Thank you all,

Thank you Spaceman

Thank you both.

Can somebody post a link to where I can find the relevant legislation of who is responsible to pay Penalty Charge Notices issued by a Local Authority. To be more precise the schedule/paragraph that clearly state that a PCN is the responsibility of the RK even if the owner/keeper was not the driver at the time.

Since what you descibe is more or less what \i have I will make a point of switching to Ovo after my fixed rate with Extra is over

I fitted solar panels back in 2014, so most of my consumption during the daytime is free of charge, but still I purchase 12,000 Kw from my friendly electricity supplier. My household is a 24/7 estalishment, let me explain: I get up at around 2am, do about 3 hurs work using my computer then am out the house normally by 5am and get back around 2pm. Do some more work on the computer, cook my supper using a mixture of gas and electricity then I am in bed by 6pm at the latest, this happens 7 days a week. My wife gets up at 6am, leaves for work at 7am and isn't back home until 6:30/7pm, cooks her supper, mostly using electricity, around 8pm and goes to bed at around 11pm, Monday to Saturday. Because of this the heating is constantly on at 19°C, this is provided by an air source heat pump. I am off gas grid, and for years the central heating was done using propane, a jolly exensive exercise. I have calculated that more than 50% of my consumption from the grid is between dusk to dawn, more so in the winter months, when the central heating is working at it's hardest after sundown. If I set the heat pump to heat the water in the storage tank between midnight and 7am the night consumption will increase. There are other appliances that I can run after midnight, such as the dishwasher and the washing machine. Since the only appliances that is consuming electricity between 7am and 2pm is the heatpump, a couple of fridges and a chest freezer, I strongly believe that the energy produced by the panels is more than sufficient to cope. Hence the idea of economy 10, a couple of cheap hours between 3 and 5, a further 3 hours between 7 and 10 and 5 hours between 2am and 7am.

Hello folk, I called my electricity supplier (extra energy) to tell them I wanted to go onto an economy 7/10 tariff, they told me that they can't do it because it meant replacing my meter Am I being lead down the garden path?

The meter reading is short of 1500 Kw, but it was their estimate, as I received the notification I sent them the proper meter reading but they haven't update the bill, which was in their interest! As far as moving from Extra Energy to British Gas, unless somebody was really upset with EE, it's a crazy move, my yearly spend with EE is about £1,100.00, the cheapest tariff with BG would see me fork out close to £1,500.00

Email with subject line: FORMAL COMPLAINT sent to both CEOs, letters just being drafted and will be in the post by lunchtime, never heard anything from BG.

It's my house and I lived here for the past 28 years

I have spoken to nobody about switching supplier, although I did do a price comparison using the one at Which? I have not given my precise address, just the postcode, and since I prefer to pay via monthly direct debit I have not given details of my bank account, as if I would on line like!

Would an email do or should I send a snail mail (recorded delivery of course) or both?

Hello folk, On the 22nd of August I received an email from extra energy sending me my "final" electricity bill, which included a £25 fee for exiting the tariff before it expired. I called Extra Energy and they told me that my supply had been taken over by British Gas and that I should speak to them about it. The operator at Extra Energy wasn't very helpful although I did tell him that I did not want to change supplier. Reality is I would not be a BG customer even if they were the cheapest in the market, I had a very bad experience with them in the 90s and there is no way I would ever consider them again. Since I did not ask to be supplied by British gas, not even knowing what tariff I am on, as I have not yet received any correspondence form them, would I be in my rights not to pay their bill if they sent me one? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to have free electricity, in fact I have opened a separate savings account and instructed my bank to transfer £70.00 every month to it, just in case I get a nasty surprise. With Extra Energy my tariff was Bright fixed price January 2017, which is less expensive than BG standard, so if I do get a bill from BG can I recalculate the figures using EE's rates? Last but not least, can I sue BG for taking over the suplly without my say so? Thank you in advance for any advice.

