There was no notice other than the letter which they say was sent telling me I had 7 days to pay otherwise further action would be taken which may include bailiffs attending t0 take goods - as I said I didn't receive such a letter. The only other thing I received was the notice stuck on the car along with the clamp and a document pushed through the door telling me further charges had been added

I don't know if this helps or confuses matters then. I'm employed by my partner (a non-driver) and the van I own is the only delivery vehicle we have - we do deliveries each day. The only reason we kept the van in my name was because our accountant advised us it was the most tax efficient way to deal with it. Does this mean I have a case or not ? - I'm a little confused. What about the charges, anyone able to advise on those ? Thanks

Interestingly enough, I've found this on the councils own website talking about bailiffs and what they are allowed to do: What goods can the bailiff seize? They can generally seize any goods except: enough clothing, bedding, furniture and household equipment to meet the basic needs of you and your family. They are also not allowed to take tools, books, vehicles and other equipment needed for your work. A car will generally be viewed as needed for work only if you couldn't do your job without it and there is no reasonable alternative. Bailiffs are allowed to take cars parked outside but cannot break into a garage So it seems the bailiffs are in breach of the Councils own guidance too !

yes, I paid by debit card and yes it was 2 bailiffs from Marstons. What grounds would I give for the charge back - just the duress ? and how I do stop them simply coming back to clamp the van again ?

Yes, it's insured for personal and business use.

Hi everyone, I hope I'm posting this in the correct place as I wasn't sure if it should go here or on the Motoring Group forum. I woke up this morning to find my van had been clamped for non payment of a council parking charge. I'm not too worried about the parking charge as I am in dispute with the council and am currently going through their formal complaints procedure - I realise now I should have just paid the fine and tried to claim everything back afterwards - you live and learn! However, I am concerned with how I was forced to make a payment to the bailiffs in order to get my van back. Whilst my van is personally owned its signed up with the company name, logo and contact details and I use it for deliveries. When I explained to the bailiff I use it for my sole use in my business doing deliveries and am unable to carry out any deliveries without it I believed it was covered under Section 89, 1 of The County Courts Act as the vehicle was essential for my business and I needed it this afternoon for my deliveries. The bailiff said the Act doesn't count and he should know as he's been doing this job long enough - Is this correct ? Also, when I asked why hadn't I need notified he said a letter was sent out 10 days ago giving me 7 days to pay or the would take this action - I didn't receive the letter but have no proof and similarly they cant prove it was sent but said the fact their computer says the letter was issued that's good enough for the courts. In order to get my can back so I could do my deliveries I paid the following: Original fine and fees - £93.20 Bailiffs attendance costs - £61.94 Attendance to remove/removal - £175.00 VAT - £49.63 Total - £379.77 plus £1.00 debit card fee Is there any way I can find out if they are allowed to charge these amounts ? Plus, and this just gets better, I've just realised I've paid too much VAT as 20% of £236.94 (£61.94 + £175) is actually £47.39 - is this fraud or a HMRC matter ? (would love to start a VAT investigation!) Is there anything I can do about the over charge ? When I made the payment I explained I paying under duress as I had no alternative and was looking to mitigate my losses, in that they were phoning to a tow truck to remove the vehicle. I have since faxed a copy of this statement to Marstons as the bailiff refused to sign my statement to confirm I had made him aware. (I also wrote this on the receipt just in case) I've tried speaking to Marstons and requested their complaints procedure only to be told there isn't one, you simply fax or email a complaint and they will deal with it when they get round to it - I though anyone working on behalf of a local council had to have a written complaints procedure ? I've also telephoned my local council's corporate compliance complaints team and they have taken details and said they will look into the matter but it's normally something I would have to take up with the bailiffs firm first. Any advice anyone could give me would be appreciated - I don't mind dragging these guys through the courts or causing as much fuss as possible as I'm happy the original fine will be cancelled by the council once they have dealt with my original appeal. Many thanks in advance

Hi all I hope this is as simple as I think. After several months of going backwards and forwards to my local bike repair shop the owner has finally admitted they have lost my bike that I took in for repair. However, he said that as it's an old bike and not worth much it's just tuff luck. Surely, they have to provide some sort of replacement or funds towards a new one ? Cheers for any advice.

I'll scan the agreement and post it on here. I'm told it's unregulated as it was over £25,000 (it does say this on the agreement as well, but I didn't appreciate what that meant at the time of signing)

Hi I took out the loan in January 2008 and made 10 payments and no I didn't take out any PPI. It wasn't explained what was meant by it being unregulated either - I only found this out when I contacted Black Horse to discuss returning the car I think the debt collectors are Whiteheads. Many Thanks

Hi Blueda Thanks for the message and don't worry I don't intend going down that route again although I don't handle stress very well these days. Its good to hear I've come to the right place !

Hi everyone I hope someone can give advice or point me in the right direction as I'm struggling to cope at the moment. To cut a long story short I was in a very sucessful job and took out a HP agreement for a new car (using the money from work under a monthly cash for car scheme). It was an unregulated agreement, which at the time I didn't know what that meant and no-one said it was different to any other agreement. Anyway, for a number of reasons I lost my job and decided I had no alternative other than to return the car to Black Horse at the start of November. I heard nothing from them until two weeks ago when I received a letter that stated they had worked out how much I owed and had to pay them £15,000 or I could make a suitable monthly payment offer for their consideration. They didn't tell me how this figure was calculated or anything. I've been putting a letter together asking them to explain the figure in full detail. In the meantime I've received a letter from their debt collection agency (after only 2 weeks) theatening court action. I also missed a call from them on my mobile and have received a text message asking me to contact them. I'm not sure what to put in my letter and really can't cope with what I woud consider bullying tactics. As an aside issue I've spent 4 weeks in a psychiatric unit following a failed suicide attempt and need to avoid as much stress as possible. I do have a new job now but can't pay the full £15,000 in one go. I've fallen behind with other debts and dont know where to turn. Any help is really appreciated.