Can someone please advise. I own a gf apartment in NI the upstairs landlord wants to install a phoenix gas pipeline to their apartment up the middle of my frontage. Between my front door (only exit) and my living room window.

Hi, I am hoping for some advice and i have heard i am in the right place. 10/2015 - I received notification from Northampton County Courts Re an unpaid parking ticket issued by Blackpool Council. The car was one which I was the registered keeper of, however I was going through a separation at the time and was unable to agree ownership of the car with my ex partner. The car was in her possession during the period the ticket was issued. I wrote to the county courts and to Blackpool council, detailing the above. The courts agreed to cancel the case however Blackpool council never bothered to reply. I heard nothing until today which was in the form of a letter through my letterbox issued by Phoenix headlined ENFORCEMENT AGENT VISIT. They state on the letter that they called to collect a sum of £423 on behalf of the named client - Blackpool. They state that they wil return in 5 days to seize and take control of my goods if payment is not made by then. They asked me to contact them on 0333 323 0333 to make payment and avoid further action. Signed S.King. Under this, its headed GOODS VIEWED FOR POTENTIAL REMOVAL and nothing is listed.Overleaf, it says a detailed breakdown of my account and lists; Debt amount £ (blank) Compliance Fee £ (blank) Enforcement Fee £ (blank) Sale & Disposal Fee £ (blank) and then a fee schedule I have not contact the bailiff as yet, but i have sent an email (containing the email i sent to the county courts back in 2015) to the head of Blackpool council Mr David Blackburn as a letter of complaint. I attached the letter i received today and asked him to cancel the parking fine and to instruct Phoenix to cease action with immediate effect. Please can i have some advice on what i can do. Many thanks, Bm1988

Hi All, Yesterday whilst I was out at work, I had a surprise visit from a bailiff who handed over a letter to my boyfriend stating that if I don't complete the means form & return it, I could be sent to prison. This came totally out of the blue to me as I haven't had any court order letters & I was confused about where this had come from or what it was related to. Quoted on the letter was Phoenix recoveries which also means nothing to me, I have had no correspondence from this company I called the bailiff and all he could tell me is that it was from a debt in 2005 and it is for collection charges. The original debt was £4300 and the amount they are now seeking is £1400. I did default on a loan around that time and was subsequently given a CCJ which has now been cleared from my credit history as 7 years has passed since the CCJ was issued. The bailiff gave me the number of the solicitors (Mortimer Clark) to call and ask them but I just wanted to ensure that I have all the information I need prior to discussing with them. I'm sure this can't still be chased 11 years after the original debt, especially if I have already previously been issued a CCJ I really am not sure about this and could do with some help with facts prior to calling the solicitors. Sorry for long winded post but I wanted to get all the information in & hopefully someone can give me some guidance. Thanks in advance Rach

Hi I have a problem with this outfit, Phoenix Commercial Collections. I have read up on them online and they seem to be a dishonest lot. I had a litigation case two years ago (unrelated) which cost me a lot of money and my personal finances eroded. I ended up with some council tax debt. I got everything sorted in my life end of 2015 and paid off various debts. I had £2051 owing on council tax, which I paid in full in late January 2016. I have a letter from the council dated 17th Feb that states my account is clear. In mid Feb I get a new, out of the blue letter from Phoenix saying that I owe said £2051 plus £75 enforcement. I ignored it as the amount was paid by that time. I get a few more letters and calls. I tell them to go away as there was no debt in my mind. Not just that but I have council correspondence stating the same. I have bank statements showing the amount as paid. Today an undesirable knocks on my door at 8.10 in a bright yellow jacket demanding £310 or they seize goods. They also interrupted an early meeting as I work from home, its also my trading address. I told them to get stuffed and they went away but saying they would return to take my belongings. Later I inspect my old letters from Phoenix and called them. They now state that : 1. The account was passed to them a few days before I paid the council in full. I suspect them of backdating but can't confirm. All I know is that I had settled the bill before I ever heard of these Phoenix guys. 2. They say I still owe money to the council at first but now accept that I do not. I think they backdated a letter to pursue fees, I'll never prove that though. 3. They have upped the bill to £310 to cover costs of visiting my home and enforcement. Except I didn't invite them and they are enforcing a non debt. Also my online research suggests that this is a common bailiff [problem] when the principle debt is paid and illegal, section 58. At best they are trying to enforce and levy £235 on a £75 compliance fee, that due to the dates on letters I also dispute. So the rude woman at the door didn't bother me too much besides quoting lots of liability order legalise at me, a quick get lost and she was gone. I have since written to Phoenix instructing them not to attend again without prior appointment. Thing is firms like this are parasitic in nature and they will probably come back. They are trying to use the original council liability order as their muscle. However that debt is clear (in writing ) before I ever heard of Phoenix. That they are trying to levy another £235 and my research lists this as a common [problem] makes me question their honesty and integrity. They think I owe them £75 (I say not) and are adding further enforcement costs to that. It would be easy to pay to go away but I don't see why I should line their pockets. Advice would be welcomed. Chris

