Philips Balif charges

[Wi11iams]

Hi, Hoping someone can help, had a court fine(£300+) that was passed to philips, I set up a standing order which unfortunately left a debt of £50 on the account. 25th of July was the last payment, on the 11th August I received a letter saying they had added £210 for a visit to recover the rest of the debt (£50). I( didnt get any letters saying I still owed anything or didnt get a call or anything similar.

I have called them to pay the £50 and get the charge removed but all they say is they will not remove the charge and to put any dispute in writing etc.

Will a letter work? Are they in the right? Any help gratefully received. I really cannot afford this!

[pepsie]

Re: Philips Balif charges

Reading your post suggests you never received the Further Steps Notice the Courts are legally required to send before instructing bailiffs?
If that is the case then you need to attend the Court and ask to speak with the fines officer or the Court Manager and make a Stat. Dec. to the effect you were unaware there was a balance outstanding and did not receive the appropriate notification bringing it to your attention, once that is done the fine as it stands £50 is due but the associated fees are cancelled.

Pepsie

[Wi11iams]

Re: Philips Balif charges

Hi, Thanks for the reply. It was passed on by the courts months ago, yes i probably did receive the further steps notice cannot remember, I am not contesting that as Philips added their charges to it and I paid weekly on a standing order which ran out end of July but somehow miscalculated and left £50 balance which I was unaware of, 3 weeks later I get the notice of attendance through the post with £215 added charge. I did not get anything through the door to say anyone had been to my house, and just got this letter delivered by the postman.

[pepsie]

Re: Philips Balif charges

Hi, Thanks for the reply. It was passed on by the courts months ago, yes i probably did receive the further steps notice cannot remember, I am not contesting that as Philips added their charges to it and I paid weekly on a standing order which ran out end of July but somehow miscalculated and left £50 balance which I was unaware of, 3 weeks later I get the notice of attendance through the post with £215 added charge. I did not get anything through the door to say anyone had been to my house, and just got this letter delivered by the postman.

Sorry my mistake, I thought you were making payments direct to the Court. I think you will find the fine is more than paid in full but you can telephone the Court quoting your reference number and ask how much of the monies you have paid to Philips has gone to the fine and then you can see how much Phillips have fleeced you with their fee's.???

[Wi11iams]

Re: Philips Balif charges

Thanks again, Just called local magistrates and yes final payment was made to them on the 5th august clearing the debt. so they paid my last installment on the 5th of august and sent me a letter of attandence with a fine 6 days later. Is this OK for them to do?

[pepsie]

Re: Philips Balif charges

Suggest they go and try levying on the motorway then..fine paid with the Court then you have discharged your debt...now let them justify the extra fees...adapt and send this
To:
Acme Bailiff Co
Bailiff House

Ref: Account No: 123456

Dear Sir

With reference to the above account, Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges.

This includes:
a - the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee.
b - the reason for the fee.
c - the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged.
d - the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were Certificated at.
e - the date of the Certification.

This is not a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. You are obliged to provide this information.

I require this information within 14 days.

Yours faithfully

Ripped off customer"

[ploddertom]

Re: Philips Balif charges

If the Bailiff has not visited then he is not entitled to his £215 fee.

[bluebottle]

Re: Philips Balif charges

The bailiff's demand is, accordingly, unwarranted. The moment he/she starts making any form of threat is the moment he/she crosses the line and puts their certificate in danger of being discharged by their certificating court. Bournemouth and Poole County Court have recently done this to a Ross & Roberts bailiff who besieged a seriously-ill person's house for five hours, lied to the police about their powers, including claiming they were a court bailiff, when they were not. From what I can gather, there was no court hearing. The District Judge discharged the certificate. Then again, the person did send all the evidence to the DJ, so that might have had a bearing.