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I believe that I was arrested wrongly and prematurely for breach of the peace as the police refused to view documentation proving a property had changed ownership making the warrants legality suspect. I believe that I was being intimidated by three bailiffs forcing their way in the property.
Please see rules when utility companies make applications for warrants.
page 2 para 1.
“ Owner/ occupier applications:
For each application the applicant should provide the following information & the legal advisor should take a note of this.
Is it occupied?
What reasonable inquiries have been made to ascertain owner/occupier? ”
The above rules are in place to prevent these illegal entries.
I suffered a third stroke caused by this matter resulting from this breached application for a warrant of entry in relation to someone else’s debt.
PURCHASING THE PROPERTY AND OPENING A NEW ELECTRICITY ACCOUNT
- On the 28th of February a property was purchased.
- On or around this time the purchaser was given keys by the owner to undertake work and obtain quotes for refurbishment. During this period of time a representative from the electric supplier was popping in and out of the building looking for the old tenant speaking, confronting and threatening workers with disconnection also telephoning me saying he is turning the electricity off and removing the meter and leaving notes for the attention of the old tenants warning of pending disconnection due to a £17.000,00 unpaid electricity bill.
- The person was informed by people working at the property that the previous tenants had vacated the property mid-December 2023. It was explained over the phone by me to this utilities agent that there was new ownership of the property and that the tenants they were looking for had vacated in December 2023 and that the electricity supply needed changing to a new owner.
- After discussions, the representative of the electricity company attended the property and was allowed accompanied access to undertake a meter reading and shown documents proving the purchase and new ownership of the property.
- At this meeting a phone conversation with the electricity supplier took place and the electricity company on the phone were asked to leave the property which they agreed to do after undertaking the reading. Therefore, any electricity used at the property from that time onward would be in the name of the new owner.
- The agent said that documents and application forms would be sent by post acknowledging the new account in the name of the new owner. Therefore, there was no need for any warrant to be applied for: There are two ways that the warrant was applied for:
- applied for previously before this meeting which raises concerns as the agent attending the meeting was also in attendance when the warrant was served
- And/ or applied for after this meeting and not all material facts were provided to the court to obtain the warrant which is a serious breach as the court rules as the check list says:
Therefore, the new property owner should have been inserted on the application before the court for the warrant and the court informed that a meter reading had been taken from the new owner and an application for utility had been commenced “
- The electricity company had full knowledge from the time their agent attended the meter reading that new ownership was in place and he was aware that a new account for electricity had been opened. The Police when attending the warrant ignored the new ownership and even refused requests for them to view the evidence. The police were wrong to arrest and remove me from the property to allow access on the warrant.
SERVING THE WARRANT FOR ACSESS TO REMOVE THE METER and the arrest
- I on the 15th of March 2024 was waiting to give access to an electrician on behalf of the owners. There was a knock on the door and there were three man attempting to serve a warrant and force their way through the door. The warrant was in the name of the previous tenants who had vacated the premises December 2023.
- I explained that the warrant was in the wrong name and the persons were no longer there? the three men said the warrant also says occupiers? My answer was that the warrant is refereeing to occupiers relating to the outstanding debt of previous occupiers which is the reason for the warrant? an altercation took place.
- It was an unoccupied property (closed restaurant) and they were asserting they were representatives of the electricity supplier and had a warrant to enter the property to remove the meter so I called the police.
- The police attended, enforced the warrant giving NO opportunity to me to show documents proving the purchase and/ or new ownership or explain the facts.
- The police arrested me for Breach of the peace aggressively, maliciously using extreme force when there was no resistance. The police officer stated he had better things to do? How could a police officer give access to a breached warrant without viewing documents from the land registry?
- Before police had arrived the bailiffs were informed by me that the name on the warrant was the previous tenants and the bill in excess of £17,000 was not related to me or the new owner of the property. The police were informed by me that the electric company had already been informed that the property had recently been purchased and had new owners.
- the police were told that previous tenants named on the warrant had vacated the building December 2023 and landlords serving a notice had taken control of the building and its contents by the end of January 2024, therefore the warrant being in the name of “the previous occupiers” could not take effect as it related to the previous tenants and/ or the previous occupiers responsible for the 17k debt. The property at the time of the warrant was vacant and under renovation.
- It was explained that the electricity provider had already been informed of the new ownership of the building and that they had already been given access to undertake a meter reading whereupon their agent in attendance was informed and shown documents proving the new ownership of the property.
- the same person was in attendance serving the warrant with the other two gentlemen at that time which was the reason he stayed outside the building avoiding eye contact with me. I raised this issue with him which he ignored.
- I raised the issue with the police that the application made before the court for the warrant to enter the property must have been seriously breached with the warrant being erroneous at best. I said that the electricity supplier could not have provided all material facts to the court within their application to obtain the warrant such as new ownership or that a landlords distrain had been undertaken at the property or that the debt of £17.000 relates to another person that had left the property in December 2023.
- One would presume that the courts being made aware of new owners at the property and were not related to the debt would question the application and its merits as the check list points out.
- I admit that tensions were high and that arguments occurred outside the building, however I pleads not guilty to any offence in protecting the property from an illegal entry.
- I had no intention to cause any harm to anybody.
- The electricity company are saying I caused him alarm, harassment and distress contrary to section 4A (1) and (5) of the public order act 1986 which is denied.
- It is my case that I suffered distress, alarm leading to a stroke and that I felt threatened because at the door there were three young men who he presumed were bailiffs. forcing their way past me illegally.
- I believe they served a seriously breached application to enter a premises without providing all material facts to the court when making the application not informing the court they were most definitely aware the property had actually changed ownership and occupiers.
- Since this altercation occurred it has caused me to suffer a third stroke leading to losing my sight and suffering more serious nerve damage because of my wrongful and violent arrest.
- My arrest by the police was malicious and bias when they interfered in a civil matter paying no attention to points raised by me concerning the application or its merits or legitimacy to enter the property. The police simply did not care about the warrants legitimacy and refused to investigate the same.
POLICE DUTY OF CARE
- The sergeant in attendance had a duty to investigate both sides of the argument but preferred to ignore me stating “I have more important things to deal with”. The police constables at the property arrested me for breach of the peace and paraded me like a dancing bear in handcuffs on the high street ignoring my efforts to advise the police that I was a stroke sufferer who suffered serious nerve damage. The police after removing me from the property in handcuffs then assisted the electricity supplier’s agents in enforcing a breached warrant. Even though I pleaded with the officers to release the pressure of the handcuffs due to my nerve damage suffered from a previous stroke I was suffering greatly in pain.
- I admit I raised my voice in an inappropriate manner but I was provoked and feared for my own safety, felt threatened and had no intention of causing harm to anyone. There was no intention to cause harm or stress and also I don’t believe that the bailiff was actually feeling afraid as there were three of them who were much more physically able than I and they were regularly used to this type of confrontation.
- I believe that after I was removed from the building under arrest that the police coerced the bailiffs to make a complaint to cover the wrongful arrest for breach of the peace.
Does anyone out there have any advice for me as they have fitted a pay as you go meter which has not been requested.
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