Whilst in the process of dealing with a PCN that had reached the enforcement stage, that had become a mess due to Maidstone Council authorising Marston and Phoenix. I quickly paid off another that i knew i needed to be paid directly using Maidstone councils online portal. Unbeknown to me this had been passed on to the EA's (Phoenix in this case), i paid on the 27th of Aug, i have a letter that was dated the 24th of Aug that i hadn't opened or was aware of due to several reasons. This was the first letter in the process telling me i owed £187, £112 of which was to the council and the rest to Phoenix. I foolishly disregarded this as i had paid and i assumed it would be updated an Phoenix were no longer necessary. I then received a 2nd letter stating that i should pay now or face the enforcement stage, i also ignored this for the same reason as the last letter. Eventually someone called Miss Taylor turned up with a letter which she handed to my Mother, it said that i now owed £422 and she would return to collect goods from my mothers house, i instantly called her and disputed this and told her i had paid and gave the date. She denied this and called her office, she then called me back and said the amount was now £310. After this i tried to get some advice from a different forum, both by asking and reading similar threads. The advice i was given was that as i had paid during the compliance stage i was liable for the £75 but no other fees, and that the initial warrant couldn't be used to take any goods as the original amount had been settled. I understand it looks as if I've tried to get away with dealing with the Bailiffs but i happily would've paid the extra £75 to avoid this. My question is, is this advice correct? Or am i liable for the amount of £310. I have searched and read the forum for similar threads to mine but just wanted to make sure i got advice that was up to date and explicitly relevant to my situation so apologies if I'm going over old ground. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Hi everyone, Last year in december 2014 i recieved a parking ticket in london (Tower Hamletts). I was a vistitor in this area staying at my friends for the day so i was told i could leave my car parked in front of the flat in the parking area. When i went to get my car the next morning i had a ticket on the windscreen saying i did not have permission to park in that area. I contacted Tower Hamletts via email and explained i was staying at a friends house that night they replied asking if i spoke to security during my stay about the ticket. I explained i did try to but was unsuccessful both times i went to speak to someone as there was no-one there (first time i was told to come back the next day to speak with security as no-one from security was working that day but there woul be someone there the next day however when i returned the next day again no-one from security was working). After this i received no reply from Tower Hamletts. in september 2015 i received a letter from Phoenix Commercial Collections Ltd claiming they had tried calling my phone and knocking my door however i had no missed calls or anyone knocking the door that day as i had been home all week with someone always at home. I did not take any action and i did not recieve any other letters yesterday giving me a 24 hour notice reading "REMOVAL NOTICE" "I have attended your property to collect the sum outstanding of £xxx.xx (inclusive of fees and costs, on behalf of the above named client) or remove your goods for sale at public auction. If i fail to receive contact to make arrangements for the collection of the above balance, i will return at a time convenient to me. You do not need to be at the property for me to remove your goods To avoid further action, contact me on xxxxxxxxxxx" When this letter came no-one had knocked the door besides the postman. Please advice me on what to do next. Do i need to pay them? I have no goods or job as i am a student.

I'm not sure this is in the right place. I hope so. If not, will someone kindly direct me to the correct page. I have today had a visit from a 'Bailiff' from Phoenix. Apparently it is due to unpaid Council Tax, and a CCJ was unpaid from 2008. I was not aware of a CCJ, and I have moved a few times since I lost my house in 2006. I shamelessly lied to the guy to buy a little time before he no doubt will return. He left a form headed 'Enforcement Notice' and on it it states 'Goods viewed for potential Removal' and has my neighbours car registration number. If I do indeed owe this money then I must pay it, but I am looking for advice from you wonderful people out there. Can anyone kindly advise me please. Thank You. Regards Signaller

Hi, This is my first post so if I've put this on the wrong place please accept my apologies, I am having trouble trying to find a way to post on other threads I am looking for some advice please, my friend received a letter through his door today (hand delivered) I picked it up as I was letting his digs out, who had already had a go at the envelope - anyway I digress. I looked at the remains of the letter and it was from Phoenix Commercial Collection advising that they were coming to collect goods, because I know my friend so well I thought I'd try and help sort this mess out, and the only reason I did was because they have been trying really hard to address their debt. I called the number on the letter and got through an awful bailiff with such a bad attitude. I explained I had read this letter that was sent to my friend but instead of saying he couldn't discuss the account because I was not the person on the letter, he started to try and arrange with me to collect the goods, he also said that he was willing to reduce the amount owed. I asked if I could speak to someone who would set the payment place back up, and he said no it was down to him, and he wasn't giving an inch. I eventually got the office number off him, and called them, there is a recorded message at the beginning of the call saying they will not discuss accounts with 3rd parties unless a written letter is on the account, which of course in my case it wasn't. I got through to a call handler who asked for the account number which I gave, he then asked for my name which I gave - my own name, which is not on this account. The call handler then started to discuss the account with me, he advised when payment were made etc, I know for a fact this is a breach of data protection because I work with HR Data. Phoenix would not offer any help or advice so I ended the call, I then spoke to my friend and explained the situation, they were shocked that they had received a letter and more shocked that they discussed in detail their account. Where do we stand with them breaching data protection? My friend is contacting the council because the bailiff’s licence expires on Thursday and they have asked for the debt to be paid in cash before then, which has raised alarms bells with us. Thanks in advance.

