Hello. My 23yr old daughter has received a letter from collectica bailiffs saying they intend to visit to collect the money she owes, if not the money then goods. The letter says we will be liable for locksmiths fees etc. the 1st letter dated 29/8/14 says £1325, she arranged a weekly payment but forgot to pay it, the letter received today says £1225. When she phoned them today she was told they will take mine and my husbands property and we will have to apply to the court to get them back. I've done abit of research and I don't think they can take our things, she had not received a notice of enforcement. I gave managed to get the money together and they are coming back tomorrow for it I need to know I'm paying the right people the right amount. Any advice please? The original fine was from magistrates court for £945 and she hadn't paid any of it since receiving it in June 2014 ( arrrggghhhh!!) Thankyou

On 21st April I started a new thread here concerning the response that had been received from the Metroploitan Police to a Freedom of Information request regarding police and bailiff roadside operations. This is clearly a subject that has gained the attention of the public and this can be demonstrated by the fact that the thread has been viewed over 13,000 times. For new visitors not wishing to read back on the many pages a short description is below: A Freedom of Information request had been made to the Metropolitan police regarding Police and Bailiff Roadside Operations. It would seem that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) did not address the enquiry in the usual period of time and this led to the person making the request to ask for an internal review. The MPS were also advised that all further correspondence was being copied to that persons MP and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The MPS responded in April 2014 and it was clear when compiling the information that the 'penny had dropped' with the Metropolitan Police in that these 'ANPR Roadside Operations' should NOT have be taking place with private sector bailiffs and instead, should only be in partnership with Civilian Enforcement Officers who are employed in the magistrates’ court by HM Courts & Tribunals Service and who are responsible for enforcing certain magistrates’ court and Crown Court orders (such as warrants of arrest, committal, detention and distress). Statutory regulations were changed in 2006 allowing HMCS to Contract with private sector companies to permit them to enforce these criminal warrants on their behalf. The Contracts were subject to re-tendering a couple of years ago and there are now 4 companies (Marston Group, Collectica Ltd, Swift Credit Services and Excel Enforcement) enforcing such warrants. Under these Contracts the officers are known as Approved Enforcement Officers. Parking Mad Shortly after the response to the FOI the public were able to witness for themselves how Police and Bailiff Roadside Operations work in practice when they viewed the new "Panorama' series on TV. There were 4 episodes each running for an hour and featured a bailiff company called Whyte & Co using ANPR vehicles to enforce unpaid parking tickets. The timing of the episodes could not have been worse given that only a few weeks earlier (on 6th April) the government had introuced its long awaited new regulations to reform the bailiff industry. Seeing first hand how these 'police and bailiff roadside operations work in practice made for very uncomfortable viewing indeed and the legality of these operations was once again 'under the spotlight'. It is known that many complaints were made to the TV company after the series ended and over 40 separate Freedom of Information requests were known to have been made to local authorities and police forces. MPS 'suspended' police and bailiff 'roadside operations' On 11th June I updated the tread (post number 110) to report that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) had confirmed that they had suspended such operations. I am aware of a great deal of work that is ongoing 'behind the scenes' regarding these operations and yesterday a response was received from one of the many Freedom of Information requests as outlined above. Once again, the Metropolitan Police's response is very serious indeed and given that the previous thread had so many pages to it I thought it better to dedicate a new thread. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?422834-Police-and-Bailiff-%91ANPR-Roadside-Operations%92...response-at-last-from-the-Metropolitan-Police-!!!(3-Viewing)-nbsp

Hiya, I'm new too all this but would appreciate some advice on behalf of my mother & father in law. She had a visit on Friday from a couple of very intimidating bailiffs in regards to a parking ticket issued to her daughter. Daughter no longer lives in the UK but the bailiffs do not believe her & have said that they are coming back on Monday to remove goods. Can they remove goods that belong to them, there is nothing there that belongs to the daughter. They are both disabled & the treatment they recieved was very wrong what can I do as I am going down there to wait for them tomorrow. Many Thanks x

