Hiya, I recieved a letter from Phillips specialist bailiff and debt recover agents today regarding a debt I have for just under £1000 with shop direct. I'm just worried about how to deal with this. The letter is talking about getting bailiffs in if I dont pay. Please can some one give me some advice. Thank you

yes it is a local council. My mum asked them why it had been issued and they have totally ignored that question and not given her any reason. I do not have the PCN as my Mum sent it back to them. They were parked on double yellow lines outside a restraunt where they have parked many times before. She is going to ring them tomorrow and ask if they can explain why she was issued it.

That is where the problem is as my mum sent it without taking a cpoy. It was to do with parking in a restricted area.

Hi, My Mum and her husband got a parking ticket on the 7th Feb. They were parked in a disabled bay between 2 other cars not displaying blue badges. They were there for less than an hour and both badges were displayed correctly. They came out to find a parking ticket on their car and yet none on the other 2 cars. My mum wrote them a letter and they have refused to write it off but have not explained to them what the contravention was. They have finished their letter stating they will not respond to further correspondence regarding the matter and that if my Mum wants to appeal further she will have to wait for the issuing of the notice to the owner. My step dad is termanilly ill and they dont want the added stress when they havent broken any restrictions. Can anyone please advise me how best to deal with this for them? Thank you Vee

This is the guy why phoned me Laurie Heizler He was very nasty and it really upset me to recieve the phone call from him. I was thinking that it might have been to check if I answered it using the business name? My hubby answered it with the kids in the background!. As far as having a solicitor on board to recieve the mail, will I need to find one that deals with IP and copyright? There are none of those local to me.

Thank you. I will send them that. Just hope they take note of it and it doesnt make matters worse. Think I should sue myself for worrying so much LOL

Thanks. It is just knowing how to word it. The solicitor told me that the time had run out and his client can now start legal action

Thank you for your posts. I must admit that I'm finding it very hard to cope with this and after recieving a phone call from the solicitors this evening telling me that I have run out of time. I have only just stopped crying . I have no idea of how to respond to them, or what to put in the letter and I really dont know what to do next. I have never been in trouble in my life and I'm so scared of what is going to happen. I know that this is probably silly given the fact that, no money was made and the business was never trading but I cant help feeling this way I am on benefits and cannot afford to get a solicitor and as it is specialist there us no one that I have found who can help me with this. Sorry for the wingey post, I just have so much on my mind and I'm going through it alone.

Thank you. After doing some digging I contacted the other company that have been trading since 02 and they have told me that they hold the IP rights and community rights to the clothing. They are passing it through to their head office to see what is going on with the company that is truing to sue me. I am going to write to the solicitor today and deny everything again. Do I have the right to ask them for all their clients proof that they own the rights? Also, another thing that they are trying it in with is the fact that they are basing everything off the photos on my site and have never actually seen the products. Also I was undering if the fact that everything that was on my site was un branded and I have never paid for anything to be sent to me would go in my favour?

Thank you. How is it best to word that. I dont want to trip myself up by saying the wrong thing.

Hiya guys. I have been working on a reply to them and have come up with this. Can someone just have alook at it and let me know if it needs anything changing. Further to your letter dated 4th November 2009. The contents of which have been noted. I would like to point out the following bits of information that you are clearly choosing to overlook. xxxxx was never a business, it was never registered nor did I sell any items or pay for any goods. I have proof of this as I was with a business start up team. I received the items free of charge from the factory as unbranded OEM samples with no sale value. They were never sold and no money was ever exchanged for them. What you cannot see from the pictures that were on my site is that the items were made of and organic/cotton blend and also featured a logo of a bee on the front. Thus making them visually different from your clients. The Items that were sent to me from the factory, are styles that they already produced and that are widely available in the baby apparel market. I would like to draw your attention to xxxxxx where you will find the exact same items that your client is claiming that they have ‘Unregistered Community Design rights’ too. xxxxx have been trading these since 2002. As stated in my previous letter, the wording on my temporary website was done by myself and my husband and was not intentionally copied from your clients site. The layout was totally different and the fact that my pictures featured a teddy bear has nothing to do with anything! Teddy bears are associated with babies and I very much doubt that your client can argue with that. I have not broken any laws and no business was ever made from this. I do not want to communicate any further with this matter. xxxxx is no longer going ahead and I am no longer in talks with any factories. I trust that this clarifies the situation and do not expect any further correspondence from your or your client. Regards.

