Balliff company mistake on final payment

brightondave

My daughter had a council tax problem a while back them saying that she had missed a payment which she disputed. My daughter had proof of payment with an email receipt but because by that time two payments had been missed and they requested that they couldn't take any payments until the last two payments were paid.
The long and short of this is they use a certain bailiff company who although she was a single parent with a young 5 year old on universal credit and actually listed as a vulnerable person, they forced her into making a payment of £75 compliance fee, the £252 that was owed plus an enforcement fee on top of £235 bringing the total amount to about £560+.
She was told by the bailiff on the doorstep that a monthly manageable to her payment plan was non negotiable and she was ordered to pay £162 odd one month followed by 2 monthly payments of £200.
When she contacted the company today to pay the final £200 the woman on the other end of the phone said that she had made a mistake and had actually taken £562 from her bank at that moment, the full original amount! She was told that she would be refunded £362 but it would take 3-5 working days, this left her in tears as she cannot now pay her rent in full today.
Somebody told me they have taken an unauthorised payment from her bank and that although the Compliance fee of £75 would have to be paid and also the original debt of £252, the enforcement fee of £235 should have been waived due to her being listed as vulnerable due to mental health problems and her monetary and general situation, and due to the fact that they are accredited to BS18477 the standard for identifying and responding to consumer vulnerability?
Also before she went to make the final payment she also received a text from the bailiff assigned reminding her not to miss the final payment!
Also been told by her bank to get an authorisation code from the bailiff company but they have refused to give it to her.
Any idea how to proceed on this heavy handedness that has really put her out of pocket?
What she can claim back possibly? and who as a consumer body to complain to? Thankyou

sourcrates

Bailiffs can charge certain fee’s but cannot dictate to you how much you should or should not pay, they have no more power than you or I do, she could have paid what she could afford until the debt was re-paid, they would have thrown their rattle out of the pram, but they cannot make you do anything.

This is of little help to you now, and short of a written complaint to the bailiff company, and there regulatory body, there’s not much else you can do.

Bailiff regulation is far away from what it should be, but that’s the current system we are stuck with, hopefully in future things may change.

brightondave

So she wont be able to reclaim the enforcement fee that she was charged even though she was on their list as vulnerable?
And the fact that they took the full amount £562 when they should have only taken £200 and are taking their time refunding?

Karonher

As Sourcrates says certain fees can be charged. The extra amount being taken was a human error which was admitted at the time and is being dealt with. Faster payments can be made in some cases but I don't know if it a system all banks have or if the over payment could be refunded that quickly.

With regards to the text, I don't see that as a problem providing it was just a reminder. It would give more chance of them getting the money at the right time and your daughter not missing a payment and risking getting another fee added. Some people would complain about not getting a reminder if they missed a payment.

Write and complain and see what happens.