To cut a long story short the bailiffs came yesterday looking for my partner with regards to a magistrates fine. They have previously visited his mothers address and my partner went to court to pay the fine in full and was told they couldn't accept it and to wait until November until the case was passed back to them. In the meantime they called yesterday and banged on doors and windows scaring me and my kids to death. I called the police who said he was within his rights and she called him up and said that they would be back tomorow at 7 with the police and locksmith. The house is mine I have lived here 5 years and all the belongings (nothing of value) belong to me as my partner previously lived with his parents and hasn't lived here long. He spent all yesterday speaking to people and was advised that under schedule 12. No break of entry could be done as it's my property and belongings. This morning the bailiff has turned up again shouting through letterbox that the police are on there way and locksmith. He's just left after 2 hours of sitting. Please help what shall we do. Update police now here

Hi, advise needed please. Last week I had a bailiff come round to my rented flat, to claim an amount for a council tax bill from 13 yrs ago. I wasn't in at the time, the said bailiff managed to get my phone number from my young daughter , and after repeated calls I got him to leave my property and daughter alone. He has threatened me with police action, lock removal and removal of my partners property,(as I literally own the clothes on my back and nothing else). I have told the bailiff that I do not want to avoid the original debt, and Im willing to enter into an agreement to pay the debt off in installments. This offer has been refused saying that this has gone on for too long and because of previous visits, of which we as a family have no knowledge. Where and how do I stand? Any advise is more than welcome Thanks in advance Lou Lou

Hi all. Around 2 weeks ago I recieved a letter from Jacobs bailiffs due to non payment of council tax 2 and my previous property. I called them promptly and we agreed, over the phone a payment plan of £20 a week. This was to be paid by standing order and I would await confirmation of the payments and the necessary info to set up the payments. I didn't receive any such info and tried to call a couple of times to no avail. I have now recieved the following notice. BROKEN ARRANGEMENT AMOUNT DUE £694. you have not maintained your arrangement to pay 20 every 7 days. Your arrangement is therefore cancelled and WILL NOT be reinstated. If full payment is not received in 4 days a bailiff will attend to recover full payment or remove goods. I had an arrangement around half a year ago with items levyd at my old property. That agreement was fully paid and settled. So am I right thinking there is no current levy in place? No bailiff has attended my new home. I intend to pay what I owe yet cannot without the right info and confirmation of our agreement so how have I broken a contract? Help! I'm desperate and really worried now..

As that thread degenerated into a slanging match and was closed by Ims whatever, I didn't get to explain why i thought IR35 may apply to bailiffs, Yes they may form limited companies as a tax dodge, they may work for different firms, but if a majority of their work is for one company, then like many IT contractors, and couriers, IR35 may well be deemed to apply. It contractors and others even with limited companies have been caught by it, so bailiffs should not be complacent, they are no different to other contractors who have a majority of work from one employer Just wanted to say that before I burger off and leave the forum. I shan't be replying to any posts on the thread so Ims can close it or delete it or whatever.

After some great advice on here i managed to get a PCN charge reset, good times! Unfortunately I already paid the bloody bailiff (about a month ago) as he clamped the car, so filled in a late witness statment and have now had letters from the court and council saying i only have to pay £50 but have paid £300 to the robbing basterwards, so my question is where do I go to get the money back? Bailiffs? council? charge back? And also will i get it all back? Many thanks in advance.

hi there got a big problem jbw bailiffs have come to a previous address where my car is still registered i have only just found out there was pcn for driving through a bus lane last year my uncle rang me yesterday as the bailiffs came he gave me the number of the bailiff i rang him and explained this was the first i had heard of the matter he said i had to pay £579 !! he said there is 2 pcn's plus their charges he said he wanted payment in full which i dont have as i am currently on benefits i offered to pay so much each month but he didnt want to know he said he would have the car i said there is still outstanding finance on it he said it dont matter i have been reading bits online what would be the best thing to do in my situation i will pay the fines but the bailiff charges are excessive !! worried now because i dont know when the bailiff is going to call at my home

