Dear all, I owed a total of £1,923.06 to Camden council: £ 969.43 (council tax for period 29/09/08 to 31/03/09) £ 953.63 (council tax for period 01/04/09 to 28/09/09) I was totally unaware of this debt until I was contacted and visited by a bailiff from Rundle&Co who had taken on my debt. The first visit occured in the first weeks of February. I was away from home and was left a message to contact him. The second visit occured in the last week of February. The bailiff visited me and started bullying me into paying the debt immediately etc. I agreed to pay to the debt by direct bank order. Anyway, I ended up paying a total of £2,440.06: £ 1,168.13 (council tax for period 29/09/08 to 31/03/09) on 17 February 2011 £ 1,271.93 (council tax for period 01/04/09 to 28/09/09) on 28 February 2011 meaning that I paid £517 extra in unspecified bailiff fees. Recently, I requested a breakdown of the fees paid and they replied: Council tax debt for period 29/09/08 to 31/03/09: Debt : £1,054.43 Visit fee 1 : £24.50 Visit fee 2 : £18.00 Levy fee : £55.00 Attendance/Van : £120.00 Total : £1271.93 Council tax debt for period 01/04/09 to 28/09/09: Debt : £953.63 Visit fee 1 : £24.50 Visit fee 2 : £18.00 Levy fee : £52.00 Attendance/Van : £120.00 Total: £1168.13 I understand that the levy fee relates to making a list of my property. This never occured. In addition, I am not sure what the van fee relates to but I am sure it is a fraud charge. Also, why is the debt in the first case increased by £85.00?? Is this a standard bailiff practice to also increase the amount of debt? In addition, is it OK for them to charge twice for the same visit? (The bailiff's visit was related to two separate debt collection cases). My question is this. What is the best route to take in challenging these charges/fees and getting my money back? since seeing this breakdown of fees and reading several other threads on this forum I understand that this over/fraud charging is a standard practice by bailiffs and I have no intention of allowing this! thank you very much for your help! Much appreciated

Hi guys, I am new to all this so please forgive any errors. I have a bailiff chasing me for two PCN'S (Parking Charge Notices -I believe this is correct!). I am not disputing that I owe them or anything like that and I am quite aware they need to be paid. However, my problem is quite simply that I can not afford to pay them all in one go. They total together nearly £1000. I have tried to make arrangements to pay but I hit a brick wall every time. I have been to my local council who agreed to accept a payment plan and they notified the bailiff they were happy to accept it. However, the bailiff refused it. I went back to council who told me the bailiff was in his rights to do this. I tried the bailiff company who said it was up to the individual bailiff if they were happy to accept a payment plan so they were of no help. I really am at the end of my tether, I can not afford to lose my car as my Son has health problems which may require immediate medical attention although it may not be an emergency so I need to be able to get him to out local hospital or to a London hospital straight away. I have been trying for nearly a year now to get this sorted but I am having no luck at all, If they had accepted my payment plan this would be nearly cleared off now. Is there anything I can do to stop this or arrange a payment plan? The bailiff can not be the end of the road can it? I have contacted Northampton county court where the warrant of execution was issued but they too said it was down to the bailiff. I have recently become a single parent so it is even more important that I get this sorted, I don't want to be afraid to answer the door anymore. I really am at the end of my tether with this and I just don't know what to do, can someone please help me Thank ou

Greetings All, Just received a 'Seizure & Distrain' letter through our door from Newlyn plc marked for my father's attention, chasing some £300-worth in items from our home over some "Road Traffic Contravention" charge held against his final car from way back in October 2010. The joke of it? My father died in April 2010. His final car was sold to someone else a good 2 months before he died... a good 8 months before the "contravention" charge was incurred. Oh... And the letter doesn't even have any signature or local authority/county court stamp. Any thoughts on how to deal with this nonsense swiftly and effectively? Along with how the hell a charge incurred by someone else could come back to our doorstep? Please let me know, people. Cheers.

