Bailiffs my rights

[Claire2]

I came home from work today to a seizure notice from HCE.

I have a debt of £2155.63 which is not for Council Tax and for which I have a CCJ.

For a variety of reasons mainly my own 'cock up' I have missed the last couple of payments of the agreed payment of £75 per month.

I live with my boyfriend and own little of any value in the rented house.

I have only been able to find part time work over the last few years and earn an average of £450 per month;
as a result pretty much everything of value that was mine was sold when I moved in with my boyfriend, a little over two years ago.

I own
an old TV,
my pay as you go mobile phone which is now almost four years old,
a Wii game's system and some games,
a microwave,
an ancient camera, and
the hoover.

Beyond that my possessions are just
books, clothes, a few bits of costume jewellery, crockery, bedding,
some bits of furniture mainly flatpack from freecycle,
and some pretty worthless knick knacks.

My laptop broke a few months ago and has not been replaced and
my car was sold at about the same time. I

should also say that I currently have about £7 in my purse,
and less than that in the bank and do not have any way of raising any more money
There is noone I can borrow anything more from.

I am able to reinstate the monthly payments as of this month, although being realistic the original £75 is impossible on my income. So would have to renegotiate a lower amount possibly £60 instead.


What I need to know is
a) do I have to allow the bailiff into my home, what are my actual rights here.
I have read that the bailiff cannot enter unless given 'free access'
but that once allowed access they will have pretty much freedom to enter whenever they want.
However the citizen's advice site suggests that bailiff's have the right to enter the property at will in any case so I am a little confused.

b) Are they limited to placing seizure orders on property that is physically mine?
If so how do I go about proving what is mine and what is not?
I should point out that until Christmas my boyfriend is now away with the armed forces
so he is not available to make any kind of statement. and

c) Can they accept my repayment plan of restarting the monthly payments
and if so will a down payment be necessary first?

There is no way I can come up with more than a few pounds as down payment so is this likely to be enough?
If it is not enough what can they do legally?
I will be being paid on the 20th of the month so I will be able to restart making repayments then but am unable to pay anything until that point.
Can they insist that I do this when it comes out of money that should go on food/council tax etc.

d) how likely is it that my offer of repayment in installment will be accepted?
I cannot see how the sale of all my worldly goods would come to £2000+
and don't have any possibility of loans etc to cover the amount.

e) Obviously at this time of year there are gifts under the Christmas tree,
the ones from me for my family and friends are of very low monetary value and largely homemade,
can these be forcibly opened by the bailiff?

I am shocked that this has come right before Christmas as it doesn't seem to give much time for payment or arrangements to be made.

Also I am somewhat shocked that this has essentially come out of the blue, without warning.

I would have expected some kind of reminder to be necessary before something that seems so drastic happened.

I have emailed the HCE Group outlining the above and offering to make repayment at £60 per month as the original £75 per month was simply beyond me, should I wait to hear back from them or should I be applying for a Stay of Execution in the meantime? If I do apply for a stay how much will this cost?

Any advice will be very gratefully recieved,
I must say I feel totally sick right now.

[bluebottle]

Re: Bailiffs my rights

Hi and welcome to Legal Beagles.

The advice given by CAB branches around the country, in respect of bailiffs and HCEOs, can vary between spot-on and "What planet are you on?" It can be that variable. A HCEO has no automatic right of entry to residential property, although they can force entry to detached outbuildings where they have reasonable cause to believe they may find items they can seize. You should also be aware that whilst there are those HCEOs who are reasonable people and keep within the law, there are, unfortunately, those who behave in a discreditable manner and feel their HCEO status is a licence to do whatever they like. It is not and neither is it a "Get Out of Jail Free Card". Neither a bailiff or HCEO can demand entry or insist on entry to gain a levy in order to set up a payment plan. That is being disingenuous, at the very least.

If your circumstances have changed, then you do need to let the HCEO know and produce an Income and Expenditure schedule showing incomings and outgoings.

However, one question I would ask and that is, could you afford the £75.00 originally as set up? If not, it would appear the HCEO has attempted to engineer a default in order to garner fees which is discreditable conduct, at the very least. I will bump this thread for those Beagles who are more experienced in High Court Enforcement matters to look in and advise further.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Bailiffs my rights

I should point out that until Christmas my boyfriend is now away with the armed forces

Might some of his mates "have a little word" with the HCEO? :grin:

More sensibly, could his Welfare Officer help? Your boyfriend's performance is likely to be less than his best if he's worrying about you.

Can they insist that I do this when it comes out of money that should go on food/council tax etc.

Not really. Nor - despite what they might say - are they allowed to remove any of your internal organs in settlement of the debt.

e) Obviously at this time of year there are gifts under the Christmas tree,
the ones from me for my family and friends are of very low monetary value and largely homemade,
can these be forcibly opened by the bailiff?

Not unless the Christmas tree is outside, or you've been daft enough to let the bugger in.