This morning the Local Government Secretary; Eric Pickles shocked local authorities ( and no doubt bailiff companies) by announcing that he is seeking to "outlaw" local authorities from using CCTV camera's and "spy cars" to "milk" parking fines from motorists !! Additionally, Eric Pickles is seeking to amend the law to stop councils from using bailiffs to collect parking fines !!! Clearly there is no messing around with Eric Pickles as his office are planning to release a Consultation Paper later this month with the consultation period running for 6 weeks with plans to implement the new changes from January. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10337749/Councils-using-CCTV-cameras-to-fine-motorists-to-be-made-illegal-within-months.html

Good evening everyone This isn't so much a bailiff problem, more a problem with a bailiff I was once married to.... I have been divorced from my ex husband (a certificated bailiff/enforcement officer for Marsdens) for almost four years, and have since remarried. I have a 9 year old son from my previous marriage and have struggled and struggled to get any kind of child maintenance.... My ex-husband has constantly insists he cannot afford to pay me anything... I have recently had my hand forced and in desperation turned to the Child Maintenance Service who have now intervened and "forced" my ex-husband (a certificated bailiff/enforcement officer remember?) into paying maintenance for his son. I have learnt today that my son's maintenance award is £7 per week!!!! Yes, £7 per week..... £1 a day!!!!! My ex-husband is, it turns out, SELF EMPLOYED and on a very low income.... £70 a week!!!!! He is a certificated bailiff !!! Surely this cannot be right??? If this is so, then SURELY there is something wrong with the system.....I don't mean the maintenance system, I mean the LEGAL enforcement system!!! Surely someone in such a powerful position, who deals daily with vulnerable people, who has the power and legal rights of arrest (so he reckons) shouldn't be motivated by commission? Self employment? Surely they should be untouchable..... On a salary.... Not self employed? Is this right? Any opinions or views appreciated. Thanks Lisa

I have been fighting with Chandlers about oustanding CTAX that is owed, We have never granted them access to the property but now a Bailiff is claiming he is getting a warrant to force entry on monday to remove goods, can he do this or is this just scare mongering? Have spoke to Bexley council and they have said once its handed to bailiffs there is nothing they can do despite the fact we never received any warnings our account was in arrears, the first we knew we had Bailiffs at the door, and they have refused any sort of payment other than full payment, Any advise would be appreciated Regards Kieron

Hi and thankyou for this information i have a few questions if you don't mind assisting me. 1: Can Collectica use a distress warrant to collect their fees if the amount of the original court fine has been paid? 2: I read for the collectica bailiff to use forced entry he must suspect the named person on the warrant to be in the premises, if the bailiff knew for certain that person left the property in front of them and then tried to force entry by way of forcing the door open against the tenant after said tenant had shown their tenancy agreement with only said tenant name on it did that collctica bailiff break the law? 3: if the answer to both is yes where do i go to report this as the police say its a civil matter even though i was injured during this ordeal Look forward to hearing from you regards Craig Ps fine is for non payment of fine for no tv licence. Original fine was £127.00 i have paid over £160.00 to date and should only owe £90.50 though the bailiff has now just upped it to £329.50 even though regular payments of £11.00 per week agreed with collectica were up to date. This all seems to have happened because i missed one weeks payment then caught it by paying double the following week, also made the payment the week following again. I am not a non payer but feel i am been extorted and the law appears to be on their side collectica are the miscreants sad world we live in