Hi there, As you will see this is my 1st post, so firstly thanks for taking the time to look through this and even more thanks for anybody who can offer any help! I realise that I may be re-asking questions that have already been asked and answered here but I am slightly irate after speaking with Marstons and consequently overwhelmed by all the advice thats been previously offered. Anyway, here is what I need help with.... I have 2 or 3 fines that have been passed to the bailiff as my attitude and ability to pay the courts was quite poor and they have seen fit to allocate the bailiff to recover the money. As much as I do not agree with bailiffs and their (lack of) ethics, I understand why my debt has been passed on. I did try to get the court to revoke the distress warrant in a long letter, and with some justifiable reasons I believe, although they said they were unable to do this. I have made some payments on my fine via the courts although these were too sporadic and I failed to keep to the agreements I made. The courts then passed the remainder of my fine to Marstons, which I believe was £260. Marstons then added a £75 fee which Marstons just told me on the phone was for "working on behalf of the court". I was told by Marstons that a letter would then have been hand delivered and that they person delivering the letter (08.07.11) would not have knocked on the door, and this initself has led to a further £200 being added to my debt. I have the letter which Marstons hand delivered (08.07.11) and it says I owe: fine - £260, fees - £75, costs - £0, VAT - £0, Total £335 The letter then proceeds by saying: "We are in possession of a Magistrates’ Court Order as a consequence of non payment of the above amount. We are instructed to demand immediate payment in FULL from you. We must inform you that unless the TOTAL sum due is paid into our office within 7 days of the date of this letter, our bailiffs will attend to levy distress and remove your goods for sale by PUBLIC AUCTION. This action will involve minimum further costs of £200.” So, here is where I need advice. I am fortunate that my Father has said he will pay my bailiff debt as I am in nowhere near a position to do so, but before he does I feel that the amount to be paid should be far less than demanded from the bailiff. Firstly, the letter that was hand delivered on 08.07.11 stated that a further cost of £200 would be added as a consequence of distress being levied on my goods, this however did not happen. I tried to ask about this when I was talking with Marstons and the answer for the fee was that it was for a bailiff delivering a letter. I mentioned what it actually said in the original letter and didn't feel that the £200 should have been put on my account and was told we're going in circles and they terminated the call. Is this £200 a legal fee on my account? If it is not where do I stand with reporting Marstons to the police for harrassment of money they are not entitled to? Secondly, if I pay the original outstanding fine of £260 via HMCS website (as I am fairly sure they wouldn't accept payment on the phone), where would I stand with regards to the bailiffs fees? And finally I am correct in believing that the bailiffs fees are actually contractual fees between Marstons and HMCS? and if so why are they asking me to pay it? again could I report them to the police for trying to obtain money by using menaces, fraud or anything along those lines? Just a final note, the bailiff does not correspond with me at my current address but one where I used to live so I don't get letters all that frequently (maybe a couple times a month) as I don't see the guy who's house it is all that often. My written complaint to the courts was also rather lengthy but if anybody would like to see the letter I sent them I would be more than happy to forward you a copy. Again, thanks for reading this post and absolutely any help would be very much appreciated!!! Regards, Steve

I have been told that a bailiff should not take assets unless they are valuable enough to pay off a significant part of the bill. What they should do - I am told - in such a case is write to the creditor saying there are insufficient goods. Is that correct and if so what is the backing/law/legal case for it? A bailiff visited the premises and agreed that payment will be acceptable by the end of July. He insisted on taking a walking possession order. However, there are no assets of any value. About £200 was the estimate of the attending bailiff and assets are worth £400 at the most. The only assets are old/obsolete computers and second-hand desks, and those are necessary for the business. I am led to believe this may be wrong because: - A bailiff should not take assets unless they are valuable enough to pay off a significant part of the bill. - Moreover, the cost of removal and sale would be more than the sale value of the assets. The fees for walking possession are 100s of pounds. Is it true that the correct action for the bailiff was to have sent a report to the creditor saying there were insufficient assets to act upon? And as such shouldn't charge fees for walking possession? Grateful for any advice and legal cases as evidence.

