Help anyone, Bailiff demands £784 and car pounded

[amazingworld]

Yesterday morning in the mad rush to do the school run found the car was stuck with a Notice from JBW and clamped (though this had been crossed out in black ink?) and a number to call. This particular Bailiff was extremely rude asked me how he can help me like he is some kind of miracle doctor, well didnt want tell him exactly how i felt so asked him why he had clamped my car. Its a ticket from Islington Council. Had recieved a letter from a Bailiff regarding the same matter and responded to them to say am not aware of this offence and when got back to the council, they had a double line parking fine on sunday somewhere in Islignton. Tried to tell them that i never got the notice but they said it was out of their hands! What can i do? I dont have the money, am about to be made redundant (second one in three yrs! )...its just so frustrating, someone help !!!!!!!!!!

[Amy]

Re: Help anyone, Bailiff demands £784 and car pounded

You need to either file a Statutory Declaration or a Statutory Declaration Out of Time, which one depends on when the fine was registered. You can call the TEC on 0845 7045007 to check which forms you need and to ask their advice.

Once you have the correct forms you might need to have them sworn, but again this will depend on which forms you need.

[amazingworld]

Re: Help anyone, Bailiff demands £784 and car pounded

Thanks for the advice, am on to that which kind of leaves me in the mercy of the court!

[amazingworld]

Re: Help anyone, Bailiff demands £784 and car pounded

Hi there, thought i would update this forum with progress so far nothing has happened. I initially sent the wrong form to the county court who swiftly wrote back to say it was not the right form and sent me the right form. However, since i sent it off i havent heard from them i assumed they were really fast at these proceedings. Its now coming to three wks , the car is still clamped outside my house. Just last week the bailiffs wrote to say they have increased the fees and now they want £1020 because i had forcibly removed the clamp. When i called them to challenge this , there was no one to give me a straight answer on where this info was obtained...........LOL! Any help from any one would be really appreciated!

[Amy]

Re: Help anyone, Bailiff demands £784 and car pounded

Have you telephoned the court and told them your car is still clamped?

[amazingworld]

Re: Help anyone, Bailiff demands £784 and car pounded

that was my next move! I was giving it time to wait for a proper decision

[Tommy]

Re: Help anyone, Bailiff demands £784 and car pounded

Three weeks?? wow if that was my car id have sent them the wheel/clamp/hub/suspension and a hefty repair bill by now...

No help to you though sorry

[exbailiff]

Re: Help anyone, Bailiff demands £784 and car pounded

Hi

If they have exceuted the warrant (seized your car) then legally they are allowed to keep it impounded (preferably at a storage facility, but can be left clamped) until the court makes a decision with regards to the statutory declaration.

If the court grants the stat dec then they must release your car, without charge, however the original PCN amount would still stand until the council grant/refuse an appeal. Top tip here is if the court grant the stat dec, then pay the original fine to the council without delay, because I doubt they would grant your appeal....so back to court it would go!

Did you remove the clamp???? If you did, this is illegal, and if you damaged it by doing so then this also becomes criminal damage. They would therefore be justified in charging you for that, and bailiff companies generally value their clamps/locks at £250-£300, so this sounds about right.

Also if you have removed the clamp then you have committed 'Pound Breach' and broke a Court Order...you could therefore be charged 3 times the value of the levy....3 x £784 + clamp damage charge.

If the car is still clamped with the origianl clamp and you have not interferred with it then take a photo of it to prove it....ideally with the date bit of a newspaper in view....this could protect you in the event of a claim.

But £784 for a clamped vehicle sounds about right....however, if the car is still on your property or on the street then they CANNOT charge storage fees, etc....this might be why they're trying it on with the clamp damage scam (assuming you haven't touched it).

The court cannot make the bailiff release the vehicle until the stat dec is granted. The bailiff is within his rights to keep the vehicle in his possession until a decision is made, which can take upto 6 weeks.....normally a lot quicker though!

Hope this helps.

Rich