Sherforce bailiff

[steve3112]

Hello looking for advice my wife had a debt for overpayment of benefit when we were not together.
The debt is soley in her name we had a call from above mentioned company (Sherforce) one sat morning without any notice demanding 5000 in 20 mins or someone will be round to remove goods, my wife contacted them straight back but they were non negotiable we to pay full amount.
I woke around 6.30 the following Monday to find my vehicle owned by me, not my wife who's debt it is had been clamped, I immediately contacted the bailiff to try to explain the car was mine but again he did not listen, I had to go to work but carried on trying to resolve issue with numerous calls to bailiff and the company until I received a call from my wife saying the car bad been taken.
To cut a long story short we have come to a repayment arrangement which we have stuck to religiously, we were sent an e-mail letter stating where the car was and we could collect by taking 2 forms of Id, I then contacted them and they agreed to have the car delivered back to where it was taken from, I was promised this on 2 occasions had 2 days of work as was told by them I had to be there as car was mine.
On the 2nd occasion I called them around 4.30pm as no car had been returned to be told sorry your car was sold 3 weeks prior to them sending the e-mail stating where to collect the car from, are they within their rights to do this please help as we have been relying on public transport for schools work ect as we don't know where to go from here

[labman]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

Is there any more background on this in terms of attempts to recover payment from your wife before you were married?

If the debt is solely in her name and from before you were married, your own goods should not be able to be taken.

The bailiff should have made reasonable checks before removing the car with the DVLA and against HP agreements.

If you feel you have a complaint against the bailiff himself read the bailiff guide:

Bailiff Guide - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

If you think your complaint is not against an individual bailiff, in this case as ownership was not proven to the bailiffs before sale, your complaint would be against the bailiff company, the DWP who instructed the bailiffs, or probably in this case best going straight to the Local Ombudsman. Equally you could seek remedy through the court for a wrongful levy. It sounds as though this would be through the county court (Goods under £5000). Often these are settled out of court despite what the bailiff company might initially say.

If you genuinely believe your goods were worth more than £5000 you would be strongly recommended to seek legal advice.

[steve3112]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

Thanks but surly of the bailiff company have sent me a letter dated 3 weeks ago stating where the car is also they sent the same letter to the auction house telling them to release all possessions that were taken then sent a further letter 2 weeks ago stating the vehicle was sold on the 8th sept there must be some accountability to the bailiff company

[labman]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

Indeed - that's exactly why I set out the options as I did in my original post. The bailiff company are liable and if they were instructed by the DWP, then the DWP are what is known as vicariously liable. This simply means that they are equally culpable with the bailiffs for their actions.

I would complain vigorously to both and the very minimum you should accept as a result is a car as near as possible to the one that was sold as a replacement plus suitable compensation for monies lost on public transport and a gesture of goodwill compensation.

[Amy]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

So how does the OP go about this?

[Celestine]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

Ohhhh look it's all in Amy's bailiff guide that you received a link to earlier!

Making a Complaint

The most common grounds for complaint against a bailiff are:-
the charging of excessive fees, including charging for visits that they did not make
letters they did not write or send
aggressive, rude or threatening behaviour from the bailiff.

If you believe you have grounds for complaint, you should begin by sending the bailiff company a Subject Access Request letter Bailiff - SAR - Legal Beagles including the £10 maximum statutory fee in the usual manner.

Once this avenue has been exhausted and assuming that you have not obtained a satisfactory resolution to your issues you can make a formal complaint about a certificated bailiff (once you've checked that they are indeed certificated, as detailed above) to the court.

You do this by completing and submitting a Form 4 (attached below). There is no fee for filing a Form 4. The grounds for complaint (listed above) are by no means exhaustive and the court will hear any complaint that you have against a bailiff. Although, it is wise to remember that court action should always be a final resort and you must be able to prove, should you have to appear in front of a Judge, that you have tried your utmost to resolve your problem without taking up the time of the court.

Once the Form 4 has been filed, which can be done online or in person at your local court, the court will send a report to the bailiff. They will be given 14 days to respond. If the judge is satisfied with their response no further action will be taken. However, if the bailiff fails to respond or the Judge is dissatisfied in any way with their response then the bailiff will be summonsed to court to show good cause why his Certificate should not be cancelled. You should make every effort to attend this hearing.

If your complaint is upheld the Judge may order compensation to be paid to you, which is usually paid from the bailiff's £10,000 bond. He may also cancel the bailiff's certificate, this normally means the loss of his employment as he will no longer be entitled to levy distress for rent, road traffic debts, council tax or non-domestic rates or he may dismiss your complaint.[/color]

Attached Files
form4_0606.pdf (536.0 KB, 370 views)

____________________________________________

If you can't find everything you need in the above guide consider using the following if appropriate:

Add this to the form 4 as grounds for the complaint.