Hi Like so many others i am also a victim of Phoenix Business agents. I would like your advice please. In 2011 Phoenix sent his rep. When the agent came to us he said the same things as with others that you pay cheque of £1600. and the amount will be fully refunded if the business is not sold within 6 months. As my wife was not keeping well i wanted to sell my business (off licence and New agents) fast. I was working somewhere else as my wife was handling this shop. As always they hardly took any efforts to sell the business. So after 6 months i cancelled with them and they charged me another £2400. saying its their service fee. I paid them without any argument. As per my knowledge or as i was told by his rep. that they will refund me. it went vise versa. When his rep. came and we read the contract not in very detailed but still read little bit and told him that your contract states sole selling right agent, at that time he told me it does not matter they just right but its fine he will tell his boss or who ever concern. I had informed the rep. that i was registered with other agency before Phoenix, so I cannot sign them as sole selling agents. Before signing i spoke to the other agency and they said its fine with them if i sign with phoenix. The other agency really took effort to sell my business. I cancelled the contract with Phoenix before i sold the business in March 2012 and sold my shop in July 2012. The other agents are ready to help me to fight with Phoenix and help me in what ever way they can. Now after i sold my business Phoenix are asking me £4320.00 for soles selling rights agreement.(One of Phoenix colleagues called me up saying that its a call regarding tax and when my wife told we have sold the business they ask all the detail and you think its from tax office, she won't give the number when my wife asked so that i can call them when i come back . And next day their boss calls threatening my wife to pay the £4320 after already paying £3600). Ater reading your forum, I recon its has become best and easy way for Phoenix to earn money. They have sent me their solicitors notice and threatened to take me to court. I am ready to fight for my rights. My wife came across this forum when she was trying to find about Phoenix agents. I feel cheated as they say something and come out with something. I keep on travelling for my project and most of the time i am out of the country. My wife has health issues and they are harassing me. I will fight for myself as well as others. So that other innocent hard working people don't fall into their trap. Can you please advise what should I do and how. I would really appreciate if you could give me some advise. Thanking you Yours sincerely

Hi just looking for some advise. Cut a long story short I had a fine of £145.44 left to pay to Phoenix Commercial collections. This was originally a lot more due to 'first visit fees' etc which after querying because I was home all day, appeared they had been 'applied in error' and were then removed. A settlement plan of 4 x instalments was offered in letter form to which I made the first instalment 3 days later. the letter did not state a timescale in which to respond just please confirm by return, hence me making the payment. However 3 days after they dated their offer letter they then applied a Compliance Fee of £75 which they now claim is due to me not calling them to confirm acceptance of their offer (they gave me less than 3 days as it took 2 days to arrive, in which time I already made a payment) Surely making the required payment, early, is acceptance. I have since cleared the balance in full however they are still demanding the £75 even though I never missed a payment, paid the last two payments off two months early and had made the first payment within 3 days of their offer. Surely this is completely unfair and as I have met with their offer they cant enforce this?

I am another victim of Phoenix Business agents who are very good at [problem]ming innocent people like myself who just wanted to sell my business. I did not approach them instead they somehow got details of my business on sale and approached me. They made it sound ever so promising and very good at selling that they talked their way into selling my business. They said they would market the business and would be able to sell my business within 6 months and with a high price. They initially said that there is no fee until the business is sold and when the agent had come he had started talking about a fee of £1250.00 as he called it a deposit and he did promise me that it is 100% refundable if they are not able to sell my business. I then paid him as he talked me into this as he was very talented in this trade. This was the worst decision i had made as they are the worst unprofessional company i have dealt with. The agent that had come said my business would be on the internet within days with photographs so that potential buyers can view the business but to my surprise this was not the case even after a whole month of waiting and chasing them. Each time i called them about my business being on the website or photographs they made up a story and said it would be up in a few days when they finally got it up without photographs that was then at two months time by then i realised that they are not going to sell my business. When i had not received any phone calls from any potential buyers i had realised their unfaithful motives i decided to terminate my contract and then the agent had started to come out with a story of their fees which i was not told or made aware of. The agent that i spoke with said if i wanted to terminate before 6 month period i would have to pay £3000.00 and if i went over 6 months i would have to pay £6000.00. The agent that initially visited me had never mentioned this i asked time and time again if there was any hidden fees or charges he made it clear that there was not not any fees until they actually sold my business. Now they are harassing me with several letters asking me a fee of £7550.00 which they are not entitled to and i have not signed any agreement of. Please can i ask for some help and advice and where to go and what to do as they are pestering me.

