Transport for London forwarded me to CCS Baliffs after ignoring my letter to them

MrCampbell

When things settled down in Uni and my stress issued calmed down I decided it was time to sort out all my debt.

I gather up all the info I needed and wrote letters to each creditor and provided a budget sheet showing how much I earned and how much I could pay each creditor.

I sent these letters out recorded delivery. Today I received a letter from CCS Enforcement Services Limited I(Civil Enforcement Officers) saying they had been instructed by Transport For London to recover £185 and that there was a baliff fee of £15.38.

I am so angry because I know TFL received my letter because I checked using the tracking number and it had been signed for on a date before 16th of March which is the date on the letter sent by CCS Enforcement. I don't think it's fair what they have done to me. Normally when I get a PCN from TFL it's because I forgot to pay the charge due to being in such a rush to get to uni on time. I pay them 16 a week in order to drive through a congestion charging zone.

The last PCN was ridiculous. I tried to pay the day after (which they allow but for £10) at a petrol station. The guy at the petrol station told me on the 2nd day payment has to be done over the phone. I then rushed home to pay and was kept in a queue when my call was finally answered I was told I was too late because it had just gone after 12 midnight. I was told they would reduce the PCN to £50 if I paid in 14 days as if I was suppose to be delighted that I had to pay a £50 fine for nothing. I had to tell the man about himself then proceed to put down the phone.

Any that PCN was after the one I have posted this topic about and I have written to them and after their reply, depending what it is I will write a letter and provide a budget sheet. I now pay my congestion charge on sunday evenings for monday and tuesday in order to avoid these PCN's.

I just don't think it's right that they can try to force money out of me. Money that I don't have. I contact them showing them how much I could pay them monthly and told them that when circumstances charge I would be able to pay more or maybe even pay of the whole debt but they decided to just ignore my letter and forward me to baliffs.

I will be contacting my local C.A.B. and finding out what help I can get. This will be on wednesday when they are open for telephone interviews.

What are my other options? What rights do I have?
Help is appreciated. I want to know what I can do so if this happens to anybody else I can help them out too.



I got a £35 fine from DVLA because THEY managed to loose the logbook with the new drivers details I had sent to them. They sent me a letter saying I was being fined £35 for failing to register a car I had sold with the new keepers details. I am regretting not posting this logbook using recorded delivery. Anyway the letter I sent them worked slightly because they said they are leaving it up to the courts to deal with and that I will be contacted with a summons which I am fine with. Atleast I will get to explain myself in court.

TODAY:

Today I actually received a reply to the letter I sent to TFL, the letter they sent was written on the 23rd of march and they state that the TEC (traffic enforcement centre) are unable to deal with my query and that if I wish to make an arrangement to pay I have to contact my local authority concerned. All payments should be made to the local authority to resolve this matter they say.

What am I suppose to do now? They already forwarded me to baliffs because they had not goten round to reading my letter. What would my options be now? Should I still contact CAB tomorrow? or should I contact the baliffs?

Neil_B

MrCampbell wrote: »

Today I actually received a reply to the letter I sent to TFL,

---

they state that the TEC (traffic enforcement centre) are unable to deal with my query and that if I wish to make an arrangement to pay I have to contact my local authority concerned. All payments should be made to the local authority to resolve this matter they say.

That doesn't make sense. You say you wrote to TFL and that this is a response from TFl ?? Clearly, from the text, it is a reponse from TEC - referring you back to TFL.

Pleading poverty to TFL and sending budgets is hardly likely to be of interest to them. Was this in some way an 'appeal'? If so, was it within the timescale?

If it was actually an appeal against the charge and they failed to respond before involving the bailiffs then you may have a case. BUT - I'm concerned, you seem to be perceiving or inventing your own avenues of dealing with this.

That is a very early bailiff letter and minimum charge. It will not be long before it increases exponentially.
-

MrCampbell

I posted this same topic on CAG website a few days ago... but today I got a reply to the letter I sent to them. They sent back my budget sheet and the letter with a sticker to prove it had been read and signed for.

Any way I decided to add the last paragraph to my previous post, sorry if it has confused you a little but yes I wrote to TFL. The actual address they give you when you want to appeal against a ticket/fine. I received a response today and the letter head says hmcs (her majestys courts service). The address says The traffic enforcement centre, county court bulk centre etc and it is the exact same address as the one TFL give on the PCN to appeal.

The TFL and TEC address is the same. So I have no idea what they mean when they say I need to go to my local authority. It doesn't make any sense to me. My letter was written long before they forwarded me to baliffs.

Neil_B

MrCampbell wrote: »

yes I wrote to TFL. The actual address they give you when you want to appeal against a ticket/fine.

Clearly not! It is blindingly obvious you wrote to TEC if that is who responded. That's not rocket science is it! Because >>>>>>

MrCampbell wrote: »

I received a response today and the letter head says hmcs (her majestys courts service). The address says The traffic enforcement centre, county court bulk centre etc

MrCampbell wrote: »

The TFL and TEC address is the same.

Nope.

MrCampbell wrote: »

So I have no idea what they mean when they say I need to go to my local authority.

ya don't think maybe TFL are the local authority by any chance?

MrCampbell wrote: »

It doesn't make any sense to me.

