Threatened with Bailiffs over unpaid police car fine! But there taking the mick!!

moneyslacker

Hi,

First of all, thanks for any advice anyone has.

OK, here goes......

I got a £60 fine from a lovely police officer as my number plate didn't have the correct information printed on the bottom of the plate (Long and stressful story, but i think he was just having a bad day!!)

So anyway, i forgot all about the fine and received a final warning from my local court stating i had 14 days to respond and pay the fine..... (It was at £90, after they have added some interest)
Unfortunatly the letter came while i was on holiday, so didn't read the letter until the 17th day after they sent it
I rang the court payments office and explained the situation and that i wanted to pay the fine, but the 'lovely' lady i spoke to informed me the fine had 'just that day' been passed on to a collection agency (Phillips Collection Agency!!)
The lady gave me the phone number for the agency, so i gave them a call!

I spoke to a very snotty young man who told me that my details were not on his system and that i should wait to receive a letter from 'Phillips'. I accepted his advice, even though i was prepared to pay the fine over the phone with them, plus any reasonable admin/costs they wanted to add on.

Fast forward a few weeks from the phone call with the gentleman from 'Phillips' and i have still received no letter. I rang them back up and they explained that my details were still not on the system and i should carry on waiting.... so i did....

5 weeks after that last phone call and i get a bailiff attending my house requesting £340!!! I explained to the bailiff that i havent received any info from 'Phillips' and i wasn't prepared to pay any moneys over to him.
He told me to contact 'Phillips' ASAP to sort it out.

So the same day i rang 'Phillips' and spoke to another snotty adviser....
She went on to explain that i now owe them £340 (There costs + £200 bailiff fee)
I explained to her that i received no letters from them other wise i would have paid the fine ASAP. She then told me they had sent 3 seperate letters (2 during march and 1 end of april)

Now i think its highly unlikely that all 3 letters have been lost in the post, plus I've been receiving all my other post fine... so are they trying to pull a fast one to get more money out of me?

I asked for proof of postage but she said they don't have to provide proof ??

What are my rights? Do i have any ? Or shall i just accept I've made a mistake and make the payment to them? If i decide to pay them, do i have the right to set up a payment plan as i'm on a low income.

Thanks again for any advice guys/gals! :money::T

hieveryone

You're on a low income but can afford to go on holiday?

As much as I hate fines etc as much as the next person, you had plenty of opportunity at the beginning to pay the fine, yet you seem to have 'forgotten'?

Yes it is extremely unlikely that all 3 letters have been lost in the post, is it possible that you have forgotten you received these too?

In all honesty I would accept this as a very expensive mistake, and buy a diary for future use.

moneyslacker

Wow, thanks for jumping straight into the deep end!

For your info, i had been saving for that holiday for over 2 years!! And yes i am on a low income (12k p.a with a house to pay for!!)

And yes, i have already accepted that it was my fault and that i should have remembered to pay the fine. The whole point of this thread is to find out if what 'Phillips' are doing is legal and acceptable, with regards to the 'mystery' letters etc.

But thanks for your input anyway.............................................

pure_dead_dopey

Hi Moneyslacker

I live in Scotland, so things a bit different here but didn't want to read and run. it does sound a lot and I do know there are some rules about what they can add on but this will bump you up and hopefully someone with more experience will be along. Good luck with it all and I hope you enjoyed your holiday as you had saved for so long for it.

PDDx

RobertoMoir

You should probably read this site. Then call the number listed there for help if things are still unclear...

GEEGEE8

Why criticise his holiday? jeeez, this forum gets worse by the day!

hieveryone

GEEGEE8 wrote: »

Why criticise his holiday? jeeez, this forum gets worse by the day!

.. because the OP has clearly been stopped and fined for something that is illegal. Cue a lot of 'forgetting' about reminder letters and warnings etc, to swan off on holiday, then have the audacity to request a payment plan (or get out of paying at all!!) since they are on a 'low income'.

You're right, the forum does get worse everyday, because it is becoming a haven for those to request measures to avoid paying for anything they decide they don't want to.

PNPSUKNET

hieveryone wrote: »

.. because the OP has clearly been stopped and fined for something that is illegal. Cue a lot of 'forgetting' about reminder letters and warnings etc, to swan off on holiday, then have the audacity to request a payment plan (or get out of paying at all!!) since they are on a 'low income'.

You're right, the forum does get worse everyday, because it is becoming a haven for those to request measures to avoid paying for anything they decide they don't want to.

its always newbies also, never give anything back on the threads

carol01

hieveryone wrote: »

.. because the OP has clearly been stopped and fined for something that is illegal. Cue a lot of 'forgetting' about reminder letters and warnings etc, to swan off on holiday, then have the audacity to request a payment plan (or get out of paying at all!!) since they are on a 'low income'.

You're right, the forum does get worse everyday, because it is becoming a haven for those to request measures to avoid paying for anything they decide they don't want to.

op has not stated he went on an expensive holiday, it could have been in a tent or a caravan for all you know. also how do you know phillips sent the letters .can you not cut op a little slack he/she has said he/she is willing to pay can you not help him/her by being a little more constructive and less aggressive

carol01

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

its always newbies also, never give anything back on the threads

that is because newbies are jumped on, and then they dont return

DarkConvict

There is the harsh truth and blatant unneeded criticism. Even those that go BR are allowed an allowance to save for a holiday.

Onto the harsh truth, you forgot your mistake so the fine went upto 90. Sods law your reminder arrived when you were on holiday nothing you can do about it.

None the less the bailiffs fees are illegal and you should ask for a breakdown of the £200 fees, once you have them they will be illegal to be that high. The bailiffs advice online website will confirm it. Contact the court and request the debt is immediately passed back to them as the bailiffs have imposed illegal fees and you will not be dealing with them for this reason.

You offered to pay the court and the bailiffs the £90 fine but both have refused and now the bailiffs have added fees that are not correct..