new member

[sarahf]

good day and thankyou for all the great information on this site.

a bailliff entered my home through an open door, was very intimidating etc, but i wont go into that.

he gave me a notice of distress, walking possession agreement, the inventory contained my work tools, i told him he couldnt take them but he said i need to prove that they were for my work - i'm a seamstress, he listed my sewing machines - bit obvious!! but he said they need to be registered to the business or else they are considered household objects.

the council have told me he cant take them, he should know shouldnt he?

anyway he handed the notice of distress/walking possession to me but i wouldnt touch it so he put it down on the kitchen sink, then said 'to make it legal you have to sign it. I refused to sign and he left - to cut a long story short!

i know that if he has made peaceful entry then the walking possession is legal, but can anyone tell me why there is a space for my signature? if it is legal without a signature then what difference does it make if you do sign it?


any advice/help in this matter would be gratefully received.



sarah

[Amy]

Re: new member

When this bailiff let himself in, was this his visit visit? Did you have any prior knowledge that he was going to visit you?

[sarahf]

Re: new member

thankyou for your quick reply!

he said it was his second visit, he flashed a letter in front of me saying do i remember receiving this? i dont remember and told him so. i do remember receiving a letter from the council saying that it was going to the bailliffs and i rang them to make an arrangement which was all they would accept to stop the bailliff, even though i told them at the time that i would not be able to make any payments as i did not have any money to do so.

i'm supporting a family member in my home with their problems, they are currently classed as 'on sick', the council know my circumstances. my stress levels are high enough on a daily basis almost.

[Amy]

Re: new member

If you had an arrangement with your council to pay and they have reneged on this and still sent the debt to the bailiff, then write to them and complain. Ask them what date he allegedly made his first visit to you.

[sarahf]

Re: new member

i will do that, but still it would be interesting to know what my legal standing is with the walking possession, is it enforceable if i didnt sign it? and because he put my work tools on it, does that make it non enforceable? and if its enforceable without a signature there has to be a reason for the signature, what does the signature do?
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the bailliff told me that my signature made the walking possession legal? is that true?

[Amy]

Re: new member

A walking possession agreement is just that, an agreement. It is an agreement that you promise to pay X amount of money per month or week to clear your debt and in return the bailiff will not sell your goods that he now owns.

So by you refusing to sign - there is no agreement.

However, bailiffs are not generally known for telling the truth and will doubtless protest that he has levied correctly and that it is valid. He also, more than likely, will insist that he can also charge a fee for this walking possession.

Another, probably more important, point to remember is that once a valid walking possession is in place, a bailiff will have the right to enter your property by force without you being present.

All of this will prove difficult for the bailiff to prove because your agreement is not signed by both parties, but as above, you will need to be careful.

[sarahf]

Re: new member

really really appreciate this, thankyou, just a little bit more though.

so signing the walking possessions means that the bailliff owns the items listed, not signing means i still own them?

[Amy]

Re: new member

Essentially, yes because he now has no way of enforcing the levy. Although he will say he can.

[sarahf]

Re: new member

thankyou so so much.

[Amy]

Re: new member

You're welcome x