An Enforcement Agency and their Agents can only go by the information that is supplied by the Client, it is in no one's interest not to be able to go to the right place with the right information. Sometimes Enforcement Agents are blamed for the mistakes made by who instructed them. In excess of 75% of warrants issued are returned to the clients because the debtor doesn't reside at the address provided, this is found only after sending out the Compliance letter or after a visit is made by the Agent. Assuming that the debtor never received any previous correspondence from either Court or Enforcement Agency (about 7 letters all together), that person will be surprised at a visit from an Enforcement Agent, however, it has always been the case that the original of the warrant is at Court, and the debtor has to address the Court to receive a copy. The Enforcement Agent should and does carry a copy of the Enforcement Details, which give the following information: 1) Name of debtor, their DOB (if known by the Court), NI n° (if known by the Court) a telephone number (if known by the Court) 2) Address of debtor, as last known by the Court. 3) Date of issue of the warrant and reason for the issue (i.e. unpaid fine imposed on dd/mm/yyyy for X offence). 4) Amount outstanding, including any fees accrued. When the EA is happy he is speaking to the debtor item 3 must be disclosed to him/her as soon as practical, followed by 4, This is a legal requirement An EA would have no place in the business if he went to an address which was different from the one on the Enforcement details, what would be the point any how?

I can understand the way that you feel, but let's not forget that prior to the new legislation there were a miriad of different fees, how much to charge on visit one, two or three, attendance to remove, van fees, walk in possession fees, fees for stepping on the cat's tail etc. The whole affair was very confusing for every one: the public, the bailiffs and the Courts who are supposed to make sure the correct fee is charged at the right time. Let's not forget that at the time the Attendance fee for Magistrate Distress warrants was £225.00. The new system is simple to understand, if a warrant (distress or execution) goes to enforcement a fee of £235.00 is added to the balance, no more, no less; it remains the same until the warrant is satisfied one way or the other and it doesn't matter how many times an Agent attends a property, once or ten time, the cost is the same. If you think that an EA just delivers a letter and has no intention of seizing good you are quite mistaken. When an EA attends a property it is to Take Control of goods because the debtor has not paid or hasn't made contact with the agency within 7 working days of the Compliance letter being sent out to them. If the debtor, after negotiating with the EA, then decides to pay rather than have their goods removed that's a step in the right direction which save a lot of time and hassle to all involved. The legislation, as well as the compliance letter, is also very clear in stating that once the debtor is informed that there is a Warrant of Control issued with his/her name on it, all their possession are automatically under Court Control. The legislation permits the adding of the Enforcement Fee after the 7 day period (which effectively is 10 calendar days), but the vast majority of Agencies will only add said fee when it's allocated to an Agent. And for TMA warrants it's only applied when the visit is made and recorded. I do not think that £235.00 is excessive considering the amount of work involved even before a visit is made. What I find disturbing is the number of debtors who ignore the Compliance letter then complain about a bailiff visit.

The legislation is very clear: any person obstructing an enforcement agent . . . is guilty of an offence . . . couple of real life scenarios where the Police Officers don't know/are unsure about Distress Law 1) After gaining peaceful entry in a property to execute a warrant the debtor calls the Police and the Police remove the EA from the premises. 2) After clamping a vehicle belonging to the debtor a third party calls the Police and tells them that the vehicle is theirs, produces a hand written receipt for an X amount of money for purchasing such vehicle a week before, still have the green slip from the V5 (blank) but can not produce a current Insurance Certificate. The Police Officer not sure about it , doesn't do a PNC check on the vehicle, but force the bailiff to remove the clamp. In this case, when a second warrant was issued, six months later, for the same debtor and an enquiry having being made to DVLA to ascertain the RK of that same vehicle, it was still in the debtor's name. To keep a good relationship with the bos in blue no individual EA or Agency will look to prosecute a Police Officer or their immediate superior. As far as miopic bailifs, I have written about this before. If Enforcement Agencies add the £110.00 to the £235.00 without having removed goods they are breaking the law and should be reported to the appropriate authority. The reality, gentlemen and ladies, is that there are people out there who know that the speed limit on a motorway is 70mph but constantly travel at speeds in excess of that limit . . . the same goes for TC&TEA . . . there are some Agents and Agencies who still break the rules; slowly but surely the are found out and removed from the profession.

Unfortunately very few do, the process is fairly longwinded and the result not certain, so they just swallow it up.