Hi Need some advice Few days ago Cygent Finance had my car repossessed. One would say my own fualt and others may say right for doing to protect your own rights. Briefly Had car since Oct 2008, paid £650 deposit and below is summaary of total amount, amount paid and amount reminaing Amount Of Credit - £4650 total Amount Payable - £10077.12 Total Amount paid to date - £4838.60 Amount Due - 5238.52 My partner at time went on maternity in January 2010 we asked cygnet to change payment dates to coincide with my pay which was 15th for next 9 months whilst she was off work and to drop payments to £120 for same period, letter sent off and no letter ack but accoun manager called and said that was fine. So we made £120 each month, first £120 on 1st of month then had to pay again on 15th to put account in advance did this until September time when I found out they had been marking my credit file late each month for all 9 months. (original date was for 1st of each month), spoke to them and they blamed computer, wrote to credit people who said nothing can do speak to finance company. Cygnet didnt budge, so we fell out. Told them needed to go back to normal as partner went back to work and I had finished my current ocntract. Said the y couldnt change dates and had to keep it the 15th, told them agreemnt was for 9 months but they said no they couldnt change it back. So paid on 15th and again red mark and next month again. So come December I had enough, wrote final letter asking them to resolve issues they had created on my credit file and that I firmly request the date to be amended as per credit agreement. Refused. So told them where to go. By this time I was failing to get credit and my limits were being reviewed by my other creditors. Now upto that point I had paid of over £4800 to them, 1 month went by and no replies, spoke to them and manager agreed they were wrong but still nothing happended. Sated I wouldnt pay until resolved as it makes no difference what they do my credit was now crap. Then in April they send me a default notice stating 2 months behind of £240 under whatever terms they were cancelling agreement and seizing car. We had split up by now and my other half had car so passed it to her. But to cut long story short a bailiff or whatver you call them came, entered driveway at rear of property via gates, and proceeded to enter car forcefully. All hell broke loose and bailiff began threatening as at time partner got in and sat in car. He then pointed out that sdhe could either get out of he would forceablly remove her and that it may be painful if she refused. Police were called due to matter and police then proceeded to declare that this man was in his right should car not have been paid for. They then requested that keys be handed over and that she remove herself from fron tof vehicle or risked being arrested. Finally police escorted her indoors and after bout 15 mins letter was pushed through door of her house with my name on dated 04/03/2011 saying 1 month behind Notice of Termination and Seizure Arrears £120 Balance £5238.52 Paid £4853.23 Letter is photocopy, has been scribbled on my bailiff stating I HAVE TAKEN CAR!!(that is corect number of exclamation marks) 21/06/2011 @ 3.10pm and that was it, since rang asking what the hell they are playing at, told me tuff can do what we want that our vehicle, said would arrange to pay arrears but stil lpending pending resolutions to my personal data and my damaged credit file, they refused to accept the supposed £600 arrears that was owed bear in mind only £120 in arrears on 4th March plus they wanted £580 in costs on top of £600 for taking vehicle. So would only deliver back vehicle if i made debit/credit card payment for £1180. Still waiting months and months down line for them to resolve all bad data they had recorded against me. I understand that anything from February is legit but August through to January has been tarnished by their inaccuracies Also to note Told them to keep it but deciding to seek advice as to whether actions were viable or not Sorry for long winded ness just trying to paint picture and circumstances surrounding the whole affai CAN ANYONE PLEASE SHED SOME LIGHT ONTO WHAT ACTIONS ARE CORRECT ETC, WHAT THIS LEGAL WHAT THEY DID

Hi Just after a bit of advice and resolution. Car has been taken today by order of finance company. Car has 4 missed payments totally £480 in which struggling to pay as not working, cant claim job seekers as previously self emplyed and wont give us income based as my partner earns £1 past the limit. So now household income just over £700 a month before anything is paid. Had Car for 3 years before today overall agreement on BOS for £9500 and paid off £5800 Rang Finance Company today and they said we had to make payment of £900 to keep car which included fees for bailiffs as such, stated couldnt do this for obvious reasons but I am i a position to pay £300 which was declined, it was full or nothing. In end they drove off, no paperwork nothing. Still have V5 etc here, not even sure whre car is being taken to. I have had ongoing battle with this company "Cygnet Finance" as when my partner at time went on maternity we asked to ereduce payments and change payment date for 9 months she was off work, they agreed, letter also stated that after 9 months we would go back to normal. When time came they refused to increase and move dates back, so we ended up paying less but at very awkward time of the month. The issue was though that they reported our payments on 15th each month late as agreement 1st of the month via standing order. Payments were made each month as agreed (letter to hand from Finance company) but still eachmonth late payment. i let this go onto till December Last year and then told them to resolve or would take legal action. In mean time I was told to check that Bill OF Sale had been certified but after writing letter they replied stating they didnt have a copy to hand it was more than likely misplaced but be assured it was and was all above board. To date after twice requesting still had nothing, even issued them Letter and payment for request of all my information they sen tme it but no copy in there either. The Bill Of Sale was include but no stamp like told there should be SO, if there anything I can do, Police did turn up as I noticed car being removed from drive I phoned police reported car being stolen thats when it all kicked off. What rights do I have, been told by fiance company they can tak eit whenever they want and dont need any form of paperwork regardless how much I have paid, even if there was only 1 more payment left that would be irelevant Anyone any advice or guidance. Wouldnt maind but paid off well over half of this car, to settle it they sent me settlement figure of £1400 beginning of year but situation went bad at time so couldnt settle Would of got in touch with solicitor is known this was to happen but she costs too much and cam eout of the blue and she is on holiday today. So hopefully so me kind folks on here can give me some free advice

I would like to hear from all those who have had banking fees taken from HBOS. we need to stand together and fight this

