I feel as though im being harassed by bailiffs! - parking ticket

from_surrey

Please please can anybody give me some advise? I got a parking ticket which i objected to and lost. I was asked to pay 155.00. I received a letter from a collection agency in September asking me to pay 375.04! I rang them and explained i am a lone parent and had lost my job. They asked be to pay 60.00 a month which i explained i could not afford so i offered to pay 20.00 a month which i have been doing. On the 10 Feb a bailiff knocked asking me to pay the full amount outstanding so i again explained my situation and asked why he had come as i have been paying 20.00 a month as promised. He said he would come back with a warrant for my arrest so i closed the door! On the 20 Feb i received a letter asking me for 409.44 and a threat that a bailiff will be calling again!! Surely they cannot do this when im struggling with debt and am paying each month?

heartbreak_star

from surrey, pop up a new thread of your own and you'll likely get more advice.

OP...hope it gets sorted. Much love.

HBS x

Olive_Oyl

Hi FS

There is a very good thread here with advice & contacts .

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1837507

However my impression is that this is a debit collector, not a bailiff .
Bailiffs / DCA's are highly regulated and cannot bully or intimidate you contrary to what they may tell you.

give_them_FA

I am assuming that this is a parking ticket (PCN) issue by a local council rather than a police one.

If it is, you need to complain in the strongest possible terms to the Council. This is utterly outrageous. If the Council employ an agent (the bailiff) to collect their debt they are responsible for his actions. He cannot add unreasonable amounts in costs, and if you agreed a payment plan and stuck to it, he should not be coming back asking for the balance and then some.

In particular, his statement that you would be arrested is wholly and entirely a lie. There is no way at all you can be arrested for not paying a Council parking fine, it is a civil penalty, not a criminal one.

You need to get a good solicitor and should be looking at making the Council pay for this. They ought to be more careful who they employ, unfortunately there are a few bailiffs who claim to be Court officers but have no respect at all for the Law.

Sorry Olive above but that is the fact of the matter. There are a few total rogues in the bailiff industry. It will not be a debt collector because I do not believe councils are allowed to use debt collectors for this; but if I am wrong same advice applies, Council are responsible.

The sum mentioned of £155 equates to a £100 parking charge not paid; plus 50% increase; plus the £5 to register atr TEC Northampton, is what I am guessing.

hallowitch

as an unemployed single parent you should be classed as vulnerable according to the national standards for enforcement agents

complaints should be made to the head of revenues and the ceo of your council
what council and bailiff firm are you dealing with
i should also point out the bailiff has no power to arrest you again telling you this is against the national standards however saying that the bailiff will deny he said it if you need to speak to him again record the call or video the visit if you can
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/guidance/courts-and-tribunals/courts/enforcement-officers/national-standards-enforcement-agents.pdf

taffy056

Hello there, can you tell us who exactly issued you a ticket, and who the collection agency as you called it are, it's pretty important to know as your answer to this has a bearing on the advice offered.

Many thanks