Hi I was hoping you could help? I have a Rossendale problem. I owed council tax from 2011 which I have paid all but £90.00 0f. As I had apparently an agreement with Rossendale to pay 40.00 a month. I actually paid what I could when I could and paid off nearly 700 quid. An agreement I do not recall but bailiff said I did, but I recall signing nothing. He visited me for the first time today and did not enter the house. But asked for an agreement to be set up over next few days. The bill he gave me was for £325.00. I proved to him via bank statements etc. that I owe only £90.00 But he is claiming default of payment arrangements due to new legislations. So I threw back that if I owe below £100.00 bailiffs are not supposed to visit houses which he checked with his office and turned out to be true. Do I have to pay the £325.00? Which seems a bit steep for apparently missing a payment. He quoted a whole lot of new legislation stuff at me which I do not understand. I have to resolve this payment in a few days. I have not had a court letter or let a bailiff in my home and neither did he ask to come in. He was quite polite but I still think the extra money on top of the £90.00 I owe is obscene seeming I have battled to pay off £700. I am struggling financially so this is not peanuts to me. It just seems odd that I was nearly finished paying this damn bill and now its nearly half of what I owed in the first place. The payment plan that was apparently set up does not include a list of items from my house as today was the first time I have seen a bailiff regarding this bill. The last letter they sent me was 4th September 2013 Yet he has tried fobbing me off that he has sent later letters and phoned my mobile. Which is rubbish as I don`t own one!. He also tried to fob me off with a rude comment that I apparently have a history of failed payments earlier due to failed credit payments which is also untrue as I have all the bank statements that show payment going out in black and white. I don`t know my rights on this, do I have anyway I can get this bill down? Any help grateful. Kind regards all.

Hey guys Need a bit of help here, just received a letter by hand from a company called Equita. They say we are in debt of about £750 and they've attached fees to make it up to about £1000. The letter also says we have only 24 hours to make the payment or the company will return and take some possessions. The company Equita is acting on behalf of is called Capita Business Services Ltd (lambeth). We pay rent to an agency who aren't very good at paying their bills (we agreed to an all inclusive amount). I have a feeling this is about council tax but I'm not sure. Can anybody help me get a clearer picture? Or any advice on what to do next? We can't get in touch with the agents as always. We have been in touch with the landlord and he just tells us not to open the door to anyone and that there is nothing we can do. Any advice would be great. Thanks EDIT: Just some more information. The 'contract' we hold with the agency is termed a 'License To Occupy and for the bills sections. We crossed out the clause that stated we were liable for the bills and the agent signed it at the time. Just thought that would be of use. Anything else you need I'll try my best to give details on.

Hi Hope someone can help. My husband who was the sole income earner left without warning. Refuses to pay the maintanaince ordered by court and as such has left me in alot of debt. One of these debts being council tax arrears of some £1900 including bailiff charges I have no means of paying this and am becoming incresingly worried as the bailiff letter states they can enter my property without me being there and remove goods. Can they do this and if so what items are they able to remove? Is there anything I can do to stop this action being taken? Thank you to anyone who can advise me.

Can anyone give us some good advice? We have paid two solicitors over the last few years and it's got us no where. And we are now unsure if we need a French solicitor to see us through the bailiff stage. Our failed leaseback meant we had an unfinished property. We have never been able to pay the E30,000 to finish the property and after about 18 months had to stop paying the mortgage. We tried to negotiate with the bank but to no avail. Now it's gone to bailiffs. We have had the first letter from the bailiffs. The debt is 140,000 Euros. We had to sell our UK property in connection to this disaster, so we now have no significant assets. I have drafted a letter with two options: 1) trying to offer a payment scheme and 2) offer of them taking our unfinished apartment which wont be worth much but will be something - maybe 40,000E. Have I done the right thing? I haven't yet sent it... We are reluctant to go bankrupt but this has been hanging over us for three years now. Should we just stick it out a little longer and hope the bailiffs will liaise with us? Might they just turn up and try take our possessions? If it goes to court in France - do we need to attend or must we take on a solicitor in France? Is this all worth it? Should we just go bankrupt? Has anyone been through this and come our the other side? We just want to move on with our lives, yet also we dont want to have to bankrupt. Just can't see a way out... Please help! Thank you so much in advance for any advice.

