Are the bailiffs coming??

coolcait

geomac wrote: »

Hello,
I filed for Bankruptcy in Scotland with the AIB. They recieved my application on the 5th Sept and being on benefits/low income case they sent out the declaration to sign that you are on such said benefits, have no assets over £1000, no property etc which I recieved on the 9th Sept and returned it on the same day.
I haven't heard anything back from the AIB todate (27th Sept).
However, this morning I recieved a letter from Sheriff Officers stating that they will be attending where I live on the 6th Oct to do an "attachment of goods".
I share the property with a few other folk so basically I only rent a room from a private landlord.
Can anyone please advise me what to do as I'm in a right panic !
Do I call the Sheriff Officers and tell them that I have filed for bankruptcy with the AIB and they recieved all the relevant documents on the 5th Sept ?
Or what do I do/say when they turn up at the door ?
Do they have right of entry ? What about my flatmates belongings ? I have no assets that they can take but my flatmates do and this is what's worrying me.
Any advice would be greatfully appreciated as I'm getting myslef in a right state and being the weekend the AIB is closed as most solicitors for advice.
Please help !
Thanks in advance,
George

Hiya George

It's the usual advice, I think. Get in touch with CAB, or your local authority money advice team first thing tomorrow, and get them to have a look at the letter from the Sheriff Officers. Unless they have an Exceptional attachment Order, they can't come into your home and take things. A attachment order allows them to seize goods which you own, but are kept outside your home - eg in a garage, driveway, building used for a business etc. There's some information about it in this Scottish government link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/09/15105247/52488#7c

A creditor has to go through quite a lot of hoops before they can get an exceptional attachment order - including sending you a copy of the booklet I've just linked to. So if this has come out of the blue for you, it might be possibl for you to challenge it.

The bottom line is that, even if they do have an exceptional attachment order, they can only take items which belong to you (not your flatmates or landlord's stuff) and they can only take non-essential items.

elkay, your situation is still a little different from George's as you haven't received anything from the sheriff officers - you've just had letters from your creditor talking about bailiffs. So it could still be that they're just trying to firghten you. Still worth getting more advice though.

Good luck to you both.

elkay115

Hi just thought I would give a quick update. Spoke the CAB today and they suggested I call Stirling Park and tell them of my intention to go bankrupt. I did that earlier and though they didn't sound very happy about it she said she will update my records stating this and will wait to hear from whoever will be making me bankrupt.

There was someone at the door today, but I didn't answer it, I have no idea if it was anything to do with bailiffs or not.

starlight_xx

Wow! I cant believe this thread, its JUST what I was going to ask about.

I got a letter from SP last week about a parking ticket Im currently disputing saying theyre coming on Fri 3 Oct and will bring a locksmith if theres noone home to allow them to get entry,

It was a simple one paragraph letter, Ive had nothing official from a court or anything, is this their standard scare tactics?

Ill be home on Friday but dont plan on opening the door, I was worried though as I live in a rented flat and dont want them damaging the locks etc

They did send me a booklet, Im assuming its the one the link is for, but that arrived one day and this threatening letter arrived the next day.

elkay115

Hi,

Wish I could help you, but I never really got an answer to whether I was to expect bailiffs or not. I get the feeling it may just be their standard scare tactics. As far as I am aware I have never received any booklet off of them though.

My understanding is though that they cannot break into your flat. I had a knock at the door today, but have no idea whether it was anything to do with this or not. I didn't answer the door and there was no card or anything put through the door.

Not sure if you are disputing the fine or not? Anyway, the best advice is to call the CAB and see what they say.

Wish I could help you more, but I really am none the wiser as far as the letter I got from them and if it meant to expect bailiffs or not.

coolcait

starlight_xx wrote: »

Wow! I cant believe this thread, its JUST what I was going to ask about.

I got a letter from SP last week about a parking ticket Im currently disputing saying theyre coming on Fri 3 Oct and will bring a locksmith if theres noone home to allow them to get entry,

It was a simple one paragraph letter, Ive had nothing official from a court or anything, is this their standard scare tactics?

Ill be home on Friday but dont plan on opening the door, I was worried though as I live in a rented flat and dont want them damaging the locks etc

They did send me a booklet, Im assuming its the one the link is for, but that arrived one day and this threatening letter arrived the next day.

Hiya starlight

Again, it's the usual advice (sorry, I don't want to sound like a broken record ) give CAB or your local authority money advice team a ring tomorrow and see what they have to say.

I'd be inclined to say that if you haven't had anything served on you by sheriff officers (like George did) then I don't see how Stirling
Park can have an extraordinary attachment order. If they don't have an extraordinary attachment order, I don't see how they would have the right to break into your home

Re-reading the thread, I think the big difference between what you and elkay have received, and what George received, is that George received a letter from Sheriff officers. You and elkay have just received letters from Stirling Park. And re-reading elkay's posts, the wording of SP's letters is very suspect - the warrant can be used 'where applicable', for example. Well, where exactly is it 'applicable'? If it's only applicable on goods lying in your front garden, when there's a blue moon, and Brigadoon has appeared, that's pretty limited!

