Rossendales

[russelldurose]

Dear all

Having had Sepsis this year and at the moment recovering at home from almost dying from it the Council (Torbay) persuaded Rossendales to put a hold on the case which comes off today. I wrote to them about my health issues for which I got this today

Private and Confidential

Our Ref: 54744388 Client Ref: TB5046976A
Our Ref: 55716997 Client Ref: TB50208132
Our Ref: 55720734 Client Ref: TB50387315

Dear Mr Durose

Thank you for providing details of your personal circumstances.

These accounts are currently with our enforcement agent Mr Dewis. You should contact him on 07775015712 to discuss payment.

Our enforcement agents have had full vulnerability training allowing them to decide on the best course of action.

If you have any questions or queries about this case, please contact our customer contact centre on 0333 320 2158 or visit our website.

Yours sincerely

Chris Pebbles
Customer Care Administrator
Customer Care Department
Rossendales Limited

How do I proceed with this. I do not want to be dealing with bailiffs whilst I am recovering. Please advise.

[russelldurose]

They won't accept a £25 a month payment plan.

[zeke]

If you dont want to deal with the bailiffs then dont

Dont open the door to unexpected callers and make your car safe

https://www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk/Pr ... Goods.html

[delta157]

The advice you could have been given is...

Contact your LA, inform them of your medical conditions and see if they are prepared to take your accounts back in house.

They can at any time do so due to to you being unwell. Providing medical evidence to them will/may assist you.

Councils have a duty of care. The EA must inform the LA of vulnerabilities when found! Then await for the creditor to assess the debtors case.

Both the LA and Ea are already aware of your condition, how? By asking Rosendales to put your accounts on hold they MAY change the enforcement action.

You could suggest that they consider an attachment of benefits? This action is open to the LA. Nothing to lose everything to gain. Get your medical evidence in and see what happens...

Also remind your LA of the National Standards 2014... s70-78

[delta157]

If you dont want to deal with the bailiffs then dont

Dont open the door to unexpected callers and make your car safe

https://www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk/Pr ... Goods.html

As an advisor, you could of given a better response to this debtors plight. This has now been done!

I'm not sure why you didn't link to the national standards and similar advice to this poster. It might have stopped this debtor worrying further.

I would also suggest that the poster speak to his Cllr. as well, this may also assist them!

[zeke]

If you read the original post it says:

persuaded Rossendales to put a hold on the case which comes off today.

That means the OP already played the national standards vulnerable people card and put a hold on the enforcement.

[delta157]

Theres no time limit to this and you know this!

[russelldurose]

They attended today and inflated one PCN to £974. I have submitted to Rossendales income expenditure form but they have not taken notice. Torbay Council fob me off with "it's with Rossendales you need to deal with". Is Nigel still available to act on my behalf?

[russelldurose]

I have written to the Council again to put the case on hold whilst they accept £25 a month repayment plan.

[russelldurose]

My letter

Dear sirs

Due to complications with my Sepsis diagnosis and numerous emails and documents to Rossendales they have attended whilst I was at a medical appointment due to complications. In attendance to my home they have inflated the one PCN ref to £974, without paying attention to the income expenditure form that I submitted when the account was on hold.

I ask that in view of my medical condition, which I have documented evidence that Torbay council under guidelines established in 2014 take this case and put on hold with Rossendales so that they look at the income and expenditure form which I corrected. Ministry of Justice guidelines contemplates that in serious medical conditions that discretion and resolution be found without inflating this with fees.

I am paying Ross and Roberts £25 and as it was simple to set up and I have kept up to date. Rossendales are not making this easy and have all the way through inflated the issue with over £600 in fees.

I am aware and take into account that Torbay put this case on hold in view of what I have reported however this complaint is that whilst the PCN are there Rossendales are not allowing me to resolve. I am a full time Carer on benefits and even with the Income Expenditure form they have not taken that into account.

Please receive this as an Official Complaint.

[zeke]

They attended today and inflated one PCN to £974. I have submitted to Rossendales income expenditure form but they have not taken notice. Torbay Council fob me off with "it's with Rossendales you need to deal with". Is Nigel still available to act on my behalf?

Rossendales always take no notice of an income expenditure.

They are a commercial business whose income is on recovering the money.

The PCN for £974 doesn't look right.

You can apply for a detailed assessment, but I very seldom do them for parking tickets except when questing storage fees and disbursements paid by a bailiff company for storing a vehicle.

[russelldurose]

So what do I do? Wait it out until they send it back to the Council??

[zeke]

Please receive this as an Official Complaint.

If you are a vulnerable person, the Civil Procedure Rules has a section to question whether the bailiff can recover the fees.

