Discharge but just received Bailiff Threat Letter

JoeAlonso

I've been discharged since 4th December 2009. Around May/June 2009 I received a letter from Phoenix Commercial Collections (on behalf of London Borough of Barking and Dagenham) regarding parking tickets. These were included in my bankruptcy so after advice from the lady who conducted my interview I forwarded to Phoenix my bankruptcy notice.

I've come home today to find two letters from Phoenix demanding £498 a piece stating that bailiffs have visited my house and will visit against with an appointed removal contractor.

Seeing as I have followed the right lines and forwarded the necessary paperwork, what do I do now? I've got steam coming out my ears and waiting for advice on here before I give this clowns a call and give them a piece of my mind.

magicgirl

make sure your paperwork is in order. I get these still and it gets annoying but i do feel some satisfaction when i tell them (quite severely) that it is illegal for them to contact me and all correspondence should be done thu my OR. I give them my br number and thats that. its a pain cos it costs a few phone calls/stamps etc but i know they can't legally do anything seeing as the debts are obsolete. They try and use a line about a recent change in law about outstanding bedts have to be statemented every 12months which i believe is tru but since BR/discharge, the debt technicaly doesn't exist and so tehy shouldn't be chasing you.

fatou256

I am not too sure on parking fine / tickets but i have found this on the web which might help you . i hoep it does help . good luck

Traffic regulation orders made under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 are used to impose parking and waiting restrictions on roads or for designating conditions for using parking places operated by regulations. Contravention of a traffic regulation order gives rise to enforcement action and financial penalty. Prior to the introduction of the Road Traffic Act 1991 all such contraventions were enforced by the police or police service traffic warden and the Magistrates' Courts. As such these penalties were "fines" within the meaning of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 and were not provable debts in bankruptcy which were released on discharge.

To relieve the burden on the court system the Road Traffic Act 1991 introduced a method of civil enforcement for contravention of traffic regulation orders, moving responsibility for enforcement action from the police and the Magistrates' Court to local authorities. The devolved parking enforcement is achieved by making permitted parking area and special parking area orders. Currently powers are devolved throughout London, in 70 authorities in England and a small number of authorities in Wales.

Therefore the manner in which a penalty for a parking contravention will be dealt with in a bankruptcy estate will be dependent on the source of the enforcement action.

Where a fixed penalty notice was issued by a police authority and is enforceable by the Magistrates Court the penalty falls within the definition of a "fine" and under the provisions of rule 12.3(2)(a) of the Rules and section 281(4) of the Act it is not a provable debt and the bankrupt is not released from liability on discharge.

Where the penalty was issued on behalf of a local authority - including penalties issued in relation to the London congestion charge - these debts are provable debts in bankruptcy proceedings from which the bankrupt will be released on discharge. All penalties imposed under devolved enforcement powers are administered through he Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court.

fiveyearplan

Send a copy of the letter to your OR and keep a copy of your bankruptcy order to hand in case they do visit. In the meantime do not open your doors or windows - keep them locked and advise anyone else in the house not to open the door either.