Thanks, citizen. Is £150 court fees fair and proportionate, what about £50 engineer fees? Do you have any opinion on there failure to notify me of warrant being granted, or the fact that I wasn't given the full 7 day period from the court date to make payment? Is the 7 day period a legal obligation, or an optional one which can be omitted if the creditor forewarns that 'they will arrive the day after the warrant is granted'?

Hey guys, I wonder if someone can help. Last time I was here, Ploddertom and wonkydonkey were brilliant when it came to reigning in the HMRC bully boys that attempted to steal £k's from me. I have posted this over at MSE. Although I am receiving helpful responses, there is a lack of definitive answers. I fell into arrears last year with electricity provider - Npower. We came to an agreement on a repayment plan but unfortunately as I am self-employed I defaulted on payments again. Npower then refused to budge. They wanted to fit a pre-payment meter. My son's use of the internet for study (examination period) made me reluctant to agree. Anyway, I was notified of Npower's - thru Utility Management Services - intention to make an application for warrant of execution. This would enable them to fit the meter. The court date was set for 20th May in a location 250 miles from my home. With work at a premium right now, and funds scarce I could not afford a 500 mile round trip on a weekday. The following day three cowboy's arrived, informing me a warrant had been granted and they wanted to execute it. They showed me a piece of paper - supposedly proving said warrant - but could not give me a copy. There was little I could do because although I could deny them access to the house, the acutal meter is on the outside of the premises. So I was forced to relent and let them fit it. Having done some research there are a few anomalies which I would like to address: i) I read on the CAB that you must be given notice that the warrant was issued and then given 7 days to make payment. I was given 1 day and not informed that the warrant was granted. Npower say that it says on their letter - notifying me that they will make an application for warrant - that they will call immediately at my property. This is true, but does it exempt them from the 7 days notice and notification of successful application? ii) The amount outstanding has increased by almost £900 since yesterday. When I phoned Npower, I was told that: £150 court fees £50 engineer fees £600 'other charges'. Is this all legitimate? iii) The debt collector couldn't provide me with a warrant and when I requested the warrant number from Npower they replied, 'You'll have to contact the court'. Is this standard practice?

Hi Guys, During the period that this thread has been active, the HMRC employed baliffs have been phoning and emailing relentlessly. They have now informed me that they will be coming on Friday to remove the vehicle. I have searched various sites and other thread but still have yet to receive clarification as to whether they can pursue a new debt by acting upon a distraint for a previous debt, since expunged. Does anyone know?

Ok thanks pimpernel. I feared that the value really had no bearing on whether they could seize or not. As for an old distraint being resurrected for a new debt, I find it curious how they could justify it, if that is indeed the case. Then again as brassnecked alluded to with the PAYE scandal, they really don't have any accountability and thus a free rein to do as they please.

Hi guys, I wonder if someone can help me. I am self-employed and last year had a tax bill of around £6000. A tax inspector visited my property and put a distraint on my recreational vehicle. During that year I managed to - with the help of CAG - delay removal, thwart the bully-boy baliffs and reduced the debt to £800 by February this year. All of this time the distraint remained on the vehicle. Now that I had a run of contracted work I was able to employ an accountant to assess my tax from the previous year and also file my return for this financial year. She deduced I had been taxed £1800 more than I should have been. This cleared the debt to the HMRC and reduced my latest tax bill to just £600. Work has dried up and I am unable to pay the debt. The bully boys are e-mailing and sending threatening letters demanding that I pay or they will act upon the distraint and seize my vehicle. I have two pertinent questions: i) The distraint was executed in regards to a debt for the tax year 2009, this has now been cleared. Can they still act upon it, for a further debt? ii) The debt is £600 and my vehicle is worth £5500. I read somewhere they could only seize assets that were less than 5x the amount of debt? Am I correct in thinking this?

Hi guys, I wonder if anyone can give me some guidance. I have an ongoing dispute with Company 'A', I defaulted on payment they then sought and gained a CCJ, took out a charge on my property and finally started hounding me with bailiffs - who after my successful attempts to thwart them have handed the debt back to Company 'A'. Anyway after discussing my case with a number of members on CAG, I was advised owing to Company 'A's' unscrupulous behaviour towards other CAG members to make a CCA request. I did. Company 'A' responded by sending me what is in fact my initial application form - with T&C's on the second page. Of course I am not entirely certain whether an application form is deemed to be a legally enforceable CCA, but the succeeding circumstances make this a moot question anyway. When I made the original application for an account with Company 'A' I was telephoned 2 months after and informed that I was unsuccessful in my application. Two years later however, without any further correspondence I received a letter in the post notifying me of my successful application and an enclosed account card. I have copies of both the initial application form - dated Oct 04 - and a copy of the subsequent 'account opening' confirmation dated Nov '06. I also have a copy of all transactions on my account from Nov 06 until the present day. I have a few direct questions: i) Seeing as though Company 'A' has produced only the aforementioned application form and nothing else, have they failed to comply with CCA request? ii) Having assessed all the facts above does this mean that there was no enforceable agreement in the first place? Does this give grounds for set aside of the CCJ? If so what would this mean? Any other guidance or help would be much appreciated.

