Hello everyone! I'm suing the Bailiff and need help!

[vwilliams]

Dear All,

Forgive my impatience I have been reading various posts on here and have already mentioned my query in reply to a couple of old posts - all this before reading the instructions sorry!

Could anyone please offer advice on the following. I have recently issued a claim against a bailiff company for unlawful fees through moneyclaim online. The claim was sent to the small claims track. I have already done the obvious letters to the Bailiff and Council etc - formal complaints - all to no avail. The unlawful fees were charged during the collection of a PCN which I paid without a breakdown and before challenging.

The bailiffs solicitor has written saying this should not have been allocated to the small claim track. He states that there is a Statutory procedure (N4) and that if I do not withdraw my claim he will get it struck out on this basis and a costs order against me for unreasonable behaviour for not withdrawing the claim and taking it through the Statutory process.

I cannot find anything online that states an N4 is the only remedy available to me or that it is mandatory. However, neither can I find any case law or precedence that says I have a right to make the claim in the small claims court. Can anyone help me with a good argument? I have a feeling I am going to need it for the Judge as this chap sounds very convincing.

[labman]

Re: Hello everyone! I'm suing the Bailiff and need help!

Well, I've spent about 15 minutes Googling this, and I can find plenty of mentions of taking a bailiff to court using a N1. I can find evidence of people using a Form 4 complaint, but N4 - even the Court Form searcher cannot find it exists.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/forms

[Amethyst]

Re: Hello everyone! I'm suing the Bailiff and need help!

What were the fees that you feel are unlawful ? Did you get a breakdown in the end before submitting you claim ? And could you post up a copy of the particulars you entered on the N1 form. (take out account number/personal info) - might help see exactly where you are at and what to do next.

[bluebottle]

Re: Hello everyone! I'm suing the Bailiff and need help!

I'm with Labman on this. I have never heard of N4, nor can I find any reference to it anywhere.

It sounds to me that the bailiff company's solicitor needs to check their facts before firing off communications like they have. It is possible that they are referring to Form 4. However, as Amethyst has said, what fees do you feel were unlawful? In order for fees to be unlawful, they must be not in accordance with applicable legislation. However, if fees are excessive to the point where it brings into question a bailiff's fitness to hold a bailiff certificate, then that would fall within the scope of Form 4.

Could you clarify whether it is a case of fees not in accordance with legislation or fees that are excessive to the point where it would bring into question a bailiff's fitness to hold a bailiff certificate?

[Fair-Parking]

Re: Hello everyone! I'm suing the Bailiff and need help!

This action is in imminent danger of being diverted. The correct party to take action against when bailiffs act unlawfully in relation to a PCN is the local authority which issued it as the LA is entirely responsible for the actions of its agents.

The bailiff company and solicitor in this case have not yet been named but this style has a remarkable resemblance to one solicitor who knows nothing more than how to lie and mislead in court and how to intimidate complainants .

Withdraw this complaint and issue against the correct party. Unlike bailiff companies, LAs do not have malicious solicitors lurking in the background threatening to bury complainants with excess costs. Nor is it for a solicitor to decide what is smaill claims court matter and what is not.

A judge will do that

[Milo]

Re: Hello everyone! I'm suing the Bailiff and need help!

I will bet that you find that the solicitor will ask for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the "correct" route of redress (according to him) is to apply to the court for Detailed Assessment.

Before making any claim you need to make absolutely sure that you have the full breakdown and that you have properly identified where any "overcharge" has occured.

Sadly, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet regarding the matter of "costs" with some websites encourgaing litigants in person to issue court claims and in doing so make such bizare claims such as:

"You won't ever pay the other persons costs if you lose"

and

" costs cannot be passed onto the litigant in the small claims if the litigant loses"

Simply not true.

Fair Parking is correct....any claim should be against the LA and NOT the bailiff company.

The bailiff is merely an "agent" of the LA enforcing their warrants.