Parking fine.

[Cedric]

Have I read the thread 'Bailiff Guide' correctly? Can baliffs force entry to my property without notice to collect a debt (alleged) for a PCN charge.

Is the Northhampton bulk court a magistrates court? I have recieved no notification of any judgements against me, either from the court or the council.
I disputed the original PCN but did not receive a satisfactory response, hence it is still in dispute.

The baliffs (Jacobs) posted a notice entitled REMOVAL 24 HOURS, in an open envelope through my door stating that they had not received satisfactory response to previous correspondence There was no correspondence!

"As Baliff in Charge, I am now instructed to proceed with the removal and sale of your goods. REMOVAL may take place even in your absence."

The 'Balance due' was written in red biro!

I telephoned the mobile number and the baliff refused to give any breakdown of the fees, said I should pay then they would tell me what they were for!
Most unhelpful, said , quite menacingly, he would see me in the morning.

I understand there is more than one breach of the National Standards for Enforcement Angencies here, what can I do about it?

[TUTTSI]

Re: Parking fine.

Have a read of our side bar explaining about what bailiffs can and cannot do bailiffs and this link to a recent case

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ad.php?t=18023

[Amy]

Re: Parking fine.

It depends who issues you with the PCN in the first instance as to whether it is a criminal matter or not, but since you have mentioned Northampton County Court Bulk Centre, it is not a criminal matter. Therefore, not dealt with by the magistrates.

How did you and why did you dispute the original PCN?

[shamen]

Re: Parking fine.

Who issues the original parking ticket? Was it a council ticket (eg, parking on a council owned road etc) or was it private (train station, shopping centre etc)? Sounds like bulk court is country court, not magistrates? But then you specifically mention the council so im not sure?

Bailiffs can, as others have pointed out, usually only force entry to your home when collecting for a magistrates court. Normally private parking charges are the county court, and a bailiff cannot force entry for those (though council parking tickets are a different matter).

To force entry for county court they must first obtain a CCJ which you would have the opportunity to pay, and only then could they apply to the court to force entry to your home (walking posession i think). However the rules are more relaxed if you have let them in before (perhaps hes going to show up tomorrow morning and give you the opportunity to try to talk him out of it - only after you let him in from the cold firs.. meaning he can come back later and break in). If you are sure this is a county court and private parking ticket matter, under no circumstances open the front door and close all windows It has been known for bailiffs to stick a foot over the threshold when someone opens the door and claim they were let in peacefully.

Ideally more info is needed - for example, can you scan a copy of the original parking ticket? You say you got no other correspondence which is alarming, but then how were you disputing it?

[Cedric]

Re: Parking fine.

Re. my original query at the top, thank you Amy, it is indeed Northhampton County Court.
I visited my borough concil who issued the ticket and was told they had been transfered to the County Council. Lancashire Parking Services do not have an address that you can visit so I telephoned. It transpires that a warrant had been issued in May 10 but I was not informed of the fact. I have received no letters from the Council since Nov 09. They insisted that they had sent some out.

I did appeal against the ticket to the council but received a Notice of Rejection of Representations. This was most unsatisfactory, I appealed on two grounds, firstly that I was loading/unloading (it was a commercial van), they stated that the warden had not seen any loading, he was only there two minutes, I could see him as I came up the street.
The second ground was that the road markings in the area were non standard and therefore illegal. This was totally ignored in their response. I queried this and was told to see a solicitor or make a formal complaint.
I have received no letters at all from Jacobs, a clear breach of the Standards. When I told the parking official his response was " Oh, they will have done it all properly". I was also told they could not withdraw the warrant from the Baliff and I should go and see a solicitor.

This has developed into a bit of a ramble! However, am I correct in believing that a County Court warrant does not empower the baliff to force entry?

[Amy]

Re: Parking fine.

This has developed into a bit of a ramble! However, am I correct in believing that a County Court warrant does not empower the baliff to force entry?

Yes, you are correct.

I'll move those other posts to their own thread for you.

[Cedric]

Re: Parking fine.

Thank you Ami.

When I spoke to Lancashire Parking Services about not having received any notification of a warrant they refused to supply me with a copy! Can I make them do so?

I can not make a complaint about the baliff and his actions until I see the warrant.

[baldystu]

Re: Parking fine.

Please help... Has anybody had any dealings with equita?? I got a parking fine from my local council, which was passed to equita, we rang equita to arrange to pay £135 to clear the debt on the 23rd of july. I rang equita on the 23rd of July to then be told i had to ring the bailiff to pay him they refused payment! i rang the bailiff and he told me it was now £326 to pay and it had to be paid then! He then called and posted through the door a warrant of execution that was just on A4 paper with equitas letter head and not an offical warrant issued by Northampton Court. I have offered this baliliff installment which he has refused and said he wants all the money! i have my car hidden! please help, he now says the debt is £391.06

[Cedric]

Re: Parking fine.

Having read the quote below I aproached the police and queried if the bailiff had commited fraud by falsely representing that he could remove my goods in 24 hrs. even if I was not there. What a waste of time. Their attitude was that the bailiff was well meaning and I had read it wrongly. It was implied that if I had commited such a heinous crime as not paying a parking fine I deserved what I got and the bailiff would win in the end.
20 Apr 2007 : Column WA94

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): 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. Section 1 of the 2006 Act contains the new general offence of fraud.

One 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.

[Animal]

Re: Parking fine.

Having read the quote below I aproached the police and queried if the bailiff had commited fraud by falsely representing that he could remove my goods in 24 hrs. even if I was not there. What a waste of time. Their attitude was that the bailiff was well meaning and I had read it wrongly. It was implied that if I had commited such a heinous crime as not paying a parking fine I deserved what I got and the bailiff would win in the end.
20 Apr 2007 : Column WA94

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): 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. Section 1 of the 2006 Act contains the new general offence of fraud.

One 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.

Police rarely will respond to fraud allegations like this as the bailiff will just claim it was a mistake and it's hard to prove his intention was 'dishonest'

I think that a complaint to OFT might be in order as it's a breach of debt collection guidelines. Don't expect him to lose his licence any time soon though...

[Amy]

Re: Parking fine.

The police don't need to respond. They merely need to give you a crime number when you report the fraud to them. Then you either complain to the bailiff's company or you complete a Form 4 complaint.

It is impossible to prove a negative, so nobody can prove that a bailiff did not visit and this is why the bailiff should leave paperwork. Apart from anything else Baroness Scotland has said it is fraud, so I'd tend to take her word for it.