baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

[peter p]

Can anyone tell me what the best course of action is to help my younger sister please.
Some years ago she married and it turned out her new husband was a con man. He went through all her savings etc etc and then left and that was over 6 years ago. While together he purchased a vehicle and took this with him when he left, my sister signed as guarantor for the loan.
My sister still lives in their house and pays all the mortgage on her own, she has now had correspondence about the loan and I am lead to believe she is now awaiting for the letter to confirm a bailiffs visit.
She has explained to the chasing company that he left her 6+ years ago and besides a mobile number she has no other contact with him and is not certain (A) they are still married and (B) that he has not married his new partner with whom he has 2 children with-with or without a divorce (his new partner has almost the same last name as ex/estranged husband, it is his surname with the letters ON added to the end EG Burt and Burton), yes bigamy could be another trick he's pulled.
Anyway, as far as we know at the moment her name is not on any of the paperwork and it is not her the finance company/bailiffs are chasing. She is terrified the bailiffs are going to turn up and just barge in and take her, and they are hers, belongings. I have tried to reassure her it does not happen like that and that I am almost certain that unless her name is on the paperwork and the fact that he has not been registered or living at that address since 2007/08 they are chasing the wrong person and at the wrong address. I am going to speak to those concerned on Tuesday, (with her written permission) in a bid to sort this out for her and relieve the poor girls anxiety.
I would be obliged for any guidance as to the best way to handle the situation and what rights the bailiffs might have if they turn up. We are talking about a debt in the region of about £600.
Thanks in advance

[Kati]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

Hi [MENTION=41652]peter p[/MENTION] :tinysmile_grin_t:

First and foremost, tell your sister not to worry!! If it is not her name on the letters, then the bailiffs cannot carry out any enforcement :tinysmile_twink_t2: (if this assumption is wrong/changes, then we can always offer advice on that aspect too)

The bailiff regulations changed in April 2014, and one thing this means is that they cannot just force their way into a house without a court order allowing them to. There are other changes too, which will make a difference (see attachments)

Could you possibly tell us which bailiff firm this is?? and which loan firm (or bank)??

I would advise you to keep contact to letters or emails (means you have written proof of everything). If the bailiffs are chasing her ex husband, contact them (and the loan company) - advising them that the person they are after does not live at the address (and hasn't for many years), that you have no forwarding address, and that any Enforcement Action against your sister would be classed as harassment and (if it happened) you would be taking further action against the company.

Kati x

[peter p]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

Kati
thank you for your reassurance on this matter. I have no idea of any names of the parties chasing this debt. She has contacted the debt company and explained and from what I can gather from her panic phone call they have told her to ring the number on the bailiffs paperwork when it arrives in the post. I am not even sure that it has got to the stage of courts and Bailiffs yet until I have sight of the paperwork. It may just be scaremongering but it has got my sister in a real state of panic to the point she wont even open her curtains. I did my intial info gathering while at work today but have arrange to ring her tomorrow morning (she lives over 80 miles away) to get all the info and once I have that i will post it for you. I am just about to read your attachments (thank you for them) and those combined with my telephone conversation tomorrow will hopefully settle thing down for her and big brother can then take charge of the matter-oh why did I have to have 4 sisters???

[Kati]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

oh why did I have to have 4 sisters???

because 'us females' are great msl:

It may just be scaremongering but it has got my sister in a real state of panic to the point she wont even open her curtains

It could well be ... but you can definitely reassure your sister :tinysmile_grin_t:. The new bailiff regulations mean that they cannot get into a property except through a normal means of entry - so no climbing through windows any more

I would still suggest emails/letters if at all possible while dealing with EAs tho' (or recording phone calls with their knowledge) .... gives you proof of what has been said if you ever need to refer back to it!

Let us know how you get on tomorrow peter p

Kati x

[Wombats]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

I think the main thing to ascertain here is whether the correspondence is from an DCA or from a bailiff enforcement company as obviously the two situations are treated differently. Your initial post leads me to think the former as, as guarantor, if the issue had been to court, I think she would have heard previously which she clearly hasn't.

Also, any letter from an enforcement company would be a Notice of Enforcement (and headed as such) giving a date and time by which the debt should be settled prior to the Enforcement Stage commencing (see attached).

This gives more about being a guarantor http://www.cab.org.nz/vat/money/lc/P...Guarantor.aspx

As Kati says, keep us posted with any developments.

[peter p]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

I now have some more information. Sister has received via her letterbox, from Marstons High Court Enforcement officers a "warrant of Control" with her estranged husbands name only on it. It has the client as HMCTS Thames Valley. It relates to an amount of,originally about £300 but has now risen to £600+. Sister has been a bit silly as any mail for him she has kept and not returned to the sender. I have told her now to return to sender everything she gets for him. It seems he was summons to appear at Slough County Court in April this year but didnt go, hence I assume the current situation. I have the courts case number etc so will start with them on Monday morning but am still waiting a written authority from Sis to deal with this-thinking about that I shouldn't need it as she is not named on the paperwork so we would both be third parties and therefore restricted under the Data protection act. I have a fax number for Martsons so will compose a fax to them explaining the situation and see what happens unless anyone has a better approach...
Your right Kati, I love all 4 of them because.....
Wombats thanks for your input, will have a good read about the guarantor situation.

