It was an unpaid parking fine for £70, but two years later it had grown to £1,153.13. The fine was owed to Camden Council but the bailiffs came in their van from South Wales to collect it in Wiltshire.
As goods seized go to auction, they were expected to seize goods worth £6,000 when new. Excluding the tools of her trade, the ‘essentials of living' and a borrowed computer they would probably have only raised £500 from the contents of the house plus a few pounds for a 1982 car. They could have taken everything and still left her in debt. It seems the goods go into store for 7 days before being auctioned if the fine has still not been paid. A good friend finally came to her rescue. So do remember not to slip up on paying your motoring fines.
"The Office of Fair Trading works hard at ensuring that action to refuse or revoke a credit licence is taken as quickly as possible but in practice this can prove hard to achieve." So says David Rutter, Head of the Regulatory Section in an article for the Money Advice Association.
"The OFT is under a duty to issue a credit licence if the applicant is fit and proper. The Act does not impose a test of competence." One way it is hoped to increase efficiency is by issuing guidance notes to various sections of the trade. They will cover estate agents, car dealers,
debt collection practices and credit brokers. "In all cases, once guidance has been published, those licensed under the Consumer Credit Act will have a very clear understanding of what is expected from them. If the guidance is ignored, then the Office of Fair Trading will take action to have the consumer credit licence removed."
Consignia announced on 12th April, just as we went to press, that they wanted to raise the price of stamps by at least 1p to help combat competition. Raising the price of posting letters does not seem to be a logical way of staving off competition.
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