give a discount when paying by direct debit-

normally £1 or £2 or so. £10 seems exorbitant and I wonder if you are

correct as it does not sound right. I suggest that you write a short note

to them asking them to confirm that they do charge you £10 per month

extra as you pay by standing order. Point out that while you understand

that paying by direct debit may well save them costs, you think £10

is not a true reflection of the saving involved and if they continue to

charge that much, you will complain to your local Trading standards Office.

Let us know what they say.

 

Now to your Council tax. It is surprising that the Council agreed a payment

plan with you in August if you had had a Court case in July. Did the bailiff

accept the arrangement you made with the Council?

Yes you are supposed to receive a notice from the Council advising you

that they are taking you to Court. Are you sure that your husband got the letter and didn't open it?

You can apply to the Court and say that you did not get the letter giving

details of the Court case, otherwise you would have attended , See if they

will rehear the case so that you can be present to put your side of the story.

Whether they will agree in view of you having come to a financial arrangement

already I am not sure, but if you don't ask, you won't know.

Ring the Court, most of them are very helpful.