Speak to a BAILIFF Expert - £35
If a bailiff charges for work he
has not done, he commits an offence of fraud.
On 20 April 2007,
In the House of Lords, Lord Lucas asked Her
Majesty's Government: (See under Crime
Fraud)
Whether a bailiff who repeatedly charges for work
that has not been done commits a fraud within the
meaning of Sections 1 to 5 of the
Fraud Act 2006; and, if so, which sections of
the Act apply; and whether it would be right for
the police to claim that such an action is a civil
and not a criminal matter.
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness
Scotland of Asthal):
"A bailiff or any other person who dishonestly
charges for work that has not been done will be
committing an offence under the Fraud Act
2006".
It means if a bailiff has charged you fees in
advance then you do not have to pay them. That
includes "van fees" or "attendance" fees and other
unusual fee descriptions then they may be
committing fraud. This is confirmed in paragraph 62
of Complaint numbers
95A01890 and 95A04826 against London Borough of
Ealing the Local Government Ombudsman decided the
bailiff is not entitled to charge a van fee when no
goods have been levied.
If a bailiff company is training bailiffs to
defraud debtors then the directors of that company
are guilty of an offence under
Section 993 of the Companies Act 2006 and/or
Section 8 of the Accessories and Abettors Act
1861.
There is lots of
case law governing the rights of bailiffs and
charging of fees which can be used in the
reclaiming of unlawful fees in the small claims
court.
See Also:
Daily Telegraph article.
If you've lost money to any type of fraud, report it to Action Fraud using Action Fraud’s online fraud reporting tool or by calling Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. If you know the criminals behind doorstep fraud or any type of fraud, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or by using their secure online form. Police follow a list of criteria for deciding whether to investigate a fraud. You must learn the criteria and set out your complaint so it fits neatly into it. Otherwise police will summarily fob your complaint.
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