Hi i have had advice by the CAB and another legal service. My car was clamped and it is essential to my work as im self employed. I have rang the council and bailiffs stating that it is illegally clamped and is exempt. They want payment in full for release. CAB contacted both the council and bailiffs and told them of my position. The bailiff said i gave consent to it being clamped and other pack of lies. I have offers of work I can not accept becuase of location. The citizens advice was to sign on the dole:| The council who employ them will not get involved. I do know that by law they cant clamp my car as it is a tool for employment yet i have run out of ideas. I spoke with the police who will not get involved unless the clamp is damaged. The car is on my private drive I now stand to lose my home without work. dont know anyone to take the clamp off without damaging it. any ideas? thanks

I recently received a letter from Philips DCA claiming they had received a Distress Warrant for non payment of a £300 motoring fine back in August last year and that they will be sending a baillif visit to these premises. I contacted them by phone initially and all they did was bully me, so I complained and disputed the debt via their website, as I knew nothing about the case even going to court never mind me being fined. I also explained that I am recovering from skin cancer and a breakdown caused by this and the loss of my son. Today I received a knock at the door and a woman said she was a bailiff from Philips coming to collect an amount of £615 and that she wanted it straight away. I advised her that this was in dispute and that I was still recovering from an illness etc. She was sympathetic and said she would feed this back to the office, I advised that I had already done so in writing. I am completely stuck now, what can I do to stop this, I moved back in with my parents because of the illness and have no possessions here as it is all my mum and dad's stuff. I dont dispute the fine of £300 but they have placed an extra £315 in charges on top. please help me urgent regards

Hi all, Im new to this site, but need some urgent advice. I was an international student until about 4 months ago when I graduated, and have a dispute with the council regarding tax which I was not liable to pay when I was a student, but which they have charged me for! That matter I am resolving separately, however they sent a bailiff around to my house to recover the peding amount as well as the tax for the new year. Basically, the bailiff blagged his way through by saying he is from the council, and when i stupidly opened the door he pushed past me and tried to barge his way into my house. Only then did he show me his ID and tell me he is a bailiff from equita at which point i managed to slip inside my house door to prevent him from coming in. He the phisically intimidated me, standing literally chest to chest with me (my chest to his stomach as he was literally 3 times my size) and threatened me to either pay or have my goods removed. At this point i clearly asked him for a warrant, letter or authorisation that he has to show me to which he replied he doesnt have any nor does he need to show me anything. At this point i had to put my hands on his chest and physically hold him back from entering my house. I also had to ring the police. Once i rang them, he agreed to back off and step well outside, but he remained standing with his foot in my door to prevent me from closing it. He then forced me to pay him £400 of my debt, by grabbing my card from my hands, and making a call from his mobile. I have no idea who he rang, and who was on the other line as i was not asked for any authorisation or permission to debit my account. He then gave me a receipt for the £400, and threatened me to pay the rest by the evening or he would be back and remove my goods. When i had a check on the debtline website, i saw that it is necessary for bailiffs to show a certificate of authorisation from the court, if they are acting on behalf of the council. He also has to give me a list of charges due, as well as the bailiff fees. Needless to say, he showed me no paperwork, even though i asked him. He has since come around again, threatening to even break in if necessary. When i asked him for his papers, he said he would only show me the if i opened my door, to which i asked him to slip them through my letter flap, where i would have a look at them and if they seemed to be in order i would consider opening the door. He did not agree to do so, so i told him to leave. he then proceeded to threaten m again. I am considering escalating this matter, because as per m understanding his actions are illegal, and he hs no papers to support him. he is also not listen on the certified bailiffs register on the hmcs website. I am considering ringing equita and making a complaint, and asking for my money back as well. Can someone please advise me ASAP on what I can do. I am currently unemployed, and looking for a job. Thanks!

hi, hope im in the right place, I got behind with my council tax and accrued arrears of £1260, this was the amount of the liability in full, Rosendale bailiff turned up, although i am a single parent refused to take a payment of less than £850, I didnt allow him into my property, i sent off a budget sheet with an off to pay which they disregarded, I phoned the council begged them to take this debt back and to do an attatchment of earnings which they woudnt, the bailiff then came back and levyied on on car (probably worth 200 quid max) served me notice giving me 24 hours to pay or he would return to remove my car, I panicked and fortunately managed to borrow the 1260 which was paid to the council online, rang council next day they confirmed the payment and that the liaility had been paid in full, received call from rosendale bailiff saying that he can still remove my car, the charges are 1st visit 24.50,second visit 18.00,levy fee 61 and other 110, asked what the other was and he said that it was because he had attended with a van, i pointed out that he had no levy on property and that said time he merely said im here to serve you notice you have 24 hours to pay then walked off, full liability was paid within less than 24 hours, he said that he drives a van that is why he can charge, he is also adamant that i only have twp weeks to pay the full charges, i would happily pay the charges (less the 110 which i feel is unreasonable), can i stipulate the repayment amount and is the levy still valid on my car?