In April this year, I took my disabled mother shopping in Blackpool using her blue badge in a disabled bay for the first time came back to a parking fine as we had accidently put the badge photo side up in the car. I rang and explained but to no avail. I wrote a letter and with the exception of 1 reminder, nothing else was received so I assumed they had relented when they saw it was a genuine mistake. I have received a letter from Phoenix bailiffs demanding £125. I did a little bit of investigating online and found that I could submit an out of time statutory declaration but there appears to be a bit of confusion which forms I should complete. I rand Phoenix up and told them what I was doing and they have just sent another letter now demanding over £300!! What do I do next. I havent put in the out of time forms as I am not sure which ones to use and I am sure they cant just charge what they like anyway. Advice about how to proceed from here would be great thanks.

Hi, First post and relative business newbie, but need some advice! My folks looked to sell their business back in 2009. Carehome with 15 residents, and Phoenix said they could sell it for £1.1m. Sounded great so they signed up. Long time later and no sale, but they did get an offer at way below the asking price that was rejected. They changed agents to a company called Amberglobe. They marketed the property and the buyer who's bid was initially rejected came back in with a higher offer which was subsequently accepted. Sale has all gone through and folks are enjoying their retirement until Phoenix piped up saying they wanted their 2% fee of the ASKING price they had originally marketed the property for because they had introduced the buyer (it is in their contract that was originally signed). They want ~£29k, then reduced it to £6.5k if my folks paid right then. Folks sought legal advice (from the solicitor they used when selling the carehome) who said they should pretty much just pay and get it done as a long protracted case could cost a hell of a lot more (let alone stress). Phoenix now want £10k+VAT. But since this morning have changed that to £10k inc VAT (providing we pay by 4pm today). Payment dates keep changing with them, terms, etc. which makes me think they are chancing their luck and just trying to make a fee out not doing their job properly in the first place. Any help is greatly appreciated!

I signed up with phoenix business agents in march 2009 to sell my business and same old story paid £750 up front was told that I would I would get this back when sold never once had a viewing or any calls to say there was any interest I cancelled my contract by registered post in October 2013 the very next day I received a phone call asking for £2200 to be paid by the end of that day as I refused I was then told that I would be invoiced for £3600 which I received two days later I then did my research and found that they have been doing this for a long time. I was charmed into this contract by ,,,,,, at the time I thought he seemed a really nice chap and although he did go through the contract with me I did not read it myself he read it to me whist I was sat opposite him and of course he left out the section that states that they will charge you a fee of £3000 once you cancel even after the six month period I was told the same as a lot of other people that I was tied in for six months they had the rights to sole seller after that I could cancel by sending a letter by registered post . I have received a number of phone calls from various people asking for money I have been offered deals to pay half but all plus vat I have refused all of them and told them to take me to court as I just think they are trying to scare me into making a payment I thought this was going to happen and was told two weeks ago that they are starting legal proceedings against me I decided to brace myself and fight for what is right and yet this morning I have had yet another phone call asking for the money and trying to threaten me by saying that their barristers are so good that they will force me into bankruptcy and that I will lose my house . I have sought legal advice and have reported them to cacs and trading standards and I am now waiting to hear from my solicitor about how we move forward so I can get rid of this headache so if anyone can help with any advice I would be most grateful.

I need advice with regards to Bryan Carter solicitors. Bryan Carter took out a CCJ on 16/09/11 for total amount of £1061.29 and the claimant was with phoenix recoveries (shown on judgement). I receive letter on same date of judgement 16/09/11 saying that phoenix has assigned all rights to arrow global which was effective on 13/05/11 and all future payments to go to fredrickson international limited. I then receive letter 28/09/11 from bryan carter to pay them and now the amount has gone up to £1101.29. At the time I was going through a very bad time so didn't even read the letters properly. I am trying to get it sorted,and have been paying it off, have £500 left to pay. What i am confused about is how can Phoenix be the claimant on judgement when it was arrow who had the debt, I have sent an email last year to fredrickson and never received a reply. Another thing I receive my credit report every month and received an update last week stating that Fredrickson have removed details about themselves from my file, why has that happen, I still have the judgement showing but not saying who it is with? Sorry for all the info but I am very confused with all the above. If anyone can give me advice on the above I would be very grateful . Thank you for reading the post.

