Can bailiffs take my car?

[gemmalsmith]

I live with my boyfriend and our 1 year old son. A bailiff from Marston Group came to the house yesterday about a debt that my boyfriend owes to the court, for fines dating back to 2002, when he was struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. He is working now as a self employed gardener, and I am a stay at home mum. We have been struggling with money problems for a while and have recently been awarded a debt relief order as we have no money left at the end of the month to pay off our debts. I explained about the debt relief order to the bailiffs and said we have a personal budget sheet which was done by national debtline to show that we have less than £50 a month left at the end of the month and also have less than £300 in assets. I said we can pay instalments of £50 a month but have no way of paying the full amount (which is £1200). He said he wouldn't accept this and would be back with a locksmith. I know that this is a complete last resort for them, but i read somewhere that if it is a court fine then they can break into your home to remove goods even if you have never let them in before? Can someone tell me if this is the case? However my main concern is the car. My boyfriend needs this to be able to work. The car is registered in my name, however we are both insured on it. Can the bailiffs take the car as it is registered in my name, and this debt is just in my boyfriends name?

Any advice would be great appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Gemma

[Inca]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

Hi Gemma and to LegalBeagles......don't panic.one of our troop will be able to help you :tinysmile_grin_t:

[labman]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

Have a read of this. Don't worry about the legislation bits, but the procedure for Magistrates' Court fines are pretty rigid. Look through the procedure and see if it has been followed. In particular, did you receive the Further Steps Notice?

.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?34065-Magistrates-Courts-Fines

As a priority debt, this should, I think, have been included in your DRO, so you should perhaps speak to your Insolvency Bod as well regarding this.

If the car is not his, and the debt is ONLY in his name, they cannot lawfully levy on your vehicle.

[bluebottle]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

Hi Gemma,

In order for a bailiff collecting for HMCTS to force entry to your home, they have to approach a nominated officer at the court and put forward a case to justify forcing entry. They cannot force entry as and when they feel like it and certainly not without authority from the nominated officer at the court as they have to write the nominated officer's name on the Distress Warrant. As for not accepting instalments, yes they can. HMCTS break the outstanding amount down into six monthly amounts. However, Marstons would rather you did not know this.

If the car is registered in your name, they cannot seize or remove it. I would suggest you go to a high street solicitor and swear a Statutory Declaration (SD) that you are the registered owner/keeper of the vehicle. It will cost £5-£10 to notarise an SD. You then serve copies of the SD on Marstons and the court. Also, photocopy the V5C (Log Book) so the bailiff cannot argue.

The bailiff will try and kid you that they can seize your car, even though the debt is your boyfriend's debt. They may also try and fob you off with what appears to be a Distress Warrant bearing their corporate logo. Only a genuine court warrant is valid, not Marstons' own version of it which omits pertinent information, including conditions which clearly state that only the debtor's goods can be seized and that vehicles used in connection with a debtor's employment, business or vocation cannot be seized either.

You can report Marstons actions to the HMCTS Senior Enforcement Manager for your area. Where this person is based will depend on which court issued the warrant and which county you are in.

[labman]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

I'd save your money over the Statutory Declaration (it is often a good idea, but not when money is as tight as it is for you).

Copy the V5(C) document and give a copy to the bailiff. Try to record this on a mobile if possible, but DO NOT let him into your property under any circumstances.

Whose name is the house in and to whom does the property belong in it?

[CleverClogs]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

I live with my boyfriend

That suggests that your boyfriend owns or rents the house and that you stay there. Is that true, or do you own/rent the house, allowing your boyfriend to stay there?

and our 1 year old son.

Irrespective of what the bailiff might say, he may not seize your son for conversion into Soylent Green.
Well, not yet at least.

However my main concern is the car. My boyfriend needs this to be able to work. The car is registered in my name, however we are both insured on it. Can the bailiffs take the car as it is registered in my name, and this debt is just in my boyfriends name?

The bailiff should not seize your motor-car but he might try that nevertheless. Do you have a garage into which it can be locked?

Did the ba:censored:rd bailiff tell you that the fine was £1200, or did he say that to your boyfriend?

How much was the fine originally?

[Inca]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

Ummm Cloggy...today is wednesday therefore it was Tuesday yesterday (at least,,it was on my planet) msl:

[labman]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

Excellent questions Mr Clogs! :tinysmile_grin_t:

[gemmalsmith]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

Hi,

thank you all for your replies! Labman, thank you for the link, it was very helpful, and unfortunately magistrates court fines cannot be included in DRO's.

Thankyou for that info bluebottle. I spoke to national debtline yesterday about this as they were really helpful with our DRO. My boyfriend spoke to the bailiff on the phone last night as he was a work when he came yesterday and we offered payments of what we could afford and kept trying to state some of our rights which we were informed of by national debtline and the bailiff kept just saying "that's rubbish, they don't know what they're talking about this is not a debt it is a court fine". I understand that they are different, and i tried to say this, but he just dismisses everything you're trying to say as "rubbish" and just kept saying unless we paid the full amount immediately he would be back one day this week to come and remove goods.

