Enforcement Officers came and left but it was odd

[Spider2021]

He came while I was at work. WhenI got back he wouldn''t leave when asked. He had gained entrance when a 10 year old child opened the door. There was an adult at homr and they were already in the flat when they went to the door. I got a call from them and spoke to the enforcement officer. Eventually got home amd asked them to leave the flat but they did not (I was outside of the flat at the time). They surveyed the flat and then started to ask aout the debt and offered for me to contact thr other party. There was no way to do this at the time as it was late. So the bailiff started to take goods and carrued them to the entrance of the flat. This was a TV and a PS3 and an xbox 360. (the last two items belonged to the kids but the enforcement officer said that an adult can enjoy those as well). So we waited to see what happens next and the enforcement officer started raising his voice and became quite intimidating sayong that if we want to get "rid of them" that we have to pay them. They were given £100 paid by card and left. It was quite late at night (aaround 10). I've written an email to the people I owe the debt to (no way to call them because of COVID) and have yet to receive a reply. The enforcement company ave sent a letter stating that they visited te property and that I ave not set up a payment plan and refused a posession order (that was never offered by the enforecement agent on their visit)
The enforcement officers did not wear masks and it looks like they gained ebtrance to the flat by dubious means.

They quoted a sum in their letter of about £1600 bu ton their visit stated that the sum is over £4000.

I woyld say that the value of everything ib the flat is less than the sum of £1600. The V5 for the vehicle is registered no in my name although I am insured for it.

I understand that enfocement agent fees are substamtial and mos likely if they took posession of everything in the flat it woudn't even cover the fees not even to mention the debt.

Still they probably will come and take away what they can in the near future.

Any advice?

[echat11]

Hi SPIDER2021

The Bailiffs has to conduct themselves in a certain way, there are Rules, reading through your post, they don't care about Rules.

Read through the following, make notes of what they should of done, but didn't do, wear masks, a 10 year old etc,
write a Formal Letter of Complaint, mark it as such, email it to the creditor and bailiffs. As much details as possible. Use paragraphs, make sure they fully understand what they've done wrong.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/de...bout-bailiffs/

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/sam...iliff-company/

Keep updating the thread.

[Spider2021]

Many thanks for your advice.

I received a copy off the Writ recently and it looks legit. I've posted it here: Scan_20211128 (7).pdf Scan_20211128 (6).pdf Scan_20211128 (5).pdf

I have written to Court Enforcement Services and received this reply in regards to my concerns about forced entry and not wearing face coverings.


This is part of their reply:

Upon arrival at the property the Agents knocked on the door which was answered by a young boy. The Agents asked to speak to Mummy and the boy ran away from the door along the corridor and spoke with a lady who came to the door.



I can confirm that the video footage of the visit is very clear, the Agents did not enter the property, or force entry. When your partner came to the door they asked to speak with you. She explained you were at work and they asked her to call you. They also advised they would not enter the property, but would stay by the open doorway and maintain social distancing.



Your partner then telephoned you and the Agents spoke with you and explained the purpose of their attendance and you said you would return to the property to speak with them. The Agents advised your partner they would wait for you to return, and again advised they would not be entering the property, but that they would wait by the open door. Your partner then kindly produced two chairs for the Agent to sit down and wait for you. One Agent sat by the open door and the other remained seated outside the property.



With regard to your claim that the Agents did not wear face masks, I can confirm the Agent who spoke with your son and partner was wearing a mask when he knocked on the door. After making contact and having sat down and with no-one near, he pulled his mask down to below his chin. The Agent who sat outside the property did not enter the property at any time and kept back from the property and both Agents continued to maintain social distancing. At any point had the Agents been asked to continue to wear face coverings, they would have happily obliged.

You claimed you were unable to pay the outstanding amount or pay more than £100, you also refused to set up a payment arrangement and after making a payment of £100, the Agents departed the premises without removal of any goods. I can confirm that the purpose of the visit is to either obtain payment of the outstanding amount or to take control of goods authorized by law and to raise therefrom the sums owing.



The Agents are clear, they acted legitimately and professionally in connection with the enforcement of the High Court Writ of Control and I confirm that I do not have any reason to disbelieve the Enforcement Agents at this stage.



Therefore, the enforcement of the High Court Writ has, I believe, been conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Tribunals Court and Enforcement Act 2007 (Schedule 12) and the fees applied are aligned to the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014.



I can confirm that your Subject Access Request is being dealt with separately.



You now need to address payment of the outstanding amount.  I can confirm that our clients have requested that you provide an Income and Expenditure form which will enable them to consider any arrangement. Any communication should be via the Enforcement Agents and Court Enforcement Services Limited who have conduct of the case. Failure to address the matter will result in further enforcement action.


A lot of what has been written above is not factually correct as the Enforcement Agent was inside the property when I arrived. They were not wearing facemasks.



I have provided my Income and Expenditure information and have a negative income at present and will for the foreseeable future. I belong to the working poor. I am waiting for a response from the Client. The Client has instructed me to send all correspondence through the Enforcement Agency and I have done so.

I have asked for video footage and received this reply:


With regards to the request for the agents Body Worn Camera Footage, I have now received the Body Worn Video (BWV) footage that was recorded when the Enforcement Agent attended your property and I note that it contains images of a 3rd party and a minor.



In light of this you can either,

• provide us with authority from the 3rd party to release the footage that includes their image – we will need a letter of authority and proof of photographic identification. We will also require authorisation from the child’s parent.

• receive a copy of the footage with the sections containing the 3rd party images cut out



Please respond within 7 days either providing the relevant authority or requesting a redacted version of the footage.


I would appreciate advice on photographic identification as I am not sure what should be provided. Would a work badge with a picture and name suffice with the rest of the details blacked out? Or would a Driving Licence be more appropriate and does any part of that need to be blacked out when sent?

Any further advice would be appreciated.


Thanks.

[echat11]

There aren't that many details on a D/L send photocopy of that (if you blanked stuff out there wouldn't be much left).

[Spider2021]

There aren't that many details on a D/L send photocopy of that (if you blanked stuff out there wouldn't be much left).

Thanks for the reply. I would think they need to see the name and picture on the D/L and don't need to see the code on the document (the long number with the name) as it is circumstantial.

[echat11]

Thanks for the reply. I would think they need to see the name and picture on the D/L and don't need to see the code on the document (the long number with the name) as it is circumstantial.

You can 'blank' it out and see what they say.