The Enforcement Agency will post a letter to the debtor, stating that goods taken into storage will be sold at auction ten days after the date stamp on this correspondence the day after the goods have being removed. Which means that with the letter in transit if one wants to rescue the goods from the pound the £110.00 is payable. My gripe with this is that prior to the new regulations goods removal was £150.00 for TMA and £200.00 for Magistrate/Council Tax, which barely covered the cost of a tow truck for cars/vans. As I mentioned before, the Removal/sale fee should be scrapped and the actual cost of the removal charged to the debtor, be it a few quid for taking TVs and computers to the local Auction House or the £500.00+ to get a heavy duty tow truck to remove an HGV to a secure location.

Good afternoon folks, been missing a while and thought it would be a good idea to contribute to this thread. The regulations are crystral clear, but there will always be a rougue element in any industry who make life difficult; fortunately a vast number of these have been found out and stripped of the General Certificate, will can't work in the role of an EA nad never wil again . . . good riddance! 1) Vehicles which, after an HPI check, come back as on Finance are untouchable. 2) Vehicles displaying a blue badge, even if not registered as an invalid carriage, can not be seized. 3) Miopic Enforcement Agents who clamp, try to remove a vehicle without having made a proper enquiry with DVLA to ascertain ownership/registerd keeper details, followed by an HPI check, should not be on the streets anymore. 4) The crime of "obstucting an Enforcemet Agent" only happens when any person (the debtor, or a third party {which includes misguided Police Officers}) prevent the Agent to proceed with his/her lawful business. 5) An Enforcement Agent must be satisfied that before removing goods these belong to the debtor, or jointly owned by the debtor and a third party, if there is suspicion that a third party has an interest in goods removed then a separate Notice of Goods Removed for Storage or Sale has to be given to such third party, alongside instructions on how to apply to Court for a delay in selling the goods. 6) The £110.00 removal/sale stage fee is applicable only when items are physically removed from the debtor's premises. My opinion on the latter: this fee is far to low to cover the actual cost of removal, since no other costs can be added to a warrant for the exeption of: storage of vehicles charges, locksmith charges and auctioneers expenses/remunaration. The removal fee should be scrapped and the actual cost of removing the goods, plus the cost of the time spent in removing these goods should be allowed. There is a further issue I have about "tools of the trade" In the bad old days one could not remove the first £250.00 worth tools of the trade, which meant that a taxi driver could not have his cab removed because the first £250 were part of the value of his vehicle, now, the value of such goods is £1,350.00 and there is, I think misunderstanding, that if such tool is worth more than £1,350.00 it can be taken control of . . . what does the rest of the panel think?

You'd be surprised at how many friends and family members will try it on by saying that the goods belong to them not the defendant.

Just the act of attendance is enforcing the writ/warrant/order, one can not say that because I am prepared to pay what I owe, you (bailiff)since all you did was turn up on my door you get nothing........My question would be why did you not pay when you received notification that you owe this money and that if you do not pay within the next XXX days a bailiff will be sent out to you and that will cost you more.

I know, but it gave me the opportunity to offer a not so fairly farfetched scenario. The good news is that we are alive, the bad news is that we are all going to die....it's not a perfect world and the only certanty in life is the end of it.....eventually, and yes mr Franklin was wrong, taxes are not a certainty anymore, especially if your name is gugel

