Unfair bailiff charges

Muntie88

i'm not sure if this is the right forum section, but here goes. my daughter fell behind with her tv licence payments when she moved away from home. when she returned home she recieved a letter from the local court stating that £85 was outstanding. we called the courts and agreed to pay £20 at the end of each month, a pay point card was issued for these payments to be made. in may the payment for £20 was on the 31st as agreed, she then received a letter from the court stating that the debt had been passed to a bailiff company as the payment was made late, it was received by them on the 2/3 june. i called the bailiff company who have stated that there are outstanding charges of £275!!! the last payment made to the court was on 30/6 for £25, therefore as far as we are concerned the payments have all been made on time as agreed and there should be no bailiff costs, but i am being told different. any help or advice would be great. i hope that makes sense !

robpw2

Are they court appointed baliffs ?
I would speak to the court that dealt with the original case

Muntie88

i have done that, but they say now that its been passed to bailiffs they are no longer dealing with it.

maninthestreet

Your daughter wouldn't have needed a TV licence whilst away from home, assuming no one else lived at the property.

vuvuzela

maninthestreet wrote: »

Your daughter wouldn't have needed a TV licence whilst away from home, assuming no one else lived at the property.

Can you explain that please ?
I suspect it is incorrect. If someone lives in a house and has a TV they use to watch live broadcasts, they need a licence. I didn 't think that being a daughter was reason enough for them to be let off
I am making the assumption that she is a student so the regulations are : http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/students-aud1/?WT.mc_id=r107

malkie76

I read that as she moved away from home, got her own place and own TV licence then fell behind on payments of her own licence.

Anyways, making a payment and receiving a payment are two separate events. If they need a cleared payment by the 31st you probably need to make the payment on the 26th to ensure it's with them by the 31st. Hence you may have broken the terms of the payment scheme, and the balance was transferred to a baliff who added on their own charges. Sadly this is "fair" and legal.

However, I thought those payment cards were instant and didn't take days to clear ?

Fergie76

Try here - http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/

I think it cost's £10 to join, but given what you have to save, not totally unreasonable. I have never used them, but have read that they give out very good information.

pinkshoes

Just WRITE to the bailiff stating that she denies all knowledge of the debt, as the outstanding balance has already been paid on time as agreed with the court.

Send a copy to the court too, showing the bank statement with the payments being made on the correct dates.

Muntie88

thanks for the comments. i had agreed with the courts to pay on the last working day of the month as that is when i get paid, as my daughter didn't have the funds, it was paid using a pay point card at a pay point shop, so am confused as to why it took 2/3 days to clear. if you pay bills via direct debit at the end of the month or any other date they don't say have the money in 3/4 days before it due to get paid.