Hi all, Firstly apologies if this is already being discussed in another thread but I need some urgent advice relating to outstanding Council Tax & Phoenix Commercial Collections. At the beginning of this tax year, I was a little late in making a few month's payments and although I usually paid the outstanding monthly payment (albeit a couple of weeks late) my local council decided to issue me with a court summons for the full balance. Upon receiving the summons, I promptly paid my outstanding monthly payment and stupidly didn't contact the council to inform them of my intentions (being to continue making payments on a monthly basis via DD.) Subsequently the court hearing passed and the council passed the amount over to Phoenix Commercial Collections to recover the money. I only realised this when I found two, hand-delivered letters behind my door after getting home from work on 10/7/13. Obviously being quite shocked, I tried speaking with the council to arrange repayment but was told that the debt had been passed to Phoenix and I would need to liaise with them as it was now being dealt with by them. After speaking with one of their "enforcement officers" on his mobile number (which was printed at the bottom of the letter) I made an arrangement to pay £120 on a monthly basis until the balance was cleared. At this point, the balance was approximately £1250. I made my first payment via debit card and said that as I got paid on the 25th monthly, I would like the payments to be made via SO directly from my bank on or around the 25th of every month until the balance was cleared. I made this arrangement with him on the 11th July. I arrived home from work yesterday (Tuesday 27th August) to find another, hand-delivered letter from another "enforcement officer" (a completely different person to whom I made the original arrangment with) which was titled "24hrs Notice of Removal," stating that the full balance of £1168 was due within 24 hours or he would be calling back to collect property to pay the outstanding balance. At no point bear in mind, have I willingly allowed anyone from Phoenix entry to my property as I understand that they cannot enter my house without my prior consent. Upon reading the letter, I promptly contact the number on the latest letter, explained the situation (that I had been making monthly payments as previously agreed) and that I didn't understand why I had received the notice. I was told that I had to contact him again in the morning as he wasn't in the office so didn't have all the documents with him. I then contacted the previous person (whom I had made the original agreement with) and again, explained the situation. He said that I hadn't made a payment so the agreement was null and void (bearing in mind that Monday 26th August was a bank holiday.) I promptly checked my bank account online and noticed that the payment had in fact come out of my account on the Tuesday due to the bank holiday being the day before and the 25th falling on a weekend. Obviously being a little concerned, I have now started reading forums etc and have come to realise that I could have continued to make payments to the council directly and ignored the bailiffs. Now I am in a situation where I don't feel too positive about having these ****-bag, rude and abrupt "enforcement officers" calling round to my house whilst I am at work. I am fully prepared to repay the money outstanding but I would much rather deal with the council direct and leave Phoenix out of the equation. My question is, how do I stand from a legal point of view in terms of refusing to speak to or pay Phoenix bearing in mind that I have entered a payment agreement with them? Also am I right in saying that I can claim back any monies paid to them through the small claims court? I contacted the council today and ascertained that the sum of liability was originally £1008.36, Phoenix have already had £240 from me and from what I can see, they seem to pick figures out of thin air for fee's, charges etc (as the notice letter I received yesterday stated that I owed the full balance of £1168.36) which if you work it out is £400 in total more than the liable sum. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Back in 2005 i aquired a debt to Littlewoods catalogue but due to having to move house i had no communication with them till 2006 when i finally found a home.i informed littlewoods of my new address and had a letter from Pheonix saying i was to make a payment to them via postal order. This i done and paid £10 to £20 and asked them to send me bank paying slips so i could continue with the payments this was August 2006. However i did not recieve any more contact from them. In October 26th i had a letter from Arrow Global regarding this debt and they required certain info.This i done explaining that this letter is the first time i have had contact regarding this debt for more than 6 years.and told them a payment was sent as above to Pheonix. I received a letter back saying thank you for the information and it was being forward to Pheonix and was being investigated, they also wanted some info on named cottage which they wanted to know of when i moved from before i aquired this debt. There was a delay in sending this info back to them but i never stayed at a cottage with that name however i was going to write to them asking them to be more specific with a address. Before i could send this info back i now have had a letter from Rossendales stating that the debt is now passed to them.they are instructed that i have ignored previous requests for payment and they intend to recover the outstanding debt immediately. In red letters i have to contact them with paying the debt full or contact them with my proposals or recovery action will commence. I have been given a phone number to ring but i would rather write a letter. Not sure what to do so can anybody advice please? Its over 6 years now since first contact on this matter till 26th October.with Arrow Global and never asked for payment just info.As i explained in the letter to Arrow Global that if Pheonix replied to my letter back in 2006 this would have been delt with straight away.