I've read the post on the VW Campers fan board, the vehicle was not even fitted with a battery, and being a petrol engine even if one tries to bump start it it won't. That said it was taken away either via fflatbed and crane, or trailer and winch (the vehicle was being worked on, so it' s likely it was't locked) or a frame...it was aggravated vehicle taking. This is what really hissis me off, a baliff and a bailiff company breaking every single written and unwritten rule, the right to "seize to ascertain" does not exist anymore, and unless there is a serious potential for a vehicle to de-clamp itself (you know what I mean) it should not be removed without speaking to the defendant first, if he/she give you the "Churchill" salute then fair enough, they had their chance, but without it can be really on dodgy ground, no matter how many DVLA/HPI checks are done. BUT Let's look at this case scenario: if I bought a Vehicle from you today (4 pm on Thursday), provided you are diligent, the V5 would not be in the post until tomorrow (Friday), sent first class it shoud be delivered to DVLA on Saturday....but they are closed...and it would not reach human hands until Monday, if your letter is first out of the sack then your form should be processed that day which means that the vehicle will show on a search as not yours after 4 days. For my convenience, after buying the vehicle and given you the money, I tell you that I will pick it up on Sunday, you agree and allow me to park your ex-vehicle on the side of your drive. On Friday afternoon a bailiff from ACME or Bailiiffs "R"us turns up with a Distress Warrant issued by Neverland Magistrate Court because according to the Court you have not paid a fine for farting in public contary to section 47 of the pollution act of 2027. You know somebody has used your name and address and date of birth when they went to Court for this offence because you are physically unable to fart, you never did, you never will, you suffer from a congenital factor called"rectum non ventilatoritis" and the offence happened in Neverland and you live in Nevershire (easy mistake), you never been to Neverland (it is not nice after all)but your cousin, better known as "South Wind", but unfortunately shares the same surname as you (unfortunate for you that is, you would love to distance your self from that side of the family [rough bunch] but blood is thicker than whisky) who lives there, is about your hight built and only a day younger than you, has a grudge against you and when he was arrested for farting in a public place gave your details. The reason you never received the Summons is because you moved twice in the past year and did not bother to have your post redirected because no-one ever writes to you and you do anything and everything that has to do with bills on-line. So bailiff turns up, knows you own the vehicle because he made a DVLA inquiery yesterday (Wednesday), you do not have the V5 (you posted it remember) and you do not have the money because your wife tells you that you are bad with money and takes it from you to stop you squandering ir on frivolities like food and shelter, when she can invest it much more wisely in shoes and designer handbags.Although you took details from the buyer his name and address is on the V5 you posted! And you forgot to take a copy of it! Besides, why should you pay for a fine given to your disgusting farting cousing who used your name to get out of the smelly stuff (although he produces enough of his own to power a large electricityl generating facility). The nice bailiff listens to you, tells you that you could make a StatDec, but you will have to wait till Monday because the Courts are closed now, but he has this piece of paper that tells him to seize your assetts to pay for the fine. To be fair to the bailiff (unfortunately for you he has heard every excuse under the sun and the moon) he gives you 2 hours to come up with the money, you ring around frantically, but no-one answers your calls (remember you get no mail...you must be unpopular) and the bailiff takes the vehicle that belongs to another person who you do not know who they are, where they live and no telephone number...you disorganized piece of cabbage! The nice bailiff tells you that the car is being taken by Wreckers of Old Bangor to their depot, and it's going to be there for the next 6 days for you to rescue or for this alledged new owner to come round with some proof and take off their hands. The bad news is that I, the buyer, forgot that my son is palying his first game of Quiddich on Saturday, so I quickly text you that I will not be coming round till next Saturday to pick the vehicle up and switch the phone of because I do not want it to go off as I am watching the game. The worse news is that one of the opposing team sideswipes my son as he's trying to catch the bloody thing, rolls over a few times and lands on my head with a thud. I am taken to hospital suffering from concussion, and since I sound like a jibbering idiot (that's my normal mode) they hold me in for 7 days, incommunicado. .......can you see where this is going?

I agre with the second point, DVLA make massive cockups, and they are always slow in processing paperwork....as far as the sticker on the inside of the window....I now somebody who knows somebody else who has an acquaintance that can provide Disadled badges for £500, tax discs for £50 and any Council parking permit for a mere tenner.....I would not trust an approved badge if you even if you hit me over the head with a big stick.....

The address should be on the letter you received from them, it's a POBOX in Essex, unfortunately there are people who will write to bailiff companies saying that who they are looking for does not reside, but the opposite is true, so a visit from a field officer it's still very likely. And as I wrote in my previous post, have a Council Tax bill ready to prove that your son is not a resident....but again, that is no definite proof. Best course of action, also bearing in mind that the fine will not disappear, no matter how much fairy dust you use, tell your son to get hold of marstons, he needs to speak to them to get you off the embarassment of a bailiff knocking on your door, and he needs to make a sensible offer of payment, at least this way the warrant will stay at the fine cost plus £85 compliance fee and will avoid the £215 visit fee. Tell your son to do it NOW!