bailiffs

[bailiffhater]

On 31 march I had a letter from bailiff for unpaid pcn I rang the bailiff Dukes and was told I had 14 days to pay or i would get a visit 93.44 which was 80.00 parking charge 11.20 bailiff costs. Stupidly I gave them a mouth full of abuse and hung up. after i calmed down i assumed i had 14 day to pay so planned accordingly and saved the money.
8 days later 8 april i woke up to find a notice of seizure and a bill for 247.04 consisting of 80.00 penalty charge and 167.04 bailiffs costs so i rang them to find out what was going on and they said because i didnt agree to pay the 93.44 that i was given a first visit.
i honestly thought i had 14 days to pay not 8 days because that is what they made it soundlike i didnt know i had to agree to pay within 14 days to be able to pay in 14 days the phone call was recorded by them they made it sound like i had 14 days before a visit
is there anything i can do now
is there anyway i can pay the parking charge and not bailiff costs
i only got the pcn for being 5 mins late 247.04 for 5 mins on a car park is a bit excessive dont you think
please help me as soon as you can as the bailiff wants to set an agreement up today and im not sure if thats the right thing to do

[bailiffhater]

Re: bailiffs

is there anybody out there that can help me with this

[Amy]

Re: bailiffs

is there anybody out there that can help me with this

Yes there is, if you give them half a chance.

Have you read this yet? Parking Fine Guide - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

[bailiffhater]

Re: bailiffs

yes ive read it im not to sure if there charge is a bit excessive i cant find an exact amount that i should have been charged and dukes clearly gave me the impression i had 14 days to pay and then gave me a surprise bill so not to sure where i stand there
ive been up all night reading anything i could find on the subject i just wandered what other peoples opinions are
i am quite confused about what i can or cant do

[Amy]

Re: bailiffs

Did you actually receive the fine and who gave it to you? Have you appealed at any stage?

Did they visit you and did they leave you any paperwork?

[bailiffhater]

Re: bailiffs

It was stafford borough council that issued the fine in the first place then northampton the warrant
I appealed the first time but got rejected and then I didnt get the next form in on time i think i had 28 days and it got there after 30 days so that got rejected to then i got a wittness statement to fill in but i never sent that back my argument was i had paid to use the carpark so why should i pay a fine (not a very good argument I know wish i just paid original fine now)
Dukes visited on 8 april whilst i was asleep (work nights) and posted a notice of seizure through the door for the vehicle also telling me to ring him so i rang him and he said he would take 100.64 to set up the agreement then 6 installments of 24 weekly but the payment wouldnt go through yesterday so he is ringing back this afternoon do you think i should set this up with him i havnt signed anything yet or made any payment i could hide the car is that illegal

thanks

[Amy]

Re: bailiffs

The fees are as follows:-

Where the sum demanded and due does not exceed £100 - the fee is £28
Where the sum demanded exceeds £100 - 28% on the first £200 and 5.5% on anything over £200

For attending to levy distress, but where the levy is not made - "reasonable costs" (this fee must not exceed the above fee)

It is the reasonable costs part that causes the most problems with fees, because the bailiffs believe this allows them to charge what they like. However, this is not the case, but you will have to fight them if you want these fees reduced.

So the answer is no, I do not think you should set up a payment plan for the amount given to you by the bailiff because he lying to you and charging you excessively.

You should send a SAR (link in either of the bailiff guides) and also check to see if this bailiff is certificated (link also in the bailiff guide).

[bailiffhater]

Re: bailiffs

He has got certificate till 2012
That is good news im just in the mood for this man
Already printed off the sar form obviously adapt it to my situation


Thanks for your advice i have learnt a lot in the last few hours and will definately be using this site more often now that ive found it

I will make sure I keep posting as this case progresses

Thanks Again

[Amy]

Re: bailiffs

You're welcome.

Forewarned is for forearmed, I'm sure you'll be fine xx