If you (and this goes for you too, elkay) feel strong enough, you could ask Stirling Park to send you copies of the court documents they claim to have - given that sheriff officers have not served them upon you. If you don't feel strong enough, see if you can get some help from CAB/local authority money advisers to do it.

If SP are telling you lies/exaggerated versions of some kind of truth, then you might want to consider reporting them to the OFT.

Good luck whatever you decide to go for.

coolcait

elkay115 wrote: »

Hi just thought I would give a quick update. Spoke the CAB today and they suggested I call Stirling Park and tell them of my intention to go bankrupt. I did that earlier and though they didn't sound very happy about it she said she will update my records stating this and will wait to hear from whoever will be making me bankrupt.

There was someone at the door today, but I didn't answer it, I have no idea if it was anything to do with bailiffs or not.

Hiya elkay

I hope that you feel a bit less stressed after talking to SP, and telling them what you're planning to do.

Did CAB have anything to say about the believability of SP's claims about sending in bailiffs? Re-reading the thread, I'm struck by the difference between what SP have been telling you, and what happened to George. If SP have an attachment order of any kind, why would they be fiddle faddling around saying 'look what I've got, guess what I can do with it'? It sounds like bluffing to me, but I don't know the full story in the way you do.

As I said to starlight (with an aside to you ) if you're feeling strong enough, it might be worth your while asking them to produce a copy of the attachment order, since it hasn't been served on you by sheriff officers (as might be expected).

If you're not feeling strong enough, it would definitely be worth trying to get some help from CAB/local authority dvice shop/welfare rights.

Good luck with it anyway!

elkay115

Hi coolkait, CAB never mentioned anything about whether the letter meant I was expecting bailiffs or not, so still none the wiser about that.

I have spoke to Stirling Park and they have said they will put a note on my file and wait till they hear from whoever is making me bankrupt. I will be making myselft bankrupt, when I get the money together to do so.

So I am hoping now that I won't hear anything more from them. If I do hear anything from them, I will just go see the CAB and let them deal with it methinks, cos they said they could call them for me if they aren't leaving me alone.

starlight_xx

Just had another thought. I assume IF someones coming to force entry to a property they have to be pretty sure theyre ar the right door. I live in a block of flat (6 in total) there are no flat nos on the doors, no names on intercoms. How can they be sure theyre at the right premises?

starlight_xx

Well they came this morning knocked the door and left.

However they came back and posted an Attachment Schedule through my door, listing my car with a value of £800 (its actually worth 10 times that!!!)

The paperwork they left gives no indication of when they can come back. I STILL havent rec'd anything from a court though

coolcait

starlight_xx wrote: »

Well they came this morning knocked the door and left.

However they came back and posted an Attachment Schedule through my door, listing my car with a value of £800 (its actually worth 10 times that!!!)

The paperwork they left gives no indication of when they can come back. I STILL havent rec'd anything from a court though

Hiya starlight

I know it's the broken record again, but can I strongly urge you again to contact CAB, or your local authority money advice office, and show them all of the stuff you've received from SP - so that they can advice you on exactly what it means, and what you can do.


In fact, can I get down on my knees and beg you to do that?

I really do think that you need to get advice from people who have actually seen the various letters and other documents that have been sent to you. Because, from what you're telling us about those documents, I'm not sure that the proper legal procedures are being followed - at best.

At worst, your creditor may be misleading you.

Have you ever received a 'Debt information pack' from your creditor (they may have called it something different)? If you haven't, there is a good chance that they aren't following the correct procedures.

I'm not sure if the sheriff officer has to actually speak to you before preparing a schedule of attachment. The bits of legislation I've looked up could be interpreted either way. So, all the more reason for going to speak to someone about it, with the documents in your hand. That way, you'll be able to get some more specific advice.

Apart from all of the things I've already detailed, there has to be a question mark over the fact that they have supposedly attached your car when it only has a value of £800 (according to them). Sheriff officers cannot attach any vehicle you reasonably require up, to the value of £1000.

I really do think that you need to go and see someone in person, with all of your paperwork with you. Someone needs to be able to look at what you have received, and see if it is really 'attachment order' paperwork. Because from what you're saying here, it might be that your creditor is playing games with you, or they might not have done the attachment procedure properly (if it's true that they've actually got an attachment).

From what has already been said about attachment orders, do you feel that it's possible that they might actually have had grounds to get one? Whatever the answer to that question, I really do believe that you would benefit from a face-to-face chat with a (free!) money adviser who can look at the paperwork.

Good luck whatever you go for.