Hi, about 3 weeks ago a bailiff came to our property to "recover" £50 owed to council tax, I didn't have it because I was made redundant in February and I am 29 weeks pregnant so have been pretty much unemployable, though I have tried. We managed to set up a payment plan which would be £20 every fortnight, paid on a payment card and he said I would receive one through the post then had to start doing it. I didn't receive any card and to be quite honest I pushed it to the back of my mind as I have been trying to get the things I needed for my baby, my partner is working but he doesn't earn a lot and it has been hard paying everything. He gets just over £200 a week and out of that £100 goes a side for rent, £25 for council tax, the rest goes on other bills (gas, electric & food) The payment card never came through and today I received a letter saying I had defaulted on the payment and there for it has been raised to £198.37, this has gone up because I have defaulted on payments and ignored a letter. I rang them up and explained I hadn't received a payment card yet and had a very rude women on the phone who told me I should have found an alternative method to pay them by and I have till Monday to put £40 in there bank card why I wait for a payment card to pay the rest off. She also said that because my partner is working we have to up our payments and I explained that we just cant afford any more than we are paying and she said "that's not our problem, lend it off somebody" She has given me 7 days to provide proof of benefit?? I am on no benefits and I tried explaining this to her, she said if I cant provide proof of benefits and I cant pay the full amount off within the 7 days then bailiffs will be attending my property and seizing goods, whether we are paying the £20 a fortnight or not, she also said if we don't pay it in full and bailiffs come out then our total will go up to just over £300, then they will add extra on for selling our goods?? All this off a debt of £50 from 2 years ago which im trying to pay off!!.. What are my rights as I really don't need this stress at the moment, im classed as high risk as it is and have been put on bed rest till the end of my pregnancy. im really scared! please advise!

I am hoping some of you can help me, my daughter has had 3 bailiffs letters re a parking offence, she doesn't deny that she owes some money and she has good cause re not dealing with it, she is being treated for depression and is currently in fear of her life due to violent former boyfriend, she has made statements to police and is going to be a witness in the court case, despite threats from him. I wrote a letter ( on her behalf) to equita and explained her situation and informed them that the situation came under the vulnerable debtors, clause and asked them to send the debt back to the council, I have sent the letter twice, had an email acknowledgment , however all they did was write back, gave a breakdown of charges and ignored the vulnerable debtors bit and told her she could expect a call from them anytime within the next 7 days and they would clamp her car, she is frightened enough about knocks on the door ( with violent ex) Can anyone advise what to do next? Thanks

I have just had a visit from a Bailiff without 7 days notice of visit. I did not open the door and spoke to him via a closed window. The debt is from 2011 and is council tax, Despite several attempts to set up a payment arrangement with the council it has come to this. My question is, the car I drive is registered to my mother in law at my current address (she lives elsewhere) and this is because she paid for the car and until we have paid her back its in her name. Is the bailiff allowed to take this car even with proof of the logbook saying it is in her name? Thanks

We don't get many bad posts on here about Excel maybe this is why I recently found out that a close family member(single parent) has a magistrate court fine now with excel the bailiff has been in there home and done a levy the fine has been getting paid every month however depending on what day on the month the pay day lands on payments are sometimes a few days late If the payment is going to be late I advised to phone and tell them exactly what day they would be paying (even if its the next day) relative is off work with stress and doesn't have this months payment (due last week) they phoned them today and explained that they could not make the payment because they were off work with stress they were very polite and helpful and gave them an e- mail address to send a copy of there sick note E-mail was sent immediately with an offer of reduced payments until they return to work anyway me being me decided I would pay this months payment (sleep easer in my bed knowing its paid) so phone call No 2 explained been on the phone 10 min ago e-mail sent but Hallowitch want to make this months payment for me lady on phone goes away comes back yes we have your e-mail Hallowitch doesn't have to make a payment we will be in touch with you (made payment anyway ) WELL DONE EXCEL AND THE REST TAKE NOTE THATS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE DONE

Hello I am taking an Estate Agent/Builder to court because he owes me approx £2.5K. I am told that he has opened and closed a number of businesses and is likely to to close the business that owes me money to avoid paying me. This person committed a criminal act in order to get this business and has already been investigated by Trading Standards. TS decided not to take action against him for cost reasons. I am wondering if I can take out a personal claim against the owner of this business if he does decide to close the business that owes me money. What do you think thanks for taking the time to read this. Any advice you can give me would be welcome.

