Misinformation, disinformation and a contempt for the truth on various websites is seriously harming debtors (many of whom are vulnerable) and this has been categorically proved today when a debtor was arrested and charged under section 68(1) of Schedule 12 of the Tribunal Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 with 'intentionally obstructing a bailiff lawfully acting as an enforcement officer'. I will write about this matter under separate cover but once again, this debtor was given the following incorrect 'advice' on the website: 'Nothing in the regulation enables bailiffs to levy distress for their unpaid fee. They have to seek a civil order under Section 92(8) of the Courts Act 2003 before they can enforce payment of their fees' The same websites also make the following statement: 'If a bailiff wants to recover his fees incurred up to and including the point at which the debt was paid direct to the council, he must take a new civil action against you under Section 92(8) of the Courts Act 2003' The above statements give the (wrong) impression that if a debtor makes payment direct to either the local authority (in cases where a Liability Order has been issued) or to a Magistrates Court (in relation to an unpaid court fine) that the bailiff company may only recover their fees by taking the debtor to court !! The truth of the matter is that section 92 of the Courts Act has nothing whatsoever to do with bailiff fees and instead, relates to court fees payable when either a solicitor, local authority or member of the public files any document or commences any process in either the Supreme Court, County Court or Magistrate Court !!! Examples below:

This isi a bit of an odd one - wondering if anyone can help. Earlier today due to a ton of engineering works on practically every line possible, I was travelling via Chiltern Railway from Harrow to Marylebone and then onwards to the other side of london. As a young female travelling alone, I was very anxious about not missing the last train home, so i specifically asked the TfL staff (the guys wearing the blue jumper with logo and carrying radios) when the last return train back to Harrow from Marylebone was - he radioed through and then confirmed to me it was 12:20 am. beaing that in mind on my return jounrey i ensured i arrived back in marylebone by around midnight, only to find out that all the info i was given was wrong and i had already missed the last train. I had no choice but to go outside and pick p a cab, during which time i was hassled by a gang of drunk men for over 20 mins which was very distressing , anfd finally i anaged to get into a cab and it cost me over 50 Pounds to get back home. Needless to say i am extremely ****ed off that i was told the wrong info by TFL who actually radioed through -- hw does this happen?! also when i got back to harrow, the staff there told me i should write in to tfl and complain explaining this in detail as the radio calls are recorded and i should be compensated. I have just submitted something by email in anger (i have just got home!) but i was wondering if anyone had any better advice on how to approach this. I am very annoyed about a) being over 50 pounds out of pocket and b) having had such a distressing journey home causing me stress and anxiety, all because TfL could not get their facts right. This was on a day that even without the mishap took over 1.5 hrs to travel a few miles due to horrendous engineering works. Is there anything that can be done about this??

This is a long story, but I wanted to tell it in case anyone else finds themselves relying on so-called experts. I got behind with the mortgage owing to health problems and back in May, having arrears of some £1,500, my lender, GE Money, wrote suggesting that I apply for the mortgage rescue scheme. I had never heard of it, but I rang the lender and asked them to notify the council as a fast track. The next day a letter arrived from the council giving an appointment. This was the sole bit that was fast track. I visited the housing officer person at the council offices and the man explained the scheme to me, which I thought would be a good idea. He told me that it was unlikely a judge would order a repossession with only £1500 arrears and that the council could do nothing until a repossession was sought. He also said I should ask my lender to provide a letter confirming that they had tried every other option. So I wrote and asked them for such a letter and got no reply. I wrote again a couple of months later, which letter was also ignored. I later learned that the person dealing with it had left and nobody had bothered. I also believed that the arrears needed to be more, that a repossession needed to be sought. GE stopped writing when I missed payments, as they had previously done. Eventually the repossession proceedings were applied for, I passed the information on to the council who said I should have applied to them before (I did, back in May) and why wasn't I on the housing register. Since I have a fair bit of equity in the house, I saw no reason to be on the housing register but the council man said I had to be in order to apply for the scheme. He also told me I would only get 90% of the outstanding mortgage, not 90% of the value. Both these claims are false. He then contacted GE Money and wrote to me stating that they would adjourn the proceedings provided I got the form of authority back to him. I took it back the same day, but the hearing went ahead anyway and they acquired a possession order. The council man said he would need to do a home visit, I gave him one day when I definitely could not be here, and that is the day he chose to make the appointment. I phoned to cancel it, asked for him to ring back. Instead I got a letter asking me to phone him at a specific date and time. I did and he was not there. I did not like this man, neither did I trust that he knew what he was doing and decided to sell the house and rent privately. I sent GE money all the details and they agreed to wait until the house was sold and said I could pay what I could. Then they went for an eviction order. I have had to drop £30,000 off the price of the house, it is sold to a first time buyer, and we are awaiting one search in order to exchange contracts before the eviction date, but GE money will not delay even though they have confirmation from my Solicitor. They want confirmation of exchange and a completion date. Since my disabled son has moved into supported housing I have been able to cut down on a lot of expense, and can just about afford the repayments now, though not the arrears. But since the house is sold anyway they will get these very soon. I phoned to suggest this proposal last week and was met with a very ignorant and rude young oik who refused to listen, and told me they would only accept exchange of contracts or the full arrears of £6,000. I have complained about him and my complaint has been upheld by GE Money. Now it seems that if contracts are not exchanged very soon, I am going to have to go to court and ask for a stay of execution. Also I yesterday received a letter from GE Money informing me that they are sending a field agent to advise me on paying off my arrears. A little late in the day, I think. Sorry for the long rant, but just wanted everyone to know how easy it is to trust that people are doing what they say, and end up in a mess. I am a 65 year old widow with a pension. Thank you for reading.