hello i had the bailiffs around on friday for council tax which was stopped by my bank for some reason in december,my wife let him in and he sat down,i thought he was from the council,he then said we missed the payment in december and now we must pay the full amount up as far as april i think,he asked can we do that we said no,he then said if you cant i will have to do a levy and walking possession on your goods ,so me and my wife said we will check the banks now and see what we can do so we ask him how much is it? he then worked it out at £509.55 we checked the banks and we had the money to pay him so we did by debit card,after we paid he then said im still have to do a levy and walking possession,is this right? mY council tax bill was £440.05 £22.50 release charge £36 levy and £11 walking possession so £69.50 paid to them on top

Hi, Long post I know, questions in bold / italic! My partner has a dispute with a Liability Order that was issued in July 2001 and was recently resurrected by the local council (August this year). The council claims that due to a change in their computer system in 2002, the account was overlooked despite also stating in the same letter that the account was closed accordingly when she moved from the address in question, which she notified them of at the time (October 2001). Additionally, the council claim that the outside bailiff company were unable to make contact and they only discovered her forwarding address in August this year when an audit took place. My partner has been paying her council tax for the last 9 years without fail and the council has had her contact details at all times, as she has kept them informed of any changes, including when we notified them in August that we were moving house (this is the reason we believe that made them contact her and not because of an audit). Since August, there have been numerous exchanges and failures to respond to correspondance by the council, as well as 3 visits from a representative of Bristow & Sutor, the second on Tuesday evening this week (which I then called immediately and left a voice mail) and another one this morning (where I had a 20+ minute conversation with). Due to the age of this, it is almost impossible to get evidence, but my partner fully believes that the Liability Order was settled back in 2002 and her mother has a cheque stub relating to Council Tax for an amount that is in the region of amount being claimed. What we don't have is the cheque or who it was actually paid to. Following the visit on Tuesday this week, we sent another letter detailing our dispute to the local tax office, the LGO and our local MP. No communication happened until this morning, when my phone rang and the bailiff discussed my partners account with me and informed me that he was going to knock on our door (we were not together when the LO was issued - has data protection been breached here?). I informed him that we would refuse entry and that no-one was at home as we were all on our way to work. My partner then phoned the local tax office when we got to work and she was informed that on receipt of our letter, they had immediately contacted Bristow & Sutor to suspend any further action and that the manager of the local tax office had done this yesterday, by phone and on their website. I called the bailiff back, informed him of this to which he said he would check and call me back. He did so several minutes later saying that he had indeed received a text message on his phone and admitted that he had not checked it before calling at our house. No apology. Just told to disregard the letter he had put through our door. I have notified Bristow & Sutor that I wish to make a formal complaint against one of their officers. Given that a Bailiff is required to act within the law at all times, if the action has been suspended and they still continue with the action, against the instructions of the local council, surely this is harassment and illegal? We also believe that the council is guilty of maladministration causing injustice on the grounds of unreasonable delay (9+ years to follow-up original LO, despite being in contact with my partner throughout), failure to investigate (the council has been in contact with her throughout the 9+ year period), failure to provide information and injustice due to hurt feelings, distress, worry and inconvenience. Is this the case? We have placed a Subject Data Access Request to get a full history of the account, in an effort to reconcile the original amount and subsequent charges in the hope that the figures will tally with the amount of the cheque paid in 2002. As it stands, we have been unable to get a copy of the cheque as the banks only keep them for 6 years. We know that the cheque was cashed. Hoping someone can advise and help out!