I have spoken to them and they cannot help me with anything and have told me to go to CAB I really dont know what to do, its making me sick and I'm not sleeping. I have nowhere to turn to on this now and dont have the money to get a solicitor. Have tried legal aid, but it doesnt cover this kind of thing

Hiya, No I dont have anything on any insurance Will try and get to see CAB on monday. Hopefully someone on here will be able to help me before then

Hi, I have spoken to them and also ACG and thy have both told me to go to CAB

Ok I shall give them a call now thank you

Thank is what I thought. Do you think it is worth me getting in touch with Trading Standards and speaking to them about it? I am having business start-up support now and they have a team of solicitors. Is it worth me passing this letter onto them? I can prove that no money has been taken or that I have not been trading.

In their first letter they sent me pictures of their clients clothes and alongside it pictures of my clothes. Yes they so look similer in the fact that they are the same colour (pink) and have an open neck design. Theris has a logo on it whereas mine didnt. I had made a phone call to the IP and they said that they had to be the exact same visuially. They have given me the IP ref numbers of 2 items and the second is totally different to the one that I had. It was only the romper that is the same. They have also listed their unregistered designs and said that I have copied them too. The teddy reference I presume comes from the fact that their client has Teddy in their brand name. They are also threatening in the first letter to get a warrent from the council to sieze the goods and they are also claiming that I have made money on these when I have not sold anything to anyone, or even paid the factory for any samples to be sent to me.

Hi Today I have recieved a very nasty reply via special delivery regarding this Can someone please help with with what to do next. The reply basically says that the correspondence is not closed on the basis of my dimissive reply and that they have my admission that I commissioned teh factory in china to make the clothes and therefore I am improting and selling them!. They also go on to say that the fact that I showed a teddy bear in my pictures that I must have copied the clothes from the website. They have given me 7 days to make a credible proposal to settle this matter in a sensible fashion!. Please can somebody help me with the next step?

Thank you. I am really worried about what (if any) reply I get. Will keep you updated

Thank you, that has made me feel more positive. I will be sending the letter today am a tad worried about their reply though.

Thank you for your advice. I cannot afford the costs of going to the IP services and to be honest they can have the designs as I am no longer doing them anyway. I have had a look on google and there is a company that has the exact same garments as the company that is threatening me. Even the logo placment is the same. This other company has been going since 2002 where as the one threatening me has been going since 2008!. I dont want to get into a heated legal battle, as I dont have the time of money to do that. I just need to clarify a few things. I just send them the letter that has been posted on here? Do I need to mark it without predjuce? I need to respond by tuesday or they will take it further.

Thank you for that letter. If I just copy that and get that off in the post to them hopefully that will be all that I need to do (fingers Crossed). Its just scary getting letters like this. DCA letters used to have the same effect, but after reading through this site, its nice to know what they can and cant do. I take it that I just type my name at the bottom and not sign it? Also do I need to add without prejudice to the letter? Just another thought, I take it that I just ignore the fine part and the fact that they want it on headed paper?

Yes I did read that one thank you. I am happy to have the letter sound stronger but as I am not sure what to write I am going need some advice on what to put. I will wait and see if anyone can help me with it.

I agree to that one but I dont want to start a battle as I really dont need the extra stress at the moment and I dont have anything to fight for. I'm not interested in producing the clothes anymore as I am hopefully going to be opening my own shop and selling goods from wholesalers.

Thank you Jan, Here is the letter that I have got so far. Dont want to open myself up to anything further. I am writing in reply to your letter dated 28/10/2009, the contents of which have been noted. xxxxx was a start-up business idea. I had been in talks with a factory in China and had discussed my requirements based on my knowledge gained as a mother and also from working in the industry for 15 years. The factory sent me samples of their own blank OEM products that they produce but in larger sizes. We agreed to scale them down to be suitable for premature babies. The garments already had nickel free poppers and came with Flat lock construction where possible. This is common knowledge that both of these benefit babies. I received samples of these in August 2009 and put pictures up on my website so that potential customers could view the products and I could get feedback from them. These items were not available to buy via the website. The website was written by me and my husband and we were up until now, unaware of the alleged copyright infringement issues. No Items have ever been sold nor have I made any money from this, it was an idea to get me off benefits & give me and my family a better standard of living. Due to a serious family illness which has caused us great financial problems I made the decision 3 weeks ago not to take the business idea further due to the mounting problems associated with starting up a business and also the time that needed to be devoted to it , I have since removed the website. No further items of clothing are going to be manufactured either now or in the future and I do not have any items relating to these styles in my possession. I trust that this will satisfy your client and I wish them the best of luck with their business. Regards