I need help!! I have a parking fine with Blackpool council for £112 (this includes court fee etc) I had a visit today from Phoenix Commercial collections Bailiff handing me a "notice of bailiff having visited" letter, stating I owe them £311.44 I asked him how he came to that figure and he stated it was his companies guidelines for what they charge. I have spoken to Blackpool council who are refusing to accept my payment of the £112 direct to them, stating I have to deal with the bailiff direct now. I spoke to Phoenix who again are refusing this amount and state I have to pay the £311.44 I really do not know what to do or where to go from here as I am certainly not paying £311.44 as this is certainly not a correct charges amount. PLEASE HELP!! (the original parking fine was Dec 2012) Thanks

Several months ago I was asked to assist a small business owner who had signed a contract with Phoenix Business Agents Limited, a company that offers to sell your business for a fee. The business owner had paid a deposit of £1000 and agreed to pay £6500 if they managed to sell his business in 6 months. He was told that if they failed in the time period he could request a full refund. After six months of no interest from buyers and no real evidence of this companies efforts to promote he withdrew from the contract in writing. The problem came when he looked more closely at the contract. The contract is by OFT guidance, very unfair. It states in complex terms that if you cancel in the first six months you will pay £3000 but in a further clause in small print it states that if you cancel after the six months you still pay £3000. This company have the deal nicely put together. If you don't cancel then they have sole sellers rights and get to keep your £1000 deposit - so your fully locked in. After posting a on few web sites I have had a number of owners contacting me who have either fallen into the trap already or have managed to avoid it by reading the emails. My research has found that this company are a franchise covering the whole of the UK and therefore all my contacts are dealing with different company directors. It would be really good if we could get a further web entry on this site for those who are searching for what is rather limited info on this company. The only work this company have to do is get you to sign their contract. I have a court case coming up against one of the franchise companies in the next few weeks and can post contracts and other material after that date.

hi my wife received a notification of intention to distrain on Thursday 31/1/13. she works long shifts so i am trying to sort this for her. we missed some council tax from 2011 and i have spoke to the council who told me it was £599.74 but weren't able to make any arrangement to pay as it is with the bailiffs now. they also told me that they sent a court summons in Jan 2012 but i do not remember this but i might have missed it. i then rang the bailiff that paid the visit to us and she told me that i owed £802.72 i asked why this was so high and she told me that there is a £43 levy fee for my car that was parked on my drive (car in my name, debt in my wife's name). and £160 van enforcement fee. she did say if i could produce my v5c form then the car levy fee might be lifted i told her i would have to get in back in touch once i got some advice and she said she had now left the area and isn't dealing with me anymore. i then tried to ring phoenix commercial collections but they would not speak to me as its not my debt. my wife would have to send a letter giving me permission to discuss this debt. this is the stage i am at now. i dont understand what a van enforcement fee is. the bailiff has never entered my house. i have been playing with numbers and can make payments of up to £300 a month but i don't know how i should go about paying this. do i wait till i can talk to phoenix when my wife has sent a letter or do i just use the councils automated payment line. any help will be massively appreciated.