So... Last July (2009) I began having visits from a Rossendales Bailiff over a Magistrates Liability Order/Distress warrant for unpaid council tax. I immediately called them and asked what the balance I owed was. The reply was a disheartening £875.91. I stated that I was out of work and could afford to pay £50 a month from my jobseekers allowance, but was told this wouldn't fly, they said I had two accounts outstanding(??), the first charge was £473.11 and the second was £402.80. I was told that if I paid the £473.11 by the end of the month they would accept installments on the lower amount. I borrowed money from my partner and her father (which I am still paying off) and applied for a Budgeting Loan from the DWP. I promptly paid the £473.11 (plus a hidden admin charge for paying with a debit card) on 28/7/09. I received a receipt from this. The folllowing month I paid £202.80 and received a receipt saying that my balance was now £200. It was only then that I discovered some earlier correspondence from Rossendales (my partner would often leave unopened mail on the table and it simply got buried with other paperwork). The previous letters from Rossendales stated that the balances owed were £402.80 & £204.11 (including first visit & second visit charges) totalling £606.91 NOT the £875.91 they were claiming in July. Since I had already paid a total of £677.51 (proven in my bank statement) I had already paid £70 more than I needed to. I called them to ask where their figures came from and requested a breakdown of their charges before I paid them any more cash, they said that my account details were still with the bailiff in charge. I called him and he said that I had to call head office. This went back and forth several times until I said that I refuse to pay any more money until I had the paperwork I was legally entitled to. In November (two months after the phone calls) I received another letter stating that they agreed to accept installments and I did not adhere to them. I now owed £389.00 plus a further £110.00 should a van be sent to my address. Again, I called them and was given the same old spin. I didn't pay and didn't hear from them again until May this year, when the same notices were posted through the communal door of my block (not even in sealed envelopes) and left in the foyer for any Tom, Dick and Harry to see. I ignored these, because, as far as I'm concerned, I didn't receive them. More recently I've had handwritten notices posted through the door for me to "contact the bailiff in charge and discuss the o/s court warrant". I should also add that one of these pieces of paper had somebody elses credit card details written on the back!!! For the last month I have been receiving phone calls from the bailiff, but I'm still reluctant to pay until I receive a breakdown of charges. Rossendales slogan states that they are "Proud to be Professional". What an absolute joke they are!

I wonder if you can advise - I am writing as I am extremely anxious. We have recently lost our home after 32 years and our businesses. Although back in work, my husband still has outstanding debts which he was unaware of one being with Lincolnshire CC for unpaid rates. We have made payment arrangements with most of the debtors. We did not receive any correspondence from Lincolnshire to say that this was being taken to Court as it was sent to the business address and not forwarded to us, so we were unaware of what was happening. At the time we were living with my parents until we found work and we are now in rented accommodation. We have recently received letters from Rossendales demanding £700. My husband tried on several occasions to call them to no avail. So we have now correspondend by recorded delivery to them with a Statement of Income and Expenditure, which I have since found out that we didn't need to send them this as it can only be obtained by a Judge. Rossendales will not accept our offer of £20 per month until we can afford more and insistent that we pay this amount. We have sent cheques to them for the £20 per month (£5 per week), which they have encashed but are now wanting £39 every 7 days. We are standing our ground even though they state "This is the minimum we can accept and payment must be maintained at the set rate to avoid us proceeding with execution of a liability order". Please can you advise us as to what letter we can send to the Council asking them to take the debt back. I am at my wits end. I am terrified of coming home. I am currently leaving the house at 6.00 in the morning and not getting home until gone 7.30 in the evening. We are contemplating bankruptcy as we have debts relating to our home being repossessed and other debts relating to the business, but at the moment, unfortunately, this costs money which we do not have as we ploughed everything we had into the businesses to keep them afloat and paid all the staff. Please help.

