Hi
I desperately need some help on what to do.
Recently I found my car clamped outside my current place of residence and a Bailiff was requesting that I pay the total debt owed in full or my car will be taken away and I will end up having to pay much more. Just to point out, he was polite while giving me this advice.
I was totally shocked and unaware of the PCNs which resulted in this bailiff action. There were 5 PCNs in total for driving in bus lanes. I had no choice but to pay the bailiff in full as I needed my car to go to work and I didn’t know if I had any rights there on the spot on my own. I actually couldn’t believe this was happening to me and called the police to verify whether the bailiff was who he was saying he was but they said they can not help me as this is a civil matter.
The reason why I did not know about the PCNs is that I moved house in November 2012 to my current address. I updated my address on my driving licence but did not do so on my V5C. My tax disc was valid until end of October 2013 so I was not prompted by the necessity to renew it and change my V5C at the same time. I assumed that the DVLA was informed of my address as I updated my licence. I now completely realise this and wont make the same mistake again (My fault, I am foreign). I drove in the bus lanes in my new town by accident, they are very numerous here and I was not familiar with the new area.
As a result, none of the PCNs or any other letters reached me. I updated the address on my V5C on 29/10/2013 which is when I realised it needed updating.
I asked the Bailiff company for a breakdown of costs which seem unfair to me but I don’t know what to do about it especially as I have already paid the total debt in full. It looks like they charged me for each visit, presumably at my previous address, multiple times on each PCN. They found me at my current address on 21/01/2014. I paid £1,666.30 which was broken down as follows; £450 PCN + £35 Court Fees + £1,216.30 Bailiff’s Costs (inc VAT). Please see the statement costs below.
PCN 1:
19/01/2013 “Costs” - £7
19/01/2013 “Debt” - £90.00
08/07/2013 “Letter Fee” - £13.44
02/10/2013 “Visit/Levy Fee 1” - £37.20
02/10/2013 “Attendance Fee” £137.50
29/11/2013 “Visit/Levy Fee 2” £70.80
21/01/2014 “Visit/Levy Fee 3” £75.60
21/01/2014 “HPI Check” - £20
21/01/2014 “C/C > £600” – £25
PCN 2:
12/02/2013 “Costs” - £7
12/02/2013 “Debt” - £90.00
30/07/2013 “Letter Fee” - £13.44
02/10/2013 “Visit/Levy Fee 1” - £37.20
29/11/2013 “Visit/Levy Fee 2” £46.80
29/11/2013 “Attendance Fee” £137.50
21/01/2014 “Visit/Levy Fee 3” £74.40
PCN 3:
01/03/2013 “Costs” - £7
01/03/2013 “Debt” - £90.00
30/07/2013 “Letter Fee” - £13.44
02/10/2013 “Visit/Levy Fee 1” - £37.20
29/11/2013 “Visit/Levy Fee 2” £46.80
21/01/2014 “Visit/Levy Fee 3” £60.00
21/01/2014 “Attendance Fee” £137.50
PCN 4:
26/03/2013 “Costs” - £7
26/03/2013 “Debt” - £90.00
13/09/2013 “Letter Fee” - £13.44
02/10/2013 “Visit/Levy Fee 1” - £37.20
29/11/2013 “Visit/Levy Fee 2” £46.80
21/01/2014 “Visit/Levy Fee 3” £60.00
PCN 5:
22/06/2013 “Costs” - £7
22/06/2013 “Debt” - £90.00
14/01/2013 “Letter Fee” - £13.44
21/01/2014 “Visit/Levy Fee 3” £26.60
Any advice on what I can do next would be greatly appreciated. I have read up lots about it on various sites and I am not sure what is the best course of action in my case.