[Kati]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

Hi [MENTION=41652]peter p[/MENTION]
Just a bit more info for you .... Marston Groups High Court Enforcement Officers contact details - from here: http://www.marstongroup.co.uk/custom...rt/contact-us/

High Court

Telephone: 0845 340 7251
Email: hccs@marstongroup.co.uk
Post: Marston | Embassy House | 60 Church Street | Birmingham | West Midlands | B3 2DJ

I'd suggest that you email them instead (saving your sent email) :tinysmile_twink_t2:

Kati x

[Wombats]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

Hi Peter,

Firstly, to whom was the letter containing the Warrant of Control addressed?

If I'm understanding things correctly, the creditor has obtained a CCJ against the estranged husband for a default on the car loan for which your sister is guarantor.

The estranged husband is now receiving paperwork from Marstons HCEO's in HIS name pursuing the balance outstanding which is NOW (with fees added) in excess of £600.

What is confusing me here is that a debt cannot be passed to a HCEO for enforcement unless it exceeds £600. This debt clearly didn't exceed £600 prior to fees being added, so I am puzzled as to how it has managed to find its way into the hands of a HCEO.

In any case, if it bears the estranged husband's name and an incorrect address, it is nothing to do with your sister at present. My understanding (and this bit may be wrong) is that the creditor would have to ask your sister, as guarantor, for the money, and pursue a separate CCJ for her if she refused to pay.

Marstons need proof that the person they are seeking no longer resides at the property. It is for your sister to prove this via, eg, Council Tax bills which will have been solely in her name for some time now. Once that proof is given, they should leave your sister alone.

[peter p]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

Thank you Kati for the contact info for Marstons, yes I will keep a copy of every thing.

Wombats the warrant is address to her estranged husband and yes the CCJ is against him only.
I thought there was a minimum amount for a warrant and I was told this morning that they originally chased him for £300+ but that has gone up to £645 with charges I think I need to recheck this as it does not sound right.
I agree that they would have to seek another CCJ in my sisters name
I (as above) am now contacting Marstons to ask what they need and to explain the situation and hopefully be able to get then off her back.
Thank you both for the input will keep the post updated

[ploddertom]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

Whoa - we are getting out of hand here, If the paperwork is as quoted in Post 6 it will be for a Magistrates Court Fine. If so then it will be no good contacting Marstons with the address given in Post 7 as that is purely for matters that are being enforced on a High Court Writ.

The difficulty with this is that Marstons & the Court will say they cannot deal with this owing to DPA issues - not being the person concerned.

[peter p]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

Whoa - we are getting out of hand here, If the paperwork is as quoted in Post 6 it will be for a Magistrates Court Fine. If so then it will be no good contacting Marstons with the address given in Post 7 as that is purely for matters that are being enforced on a High Court Writ.

The difficulty with this is that Marstons & the Court will say they cannot deal with this owing to DPA issues - not being the person concerned.

The paperwork has on the top of it Marston High Court Enforcement Officers warrant of control prior to seizure, client HMCTS Thames Valley and names her estranged husband. It also has a fax number and address for Marstons in Epping. The county court case was due to be heard in April 2014.
you now have me confused ploddertom.

[Kati]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

Whoa - we are getting out of hand here, If the paperwork is as quoted in Post 6 it will be for a Magistrates Court Fine. If so then it will be no good contacting Marstons with the address given in Post 7 as that is purely for matters that are being enforced on a High Court Writ.

The difficulty with this is that Marstons & the Court will say they cannot deal with this owing to DPA issues - not being the person concerned.

The paperwork in post #6 is described as coming from

Marstons High Court Enforcement officers

hence my providing the contact details in post #7 (although the link I provided is direct to the Marston Group 'contact us' page so there are contact details for all the Marston sections on that page if needed)

From what I can gather, the OP is only contacting Marstons to inform them that the addressee of their correspondence is not living at the address they have been writing to, so that his sister (the debtor's ex wife) does not have an EA turning up at the house and scaring her .....

:tinysmile_grin_t:

[ploddertom]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

The paperwork has on the top of it Marston High Court Enforcement Officers warrant of control prior to seizure, client HMCTS Thames Valley and names her estranged husband. It also has a fax number and address for Marstons in Epping. The county court case was due to be heard in April 2014.
you now have me confused ploddertom.

The paperwork in post #6 is described as coming from hence my providing the contact details in post #7 (although the link I provided is direct to the Marston Group 'contact us' page so there are contact details for all the Marston sections on that page if needed)

From what I can gather, the OP is only contacting Marstons to inform them that the addressee of their correspondence is not living at the address they have been writing to, so that his sister (the debtor's ex wife) does not have an EA turning up at the house and scaring her .....

:tinysmile_grin_t:

Please be aware that Marstons use dual headed letter headings where preference is given to their High Court work and in a much smaller font is "and Certified Bailiffs". If the original sum owe was £300 then no way can this be handled by High Court Enforcement Officers and no they are not allowed to add their fees to get it over the magical £601 mark.

[ploddertom]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

You will probably find that Slough is now named East Berkshire Magistrates Court

[ploddertom]

Re: baliff action pending for sisters estranged husband-help

https://courttribunalfinder.service....s-court-slough