Tweet
Hi all,
I'm new to this forum but have recently been looking for answers after i got a notice of distress warrant through the post.
I arrived home after a few days away to a notice of distress warrant from philips bailiffs. there was no date on the letter but it said i have 7 days to pay a fine of £240 or they would be coming to my house to cease property.
Might i point out this fine was for attempting to avoid paying a train fare in south east london... I have never been to south east london far less been on a train there!!!
So i phoned the bailiffs who were only able to confirm what the letter said and let me know it was sent out on the 26th february (i received it on the 9th march) so the 7 days has lapsed.
Obviously this was a major cause for concern for me as this meant they could be visiting any minute (i havent had any experience of bailiffs as i live in scotland so didnt know what they would do if they came).
I went to my local police station as i was worried this may be a fraudulent letter. The police officer had never heard of a distress warrant and had never had to deal with bailiffs (because we are in scotland). She advised any communication to be via e-mail as this is trackable and can be used as proof.
I sent an e-mail to the bailiff hoping for a quick reply but was immediately sent an auto-reply saying my email would be read within 7-10 days!! so i phoned the bailiff again and once again was told they cant give me any further information.
I looked around online and managed to find the collection and compliance centre for london so i phoned them. they were very helpful and were able to tell me the date and court the offence was heard (25th april 2007).
By this point you can imagine my frustration when i cant get through to this court because their phones are down. I sent an email but still nothing. Finally this afternoon i was able to get hold of them and the person on the other end of the phone was extremely unhelpful saying things like "yeah but what do you want me to do about it" at this point i saw red and asked to speak to the manager (who was standing next to her telling her what to say!!!). I was told i couldnt speak to her manager and i need to do a statutory declaration and send it to them. i asked if they could send one out to me as scottish courts dont carry such forms and was told "well youll need to go online and print one out then take it to my local court" . I asked for the website and they said " just google it" then i asked for an email address so i could file a complaint to which i was greeted to her hanging up the phone on me!
Unfortunately because of the way i have been spoken to and the running about i have had to do i am not willing to spend any more time, diesel or money on my phonebill trying to clear my name because of an error on their behalf.
sorry for the long post, just needed to vent frustration!!!
My questions are should i just leave it and waste their time as they have wasted mine?
If i do, what powers do english bailiffs have in scotland?
and would i be wasting my time writing to higher authorities about my frustrations (after all who cares what one wee man in glasgow has to say?)
and who should i complain to?
Kind regards
Richard
I'm new to this forum but have recently been looking for answers after i got a notice of distress warrant through the post.
I arrived home after a few days away to a notice of distress warrant from philips bailiffs. there was no date on the letter but it said i have 7 days to pay a fine of £240 or they would be coming to my house to cease property.
Might i point out this fine was for attempting to avoid paying a train fare in south east london... I have never been to south east london far less been on a train there!!!
So i phoned the bailiffs who were only able to confirm what the letter said and let me know it was sent out on the 26th february (i received it on the 9th march) so the 7 days has lapsed.
Obviously this was a major cause for concern for me as this meant they could be visiting any minute (i havent had any experience of bailiffs as i live in scotland so didnt know what they would do if they came).
I went to my local police station as i was worried this may be a fraudulent letter. The police officer had never heard of a distress warrant and had never had to deal with bailiffs (because we are in scotland). She advised any communication to be via e-mail as this is trackable and can be used as proof.
I sent an e-mail to the bailiff hoping for a quick reply but was immediately sent an auto-reply saying my email would be read within 7-10 days!! so i phoned the bailiff again and once again was told they cant give me any further information.
I looked around online and managed to find the collection and compliance centre for london so i phoned them. they were very helpful and were able to tell me the date and court the offence was heard (25th april 2007).
By this point you can imagine my frustration when i cant get through to this court because their phones are down. I sent an email but still nothing. Finally this afternoon i was able to get hold of them and the person on the other end of the phone was extremely unhelpful saying things like "yeah but what do you want me to do about it" at this point i saw red and asked to speak to the manager (who was standing next to her telling her what to say!!!). I was told i couldnt speak to her manager and i need to do a statutory declaration and send it to them. i asked if they could send one out to me as scottish courts dont carry such forms and was told "well youll need to go online and print one out then take it to my local court" . I asked for the website and they said " just google it" then i asked for an email address so i could file a complaint to which i was greeted to her hanging up the phone on me!
Unfortunately because of the way i have been spoken to and the running about i have had to do i am not willing to spend any more time, diesel or money on my phonebill trying to clear my name because of an error on their behalf.
sorry for the long post, just needed to vent frustration!!!
My questions are should i just leave it and waste their time as they have wasted mine?
If i do, what powers do english bailiffs have in scotland?
and would i be wasting my time writing to higher authorities about my frustrations (after all who cares what one wee man in glasgow has to say?)
and who should i complain to?
Kind regards
Richard
Comment