Its called a detailed assessment, and under CPR84.16(1)(d) which states:

(d) evidence that the fee due and any disbursements for the enforcement stage, first enforcement stage, or first and second enforcement stage, as appropriate, are not recoverable under regulation 12 of the Fees Regulations; or

Regulation 12 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 states:

Recovery of fees from vulnerable debtors

12. Where the debtor is a vulnerable person, the fee or fees due for the enforcement stage (or, where regulation 6 applies, the first, or first and second, enforcement stages as appropriate) and any disbursements related to that stage (or stages) are not recoverable unless the enforcement agent has, before proceeding to remove goods which have been taken into control, given the debtor an adequate opportunity to get assistance and advice in relation to the exercise of the enforcement power.

[russelldurose]

So what do I do with all these? Is my letter to Torbay Council enough??

[zeke]

Have you sent this letter yet?

https://www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk/Te ... btors.html

If not, then do it now.

[russelldurose]

Just an update. With the template you sent above, sent it on, the Council is conducting a investigation into Rossendales conduct, putting the case on hold. They are considering in recalling within Council jurisdiction and at the £25 I can afford.

[russelldurose]

Update today. Rossendales whilst the Council put a hold in the case Rossendales refuse to wait whilst the Council do their own investigation. The Council is considering bringing it back into Council Admin with a payment plan of £25. What can I do to stop the bailiff attending?

[russelldurose]

I have sent a copy of the email confirming that there is a 28 day hold on the cases with Rossendales. Yet they have said they will now pursue. That is a violation of their conduct and contract with the Council surely???

[zeke]

Send Tossendales threat to the council and ask them to explain why they have lifted the hold.

[russelldurose]

Done that. Asked Torbay why in a matter of days I got a threat email from Rossendales

[John The Baptist]

IF the council have placed the debt on hold, Rossendales will not visit you. However, a tactic often used in these scenarios is for the debtor to receive a letter like you have. It is effectively a last throw of the dice by way of "threatogram". Rossendales have lost nothing other than the cost of posting a letter. It might possibly procure a payment from yourself and if not, then nothing lost. The council will respond, informing you that the letter was automated and was sent during the cross over period.

Just double check that the account is on hold though.

[russelldurose]

YES John the Baptist, I have asked for clarification on this point. I will if this 1s level of complaints process if they do not take it back from Rossendales will ask for 2nd level. What happens is that the Liability runs out after the 3rd level.

I am not avoiding paying because I have offered £25 per month for which Rossendales have rejected so I am asking that this offer be accepted by the Council as a Invoice payment. Rossendales received a Income Expenditure statement which the Council asked for to be told that total payment of £974 would be asked for. These are for 3 PCN, and I think there are two £75 compliance stage and maybe 3, and 2 £235 visits. I have also complained about the fees too.

My original complaint is that before a bailiff appeared they did not allow a repayment plan as they want fees.

[John The Baptist]

It depends how the sequence of events unfolded.

You will certainly have incurred 3 x Compliance fees.

If you contacted Rossendales with an I&E before they visited (they appear to have visited you twice - Probably once for one PCN and once for the other two); then you have a pretty good argument for getting the enforcement fees removed. Whilst you are almost certainly not exempt from enforcement, you are clearly vulnerable and this should determine how the debt is enforced. Rossendales (unsurprisingly) appear to have decided that you are not vulnerable for the purpose of enforcement and that is the end of it. They are wrong.

The council should be reminded of their responsibility when using enforcement as a means to recover a debt. Section 8 of the National Standards (NS) states that creditors should act proportionately and should take the debtors circumstances into account.

Section 14 of the NS states that creditors must consider the appropriateness of referring debtors in potentially vulnerable situations to enforcement agents. The council have record of some of your circumstances due to your issues with council tax arrears. Even if they weren't aware of your situation in full, they are now. The council still have the ability to take this debt back from Rossendales.

Your circumstances are exceptional. Normally, £25 per month would be a ridiculous offer of repayment and should be (quite rightly) refused. However, given that you are living on benefits that you are clearly not well at present, there is a very strong argument for this/these debts to be taken back from Rossendales and dealt with in house. In any case, it is debatable whether the 2 enforcement fees should remain on your account (See Regulation 12 of The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014) - As I stated previously, just because you may not be exempt from enforcement, that does not mean that Rossendales can blithely continue with their heavy handed tactics.

[russelldurose]

John the Baptist

I had negotiated with Ross and Robert's £25 a month which they accepted. The Council then opted to use Rossendales too. I believe they may take Rossendales off the case due to the mishandling of it throughout. I think if they clamp my vehicle whilst it is being investigated will be the end of it for them. I had no reply to my emails today from the Council.

[russelldurose]

Just a surprising update. Torbay Council is cash strapped and they have revoked contracts with bailiffs and they have recalled all my PCN to an instalment plan in house. No more bailiffs. I don't think I would have had this result if it were not the letters that were from this site. Rossendales continue to send letters. I have asked the Council to investigate this.