Hi, Firstly thanks for allowing me to join the forum, I hope to learn a lot and will try to help others if I can. My situation is with regards to a purchase that went wrong due to an extremely dodgy character who has a tendancy to take money and then change the name of the company, so far costing my family and I in excess of £20,000. After a serious accident which left me disabled I was awarded a compensation payout and with part of the money I sourced a car on Ebay that was advertised for import into the UK from Japan. The ebay seller (I'll refer to him as ebay user name: 'car-importer') was contacted and reassuerd me that he was legitimate and that he knew the car in person. He also stated that the car was in perfect condition and had been built to a very high standard. I insisted on meeting in person so that I could confirm that the ebay seller 'car-importer' was in fact in the UK and was not operating from a laptop in Somalia etc. A time and date was arranged and I travelled to the address that the ebay seller had provided. After speaking with him in person I took his reassurance on board and handed over payment in the form of a bankers draft, I had been instructed by the ebay seller to have the bankers draft made payable to 'Miss ******* T/A 'car importer'. I had been informed that the ebay listing price of £13,000 had to be paid in full prior to the car being shipped from Japan. I was told that I would have to pay the outstanding balance of £1000 for shipping/taxes etc once the car was ready for my collection, this would be in 6 weeks time). That evening I recieved an email from ebay seller 'car-importer' offering a number of upgraded parts (leather seats etc) at an additional cost of £2000. I agreed and payment was again made, this time £500 cash and the remainder to the bank account of 'Miss **********' For several months I enquired as to where my car was and I was continually told that there had been delays/it had shipped/it had shipped again because of more delays until eventually ebay seller 'car-importer' told me that he didn't know where the car was as it was now on a ship and he would not know where it was until he recieved paperwork to the effect that it had landed in the UK. Eventually after 7 months I received an email stating that the car had arrived and was ready for collection, though import duty payment etc had gone up by 50% to £1500. I just wanted my car so with £1500 in hand I ventured down to collect it. On my arrival however it became obvious that the car that was presented to me differed somewhat from that which I had paid for. -The car was 3 years older -The body work and paint was really quite bad with the original red colour beaming through from beneath the new blue. -The engine appeared different to that of the advertised car and it was generally of poor quality On these grounds I rejected the car and was subsequently told by ebay seller 'car-importer' that I should speak to his solicitor. I employed the services of my own solicitor and after a few months of to'ing and fro'ing (after ebay seller 'car-importer' attempted to ignore the above facts) his solisitor was provided with copies of the original advert and photographs and additional photographs of the 'delivered' car. In light of this evidence the ebay seller 'car-importer' agreed to refund the money (although he refused to refund the additional £2000 for the seats as these were supposedly purchased at my request, I have email evidence that clearly proves otherwise). Ebay seller 'car-importer' stated that he needed 28 days to sell the delivered car in order to obtain the money. After several months (and further ebay listings attempting to sell the delivered car...with the advert clearly stating that the bodywork and paint were bad when it had arrived and had since been redone in the UK, and stating that the age of the vehicle was 3 years older than the car that I had paid for and stating that the power output of the engine was approximately 200bhp less than the car that I had paid for) the car eventually sold. I contacted the ebay seller 'car-importer' and asked when I would be receieving my refund, to which ebay seller 'car-importer' laughed and said that I wouldn't be receieving a penny and that 'the company' called 'car importer' wouldn't be around much longer. He confirmed that he had sold the car for the sum of £5000 but that had been spent on repairing the bodywork and paying the import duty. The phone then went dead.... A few weeks later we recieved a letter from an insolvency agency stating that Miss ********* the 'owner' of the company called 'car importer' had filed for insolvency and that we should expect to recieve approximately £1000 of the total amount that we had paid for the car, and that it would be paid over a 5 year period... It then transpired that Miss ******* is the fiancee' and mother of ebay seller 'car-importer' children and that on the day that 'car-importer' had agreed to refund the money, she had been registered as the owner of a non limited company trading under the name of 'car importer'. It is worth pointing out that the ebay account 'car-importer' is in the name of the man, as was all email addresses (naming him personally), as were the legal correspondence from 'his' solicitor and general posts on public forums etc. A short while later Miss ******** defaulted on her insolvency and was declared bankrupt. The company 'car importer' officially ceased trading. However at the same time all of the 'car importer' assets were moved to a new premises about a mile down the road and ebay seller 'car importer' re-established the company under the name of 'car-japanese-importer'. The same ebay account was still used despite the user name being changed from 'car-importer' to 'car-japanese-importer'. Ebay have confirmed this and have stated that it is on record. The same ebay account was yet again changed several months later to 'JCB-clothing' It transpired that prior to filing for insolvency over £106,000 in credit car cash advances had been made by Miss ********* and the family home had been re-morgaged (100%) All of the assets had been transferred to the actual name of the ebay seller. It laster became apparent that they owned a villa in Bulgaria (obviously again, nothing was in the name of Miss *******) The original ebay seller (previously 'car-importer') boasted on a public forum about making £100,000+ money transfers to an account in the US. It also transpired that an Italian company had paid 'car-importer' well in excess of £100,000 (I have copies of all bank transfers from the Italian company after they contacted me regarding the ebay seller) it became apparent that 'car-importer' had taken the money off the Italian company and had not delivered all of the cars that he was supposed to, then again declaring on a public forum that 'he' had spent the money and there was none left! Many more individuals have come forward now stating that they too had lost money through various transactions, some for cars, some being mis-sold expensive engines which turned out to be standard and even sponsors who had provided parts for the race team (I should mention that in th eheight of the recession ebay seller 'car-importer' ran two professional race cars in a UK and European series, employing proffessional drivers in the form of the Australian champion and European champion to driver the 'car importer' cars) *all of this at the same time that the 'company' ceased trading (literally the same day!! Now there is clearly a lot of fraudulent activity going on in the background which spreads across the globe however that I'm sure is a job for the Police. For my family however we simply want our £15,000 refunded or the delivery of the car that we have paid for. What makes it worse is the fact that ebay seller 'car-importer' is continuing to operate and rip people off and then simply changing the name of the company. It is now on approximately it's 6th incarnation since I paid him for the car in full in 2008. My point is, I bought the car from him (his ebay account) and regardless of the fact that 'a' company that shares a very similar name to his ebay account (ie. ebay account = 'car-importer' bankrupt company account = 'car importer'....they are different names, and everything was switched at the last minute) I believe we have a few months remaining to commit to taking this individual to court any advise would be very much appreciated thanks in advance

Hello, I was wondering if I could get some advice. I was contacted out of the blue about 6 months ago from Phoenix Collections regarding a Liability Order dating back to 2007 with Bradford Council. I had no had any notice or contact about this before so I contacted the council and they stated that I owed £236 pounds dating back to a property that I moved out of in 2005. When I left that property everything was fine but I found out that the Rental Agency (Who are now closed) told the council I had left at a later date and it was my fault for not leaving the correct forwarding address, but I had at the time and I move once a year around the country where the work is. My problem now is - The council offered to put the account on hold while I submitting a SAR to find out all the details regarding this case I submitted a SAR following the procedure listed here over 2 months ago The council wrote back stating that I need to provide Identification before they would send any information (is this correct) 2 weeks later I receive a Letter from Phoenix (attached) titled DEFAULT NOTICE and they are coming to collect my goods, and that I don't even need to be there. How can they do this despite not visiting me before and also the amount has jumped to £330.82! Any advice or next steps? I really don't want to let them win this one yet.

