legal advice please help me.

**tommiitip** · 21-04-2009, 08:43 PM

hi everyone,
has anyone had this happen to them? can anyone help me and advise me what to do next. i am hopping mad!!!

had a dispute last july with parent over non payment of fees. contacted NCMA who put me in contact with the solicitors they use for childmnders and they took on the case. it was finally taken to court in january, after about a squillion 'last warnings' from the solicitors. and the case was won in my favour. debtor still has not paid however and now apparently it is up to me and me ALONE to retrieve these fees, something i thought the solicitors where there to do in the first place.
solicitors have now washed their hands of it all as they say they have done their job and won the case so wont help me any further.

i feel really let down by the solicitors but more from the NCMA, they arent being helpful, we pay these expensive membership fees and are told that if we use all the forms correctly and use the contracts, then we will be protected against the non paying parents. well its a load of crap. at the end of the day- its all left up to us. we have no protection at all on this matter.

i simply dont know what else to do. i cant do an attachment of earnings which is what my next step was, because the debtor has now left work.
i simply can not let this parent get away with not paying or let this money go as its nearly £400 !!!

help me somebody please.

**Roseolivia** · 22-04-2009, 08:06 AM

Sorry i can't help. It is shocking that NCMA won't help any further, your right it is what we pay their fees for. Have you gone to the courts and ask what you can do next. Surely if the case was in your favour they'd help, even if the debtors were on benefits can't it be took out of there even if it's a £1 a week. What about contacting an independent solicitors for advice.

**Pedagog** · 22-04-2009, 08:27 AM

Contact the local county court, they will be able to tell you what options you have. Obviously they can not actually give legal advice, but they will tell you were to go next.

**FizzysFriends** · 22-04-2009, 08:30 AM

What about selling the debt to an agency, us using a debt colleciton agency. Obviously you wont get the whole amount but sometimes some of the money is better than trying and still not getting anything.

**mabel** · 22-04-2009, 08:46 AM

I thought your solicitor would still be there for you

I have not gone through this route before

but my son won a case in court this monday and his solicitor is sorting
out the money owed to him he is promised it by 8th May but I feel this maybe all 'insurance' money on not an individual

good luck anyway

I do feel NCMA should support you to the end, they are who we turn to
who else do we have ?

**Spangles** · 22-04-2009, 08:49 AM

Hope you find a way to get the money owed to you, sorry I have no advice for you though.

x

**Kaz1997** · 22-04-2009, 08:56 AM

My friend had a similar issue and she ended up taking the parent to a small claims court, again it was won in her favour and she also claimed legal costs ontop. She now recieves monthly payments, albeit small payments but at least she is getting it back now.

Good Luck!

**tinkerbelle** · 22-04-2009, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by FizzysFriends

What about selling the debt to an agency, us using a debt colleciton agency. Obviously you wont get the whole amount but sometimes some of the money is better than trying and still not getting anything.

i have this problem and debt agency's wont touch it as we are self employed
i have followed it up with the bailiffs from your local court it cost's £65 in my court to issue papers etc and from there its down to them but it still wont gaurentee payment
i was also offered the option of making them bankrupt at a cost to me of £1100

the only time i have heard from the solicitors is a letter this week asking if i had recieved payment they are useless when it comes to actually getting the money

**tommiitip** · 22-04-2009, 09:27 AM

hi all, thankyou for all your comments.

solicitors are hopeless, as is NCMA. have asked both for more help/advice-they both say i have to sort it out myself.
have asked the county court for advice - they sent me aload of info and forms to use for enforcement to retrieve the fees, problem is i dont know which is best to do. never had to do this before so how would i have any idea which is best route to take. the attachment of earnings seemed the most likely but cannot do now as debtor is not working. cant really do bailiffs either as it would cost loads to me and i very much doubt she'll have enough goods in her home to cover the costs of what she owes me.

i just really wanna give up the whole thing but cant let her get away with it, hate seeing her swan down my street with a smirk on her face.

**hectors house** · 22-04-2009, 09:42 AM

Sorry to hear you have gone through all this

and still not got the money - I get my mindees parents to pay weekly in advance now after having cheques bounce and "sorry I forgot the cheque book" line in the past.

Hope you find a solution, but very disappointed to hear that NCMA are not able to get money for you - but have heard of this happening in courts before - where they agree to pay a small amount of £1 a week and then never pay it knowing that the person will have to take them to court again.

**Roseolivia** · 22-04-2009, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by tommiitip

hi all, thankyou for all your comments.

solicitors are hopeless, as is NCMA. have asked both for more help/advice-they both say i have to sort it out myself.
have asked the county court for advice - they sent me aload of info and forms to use for enforcement to retrieve the fees, problem is i dont know which is best to do. never had to do this before so how would i have any idea which is best route to take. the attachment of earnings seemed the most likely but cannot do now as debtor is not working. cant really do bailiffs either as it would cost loads to me and i very much doubt she'll have enough goods in her home to cover the costs of what she owes me.

i just really wanna give up the whole thing but cant let her get away with it, hate seeing her swan down my street with a smirk on her face.

Don't give up because then she's won, it's your hard earned cash.

