There was definitely no visit before Monday's appearance, so Monday should only count as stage 2, unless I'm wrong? Furthermore, the debt when it reached the hands of the enforcers was £4445, so that's the % they would be dipping into. The 19th of August date was for payment or arrangement of payment agreement. As soon as he saw it, my business partner phoned to make a payment arrangement and the end of September was agreed. My business partner then made those payments, unfortunately lacking the £23, but disputed the fees. The agent wrote back saying the fees stood, so my partner asked to arrange a phone call to talk it through, which they did not respond to. So my understanding is that the most they can charge in fees is for one stage two visit, which was triggered for the outstanding amount of a measly £23. Am I right? Thanks

Thanks for your help, everyone. The date of the notice was 09/08/2016, and the date given for us to have paid the funds or arranged a repayment agreement was 19/08/2016 by 4pm. The letter was not received by my colleague until 25/08/2016. It appears that because we did not respond, they added fees for enforcement stage 2 and 3 despite not enacting enforcement stage 2 and 3 (as we responded to them before any visits, let alone confiscation or sale). The amount owed by us at the time of the Enforcement Notice was £4445.96, and the Bailiffs had added compliance stage fees of £90 and interest of £9.73. We're looking for a letter predating this letting us know a court hearing was going to happen, but we can't find one and believe the Notice of Enforcement to be the first we'd been notified of a hearing. The precise dates of payment are above, pasting again below: 21/09/2016 Bailiffs £2700 30/08/2016 Bailiffs £3004 22/07/2016 Original Creditor £1500 04/04/2016 Original Creditor £3000 15/03/2016 Original Creditor £1000 17/02/2016 Original Creditor £1000 01/02/2016 Original Creditor £1000 16/12/2015 Original Creditor £3000 05/11/2015 Original Creditor £2419.2

The original invoice was for £15,153.00. The original creditor sold the debt before we managed to pay it all off, and so the bailiffs then added their (seemingly undue) fees on top. I know the high court writ number, however it was my business partner who dealt with this, and as the situation got worse he hid it from me. I imagine with the writ number I could find the records, however I don't think it's wise to post that number here.

I'm looking for the letter for those two dates you've asked for. As for who the payment was made to and when, it was split as follows: 21/09/2016 Bailiffs £2700 30/08/2016 Bailiffs £3004 22/07/2016 Original Creditor £1500 04/04/2016 Original Creditor £3000 15/03/2016 Original Creditor £1000 17/02/2016 Original Creditor £1000 01/02/2016 Original Creditor £1000 16/12/2015 Original Creditor £3000 05/11/2015 Original Creditor £2419.2

Furthermore, reading over the email in which my business partner disputed the fees, they had already charged an enforcement fee of £1,251.11, when at that stage they had only carried out the compliance (£75) and the first enforcement stage (£190). So again, they are charging illegally high amounts.

Hi all, I would really appreciate some advice. My business partner and I run a small business, and cashflow is very delicate. Some time ago we got in some money trouble and an invoice was sold to a debt recovery company. We managed to pay it off (or so we thought), but unfortunately my business partner is a bit scatternbrained with numbers, and paid the incorrect amount. The total outstanding debt was £5,723.96. My business partner sent them a transfer of £5,700, accidentally leaving off the £23.96. My business partner had some fees he wanted to dispute - The debt recovery company then sent a follow up email saying all prior fees are legitimate, and that "I have checked your account and can see we are still awaiting a payment of £23.96. I am assured this will be paid in due course, and this case can then be closed.". My business partner forgot to respond to the email (stupid, I know), and three weeks later (yesterday) they send a hired thug to our place of business, while customers were there, demanding the £23.96 plus a £1111.87 enforcement charge. He said that unless we paid that to him on the spot, he would confiscate goods that he valued to the sum of £8000. The £5,723.96 sum had a high court writ, which comes with a cap on fees of this nature that can be charged, as illustrated by the table below: The bailiff claimed to be able to charge for both stage two and three whether or not he actually had to carry out stage three. I pointed out that I was perfectly willing to pay the debt and the enforcement fee on the spot, which meant that he did not have the right to charge a "sale" enforcement fee, but he refused to drop it, saying I either pay exactly what he is demanding, or he starts ripping equipment out of the walls there and then. I had no choice but to pay the entire sum, and did so. There is no doubt in my mind that this is illegal and extortion, and in fact the bailiff himself used the very word "extortionate" when explaining the situation he was putting us in. My question to you is which regulatory body can I bring this to the attention of, are there any court cases setting a precedent in these situations, and are there guidelines that prevent bailiffs from charging huge bills for debts as low as £23? Even the £495 bill is entirely unfair, and clearly taking advantage of an admin error made by a small business. The law was not written to allow them to do this, and it puts our business at risk. Any advice on putting this right would be massively appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Hi there, Today I was sent home for wearing a shirt that was the wrong shade of purple, and told I couldn't come back until I had the right shirt - which I have to wait for them to order. The facts are as follow: 1. I started work there (as a waiter) almost three weeks ago. 2. After my second shift I left my shirt in the changing rooms - my supervisor said this was ok, and this is common company policy. 3. I found that my company given shirt had gone missing, so asked for a replacement and wore a similiar shirt from home. I was told it was fine to wear the shirt on a temporary basis, and I'd get another company one soon - it's been two weeks since I've been wearing my own shirt. 4. Today a manager who I don't have much of a rapport with was in (with a hangover and a bad mood) I haven't worked under this manager since the company owned shirt had gone missing - as soon as she saw my replacement shirt she sent me home, on the basis that I can't work until I have another company shirt. Frankly, I'm very surprised she noticed. It's worth noting here that, as I said, the other manager was aware that I needed another shirt, and had allowed me to work in the one I'd brought from home. I suspect that this manager may try to oust me, perhaps by simply never ordering a shirt for me. If this happens, I intend to take her to the small claims court for all of my lost wages and write to head office in an attempt to have her lose her job. (edit) Can anyone offer some strategy advice - is there anything I should do right away, or is there more that I could be doing in terms of legal action? I'm very annoyed that it looks like I'm going to be losing a weeks wages, but I can't afford to lose the job, so unless I am fired entirely, it looks like I'll have to just cut my losses and let this slide. I didn't put up a huge fight today, as she had a hangover, and my supervisor (who happens to be a friend of mine) told me it would be unwise to annoy her further (which I took to mean I'd be risking instant dismissal by standing up for myself). My supervisor promised to fight my case for me when she was behaving more reasonably, but the management where I work is atrocious, and I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to illegally sack me. Basically, any help at all will be hugely appreciated - especially if someone wants to offer me a better job! Failing that, I would love some help crafting a battle plan. Thanks a lot, NC

Hi - first time post, and I think it might be a bit off topic - I saw the title Consumer Action Group and thought it was to do with any consumer based injustices - but it seems to deal chiefly with banking matters. Anyway, I thought I'd see if anyone can help anyway. I bought a box of wine from Virgin Wines using a voucher discount for £40 off - as I went through the ordering process, the website consistently told me that after discount I would be charged only £16.98 - however, upon checking my bank statement I found they'd charged me £56.98 - obviously, this is unacceptable. It turns out that there was some fine print on the voucher dictating a minimum spend, but it seems nauseatingly clear to me that by pretending to accept the voucher the website was engaging in an act of deception. Does anyone know the suitable legislation to quote in an angry email to them concerning internet fraud? Thanks a lot, NC