Stanford & Green

[Celestine]

A friend called me late last night in a panic.

She had got in to discover a hand delivered letter from Stanford and Green, demanding £1695 by Saturday, as they will be attending then to remove goods (with police).

She called Tax Credits one week ago to reapply and was told then that she owed them £1695 from a previous claim but has received NO written demands from tax credits at all.

This bailiff letter is FIRST demand of any kind??

What do we do first as bailiffs and tax credits aint my area??!!

Cheers

[Sapphire]

Re: Stanford & Green

Blimey hun, sorry thats not my area either. But I'll keep an eye on this thread and bump it up till someone comes along.

sapphire

[Guest]

Re: Stanford & Green

First of all she does not have to let bailiffs into her house. She should make sure that all doors and windows are closed and locked and that way the bailiff will not be able to gain access.

If she wants to talk to them then she should do so from an upstairs window and under no circumstances should she let them in. They will use guile, such as suggesting that they need to use the phone, or that they need the loo. She must not fall for any of this and if they cannot get in, they cannot lawfully seize goods. Eventually they will return the warrant to the court if they are unable to gain entry.

Regarding atttandance by the police and as stated above, bailiffs cannot break in and the police will only attend in order to prevent a breach of the peace, not to help them enter her house - and frankly this is also very probably a threat - I doubt the police will attend.

The bailiffs are coming to collect money, not goods. Unless they possess a valid and legal Order for Walking Possession, which they can only have obtained if they had previously gained peaceful entry and levied on goods then they cannot take anything.

How old is the debt and has a Liability Order been obtained, as this also has a bearing on the collection procedure that must be followed?

[thephoenix]

Re: Stanford & Green

Can she not send a SAR request to HM Revenue & Customs?

At least she might be able to work out how the debt was calculated

thats providing she can understand it :rolleyes:

Anyone collecting or requesting a debt be paid, must be able to prove how they arrived at such a figure.

I also believe you should put the account in dispute with a Request to Rescinder Recovery (RRR). This is the usual route to use when you are contesting Overpayment claims. As this seems to be the case here. Have a quick look here:
http://www.taxcreditoverpayment.pwp....hings_1st.html

I think Saffy pointed this site out to me a while back.

You could have a read of the attachment

[Celestine]

Re: Stanford & Green

Thanks so much peeps....its a bit hard to make head or tail of this situation as shortly after I posted this morning she collapsed with breathing difficulties and has been hospitalised.

I tried calling the tax credit help line to find out how this had occurred, they couldn't help without her authority; which is a bit fecking difficult to get at the moment...grrrr

Her family are so upset and worried that they are going to pay the debt to the bailiffs then challenge the legitimacy of the debt afterwards. Pheonix, we will look at the RRR route, thanks.

If I find out that this has been a huge cock up then heads need to roll.

Cet...I will advise her of the bailiffs situ, her family will probably get her out of house that day, I dont think she will cope with their visit when their letter has triggered this reaction.

Thanks again

[Guest]

Re: Stanford & Green

If she is out of the house then if the bailiffs call, they will be out of luck. They are not able to discuss anything with anyone other than her.

Furthermore, the “National Standard for Enforcement Agents” issued by the Department of Constitutional Affairs has a section titled “Professionalism and conduct of the enforcement agent” which among other things states:-


“Enforcement agents will on each occasion when a visit is made to a debtor’s property which incurs a fee for the debtor, leave a notice detailing the fees charged to date, including the one for that visit, and the fees which will be incurred if further action becomes necessary. If a written request is made an itemised account of fees will be provided”.

At present the law states that bailiffs collecting council tax have no power to force initial entry or break open an outer door if it is either locked or bolted. They must enter a property peacefully through an unlocked door or through an open window. They may not enter through a closed window, even if it is not locked. They cannot obtain a court order to gain entry and the police have no power to force entry on their behalf. Bailiffs can only force entry if they have previously gained peaceful entry.

As far as I am aware, the above rules also applies to tax credits overpayment.

It should be noted however, that this does not apply to income tax non-payment - as HMRC can use Distraint, which is a powerful weapon and offers a quick and cost effective method of recovering HMRC debts.

I would encourage her family not to pay anything, until it has been legally established that she does in fact owe something first - although they may think they are helping, it is going to be a great deal harder to recover money paid in error than it is to make a payment as and when any liability is legally established.

[Jelly]

Re: Stanford & Green

I have had dealings with S & G in the past - they overcharged me by some quite considerable degree and had to remove all charges in the end, once I'd asserted enough pressure on the council.

The above advice is very good - I would also get your friend to telephone S & G for a full breakdown of fees as I think for friend may well be surprised.

[BAILIFFCHASER]

Re: Stanford & Green

Thanks so much peeps....its a bit hard to make head or tail of this situation as shortly after I posted this morning she collapsed with breathing difficulties and has been hospitalised.

I tried calling the tax credit help line to find out how this had occurred, they couldn't help without her authority; which is a bit fecking difficult to get at the moment...grrrr

Thanks again

The easy scenario is you phone up claiming to be him and/or her. Make sure you have the details that tax people will want off you.

[BAILIFFCHASER]

Re: Stanford & Green

Jhon William Homewood Equita 20/12/07
Paul Anthony Harral Stanford And Green
Stuart Carter Stanford And Green
Mark Jhon Roberts Stanford And Green

Stanford And Green
Barker Chambers
Barker Road
Maidstone
Me16 8sf

22/02/08 @ Medway County Court
__________________

Stanford and green have 3 bailiffs up for certification in feburary.