On (date) the Bailiff executed an invalid levy by taking a motor vehicle (make and model) registration (xxx) as collateral for somebody else’s debt.

The motor vehicle is my property.

The Bailiff is committing an offence under Section 12 of the Theft Act 1967.

I reported the vehicle stolen to the Police.?? (Have you reported the vehicle stolen?)

I attach a copy a copy of the V5 to confirm I am the lawful owner of the vehicle.

I tried to resolve this with the Bailiff who ignored my request.

My vehicle has been sold for £XXXX. It's value was £XXXX I seek compensation for that amount as well as for expenses incurred as a result of being deprived of my vehicle.

[Amy]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

Cool. What is the address for service the OP should use then?

[labman]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

Sherforce are High Court Enforcement Officers.

Their registered office is:
Sherforce Limited
Shergroup House
3-4 Freeport Office Village
Century Drive
Braintree
Essex
CM77 8YG

Alternatively you can complain through their website:
Sherforce Complaints Procedure, Complaints Against Enforcement Officers

Copy correspondence to the benefits office your wife dealt with.

What value do you place on your car?

If the issue is not resolved through this process you should either go through the County Court for small claims (under £5000) by filling in a Part 7 claim Form (form N1). This would most likely be handled by the informal process of arbitration.

If the sum you are claiming is over £5000 (but less than £25000) you would be recommended to seek professional legal advice. Similar process, but bigger risks and more formal.

In any of the above scenarios, state 'Wrongful interference with goods.' This covers several wrong actions by a bailiff including in your case illegal seizure and removal, disposal of goods the bailiff was not entitled to sell and detaining goods depriving you of their use while impounded.

[ploddertom]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

You can't issue a Form 4 against a HCEO.

At the time of the Writ did the OP know about what must have been an outstanding CCJ? How long after the initial Visit from the HCEO did the seizure then removal take place? Did the OP produce any proof of a 3rd party claim against the goods and if so how long aftyer the seizure/removal did this take place?

[Amy]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

You can't issue a Form 4 against a HCEO.

At the time of the Writ did the OP know about what must have been an outstanding CCJ? How long after the initial Visit from the HCEO did the seizure then removal take place? Did the OP produce any proof of a 3rd party claim against the goods and if so how long aftyer the seizure/removal did this take place?

Thank God someone else actually knows what they are talking about before the site gets sued.

[tortoise]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

I cannot help but feel it would be illuminating to be given further detail of this. Even that fine filly Amy seems stumped by this one, poor girl. Mr Plodder, do assist the young lady please. I have fond memories of her from my past visits. Perhaps she is taking on too much, I do so fret.

[Amy]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

I am not stumped.

I wrote the bailiff guide and I know what a Form 4 is used for. I merely asked the question of others as to how the OP would be best advised to go about getting a replacement vehicle.

[Celestine]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

So how does the OP go about this?

So are we assuming you don't know the answer at this point? I mean you wouldn't 'sit' on helpful info.........would you??
So others try to help...........:beagle:

Cool. What is the address for service the OP should use then?

Indicating you are happy with the responses.......but just querying the service address?

You can't issue a Form 4 against a HCEO.

At the time of the Writ did the OP know about what must have been an outstanding CCJ? How long after the initial Visit from the HCEO did the seizure then removal take place? Did the OP produce any proof of a 3rd party claim against the goods and if so how long aftyer the seizure/removal did this take place?

Thank you Plodder, that makes sense now.

Thank God someone else actually knows what they are talking about before the site gets sued.

So if you knew all along what the correct answer was, why didn't you share that information with the OP at post 5?? Especially as you are clearly concerned that providing the wrong information could 'get the site sued'.

I cannot help but feel it would be illuminating to be given further detail of this. Even that fine filly Amy seems stumped by this one, poor girl. Mr Plodder, do assist the young lady please. I have fond memories of her from my past visits. Perhaps she is taking on too much, I do so fret.

Steve, if you read Post 8, there is a link to the Sherforce Complaints page. Your only recourse IS to follow the Sherforce internal complaints procedure, if need be escalating up to Chief Exec, independent panel then if necessary the High Court Enforcement Officers Association.

[mr.ton]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

Thank God someone else actually knows what they are talking about before the site gets sued.

Get a consumer website sued? lol...bring it on :beagle:
The internet cannot be controlled no matter how much the powers that be would love to try.

[WendyB]

Re: Sherforce bailiff

But the point is that info given should be correct. Bailiff law is not open to interpretation or opinion, it is law. If incorrect information is given it could lead to disastrous consequences for posters if they follow it. That is why we should always get all the facts first before jumping in with advice and info.