Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

[mightyquiin]

I have a non domestic rate date from 2 years ago, and have not been in a position to pay.

I had kept up payments for normal council tax plus some arrears.

The bailiff company our Council uses has changed so a new set of Bailiffs turned up when I was out.

He insisted he need £500 immediate payment, which my wife not knowing what to do did it through her retired parents (just old age pension) otherwise he threatened to come back later and sieze goods to the value of debt (£928).

He would not accept that we could not pay this or our ability to pay this debt. He did a notice of distress on a car that does not belong to either myself or my wife and he said it was our problem to prove it. Then just before he left he asked to sign a reciept for the card payment which she did (no glasses on) and tears. She had signed the Notice of Distress and charged an additional £250 in fees.

He never entered the property.
He never showed his ID or Warrant (she never asked).
His name does not appear on MOJ website for Certified Bailiffs.

My wife has written letter of complaint to council.

My questions are:

1. His the Notice of Distress valid.
2. The debt is in my name and under Data Protection act he should not of disclosed my private information to a 3rd party without my consent.
3. Under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 - a right to a private life.

Wonder if anyone has any views please.

Thanks Quinn

[Inca]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

to LegalBeagles,,I have bumped your thread so one of the team online sees it.

:bump:

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

Hello, do you by any chance have the company name?

Have you recieved any paperwork about this debt?

were you taken to court or recieved a final steps notice?


if you can answer these and I will shout our bailiffs specialists Hang in there

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

Is your business still operating? Do you trade from premises or from home? If from premises are they open to the public? What status do you trade under? How many visits has the Bailiff made?

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

Hello, do you by any chance have the company name?

Have you recieved any paperwork about this debt?

were you taken to court or recieved a final steps notice? For NNDR/Council Tax a Final Steps Notice does not apply


if you can answer these and I will shout our bailiffs specialists Hang in there

PTPT

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

ty PT, didnt see the business part.

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

ty PT, didnt see the business part.

That's OK there are so many different variables at times. For the record enforcement of Council Tax & Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) are broadly similar including fees.

[labman]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

Puff, it's not just business rates, it's CT as well. Have a read of the bailiffs' section (http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...Bailiff-Issues ) there's loads of info in there if you're starting to take a real interest in bailiff issues. It's usually good to post a link to the relevant section of it too.

Mightyquiin, if you could answer Ploddertom's questions it would be helpful, thanks. :beagle:

[mightyquiin]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

Thanks for coming back
No I ceased trading nearly two years ago. It was rented shop and I was self employed.
This was the first visit from the new bailiffs.
And he distressed on a car that does not belong to me or my wife, he wouldn't accept my wife's word about this and this would further embarrass me further if I had to ask the owner for a copy of the V5.

[mightyquiin]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

The company in question in Confero Collections ltd in Sutton Surrey.
He didn't show anything apart from getting her to sign the distress notice.
There is a liability order which I have seen from the old Bailiffs (Chandlers)

[labman]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

So it wasn't a limited company?

The bailiff has, by the sounds of things, inflated the fees somewhat. I would send this to Confero Collections straight away (Letter One):

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...Useful-Letters

Once that is back we can challenge both bailiffs and council who share liability with their appointed enforcement agents under what is known as vicarious liability.

The levy is invalid and thus the fees cannot be charged. I imagine the owner will have something to say if it was clamped. Just tell them it isn't your car and remind them of their duty to check before levying distress.

The MOJ website is not always up to date. If you phone them on 020 3334 6355 this will be more up to date. Ask the bailiffs which court certificated him and phone the court to see if he is certificated or not. The court are best placed to give you accurate information.

Ask to see the Warrant. They don't have to have it on them, but do need to tell you where it can be inspected.

This is your debt, so the bailiffs shouldn't be discussing it with anyone else. They will, however, take payment from anyone. That's all they're interested in.

Deal with the above - check back later to see if Ploddertom or Pepsie add anything, and once you hear back, we can move on again.

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

Thanks for coming back
No I ceased trading nearly two years ago. It was rented shop and I was self employed. - as a Sole Trader?
This was the first visit from the new bailiffs.
And he distressed on a car that does not belong to me or my wife, he wouldn't accept my wife's word about this and this would further embarrass me further if I had to ask the owner for a copy of the V5.

If you traded as a Sole Trader then yes they can attend your residential property to seek the debt. As for disclosing information to your wife - this could be a bit of a grey area as he would assume she knew all about it and the actions that followed this, a payment, may make it hard to argue otherwise. As you have already stated she did not ask him for any proof of identity or the permission from the Council that allows him to collect this debt.

As for the car. In theory the owner of the car should be notified and should make a claim as to ownership. Otherwise as you have found out they are asking you to prove you don't own the car - stupidity really.. In practice it is much easier to deal with. The Council are 100% liable for the actions & charges the Bailiff has made and it is to them you turn to to get this sorted. You refer the Council to the LGO and the report of Blaby District Council & Rossendales, if this is not enough for them you also refer them to the LGO Focus Report issued last week - both of these are highly critical of Bailiffs levying on "random" vehicles and suggest that simple DVLA checks should be made.

On the Notice of Seizure you have been left has he given a breakdown of the charges he has made - may be on the reverse. As for him not being on the Bailiff Register this is quite normal as it is not 100% accurate. If you have his number either phone or text him asking which Court he was Certificated at, he may well ask why and the answer is that as the charges appear to be not as per the Regulations you may well submit a Form 4 Complaint against him.

You need to speak to someone at the Council and ask the following questions:
1 - how many Liability Orders they have against you
2 - the dates they were obtained
3 - the addresses they were for
4 - the period of time each covers
5 - how much each one was for
6 - how much is still outstanding
7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement
8 - the dates & amounts of any payments

Another letter should be sent to the Bailiffs asking for a breakdown of their fees - see Letter 1 from http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...Useful-Letters & send initially by email followed by a copy in the post.

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

You should however make payments to the Council, preferably via online banking, Council website or automated phone. Otherwise you leave yourself open to being wilfully refusing to pay and if the Council seek a Committal Hearing you can actually be imprisoned. If paying in this manner then you should pay the same amount at the same time - best done weekly to create a payment history - £10 every Thursday for example.

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiff Harasing Wife for my debt

Labman has made reference to his fees being high and really have to agree with him on this. The fees that can be charged are set down in the appropriate Regulations. However as most small businesses are used to being ripped off the Bailiff joins in with this hoping you know no different. Do you have a breakdown of fees charged by the "original" Bailiffs as these still stand and the "new" Bailiffs cannot just add theirs on willy nilly, best if you send off for the breakdown to both sets.