All weekend the tabloids (and twitter) had headlines on bailiffs powers slashed. But have they really? Seems like a master stroke by MoJ and the advice sector have fallen for it. Bailiffs not allowed to call at night - when have they ever called in the middle of the night. In fact visiting times and days have been extended. Goods protected, really? In anything the tools of the trade cap means more trades vehicles will be seized. The listed goods are hardly likely to have been taken before anyway. New fees introduced for the vast majority of debts; council tax and business rates up to £310 from £42.50 New offence of obstruction for which a person can be arrested and go to prison If this reform does not work in the bailiffs favour then you can bet that the regs will get tweaked to their advantage pretty quickly. 4 million actions a year of which 80% are from local authorities means that the government has to get this to work. Finally, the new regs mean that the bailiff industry will have to work closer with the courts which in turn means more favourable decisions. If in doubt ask the sheriffs, they had the same situation some years ago. Now decisions are almost rubber stamped (particulary in regard to costs).

My son has just paid his business rates by credit card after the bailiff levied on goods. The original debt was over £4000. After a visit to the council it was reduced to £2888. I paid the bailiff an amount of £3489 Making a difference of £601. When I enquired as to what the extra fees were for I was told Enforcement. Today on the phone I was advised that the fees were 101 for charges and £500 because the debt was over £3000 . I have been looking into this further and found this web site and the chrges just dont compare what do I do now. I have paid http://www.bdl.org.uk/images/02_EW_NDL_Bailiffs%20and%20Council%20Tax.pdf Any help would be appreciated

This particular thread of mine is very likely to be the most serious one that I have written for a long time and concerns the proposed implementation of a stunningly awful clause contained in Part 6 (Third Party Claiming Controlled Goods) of the new regulations on Bailiff Reform that is due to take effect on 6th April 2014. When the Consultation Paper on Bailiff Reform was released 2 years ago many people either failed to notice or did not realise the very serious implications of Paragraph 60 (Third Party Claiming Goods) and, accordingly, Part 6 (Third Party Claiming Controlled Goods) has now been introduced and will take effect from 6th April. My opinion is that this clause has the serious potential to damage the regulations and expose local authorities, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the DVLA and Local Government Ombudsman to complaints at a level never seen before. In 2012, realising the serious implications for debtors AND creditors (in particular local authorities) if Paragraph 60 was implemented, we contacted many organisations including enforcement companies asking that they OPPOSE this clause. Most of those contacted were unaware of the consequences and readily agreed. In our own 47 page response to the Consultation Paper we outlined very clearly why this clause should be removed. Given that so many companies in the 'enforcement sector' were also opposed to Paragraph 60 it came as a huge shock to discover a few months ago that the Ministry of Justice had nonetheless implemented this draconian, unjust, unfair and unworkable clause into Part 6 (Third Party Claiming Controlled Goods) of the new regulations. Following the implementation I was asked to write an article for a well known trade journal that is distributed to local authorities, all government agencies, enforcement companies, Members of Parliament and many more. Following the publication, there have been a lot of developments surrounding Part 6 which I will explain shortly. In the meantime, in order for the public to understand the seriousness of Part 6 I have been granted permission to provide a copy of my article on the forum. Mindful that visitors who are not members cannot access PDF attachments you will see below below that I have provided a 'word copy' of the 3 page article. Could anyone wanting to respond wait a short while until after I have uploaded the PDF.