Collect Services charges urgent help please.

[Charlie888]

I have had one visit from a bailiff from Collect services for a pcn. He did not knock at the door but put a letter through without an envelope giving charge details as follows:
PCN £150.00
Court fee £7.00
Bailiff charges £220.54

I called him and said that these charges were too high for only one visit, and I needed to see a written breakdown and work out a payment plan and he said " You're not really in a position to complain, I can do what I like and if you don't pay I'll take your car within 24 hours".

I filed for a stat dec which was declined but am now appealing. In the meantime I emailed Collect for a breakdown of the charges and they sent me the following:
20/06/2012 Costs £7.00
20/06/2012 Debt £150.00
21/06/2012 Letter fee £13.44
16/07/2012 Visit/Levy fee £57.60
16/07/2012 Attendance fee £149.50

Total £377.54

I have emailed them back and asked if they are allowed to apply a levy/visit fee and an attendance fee for the same visit but I can't seem to get a straight answer.

By my calculations the debt should be £170.44 plus the first visit fee.
Could someone please help?

Thank you,

Charlie888

[hantsman]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

Hide the car firstly and not just round the corner if you can. Do not let Bailiff into your house, lock all doors.

Letter & court fee are correct.

Is the letter dated from the Bailiff and is it correct? Is he/she actually a current certificated Bailiff?

Have a read of the sticky's on here if you haven't already..

I expect BB will be along shortly.

[pepsie]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

Did he leave notice of seizure when he attended to pop a letter through your door?

Pepsie

[Charlie888]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

Yes he did. That's where the bailiffs charges of £220.54 were listed (but not detailed.)

I'm not sure what an "attendance fee" is and why that would be charged at the same time at a visit fee? I know he can charge a visit/levy fee but why the extra £149 as well?

Can you help please?

Charlie

[ploddertom]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

Between levying your goods he must give you a period of time in which to pay. Therefore if he has claimed the levy at the same time as the Attendance Fee in my view that should be challenged on the basis you were given no time to pay.

[Charlie888]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

Thanks that's what I thought too. Does anyone know the legislation where this is mentioned so I can quote it to Collect/Ealing Council?

He is a certificated bailiff and the notice of seizure had the right details on but obviously should have been in an envelope.

Many thanks for all help so far.

[bluebottle]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

The relevant legislation for CT is the Council Tax (Adminstration & Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (as amended). And just to make it easier for you to challenge the scrote, sorry, bailiff, I have attached the relevant legislation to this post. Expect the bailiff and his pals back at the office to get very agitated when you start quoting from it. This is a clear sign they have been caught doing something they should not have done or have not done something they should have done.

[Charlie888]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

Thanks so much Bluebottle, but this is for a pcn rather than council tax. Can you tell me the legislation I need to quote them for this?

Many thanks,

Charlotte

[bluebottle]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

Sorry. Fibro Fog again. PCNs come under the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) Regulations 1993-2003. If the PCN was issued by a London Borough, the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Order 1993 applies also. I'm going to attach these statutory instruments to this post.

[Charlie888]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

That's great. Thanks so much Bluebottle. I've written to Collect and Ealing Council asking them to rectify their "mistake" by charging an attendance fee as well as a visit free for the same visit. Not quite sure what to do if they don't though? Should I start a complaint with Ealing Council?

[bluebottle]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

If Ealing Council start playing "We schoolgirls stick together" with Collect Services, make a formal complaint to Ealing Council through a solicitor. You can either go to a solicitor in private practice (High Street), or to your local Law Centre or Community Legal Service office. Law Centres and the Community Legal Service provide free or very low-cost legal advice/assistance. It has been found that local authorities take complaints more seriously when routed through a solicitor than if a member of the public deals with it themselves.

As long as you have quoted the relevant legislation, Ealing Council cannot really argue or go into denial. The law is the law and they have to abide by it the same as everyone else. Unless otherwise stipulated by statute, they don't have any exemption from compliance.

[Charlie888]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

Hi there,

I've emailed Collect as below and today received this reply. Can someone please advise me what to do next?



Dear Collect Services and Ealing Council,

I refer to your e-mail below and your failure yet again to give me a correct fee breakdown.

The charges, according to the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) Regulations 1993 as amended 2003, that can be legally added to this account to date are:
Step 1 £150+£7+ £13.44 (letter fee)= £170.44.
Step2 28% of £170.44 = £47.72 rounded up under section 9 = £48, £48 + VAT £9.60= £57.60.
This is a total of £228.04

Your agent has added to this an illegal charge of an attendance fee of £149.50. This was charged for the visit that took place on 16/7/2012. The only fee that can be applied for the one visit on this date is the £57.60 visit/levy fee that you have applied as per step 2 above.

Please correct my statement immediately.

Ealing Council are responsible for the behaviour of this bailiff and I request that this matter is dealt with urgently, before I am forced to make a Stage 1 complaint.

I look forward to a reply from both Collect and Ealing within 5 days.

Regards,

************************************************** ************************************************** *

Reply from Collect Services


Further to your email, your calculations for the charges are incorrect.

		Amount	Vat	Total
Warrant issued		157.00		157.00
First letter	para 1	11.20	2.24	13.44
Amount Due		168.20	2.24	170.44
Visit to levy	para 3	48.00	9.60	57.60	Calculation: 168.20 x 28% =	47.09	rounded to £1 see para 9 = 48.00
					vat : 48.00 x 20.00%	9.60
Attendance to remove	para 6	124.58	24.92	149.50	Reasonable costs and charges
Amount Due		340.78	36.76	377.54

The attendance fee you are referring to is not an illegal charge as you have suggested, it is applied in accordance with paragraph 6 of the regulations.

It appears that the advice you are quoting has been obtained from the internet. We would suggest that you seek proper legal advice if you dispute the information we have provided.


Regards
Administration Team

Collect Services Limited

[bluebottle]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

Can you confirm if Collect turned up at your home with a van or attended to remove any goods from your home? If not, they cannot impose that charge. It is fraudulent. You can, if necessary, refer the matter to the Registrar at your local County Court for scrutiny. If the Registrar is not satisfied with Collect's explanation or evidence, they can order fees to be removed. The other matter is that Collect did not give you a reasonable opportunity to pay.

[Charlie888]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

They came to the house when I was out but only once. They levied on my car which was parked outside but did not attempt to remove it. Later that day the bailiff telephoned me to say I had 24 hours to pay him or he would be coming back to take the car - surely if he had "attended to remove" on the first visit he would have taken the car then? Can one visit incur both these charges?

I really appreciate your help. It's like talking to a brick wall with Collect.

[bluebottle]

Re: Collect Services charges urgent help please.

I would ask to see invoices from Collect to prove they incurred the costs under Attendance to Remove. Also note Ploddertom's advice. You could also put them on notice that the charges may be subject to scrutiny by a County Court Registrar. I can't guarantee that it will have Collect running to the nearest chemist's shop for Imodium Plus capsules, but there is no harm in trying. Try to get them to produce evidence they have incurred £149.50. If they can't and still insist it is correct, that's when you should consider having the charges formally scrutinised.