DRAKES Help!

[lyns]

I recieved a letter yesterday from Drakes saying i had seven days to pay £205 in full. This is for a fine i got in June for a motoring offence. I arranged to pay £40 a month by cheque and i started paying them. Then I forgot to pay a payment and they havent contacted me about it at all! They have just passed it to Drakes and they have whacked £50 on as well. I rang Drakes this morning, when I finally got through i spoke to the most rude, arrogant and unhelpful woman i have ever heard. She was so abrupt and wouldnt listen to me at all!! She basically said she could extend it to 2nd Jan but i have to pay before then or they will send the baliffs round. I offered to pay in installments but she was having none of it. I told her i was a student with two kids and havent got £205 to pay in one go at xmas. She said she has done all she can by extending it, so i had to leave it at that. Came straight on here to find out off you lovely people what i can do?? Why do they think they can speak to us any way they like just because we owe someone money? Please help.

[PizzaMaker]

I can see your point but you should have kept your agreement with the courts. Drakes are allowed to charge £50 admin fee. They do not enter into agreements.

 

Can you get someone to pay this on your behalf?

 

As you have contacted them, they know that you are at that address and they will assign a bailiff to come and visit you which will add another £100 to your bill.

[Guest 10110001]

Pay Drakes with a credit card, if they charge a credit card processing fee then you can get all your money back.

 

Under its Cardnet Merchant Service agreement, Dakes is not allowed to pass account charges to the consumer in any regulated credit transaction, If they do you can revoke it under Section 75 of Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

Thats what I did with Drakes last year, wrote off a parking ticket and all their fees with a little-known nifty piece of legislation, and Drakes lost the lot! Bailiff plays dirty - then so can you - and its all legal. Bailiffs cannot enforce the same debt twice.

 

Don't get into arguments with Drakes on the phone, just do it quietly.

[PizzaMaker]

I have gone on the website but can not find the information you are quoting. Can you link me to it please as this is very interesting.

[Guest 10110001]

Try this one.

 

Chargeback under Section 75 only works if Drakes overcharge the consumer, or defraud them in some way. Charging a credit card processing fee, or a walking possession agreement fee without a signature are popular. If Drakes doesnt charge this then look for the fees and find a one that has been incorrectly charged.

 

Remember with credit transactions, if a bailiff has charged a fee for an earlier visit while you were out, the burden of proof is always with the merchant (Drakes) and not with the consumer. If you see such a charge - revoke it anyway & let Drakes come back to you if they have a problem.

 

Phone the credit card company for a chargeback form and they'll do the rest, but Drakes will be allowed 40 days to appeal against the decision to chargeback the money from their account. Historically they never file a appeal.

[lyns]

I know i should have kept to the arrangment with the court but i genuinely just forgot. Why is it that they wont arrange payment plans? The woman truly didnt care at all. I dont know how these people can be so harsh! I have got the money to pay but didnt really want to go into my overdraft! Think i will borrow my husbands credit card to pay it and see if they do charge this fee. If they do i will be back to claim my money back!

[PizzaMaker]

They may refuse to take your husbands credit card and make you pay cash. Have to be careful what is said on here as there are peering eyes.

 

I believe the charge you are talking about is called a "handling fee". So they can only charge you an admin fee of £50, Attendance to Remove £100 and possible Van/Clamp Fee of £100.

 

If you pay by credit card you will have to pay a handling fee of 3%.

[Guest 10110001]

.

If you pay by credit card you will have to pay a handling fee of 3%.

 

That's the one, Its a fee charged by Cardnet to Drakes, but Drakes signed their merchant service agreement making them liable for that charge. Its called a Prohibited Fee.

 

In any event, Drakes has to be Cat C credit licensed charge any fee to handle or precess a credit transaction between a lender and a consumer. If they do not have a license they are committing a criminal offence under Section 39(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

If Drakes overcharges you on something else, then it makes a chargeback all the more easier. I've done it plenty of times with clients and got them all their money back.

[John McKenna]

1011001,

 

So if Drakes have charged the correct amount, I take it there's no grounds for a chargeback?

[PizzaMaker]

So if newlyn charged me 3.5% for paying a £138.16 parking fine on a debit card, can i charge this back?

 

Newlyn tried to charge me £350 on 2 letters posted to me via date marked envelope. So they are charging levy fees via the postal system.

[tomtubby]

Lyns

 

Drakes will say that they cannot acept payment arrangements but that is not the case. We have succesfully agreed many such cases. Their contract in fact does allow for debts to be paid over a 90 day period.

 

One very important point however is to find out how old the warrant is. This is because Drakes MUST and Philips Bailiffs must return any Distress Warrant that has not been dealt with after 120 days. You have the right to know the date of the warrant.

 

Another point worth mentioning is that Drakes fee scale changes on January 1st and the visit charge goes up significantly from £100 to £175.

 

I will check if I have a template letter that I can send to you.

[Guest 10110001]

1011001,

 

So if Drakes have charged the correct amount, I take it there's no grounds for a chargeback?

 

The route I went is I asked Drakes if they had a provision in their MSA that enabled them from charge account fees to the consumer. They didn't replied so I revoked the transaction anyway.

 

I contended on the chargeback form that Drakes charged a fee what was not prescribed - chargeback awarded without further ado.

[rory32]

CAG does not endorse nor advocate debt avoidance in any form.

 

Lyns they may state that installments are not acceptable but if you pay it in installments they will accept it. I would enclose your first installment with any proposal. You MUST ensure that you communicate in writing with these people. As you have already found out, phoning them is rather pointless.

[John McKenna]

Another point worth mentioning is that Drakes fee scale changes on January 1st and the visit charge goes up significantly from £100 to £175.

 

The good news is the £100 "levy" fee for seizing goods will no longer be charged making the whole process far less susceptible to abuse by dodgy bailiffs. The financial incentive for levying has now been removed.

[tomtubby]

John

 

You are right on this. When I was first provided with these new updated fees I was not at all pleased but in fact Drakes explained it very well to me and it is a much clearer fee scale. So effectively the fees are capped at £225.........unless however they clamp a car.

[PizzaMaker]

John

 

You are right on this. When I was first provided with these new updated fees I was not at all pleased but in fact Drakes explained it very well to me and it is a much clearer fee scale. So effectively the fees are capped at £225.........unless however they clamp a car.

 

New fees come into effect January, £50 admin, then £175 bailiff attendance. There is no clamp fee but removal is additional cost.

[Guest 10110001]

Back to square one then. Take the car first, demand the money later.