Phoenix Commercial Collections, are so well established with councils it beggers belief. Regardless of the mountains of complaints (I'm one of them) their marriage remains firm. This can not help but raise suspicions. Northampton Borough county council (NBCC) sent me a reply which appeared like a basic reply, meaning hard luck. In the beginning. My son had failed to pay 3 parking tickets NBCC issued, total amount £170, for this sin they asked for £255, now having added 50% penalty. Still the plank never paid it. 24th May 2012 last day to settle debt at this figure. 15th June 2012 NBCC hand the debt over to their favourite bailiff, Phoenix 18th June 2012 Phoenix demand £316.32 4th July 2012 a baillif..........calls at my home and speaks to another one of my sons, who told her truthly that his brother was not in. 9th July 2012 this women again calls and got the same reply as before. On this occasion she threatened to keep returning at different times and days until the debt is paid , and in a aggressive tone, the door was shut in her face. 10 minutes later she put a notice through the front door stating she would be back on the 14th at 6am with a van to remove chattles and goods from my house to the value now of £667.37 Unfortunately, my wife who suffers from bad nerves paid the debt over the phone the next day. For my part I was shaping up for the confrontation. I'm not defending my son. What I am mad about is the GBH approach from Phoenix, and the blind eye NBCC are turning in the matter. With this amount of money going to the bailiff, 2 visits and threats £391.37. There must be an attempt by those of us who have been severley damaged in the pocket by council and bailiff bandits, to form an organisation to fight back.

Redcar & Cleveland BC are using Baliffs to retrieve tax owed for period 2001/2. I had left the matrimonial home throug seperation, subsequent divirce. On leaving and moving to neighbouring Borough, I immediately paid Councuil tax. Constacted Redcar BC, faxed proof of paying to new Borough. Now been told I`m still liable for tax on the property even yhogh ot there. Ex wife was residing there fo an unknown period. I now have Phoenix posting letters with highlted mobile no. to arrange PCM payments! any help much recieved!

Hi everyone, A friend of mine is being hassled by Phoenix Collections regarding some arrears on a council tax bill, and I've volunteered to help her out. In a nutshell, she ended up 2 months behind with her council tax, which totalled £267. The council passed it onto Phoenix to collect on, they got in touch with her, and she agreed to pay it, which they said the balance associated was 259.50, at £50 a month (phoenix1.pdf). She cleared £200 of it, but missed a payment in September, and they're now demanding the remaining balance - which has jumped to £285.50, regardless of the amount she's paid off. A bailiff apparently visited her home while she was at work, and handed a letter to her teenage son (attachment phoenix2.pdf). Since then, she called the bailiff up, who left her quite distraught, and bullied her into agreeing to him coming to her door when she's paid after the end of the month. Having contacted Pendle Borough Council, apparently they've received nothing from Phoenix as of yet., although the balance on the "balance brought forward" on the council tax bill is labelled at £267. From scanning over the forum, my first thought is to request a full breakdown of fees from them, and revoke their permission to turn up on her doorstep. I'm not sure whether it requires an SAR or just a fee breakdown request, but something along the lines of the following gleaned from various other posts was my thought on an attack route: From: [friend in question, address] To: Phoenix Commercial Collections [etc] Dear Sir With reference to the above account. Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges including a suitable computer screenshot. This includes: a - the time & date of any bailiff action that incurred a Fee. b - the reason for the fee. c - the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged. d - the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were Certificated at. e - the date of the Certification. This is not a Subject access request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. You are obliged to provide this information. I require this information within 14 days. Please be advised that I will only communicate with you in writing. Furthermore, should it be your intention to arrange a “doorstep call”, please be advised that under OFT rules, you can only visit me at my home if you make an appointment and I have no wish to make an appointment with you, and the appointment made with your bailiff was under emotional duress, which I am withdrawing. There is only an implied license under English Common Law for people to be able to visit me on my property without express permission; the postman and people asking for directions etc (Armstrong v. Sheppard and Short Ltd [1959] 2 Q.B. per Lord Evershed M.R.). Therefore take note that I revoke license under Common Law for you, or your representatives to visit me at my property and if you do so, then you will be liable to damages for a tort of trespass and action will be taken, including but not limited to, police attendance. Yours faithfully [friend's name] As a side note, are they allowed to charge 50p a pop for each card payment? I'd really appreciate any advice or guidance anyone can give me on this issue. I'm far from an expert in this sort of thing, but one thing I do hate is bullies, ridiculous charges, and seeing how much upset this has caused. I really want to put this to rights.