I rent the house in my name but my boyfriend is a "named resident" on the contract. The property in the house is both of ours, we share all of our money and buy things together. I have a reciept for the computer in my name so i guess i can prove that is mine, also some funiture is the landlords and is listed on the inventory so can prove that it isn't my boyfriends. To be honest we don't have much worth anything, all of our furniture is second hand we have 2 very old tv's, and i don't think everything in our house would even cover the debt that we owe.

I found this on CAB website and wondered if i could perhaps use this as an arguement for them to accept payments?

The second-hand value of goods can be very low so it may be that the bailiffs can’t take goods to the full value of the money you owe. If this is the case, they will take what goods they can and try to agree a repayment schedule with you to pay off the rest of the debt and charges.
If they can’t reach an agreement with you, they will report to the people instructing them about why they haven’t been able to take enough goods to pay the whole debt.
The bailiffs may see that your goods are not worth enough to cover the cost of them coming out with a van and removing and selling them. In this case they shouldn’t take anything at all and will make a report.
In both these cases, the bailiffs won’t take any further action and the creditor will have to think about other ways of getting their money back.
In order to qualify for a DRO you have to have less than £300 in assetts (excluing household essentials) so surely this proves we don't have anything worth anything!

Also if they were to force entry to the house, will they literally search the whole property i.e. loft, garage, shed etc?

Thanks again

Gemma

[labman]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

TBH, if you simply do not have the money or the assets, the issue should be returned to the court. When you received the fine, did they carry out a means test on you, or (I'm guessing here), is it possible you did not turn up for the hearing so the fine was automatically imposed?

[CleverClogs]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

Ummm Cloggy...today is wednesday therefore it was Tuesday yesterday (at least,,it was on my planet) msl:

I was afflicted with an excess of blood in my caffeine system...

[gemmalsmith]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

Hi cleverclogs only just saw your message after posting my last one. So yes i rent the house but my boyfriend is a named resident. When we started renting the house 3 years ago i was working full time and my boyfriend had just set up his business, so he hadn't submitted any books etc yet so they couldnt use his income to assess us, but my salary was enough to cover rent etc so they assessed it purely on me.
We do have a garage but its full of my boyfriends tool so won't fit in.

As i mentioned in my last post, my boyfriend wasnt it at the time, the bailiff told me it was £1200 and left a slip with all the company info and the amount and stating he would be back one day this week to remove goods. We haven't been given a breakdown of fines, fees etc.

I think what has happened with this is that my boyfriend at the time in 2002 had alcohol and drug problems and was homeless for a few years after that, he moved back home and cleaned up about 7 years ago but i don't think he has ever had his name on the electoral register or council tax bill etc until very recently, which is why i think this has just caught up with him now. I would safely assume that at the time the fine was issued he did not turn up and did not make any payments toward it etc. As he has probably been quite untraceable until very recently I have no idea what would have happened to it in all that time.

[bluebottle]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

The most the bailiff can charge, lawfully, when collecting unpaid court fines, is £300 maximum. Does the outstanding amount of the fine(s) amount to £900? Contact the court and ask them to confirm the outstanding amount. Contrary to what the bailiff has said about National Debtline, most debt charities and CABs appear to be clued-up on what bailiffs can and cannot do. One thing you have to remember about bailiffs is that they lie.

Anymore problems with Marstons and their bailiff and I would be inclined to contact the HMCTS Senior Enforcement Manager for your area.

[labman]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

I would safely assume that at the time the fine was issued he did not turn up and did not make any payments toward it etc.

OK, that's our starting point then really. Your BF should write to the court and request a Means Enquiry Hearing. Even better, he should go there and ask in person. There is no obligation on the court to grant him this, so he needs to be a big enough thorn in their side. He should ideally turn up every day, preferably with a note from his doctor stating this is affecting his health as a recovering alcoholic etc... (try to lay it on thick!) and he urgently needs this for health reasons. If he can't get this from his doctor, just keep on and on and on going to the court and politely, but firmly asking for a Means Enquiry Hearing.

It may help to involve his MP in this - if you're not sure who your MP is, link number 9 here will tell you:

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...1-Useful-Links

The fine will have been set at the highest rate, or close to if he was absent from the hearing, so if he can get that reduced the court may then restart the process. It is worth the effort of going every day, even if he doesn't feel like it, can't be bothered, etc.... Get him up, and drag him there! lol

Also, if he suffers with depression or anything like that, get it on the doctor's letter, keep a copy, and take it to the court to request the Means Enquiry Hearing.

[ploddertom]

Re: Can bailiffs take my car?

I wonder if we can go back to the beginning and fill a few blanks in?

Is this for only 1 fine or are there several?
At the time the case was heard did he attend Court or plead Guilty by letter or did he just play Ostrich and hope it would go away?
Was he Means Tested at the time?
Has he moved since?
Has he received a Further Steps Notice about this from the Court - a legal requirement?
What address is on the Warrant - the original and not the mocked up one from Marstons?
I assume the Bailiff has neglected to tell you that there is an agreement with HMCTS that allows them to accept payments over 6 months? In your case however because of your circumstances etc the Warrant should be returned to the Court and he should be summonsed to appear as to why he cannot pay and the chances are a good part will then be written off.