Hi The only place to start is at the begining. After having lots of trouble with Rosendales demanding hundrands of pounds every week managed to get my local council to talk to them and set up an agreement that I could afford to pay each week. Which I have been every week with out fail at the local post office so I had reciets. That was a year ago or a bit less. I moved house 4 weeks ago (still paying Rosendales may I add) and i had servel letters from the council in one day saying diffrent things and a letter from Rosendale saying I had defaulted and they were coming to get goods. I went strate away to my local council and asked them what was going on and what and were I should be making payments too. I also asked them how I had defaulted on my payments when I had recites to say I had paid. The person I spoke to from council tax was also confussed so left me in a side room for 40 min while they found out what was going on. They came back and told me infrontof a witness that I had defaulted cos on week I payed Rosendales the money on the saterday instead of the friday. But they said the good news is that they won't be coming out to your house becouse one of the accounts had now finished and the other one only had £68.00 left on it. They also said there was council tax left to pay on my old house. They wanted me to pay £100 to the council on the 12th of this month and then for the next 5 months on this date. And £68 to Rosendales on the 16th of this month. I asked over and over again if after I had payed the £68 I would not have to deal with Rosendales ever again and they said yes as long as I paid on time. I also asked over and over aain if they were sure that Rosendales would not come out to my house. They said yes and reashured me. So off I went happy and payed both payments on time. This morning Rosendales turned up to my house with 2 Balifs and 2 vans saying they were going to take my things. I was very shocked and conffused and told them that everything was clear. They told me it was not and the I still owe £261.71. So I said I will go and get the paper work the council have given me and all the reciets. I locked the door behind me (after learning what they can do a year ago and being on here) while I got them and showed them to the balif and he said no we have been told by the council this morning to get the money or take goods. I said to them well i need to talk to the council and they said no its money or goods can any one help you get the money? I said no but can I not at least phone the council. He said yes and they waited out side while I phoned the council. The council said they had made a mistake when they told me that the account was finished and in fact I still had £261.71 to pay. I asked them why had I not been told and given the oppertunity to pay it off in instalments or even keep paying the instulments I had being paying in the past. Their response was they had made a mistake and now the money needs to be paid. I told them that 2 balifs were on my door step wanting to take my goods and all I had done was everything the council had asked me too. They said all they could do was tell Rosendales to give me a week to come up with the money in full. I told the council I could not find that sort of money in a week and they said thats all we can do. The council spoke to Rossendales and the baliff said I will be back next friday afternoon for the full amount. You now owe £321.71. So I sai you have charged me for this visit even though it was the councils mistake and he said yes I have to charge you for this visit but I wont charge you for the visit to pick up the money in cash. They then left! I know I just can not come up with the money in a week. Does any one know were I can go from here as it was not my fault it was the councils fault and they admitted it? Also they had a levey for goods at my old house. Can that levey carry over to my new house? Everything is in such a mess and my son has already not recived his birthday precents last week as I was trying to jump through hoops to pay the £100 to the council and a few days latter £68 to Rosendales. I just don't have any money left. Please please can some one help me. Thank you

If a CCJ has been awarded against a debtor and for whatever reason, the debtor defaults on payments, what can bailiffs legally remove from property? For instance, if the debtor is living with family or friends, are the family/friends' possessions safe? Can bailiffs only seize property owned by the debtor? If so, what proof is needed of ownership? Government sites also suggest that bailiffs cannot seize anything that is considered "tools of trade" - in other words, if you're a carpenter, they can't swipe your chisels, planes, screwdrivers, etc. as that would deprive you of the means to make a living (and therefore continue paying off debts). In the same way, if you are a journalist, a web designer, graphic designer, photographer, etc. would that mean that also cameras, computers, scanners, etc. would be exempt from seizure? If so, what proof would one need? I'm not in this situation (yet) but I think it would be helpful to get advice on this - for others here as well. Many people worry when DCAs threaten Bailiff action, without knowing that only a court can order such action - and usually then, only due to a default in compliance with a court order. Thanks in advance for any comments.

I really hope someone can help me as i'm at my wits end!! I have a council tax debt with Bristow and Sutor to whom i have been paying £10 a fortnight since 9/7/09. In January of this year i missed a payment for reasons i don't recall and NOT on purpose. I spoke to someone on the phone to apologise and made the payment plus the next payment and that is where it was left. Unbeknown to myself, they had changed my agreement with them to a temporary one until April during which time i was supposed to have sent them a letter proving that i was claiming benefits, I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THIS!! On to present time, i have been making my fortnightly payments without fail not knowing that since April my account was in default. I telephoned Bristow and Sutor 3 days ago just to let them know that my benefit payments had changed and i would be paying them a week early and carrying on with the fornightly payments at which point i was told about my account and that i had to send a proof of benefit. As my benefit is claimed by my partner for the whole family, ALL our correspondence from them is in his name only so we promptly called the benefit office to get a letter stating that I was also claiming. The day after speaking to Bristow Sutor we get a Notice of Intention to force entry from the bailiff. I got straight on to their office and asked why they had been sent when we were still waiting for the benefit letter to arrive at which point i was then told that they needed the letter IMMEDIATELY after i had spoken on the phone to them the day before!! i was not told it had to be there straight away and thought they'd wait at least a day or 2 for us to get the letter and fax it to them!!! I have been informed that the bailiff will not be called off and he has the right to break into my home, even when i am not in, to take my property as he has walking possesion. I've tried negotiating with the bailiff on the phone but he refuses to even listen. I am currently sitting in a locked up home twitching every time a car pulls up outside because i know he could be here tonight or any time he feels like showing up, i'm scared to leave the house Please...is there ANYTHING i can do to stop them from entering my home??

