PRe-Baliff letter

magstar71

Hi!

To cut a long story short a PRE-BALIff card just with my partners name and a number to contact was posted to my partner ( with completely WRONG address details last week.

It turns out it was due to a late payment we had arranged from a CCJ (because my partner was in an accident we forgot, silly i know!)
This is what then happened..
thank you for your reply.

Since this, it turns out it was a card sent by a debt collecter stating pre-baliff visit and on SPEAKING to the lewis group asking kindly 3 times if it would be possible to reinstste our agreement, they refused flat until the £122 was paid, for the fees for the visit, we also spoke to the debt collector who also said it was for a visit she had made. Here is the good bit..
There were NO VISIT the 'we called earlier PRE_BALIFF visit' card was POSTED in an envelope with postmark, stamp and everything, disgusting!!

Also i believe that a debt collector has no right to charge fees? (as this is NOT a balifff)I believe this to be entrapment as no doubt without paying this, then the next step WOULD be a baliff visit?

I still have the envelope, to prove this and in feel we were bullied into paying, when the £122 was meant to be towards our mortgage.

Can i claim it back due to the entrapment as we did ask 3 times that we were willing to keep up payments but was NOT allowed to..

Also the information and address of the card was totally incorrect, with NO reference number or anything but a number to call (the debt collectors)

Should i write The Lewis group a letter of complaint or should i write to the court with the original ccj stating the visit was false and that they would not rearrange unless i paid the £122?

I can't really use form N245 as it had not gone to a baliff.

any advice please! this should be reportrd to the OFT!

DarkConvict

Bring it up with the OFT, the charges are going to be unfair and excessive. The OFT even has set guidelines for debt collectors - http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf

Complaints - http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/legal/cca/debt-collection#named1

What you could have done is disupted "their" charge, and then made the missed payment and future payments on time so to keep within the CCJ terms.

A Bailiffs is limited to what they can charge anyway, ~£24.50 for a visit, and a bit for letters. A total of £42.50 for council tax without gaining entry, and although no limit for CCJs it won't go much higher unless a bailiffs gains peaceful entry or levies your car.

DVardysShadow

From DC's link:

2.10
Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

1. claiming collection costs from a debtor in the absence of express contractual or other legal provision
2. misleading debtors into believing they are legally liable to pay collection charges when this is not the case, for example, when there is no contractual provision

I suggest you check whether there is a contractual provision and assuming there is not, you write back and tell them that the £122 must be applied to your debt.

Bailiff charges are not relevant here - they only apply for real bailiffs after a court judgement. Calling them pre-bailiffs counts as a deceptive practice in my book.

magstar71

DarkConvict wrote: »

Bring it up with the OFT, the charges are going to be unfair and excessive. The OFT even has set guidelines for debt collectors - http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf

Complaints - http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/legal/cca/debt-collection#named1

What you could have done is disupted "their" charge, and then made the missed payment and future payments on time so to keep within the CCJ terms.

A Bailiffs is limited to what they can charge anyway, ~£24.50 for a visit, and a bit for letters. A total of £42.50 for council tax without gaining entry, and although no limit for CCJs it won't go much higher unless a bailiffs gains peaceful entry or levies your car.

thank you, i was feeling pressured to pay as we did not want baliff letters coming with more charges i will look at the oft.