Theft and unreasonable behaviour

[sootie5]

Hi,

I need some urgent and serious advice here if I could please.

Bailiffs entered my property on Wednesday to collect on a 1400 rates bill and a 100 council tax bill. This for some reason had risen to £2000 and they then added another £450 costs.

I have many items of high value in the house as it is only recently I have fallen on hard times and over the past 15 years I've paid £200,000 in tax.

When The bailiffs entered and saw so many pieces of fine furniture and ornaments they made remarks about why I couldn't pay this bill. They then started to list everything and told me they could take everything and just leave me one chair to sit on and a cooker to cook with. The contents of my property value approx £60,000 and I found this very insulting.

Instead of removing the expensive antiques I have, the bailiffs instead removed many items of a very personal value but with little, if any, resale value at auction, i.e. 10 year old plus Hi Fi seperates, TV's Pictures painted by my son, and many other personal items collected from many countries over a 34 year period. They left items such as Antique mahogany corner units and sideboard which are probably worth somewhere in the region og £800- £1000 each (even though I told them the value) I would not have missed these really as they were only ever purchases as an investment - not out of personal love or taste.

I spent much of the time whilst they were in the house talking to friends and family and my solicitor and they actually left without asking me to sign or check anything (whilst I was upstairs on the phone).

I found two sheets of paper with a list of items they had removed but many items removed were not on this list. Items such as Stereo Amplifiers, Solid oak tables, Pictures and other ornaments.

They removed some very expensive chinese ornaments from a cabinet and in doing so broke some of these. They took the cabinet but left the ornaments for me to find on Thursday.

I then noticed my butter knife on the counter top had been used to cut some red meat!!!! I opened my fridge to find they had hacked off slices of a choritzo sausage I had and also opened a large bar of chocolate and eaten half its contents. My fridge is an integrated unit and only by rifling through my kitchen cupboards and draws would one know where the fridge or freezer was.

I found the attitude and behaviour of these men to be totally degrading and in my view they have acted totally inappropriately and dishonestly and STOLEN from me.

I am not a criminal and should never be treated as such. Even the alledged money owed was in dispute but through illness I gave up the fight. I have probably paid more tax than these people have earnt in the past ten years but because of some large business debts and another client not paying me for 7 months work and owing £60,000, I am currently asset rich but cash poor.

Who the hell do these people think they are to cast judgment on me??

If they are officers of the court what gives them the right to take things from my fridge and remove items from my premises without listing them?

What can I do about this and what would anyone suggest the first step should be?

The items taken are due to go to auction on Wednesday if I do not pay in full and if they do not reach the value need to pay the debt then these morons will return with another van, more charges and take even more liberties. (over my dead body I'm afraid)

I am a human bloody being who has served my country on active service. I've paid my taxes, donated much to charity and been an upstanding member of the community - this is how I get treated. And they call this GREAT Britain.......what happened to the GREAT?

Any help would be most appreciated as I have undergone a complete breakdown as a result of the financial situation and therefore find this difficult. I want to give up completely, call it a day and burn the bloody lot down.....me with it. I really don't know if I can go on any longer.

Sootie

[outlawlgo]

Re: Theft and unreasonable behaviour

I suggest:

1) Identifying the Council, bailiff firm and the individual bailiffs involved.

2) Identify each stage where the Council/bailiffs acted outside of the law.

3) Include all of this (quoting relevant legislation), along with what you have already written, in a formal complaint to the Council.

4) Use complaint letter (3) above but send to the press.

5) Report to the Police.

EDIT:

I forgot to include:

Only carry out stages (3) to (5) in the event of identifying the Council/bailiffs acting outside of the law. (This can normally be assumed though)

[Caspar]

Re: Theft and unreasonable behaviour

The advice above seems good and sensible to me. I believe there's also a Form 4 though don't know whether it's relevant from this. I'd wait until Amy posts. She's the real expert on bailiffs and I think will be able to give you better advice than anyone else here.

[sootie5]

Re: Theft and unreasonable behaviour

The advice above seems good and sensible to me. I believe there's also a Form 4 though don't know whether it's relevant from this. I'd wait until Amy posts. She's the real expert on bailiffs and I think will be able to give you better advice than anyone else here.

Thank you for your suggestions and hopefully Amy will post soon. I am very confused and upset at the moment and would therefore appreciate any help in directing me to current legislation and any letters I may use in helping with this.

I have contacted the police and the Bailiff company, Excel Civil Enforcement Ltd. The Police Inspector is sending an officer to see me on Monday or Tuesday but the Bailiff company have yet to give me the names and licence numbers of those bailiffs who attended my property.

Sootie

[diddydicky]

Re: Theft and unreasonable behaviour

as a general rule- items seized by a bailiff will realise approx 10% of their value after auction sale and costs, therefore for say a £1,000 debt they would be entitled to seize around £10,000 of goods

on the other hand the bailiff is NOT allowed to seize disproportionately- and it may be that the bailiff did not know the value of your antiques

for instance if you had a £25,000 merc parked on your drive- the bailiff would NOT be allowed to seize it for a £500 debt (well he COULD) but he would be wide open to a lawsuit for acting unreasonably

just thought i would mention this in case it throws any light on the subject