I'm at a bit of a loss with how to proceed with this letter that I received today from Marstons. The history behind it is that I had a Magistrates Court fine for a car without tax that wasn't even my car ! (someone else registered it in my name and forged my signature). I accepted the fine for £448.34, and set up a standing order from my account to pay monthly amounts of £50. The payments finished April this year, and I never heard anything about it until this letter today, that claimed the amount outstanding is £323.34 !! So I phoned up Marstons, and explained that the court fine was paid off, to no avail. I checked my bank account for proof, and saw that every payment for £50 was taken out, but the final payment of £48.34 wasn't, why I don't know since I set up the standing order correctly. So in effect, I still owe £48.34, which is fine, i'm happy to pay what I ought to. Marstons seem to have added a compliance fee of £75, and an Attendance fee of £200 !!!! Can they demand this of me ?? I have never had a visit, call or letter or any communication until today, via a letter. I would like to know the best way to approach this - I cannot afford almost 3/4 of the original fine for "fees" again !! If I was just contacted by someone, i'd have paid the outstanding £48.34 which was the last and only payment missed BTW !

Hello everyone, this is my first thread here but is very urgent so please help me resolve that problem. I owe 512.60 and 700 to Jacobs they have left me a note today telling that They will come tomorrow in the morning or afternoon to take out my goods if home will be closed they will get a local locksmith to help them getting in, I tried to borrow 512.60 somehow from people that I know to pay that back yesterday but unfortunately they did not help me at all, I just started new job got only 130 pounds on account because of being in work only week before pay day, not much hours as couldn't work longer, I gave a call to bailiff which came to me last week for same reason, to told him what is my situation: I'm only 23 years old with two Tumors waiting for surgery I'm willing to pay all due amount in installments starting with paying everything that I've got 130, then 51 pounds monthly as I'm in debt with previous land lord and current one as well, I cant afford to pay more money to them, I've been asking for some standing order form or some letter to my employer to make deduction from my pay each month, but they said no because I have failed to pay back money before, because I did not have funds at all and my health situation went very bad, but I did payments like 60, 50, 20, 50 couple of times month by month then I told them that I cant pay more, as I'm unemployed, so they told me to send a letter with income and outcome, but I already did that, debt problems were same at that time, I just had no income at all. I've send them two faxes from my work yesterday telling what is my situation and asking for quick contact from their office not from bailiff having my case, because he is sending me messages on mobile in the night time scaring that he will come on next day with big guys by big van to remove all that I've got. I've send also two emails today they just ignored them, I'm having job now and I can pay money back to them but they just do not want to listen, This working month I took as much overtime as possible as other maintenance man is on holiday so I can do hes hours to have more money in next month to pay them more, I told that to bailiff as well but he still don't care. I just do not know what to do, please help me somehow. I'm on my way to council to talk with some officer about paying them money not to Jacobs and stop their actions somehow. Thank You. Simon

Hi I was wondering if anyone could help? My mum is 68 and on pension credit, she got a fine for failiure to supply driver info (£365) at Tameside Magistrates Court. She was just about managing to pay it of at £30 a month. She's on pension credit and has about £400 a month to live on (She likes her independance and still runs a car ). Recently the court moved their fines department to HMCS Greater Manchester and they didnt send her a new payment card, so she didnt know who to pay. Today she recieved a letter from Marstons with £75 added to the fine and telling her they want full payment within 7 days or they will send a bailiff round to take her stuff. As you can guess she is very worried. My question is Im sure under the regs she's classed as vulnerable? Has anyone got a template letter that we could use to get Marstons to return the default back to HMCS Greater Manchester. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated Matt

Hi to everyone firstly. I woke up on the 14th of July 2010 at around 7am to hear a weird noise from outside, when i went to have a look i saw a guy clamping my car, i quickly opened my window to ask the person to stop what he was doing but he did not seem to care what i said. When i went down to confront him regarding the clamp, he told me PCN charge for Islington council, i remembered immediately, i had forgotten to get back to the council as the PCN was being sent to my old address. anyways cutting it short i was told i had to pay or car would be taken in half n hour, well not knowing about clamping i got scared, i didnt say anything and went inside thinking what to do, the bailiff came back and said you have till 11.30am to pay or tow truck will tow your car. i made calls to friends to get the money which was £818.57 i managed to find the money, when the bailiff came back i asked for a breakdown first but was refused , with the panic and stress of my car being towed away i payed. I came home and onto the net to find many forums with lots of these bailiff charges The breakdown i was given is as follows Debt £185.00 First Letter £11.20 HPI £20.00 Attends and V1 £162.00 Attends and V2 £66.00 Attends and V3 £70.00 Cancel Tow £90.00 Clamp £120.00 VAT £94.37 Total £818.57 when i saw this i quested about the charges but was told to speak to write in letter. My Car is on Finance and self employed Is the charges above correct if you could help, what are they allowed to charge me if my car is on finance and used for work as im self employed. thanks from now.