Now I'm worried! What is it you do at Uni exactly?

MrCampbell wrote: »

My letter was written long before they forwarded me to baliffs.

'before the bailiffs' is not the point is it. You have a set time to make representations and to the correct address. We know you appear to have written to the wrong address. I asked was it in the form of an appeal and was it in time - and have you forwarded it to the correct address?

---

-

MrCampbell

Look...........

I received a PCN from TRANSPORT FOR LONDON!
I wrote back to the appeals address which started with TRANSPORT FOR LONDON.
So I assumed I was writing to TRANSPORT FOR LONDON.

What exactly is your problem?
What don't you understand?

and FYI I'm studying sound engineering (degree), this is my last year and will be starting a new course at Royal Academy of Music.
Don't talk down to me like I'm some sort of fool with your sarcastic uni question.
I came here for HELP. All you done is clearly not understand my posts.

I wrote to TFL
TEC wrote back to me..
Either TFL don't deal with appeals and it was TEC I actually wrote to or they are trying to confuse me.
If it's TFL who appeals go to I was right to think that it would be them I arrange a payment plan with!

I DID NOT write to the wrong address. The address I wrote to was the address they clearly stated people should write to for appeals/representations. Yes maybe I wrote after the pcn went up to it's final total before passed onto baliffs but just because that may have been the situation it doesn't mean I was silly to still make my representation.

Should I have waited until the baliff knocked on my door before I wrote the letter?? I don't think so.

Neil_B

MrCampbell wrote: »

I received a PCN from TRANSPORT FOR LONDON!
I wrote back to the appeals address which started with TRANSPORT FOR LONDON.
So I assumed I was writing to TRANSPORT FOR LONDON.

Do you seriously think i would be stupid enough to comment without having gone and looked at a CC PCN first? The TFL addres is not a TEC address and it is quite clear that you wrote the wrong thing to the wrong place.
If your PCN said something different then show it. If true, that may help you.

MrCampbell wrote: »

What exactly is your problem?

Well I certainly don't have the problem of having a bailiff after my belongings!

MrCampbell wrote: »

What don't you understand?

I think i've got the picture fine thanks. scans of a few relative documents might clarify further though.

MrCampbell wrote: »

I came here for HELP. All you done is clearly not understand my posts.

Nope. I've understood clearly that you have not followed the correct procedure, I still suspect have written to the wrong place and are about to get landed with a far higher demand from the Bailiffs.

You said you posted on CAG? Did you notice the CC threads there with bailiff bills of £1400- + each?
Help? If you don't think my efforts to get you focused and on the right track are 'help' then feel free to pay the bailiff many, many hundreds more. Actually, you won't have to worry about the Congestion Charge anymore1 It doesn't apply to bus passsengers!

Yes maybe I wrote after the pcn went up to it's final total before passed onto baliffs but just because that may have been the situation it doesn't mean I was silly to still make my representation.

Should I have waited until the baliff knocked on my door before I wrote the letter?? I don't think so.[/QUOTE]

Not seeing the docs i can't be entirely sure - but i think you maybe got confused by them and as to what they were. Yes it is pointless appealing when your right of appeal no longer exists. I can't see TFL have done anything wrong (apart from the initial situation which was a bit unlucky).

I might go and look at the docs again to see where you went wrong.
-

Neil_B

just a quick question. What date was the contravention this PCN and subsequent documents relate to?
-

Glacier_2

What Neil is telling you is the real advice.

Sending budgets sheets to TFL and TEC is not the way to go. More bad advice from CAG and this site no doubt. I am sure the bailiff will be real impressed with a budget.

You really need to get your house in order and post up what documents you have. If not there is sadly very little that anyone can do to help the situation.

Crabman

Glacier wrote: »

What Neil is telling you is the real advice.

Sending budgets sheets to TFL and TEC is not the way to go. More bad advice from CAG and this site no doubt.

Hi Glacier, I think it's only fair to point out that the only advice the OP has received from this site has been from Neil B.

From my point of view that's all been pretty good advice & hopefully you'll agree.

Neil_B

Oh brilliant! Now he's been misadvised on CAG.

Much as I respect 'TomTubby', there is NO Notice to owner stage.

Where CAG have told you you should have received one, that is WRONG and as I see it at the moment you have no grounds to make a Statutory Declaration.

CC penalty enforcement is a one stage appeal process, there is no Notice to Owner involved.

---

It is unusual for CAB to know anything about decrim enforcement IMO. You said you were going to speak to them today? I hope, for your sake, you are lucky enough to find someone knowledgable.

There really is only one answer to your problem but I can't say it outright without some confirmation of the documents and timescale.

I also think your problem here is that you know that answer really! Instead of facing it and saving yourself a LOT of money you are inventing a scenario in your own mind.

---

Not a nice position to be in so don't think I don't sympathise - but it's happened.

MrCampbell

The answer is to pay up and I would if I had money to do so but I don't which is why I wanted to make a payment arrangement. Equita allowed me to pay in partial payments which made things easier for me. CCS are a totally different company so I don't even know how they will respond if I call them and ask if I can pay over a few months.

I have been trying to get through to CAB but the lines have been buzy since I started calling. Will keep trying.