Warrant of Control

teddy54 · 21 September 2017 at 5:41PM

Hi, I wonder if anybody can advise....
I have a debt to Cabot which is being looked after by Reston Solicitors. It is for an old credit card. There is a 2nd charge on my property for this. I had been paying, as agreed, £100.00 per month to Restons until June this year, due to more important matters (including paying for a bereavement) I simply was not able to pay. My intention was to pick up payments again, which I can now do. Wrongly I guess, I did not speak to Restons about this.
To my surprise a bailiff appeared at my door earlier with a Warrant of Control in his hand, asking for £237.00 immediately. I said I would ring Restons and explain, which I did, and paid the money. I was taken aback because I had no knowledge that they had applied for the Warrant of Control. The bailiff told me that if I had "messed him about" the warrant gave him the power to enter my property and take goods - is that correct? At the very least he said he could take the car (which is not even owned by me, it is a company leased car). Could he have done those things?
Having spoken to Restons I told them that I was now in a position to start paying again, but they have told me that there is no longer any arrangement in place, and I have to go online and fill out a form listing income and expenditure. I cannot help thinking this would only give them grounds to say I could pay them more than £100 a month. I also suspect that I would have to put down the name of the company I work for - I really do not want to do this for fear of them contacting my company direct, which would not go down well with them. Do I have to tell them where I work?
The balance left on the debt is just over £2000. Just very concerned that the bailiff turned up without any warning, and didn't realise that a Warrant of Control gave authorisation to enter my property. To be fair he wasn't rude or pushy, I know he is only doing his job.

Sorry for the long post. Can anybody advise as to the Warrant of Control, and also having to fill in an expenditure sheet with Restons? I did say to them that I would pick up payments again straight away, but they refused this offer. I really don't think my expenditure is any of their business you may have a different view of course.
Any advise you can give me going forward would be appreciated, many thanks

sourcrates · 21 September 2017 at 9:04PM

Tut tut tut, yet another case of a bayliff exaggerating there powers.

The answer is no, they cannot force entry, they can only enter if invited, or through an unlocked door, they are also supposed to give you 7 days advanced notice of attendance, so he failed on both counts.

Don't tell Reston anything you don't want to, they have no implied right to any information about you.

Infomation here about your options, including getting the warrant suspended :

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/stoppingbailiffaction/countycourtbailiffs.aspx

teddy54 · 21 September 2017 at 9:34PM

Thanks Sourcrates, appreciated. I was definitely not warned by the bailiffs that they would visit me. Restons say that they will tell the court/bailiff that I have paid what was demanded, and I also rang the bailiff myself to tell him, he said he would wait to hear from Restons.
Restons have told me that I have until 28th September to fill in an expenditure/income statement on line or over the phone, or they will again go down the Warrant of Control route. I have said I will pick up payments once again, but that is not good enough apparently, they must have the information, which I am very suspicious off. It was some years ago, but I think I offered to pay £100 per month voluntarily, not by the order of a judge, but I do not know how I can find this out at this late stage. So worried that they will turn round and say I can afford more than £100, which I probably could to a small degree, but that would then reduce my disposable income of course, which I don't want to do. If they did get knowledge of my employer, is there anything stopping them contacting them?

sourcrates · 21 September 2017 at 9:47PM

Look on the link I posted about how to get the warrant lifted.

Just "make" your budget show what you can afford, doesn't matter what they say, you pay what you can afford.

They have no more rights to do anything than the cat next door.

teddy54 · 22 September 2017 at 4:11AM

Thanks Sourcrates. I think I am being a bit unclear. I have paid the amount requested on the warranty of control form (£237.25), as far as I can see this warranty of control is now "dead" in as much that I have satisfied it.
I have had a look at the income/expenditure form they are asking me to complete and there are things on there I do not want to enter, employees details etc. I don't believe they can force me to give this information, is this correct? They say certain things are "mandatory"
Just wondering what the outcome would be if I did the following. They say that there is no arrangement in place any longer of the agreed £100.00 per month payment, and will not be until I complete the form. I calculate the outstanding amount I am behind from the original agreement is around £400. If I paid this amount direct from my bank account to theirs (as I was doing before), what do you feel would be their attitude, is there anything further they would be likely to do, as everything in effect would be back up to date? It does worry me having to fill in a income/expenditure form (hence why I am posting this at this unearthly time of the day, I cannot sleep)
Sorry for further questions, and thanks again for your help.

StopIt · 22 September 2017 at 8:25AM

While I do not expect them to go this far, they could always apply for an Attachment of Earnings request from the court if they don't accept your offer of a continuation of £100 per month. You do not need to tell them where you work for them to find out, as the courts will tell them all they need to know.

Don't assume the warrant is stopped because you paid that amount. Use Sourcrates link and make sure of it, otherwise they can come back, but as stated they can't force entry, and can't take assets that are not yours like the car.

Just fill in the I&E to the detail you feel comfortable, and work from there. Don't pay any arrears if that will cause you further financial hardship, and I would fill the I&E first and see what the outcome is.

teddy54 · 22 September 2017 at 9:24AM

Thanks Stopit, I will certainly do that! I cannot believe how unsympathetic Restons were, I explained that the payments had fallen behind as I had more important commitments to fund, such as bereavement, but it fell on stoney ground.

National_Debtline · 22 September 2017 at 12:42PM

Hi teddy54

If Restons have asked you to provide details of your income and expenditure, it’s the same as what the court will ask for if you apply to suspend the bailiff’s warrant and set up a payment plan. The information is used for them to decide if you are making a reasonable offer of payment.

It costs £50 to apply to suspend the bailiff’s warrant, although you may not have to pay all of this if you are on a low household income. In the meantime keep your doors locked and car hidden (if you have one). The bailiff cannot force entry into your property unless he’s been inside before to list your goods.

StopIt is correct, if you don’t have a payment plan set up on the CCJ it is an option for Restons to use bailiffs again or apply to take a deduction from your wage. You will be legally required to provide details of your employer so it is best for you to try and come to an arrangement before it gets to that stage. Good luck with it all.

Susie
@natdebtline

teddy54 · 22 September 2017 at 10:23PM

Funny how things work out, I am now in a position to clear the debt completely!
My question now is, as this is a ccj what do you feel my chances are of negotiating a reduced settlement figure? Is it worth a try, or a lost cause?

fatbelly · 23 September 2017 at 7:17AM

It's worth a try. For all their bluster, Restons are a glorified Debt Collector, and Cabot will have acquired the debt for around 10% of the figure they chased you for.

However, with them set to get the full amount over the next year and a half, and having all the enforcement options still available to them, I don't think you're going to get a lot of joy from them.

teddy54 · 23 September 2017 at 8:56AM

Thanks Fatbelly, I will give it a go

Warrant of Control

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