**mum2two** · 22-04-2009, 10:34 AM

I'm in the same situation. Owed over £800, and got the CCJ & still nothing.

Don't think this parent works any more either, and I've looked at the courts baliffs, but still not guaranteed any money, it's just another £65 I have to fork out...

I agree with you. It all seems so unfair. I found the letters from the solicitors all said things like, we have requested such & such from debtor & she has 14 days to respond. Please contact us to proceed if you haven't received anything from them by x date... Er - your the solicitors getting paid mega bucks - you call me & ask!!!

Felt like I was doing all the work, they were just sending the info out on posh paper!

xx

Lady Haha · 22-04-2009, 11:42 AM

This all seems very unfair! I did an accounts course a few years back and learnt about 'bad debts'. Companys have an account for debtors who don't pay, so that the money can be written off for the tax man I assume. Just wondering if there was some way you could work that out in your favour. Maybe there is a way you can claim the unpaid money as an expense? At least that way it would come off your profit and you would have the money that way. I'm not sure at all, but definately worth looking into.

Lady Haha · 22-04-2009, 11:47 AM

Wow, I'm good!

Just did a quick poke around on the net and found this:

What Does Bad Debt Mean?
A debt that is not collectible and therefore worthless to the creditor. This occurs after all attempts are made to collect on the debt. Bad debt is usually a product of the debtor going into bankruptcy or where the additional cost of pursuing the debt is more than the amount the creditor could collect. This debt, once considered to be bad, will be written off by the company as an expense.

Also found this:

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/fo...d.php?t=106387

This could be a godsend for us all if we can do it!

**RainbowMum** · 22-04-2009, 11:52 AM

Sorry I cant offer any advice but if it was me - I would send the baliffs, even if it cost me more than I got back - just to see the look on her face! But hey - I have a mean streak when people get my back up! I hope you do find a solution though xx

TheBTeam · 22-04-2009, 11:53 AM

I am sorry i do not know the best course of action for you to take, my friend had an issue which she went to ncma about, they appointed a solicitor who basically appeared to be a postman, passing letter from parent to childminder and in return, they didn't counter any of the not paying tactics used by the parent, they just passed the letter to the childminder to reply. She eventually got settlement from the parent without going to small claims court, luckily for her the parents coughed up monthly and the solicitors took the payment, banked it and then passed her a cheque, so then if they defaulted the debt was to them.

It didn't really seem like true legal representation, she could just have easily replied direct to the parents, i thought the point of legal representation was they used the basis of the law to counter the daft non payment reasons, and not even offer her advice on how to respond, basically a glorified postman.

Good luck with it, it is hard to face giving up and seeing them have the better of you, but sometimes it isn't worth the additional expense, you just have to use it as a lesson learnt.

Perhaps i am cynical but i kind of factor into every job that at some point i am going to lose out somewhere! Then if it doesn't happen i am pleasantly surprised. I don't feel so fed up about it then.

**tommiitip** · 22-04-2009, 12:38 PM

to mum2two-
so glad to hear from someone with same experiences,
i think im gonna either go down the route of bailiffs or third party debt. both of which i have to fork out £55 for which i might not get back! think i will try one of these and then if that doesnt work out- give up and put it down to experience. thing is its more about principle than money to me now. why should she get away with it. but nearly been going on a year now, and i just cant be bothered with the stress of it all anymore. have enough in my life as it is so can really do without extra hassle.
please let me know how you get on if you get any further.

just phone 3 different areas of ncma who kept transfering me on to different areas and numbers, and eventually told me that they cant help and id have to phone solicitors who dealt with the case.
so i phone solicitors who tell me they cannot advice me any further.

i phone the NCMA back who apologise and tell me solicitors shouldnt do that and to email ncma with info which they will forward on to head office to look into. have done this already TWICE! -no reply.

**tommiitip** · 22-04-2009, 12:41 PM

to blackandsparkly-
thanks for that info, and for looking into it for me. would never have thought of that.
if i dont get anywhere from an enforcement i will definately do that for tax.
helps alittle to get something out of it doesnt it.
much appreciated.

**mum2two** · 22-04-2009, 12:47 PM

I know what you mean about it not being about money, but the principle!

I looked after the child, fed her breakfast, lunch & tea some days, for nothing!! I see the mum boldly walking past me at the school now, and I'm sure there's a smug look on her face as if to say - 'Yep, even you're fancy letters didn't scare me - you're still not getting a penny!!'

I just want to go up to her & confront her about the money she owes me - right in front of everyone, so they all know what she's like - but that's really against everything - confidentiality & professionalism!!

So, I grit my teeth, and walk past...

Handy to know I can write it off as bad debt! Like someone else said, one way of getting it as it will save a few pennies on tax... But no-where near as much as she owes..

I'm just not sure I can be botherd to shell out another £50 odd to still get nothing. It just feels like I'd be throwing more money away!

xx

**fionamal** · 22-04-2009, 12:50 PM

Im in the same bout just now as well but with SCMA who are just as bad. Im owed over £1000 since November and all they seem to keep doing is sending threatening letters giving her a further 21 days to pay up. I lost the head at them and its now going to court but as of yet still waiting on a date. The parents are now not working either so think i have no chance of getting any money.

Good luck with it and hope you get something back