Help! Marston Bailiffs

Georgie1971

Hi - wonder if someone can help. I have had a few letters through the door from Marstons collecting for the CSA following a Liability Order which was granted in Court. They are now threatening to return with a locksmith and gain entry to take possession of goods. Are they allowed to do this? I live in a furnished rented property (so none of the furniture is mine) but obviously there are other things like jewelleryand TVs etc. How can they break in and seize goods that don't belong to me and are the Landlords? I am aware that my bf can swear a statutory declaration to say that the TVs etc belong to him but that doesn't get round this forced entry business. How do they know who owns what? I am not denying that I owe the money, not that I have had any face to face contact with them because we are never in when they call, but they don't give the impression (and the CSA said as much) that they are open to offers of payment over a period of time. Any advice gratefully received!

Thank u!

kelloggs36

If you have let them in then they can break in, but if they have not gained entry peacefully first, they can't break in.

kelloggs36

They will accept offers, but it depends on what the offer is!! How much do you owe?

Georgie1971

Answer to both questions, arrive home to letters on the mat. Never actually seen/spoken to anyone. Would never let anyone in anyway.

Owe £1900 - which has gone up by about £100 a so called visit!

kelloggs36

They charge you for every call out they make! How much can you offer to pay per month?

Georgie1971

I have just sorted out with the CSA to start making regular payments of £125 odd so I could probably afford another £100 or so

pd001

kelloggs36 wrote: »

If you have let them in then they can break in, but if they have not gained entry peacefully first, they can't break in.

Correct

If they have previously been let into the property, and taken a list of everything that they would like to take in part payment of any debt, then they can arrange to use a locksmith to gain future entry.
If they have never had access to the property then they usually cannot break in or use a locksmith to get in.

Some advice for you,
Don't let them in.
If you feel that you wish to negotiate with them do it away from your property. Remember........
Do not let them in and don't forget to keep locked, all downstairs windows and doors.
Hide your car (if you have one).
Ensure that you always park it well away from where you live.
Try and ensure that the bailiffs don't follow you to your car.
If it is in your name, then it's possible that you could lose it to the bailiffs

HTH

Loopy_Girl

Or she could start a paper file and not deal with them on the phone.....:p

kelloggs36

If you can pay £125 per month, then there is no need to send the bailiffs in unless you have missed a payment - your arrears will be paid off within 16 months - under the 2 year period.

DONTQUOTEME

Unless there are more arrears than that have been referred to marstons. The csa can only collect debt though the bailiffs by obtaining a liability order first. They liability order can only run from july 2000. If your case is older than that it is possible there are more arrears.

pd001

Loopy_Girl wrote: »

Or she could start a paper file and not deal with them on the phone.....:p

Lol, agreed and point taken, but hey...it won't stop me posting :beer:

Dealing with bailiffs is much easier than dealing with the csa itself, believe it or not! They do tend to keep adequate records and can be quite approachable.

Of course you don't have to deal with them at all and they will eventually pass your case back to the csa if they can't get any money from you.

The csa will then take further action which could include (amongst other stuff) taking you to court. Don't worry about it if they do because the courts can be far more accommodating when working out a repayment schedule than the csa.

One more thing, if you do have a car, and the bailiffs have not clamped it or levied on it, you are free to sell it to whoever you like.
Sell it to a friend! Sell it for whatever figure you like.
The new owner needs to register it in their new name asap. You will need a paper trail for this

Once you are happy that the car is not registered in your name and that you are happy that you are not the owner, then the bailiffs cannot take it or levy upon it.

If you still want to use it you do have to advise your insurance company that you are not now the registered keeper or owner. It may cost you a bit more in insurance but at least you will still have use of the car