Hi guys, I wonder if anyone can help. On Thursday, I woke to find a Walking Possession notice posted through my letterbox. It seems that Marstons Group have levied against my works van for a business debt owed to TradePro. Now I first fell into arrears with monthly repayments back in 2008, but after a CCJ, started repaying at an agreed amount. It wasn't until around May of this year I fell into arrears again - as I am self employed work had dried up and I went two months without a sustained period of work. Anyway I recieved notification that a writ had been issued from High Court and Marstons had been employed as HCE's. They first attended my house back in October, there was nobody present and they left a WP notice left attached to my back door - stating that they had levied against my personal vehicle. Unfortunately for them HMRC hyenas had already levied against that vehicle and it still stands today as I continue to pay back arrears on income tax. I immediately informed them of such and they said 'we will take it anyway,' of course I knew this was untrue. They then abruptly inquired are you going to pay, I replied that I owed money to both HMRC and council tax, so could only offer them £150 pm - even that would be a stretch. They refused. I contacted TradePro and offered it to them - they replied 'it was out of their hands and in a third party's now' but they added, 'we would normally accept this.' Anyway I then recieved numerous threatening correspondence from Marstons foraround a month, stating they would come and collect my vehicle. Then finally in November - at which time my financial situation had changed again for the worse - they attempted to resurrect the £150pm deal. I ignored this. Having spoke with wonkeydonkey she advised me to make payments direct to TradePro. So in November I sent TradePro £150 via BankGiro. I have since spoken to them and they have confirmed that they have recieved it, unfortunately I couldn't pay at the start of this month, but should be able to send them another £150 if advised to do so around the 20th. That was the background to Thursday's visit. Now, firstly the vehicle they have now levied upon is my works van. I am a heating and ventilating engineer and require it to transport heavy machinery and equipment. I work for myself and do not have any employees, thus ruling out potential for other transport. I also cannot secure any van leases because I have 3 CCJ's against my name. So if they were to take my van - regardless of whether they sell it - I will not be able to work. Do you think this is sufficient grounds to invalidate the WP? To whom should I apply? Secondly, Marstons has now visited on 2 occasions, on both occasions I have not had any personal dealings with them, neither has anyone from my family. On the first occasion there was a notification of WP left at the back door, this occasion it was posted through the letterbox. When they issued this levy yesterday my van was parked inside of locked gates. The only way the HCE could have issued a levy and noted the registration was by peering through the gates. Is this compliant with debt regulation guidance? Also, I have noticed that Marstons have increased the debt owed by £1400 - in their very ambiguous break down of costs they are as follows - Judgment costs - £85, Execution costs - £101.75, Interest to date - £303.05, Officers Fees - £901.81 ( Fees will increase by 25p per day whilst in possession) - Surley this is exorbitant?

Wonkey, I had a new development today. I tried to contact you but your inbox is full, let me know when you have cleared some space so I can resend it.

As requested here is what the walking possession agreement contains: Walking possession is where we take possession of distrained goods but you are left in physical possession of these goods at the place where they were seized. Because you have allowed the distrained goods listed on the inventory dated 21/07/2010 to remain in my custody and therefore delaying the sale of goods, I hereby acknowledge and agree that: i)The goods listed on the inventory are under distraint and are being held in walking possession ii) Leaving the goods does not mean that you have abandoned the distraint action iii) I will pay the walking possession fee iv) you or your agent will be given access to the goods for the purpose of inspection or removal whule the distraint is in force v) I will not allow the goods to come into possession of any other person vi) I will not allow the goods to be removed from the premises except with your permission vii) I will not inform any other person who tries to levy any other distraint or execution that you are already in possession of the goods. And I will let you know if this happens. NB: This is the second page of the 'Distraint notice and inventory' - the first page contains details of the debt amount - which was the erroneous amount of £8283.04 - and confirmation that I own these goods.

Oh, and another thing. My car is in the garden, to access the garden you need to enter through locked gate. I realise they can climb the gate, but also it has a double drive and in order to get the 'distrained' car out you would need to move my works van or my wife's car - can they gain access to either in order to tow the distrained vehicle?

Son is 20. So regardless of whether they have the walking possession agreement, they cannot force access, can they? Do you think I should still go down the 'stay of execution' route? I had held that off but was thinnking about going down to the County Court first thing in the morning, do you still have the template for this?

