Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

[michael the mouse]

Had my first - and one can only hope only - run in with Newlyn today. Car clamped without prior warning from them due to unpaid PCN from Medway Council (admittedly an oversight on my part). On phoning the number given on the clamp, I was told the total due was over £400, this full amount was to be paid in a matter of hours or my car would be taken away. When asked how they justify their fees on top of the PCN of over £300, I was told the following : That they sent letters - Lie. I have had zero contact from Newlyn. That they had visited my propery and hand-delivered letters - Lie. I have had no indication that this was the case, nor received any letters. They did not care that they could provide no proof of the claims that they had sent letters or visited my property. They refused to provide a breakdown of charges, basically said they could do what they liked and charge what they wanted, and hung up. I had no option but to pay their extortionate fee under duress to have my car released. On returning home I have gone through all my mail from the last few months and can confirm that not one single letter from Newlyn had been received. Do I have grounds to claim any of this back? And if so, what is the procedure and who do I put the claim to? Thanks in advance.

[bluebottle]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

If you have already paid the money, hit Newlyns with an N1 Money Claim through the Small Claims procedures for the unlawful and excessive fees. You might wish to send them a complimentary packet of Imodium Plus capsules because they will probably need them. A CCJ against a certificated bailiff company would close them down or result in them losing a lot of their contracts, especially where such contracts require them to hold a valid OFT Category F Debt Collection Licence. An OFT Licence holder is not permitted to have any CCJs against them.

Just to work out how much they have overcharged you, how much was the PCN amount and court fees, please?

[michael the mouse]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

Thanks for the swift reply.
The PCN including court fees was £112, Newlyn added on £317.04 for the "privelege" of clamping my car and lying about sending letters/visiting my property.

[labman]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

Have a read of this:

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...rking-Offences

This will enable you to work out what they should have charged

Send letter 1 from here to them:

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...Useful-Letters

This will get you the breakdown of fees you need from them

[michael the mouse]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

Thanks labman.
The car was actually clamped in a council-operated car park in town, so not during a visit to my property, if that makes any difference.

[bluebottle]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

Which local authority issued the PCN, please, and did Newlyns show you a copy of the warrant? Contrary to Newlyns told you, they do not have the right to do what they like and have to obey the law. I'm attaching the relevant legislation for your information. It's also very useful for countering any arguments local authorities and bailiff companies try to come out with.

[michael the mouse]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

Medway, and no they did not. All I had was a clamp on the car with a contact number, and the "STOP - This vehicle has been clamped" notice glued onto my driver's side window.

[labman]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

No, it doesn't make a difference.

[bluebottle]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

Newlyns may be asked questions for which they may not want to provide answers. A bailiff company called JBW Group are repeat offenders for this sort of thing. Newlyns could be in trouble over this.

[BAILIFFCHASER]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

Who was the ticket issued by and when. If not by medway newlysn anpr picked it up. Have you done a out of time witness or stat dec ?

[bluebottle]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

There was a heated debate on CAG, a few months ago, about the legalities of certificated bailiff companies clamping vehicles away from an alleged debtor's home address using ANPR. There is also the issue of certificated bailiff companies engaged in the practice of "data cleansing" of warrants, which is illegal. It is known that some local authorities have been found to be instructing certificated bailiff companies to enforce PCNs without a warrant having been issued.

[michael the mouse]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

Yes, it would have been the ANPR that picked it up as the car was in a town centre car park at the time, nowhere near my address.

Letter has been received from Newlyn giving a breakdown of their costs, typeset in Comic Sans no less :

Council Debt: £112.00
First Letter: £11.20
Enforcement Fee 1: £140.00
Levy Fee: £63.00
Enforcement Fee 2: £50.00
Debit Card Surcharge: £1.00
VAT: £53.04
Total: £430.24


As I have stated above, no letters were ever received, I am not aware of any visits to my property and there has never been any indication that my property was visited in my absence such as a hand delivered letter, and I am more than happy to make a statutory declaration to that effect.
There is also no clarification what exactly Enforcement Fees 1 and 2 are, can anyone shed any light on this? Since they have charged me for a letter that I never received (when asked if they had proof of delivery I was told "why would we need that?") it would be good to know what those are or if they have simply made stuff up to charge me for.

Thanks to all you guys for your help.

[ploddertom]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

Have they given you dates for all the times of the "alleged" visits?

[michael the mouse]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

No, just a list of charges as detailed above. They claim that all fees and charges have been raised and applied in accordance with the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) (Amendment) Regulations 2003.

[ploddertom]

Re: Newlyn / Medway - lying extortionist swine

I would ask for the list of dates and the charge applied on that date. Also ask for the proof of such visit. If they fail to do so then remember the Council are wholly responsible for the actions & charges of their agent. I'm assuming you received all the different notifications from the Council before it got to this stage?