Entitled to refund of Enforcement Fee?

[dgs]

My daughter recently had been coerced by a bailiff into paying unreasonable payments over 3 months of £162.50 and two lots of £200, which were unpaid council tax of £252.50,* *£75 compliance fee and an enforcement fee of £235.* My question is : She is actually on their records as vulnerable due to a previous mental health problem and a single parent to a little 5 year old. As I understand it they were employed by the council and were quite heavy handed in their dealings with her even texting her on days of payment and getting into financial difficulties due to the amount of the payments and the short period to pay. I understand her first port of call has to be to the council who employ the bailiffs/enforcement agents. Would she in any way be able to gain a refund of the enforcement fee as they didn't follow BS procedure at the time and if they are not responsive to that go to the ombudsman regarding the matter?
Any advice and how to phrase a letter of complaint is appreciated.

[Law Student 3]

Hello, I am sorry to hear of your daughter's treatment. When drafting a letter of complaint to the bailiffs, you are correct to approach the council first as they are the creditors. It is also important to send the letter of complaint to the bailiff company, this will help you if the creditors do not respond. There is a four-stage process to drafting a letter of complaint to the bailiffs:

1. Tell the creditor who you are - this may include an account reference from previous letters.
2. Identify the bailiffs. If you are unsure of the individuals, contact the bailiff company to know who you dealt with.
3. Explain what the bailiffs did wrong. In your case, evidence of the text messages will assist here.
4. Say how the creditor should deal with the complaint. Here, state that you would like a refund or partial refund of the enforcement fee because your daughter has been mistreated as a vulnerable person. This is why going into as much detail of what the bailiffs did wrong is important.

Hope this helps as a starting point.
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