Ok, two bully boys arrived at the property - again my son has dealt with them. They attempted to gain access to the property 'for the purpose of taking photographs.' He denied them access unless they had a warrant - they said they don't need a warrant - they can take the vehicle as they have a walking possession agreement - 'that has as much powers as a warrant.' They revealed every little detail of my finances and debts to my son in the middle of the street. When my son enquired 'should you divulge this information to me, isn't it against the Data Protection Act?' They said 'No, it's fine.' My son then came back to contact me by phone and I told him not to allow them access, and inform them that I sent £600 to the Revenue. They said the Revenue had informed them that I had sent a letter to them but there was no mention of any money. Even though the bastards have cashed it! After my son told them to go away, they told him 'they will be back this won't go away.' My son said they became increasingly aggressive and seemed like they were trying to gain access by deception. Do I have any legal recourse for any of this? I really need to take action urgently, it seems.

Update: I sent the advised letter and it arrived Thursday. I have received no response to it. However, this morning I had a very threatening phonecall from MST. I was out and my son answered they asked him why the 5 days had expired without the amount being paid, to which he said he knew nothing of the matter, they then asked him for my mobile number - which he refused to divulge. They ended the conversation by saying that he shouldn't be so cagey. As now they will be forced to make a visit to the house and we will be charged. The sheer audacity! The revenue has taken that cheque for £600 and cashed it! Now the debt lies at £2500 and these people are trying to enforce a distraint order for £8100! These bullying tactics are reminiscent of racket chiefs! It is beginning to seem that I am powerless to stop it, they are payin gno attention to my letters that I sent the revenue, what can I do?

The car is owned outright...unfortunately. However, good news...or at least I think! I checked my bank balance today and the £600 cheque I sent HMRC was cashed yesterday. Still I have heard, nothing from either the HMRC or MST, does this mean now that there is a binding contract?

I had looked at that link, didn't find it very helpful and they won't offer me pro-bono advice because I am self-employed, not claiming benefits and have worked in the last 2 weeks. Specifically it does not answer the last question I posted.

Ok, just to clarify - the account is deemed to be 'in dispute' owing to the fact that the distratint order/walking possession agreement states an amount- £8400 -which was later proven to be incorrect and in spite of the fact that in subsequent letters and calls both HMRC and MST explicitly acknowledge the owed amount is £3100? What are the chances that the court grants me a stay of execution and what does that afford me?

Firstly I want to thank both of you for aiding and guiding me through this process, such altruistic acts are very rare these days! Another update unfortunately though - Today I recieved a letter from MST Auctioneers - I gather the people that have called on three occasions last week - stating 'FORMAL NOTICE - WE WILL SEIZE THE GOODS DISTRAINED UPON...UNLESS PAYMENT MET IN NEXT FIVE DAYS...we would remind you that the assets listed on the Walking Possession Agreement were signed over to HMRC and remain their property...' First thing I noticed and query is that the letter has the amended amount of £3100 yet the distraint order/walking possession agreement that I signed states £8000. I still have recieved no response regarding the letter I sent containing the proposal. Does this situation still remain the same, I assume they still cannot seize the car? Should I contact them again or sit tight?

Ok had another visit today - I was out - my son answered the door. It seems they are becoming persistent, can someone please point me in the right direction as regards to action.

Update: I sent the letter special delivery with a £600 cheque attached as you advised on Saturday, so I assume it would have arrived at the Tax Office Monday. However, this morning someone arrived requesting to value my vehicle. My wife answered the door and informed them I was out. So I deduce from this that either they have ignored my letter or they have refused my proposal. So what is the next step?

Ok, well i phoned my Local tax Office this afternoon and they acknowledged the revised amount - £3100. However, they refused to remove the distraint order. I offered them a repayment scheme whereby I could pay £500pm for 6mths. They refused as I couldn't offer them anything up front - I have no disposable funds until 15th August. They reiterated that the vehicle would be ceased on Tuesday 4th August. I really am running out of time and ideas. Also, what of the distraint notice that was created as a result of them falsely accusing me of owing £8,500. That was never the case and they now acknowledge this. Wouldn't that now become invalid as the basis on which the notice was created was erroneous. Surely in order to cease my vehicle, a new distraint notice with notification of the correct owed amount would have to be issued?

Hi, New to the forum and wonder if you can help me. I am self-employed and have ran into arrears with the taxman. Unfortunately I have not had consistent work since May - including a six week dry spell - and as a result an officer from HMRC arrived last week and put a distraint on my vehicle (which is not used for business purposes). Immediately afterwards, I contacted my former accountant and stumped up the cash for her to examine the total that HMRC were requesting. Two days later she advised me that the figure of £8,400 which they were claiming was massively inflated and in fact I was only £3,100 in arrears. Yesterday I contacted HMRC and requested that they give me time to sell the vehicle myself - as it is valued at £6-7k and would easily enable me to pay the bill - or whether a payment plan could be agreed as I have contracted work for at least the next 5-6 weeks. They denied the request and re-iterated that the car will be seized this coming Tuesday if the debt is not paid in full. Essentially, I have two questions: i) The distraint order that was levied against my motor-vehicle states that as a result of me owing £8,400 this order has been filed. Now this figure is grossly inaccurate, does this make the contract null and void? The inaccurate figure makes the whole premise of the order questionable doesn't it? ii) What, if any, steps of action would you advise that I take next?