Need advice, bailiff collecting tomorrow

RobertoMoir

escapism wrote: »

Not sure if it will help you right now but it does say that they can't take goods worth more than the debt itself so your car should, in theory, be safe....

That, sadly, doesn't mean what you think it means. The bailiffs can't take goods that they reasonably expect would take them over the value of the debt when those goods are sold at auction.

Auctions that sell goods seized by bailiffs typically only recover a fraction of the value of those goods.

As a former bailiff, my only concern about taking (for example) a £1000 car to clear a £250 debt is that it might not be enough by itself. Especially by the time the fees for enforcing the debt were added on.

FlyingHigh_3

To be honest, I think I'm just being materialistic about the TV... I'm moving into shared accomodation and it's not like I won't be able to watch the evening news for example but it's more the principle of the matter.. having someone come and take something that belongs to me away just feels like a hell of a blow to my pride more than anything else.

edit: sorry chevalier, I didn't see your post before responding - I ask a lot of my parents as it is and they're not in the ideal position to help anyway, my dad had to take early retirement due to illness and my mum doesn't work, they have an income well below mine and I already owe them a chunk of money that I borrowed last year for car repairs / bits and pieces I just plain couldn't afford to tackle on my own but needed.

What happens if they take the goods on the walking levy and that's not enough to cover the debt? Do they then start again from scratch, advising me that they'd like to come and have a chat / use my toilet / whatever to gain entry so they can set up a walking levy / gain access a second time without needing my permission?

escapism

RobertoMoir wrote: »

That, sadly, doesn't mean what you think it means. The bailiffs can't take goods that they reasonably expect would take them over the value of the debt when those goods are sold at auction.

Auctions that sell goods seized by bailiffs typically only recover a fraction of the value of those goods.

As a former bailiff, my only concern about taking (for example) a £1000 car to clear a £250 debt is that it might not be enough by itself. Especially by the time the fees for enforcing the debt were added on.

Thought it maybe sounded too good to be true! Thanks for clarifying

bellrooster

Hiya,

I've not got any real advice, but just wanted to say hello and that I hope you get things sorted! I've had Bailiff bother in the past myself so I know how crappy it makes you feel..

chin up xx

FlyingHigh_3

thanks bellrooster I'm trying my best to remain upbeat!

Ok, I've just done some digging around and found some paperwork that relates to this.

I have the paperwork from the first bailiff visit, it lists my inventory as:

1 x car + make / model / registration number
1 x tv

Now, to add another little twist... when I sold the car, I rather stupidly entrusted the buyer to fill out the new owner part of the paperwork... he never did. So on a technicality, that car is still in my name and any contact with the DVLA would confirm that... whether it's sitting on a scrap heap now or not (I sold it as scrap, I don't think anyone would realistically want to have spent the money to keep it running) is another matter.

I've also now noticed that they've added quite a hefty chunk of fees that I had previously overlooked.

on the 'notice of seizure of goods and inventory', the fees are listed as follows:

levy and walking possession fees:
£39 / £12 / £24.50

other fees £24.50

so the gits stung me £100 just for letting them in my house to begin with!!!!!!! taking the total owed at the time to £544.27

I then paid off £140 it appears, because I have a second letter saying my remaining balance is £354.27 and I have stopped paying £70 monthly..... and that I'm going to get.... you guessed it, another fee added on top... of £90!!!

bringing the fees total to £190!...... hardly reasonable, does this give me any ammo to use against them?

RobertoMoir

FlyingHigh wrote: »

What happens if they take the goods on the walking levy and that's not enough to cover the debt? Do they then start again from scratch, advising me that they'd like to come and have a chat / use my toilet / whatever to gain entry so they can set up a walking levy / gain access a second time without needing my permission?

They shouldn't be removing goods that can't possibly cover the debt - by this I mean it's one thing to take a car that "ought" to cover a debt and it ends up getting less than expected because of a bad day at the auctions, but quite another to take an alarm clock to clear thousands of pounds of debt where clearly it just ain't gonna happen.

If you can't pay the debt and they cannot remove goods to cover the debt, the debt should be returned as "nulla bonna" to the council in order that the next stage of recovery proceedings can commence. This is where the council may opt to apply to the court for an arrest warrant (with bail I hasten to add, so you simply have to promise to attend court on the right date) might be issued, so you can talk to the judge about the debt. It is theoretically possible to be sent to prision at this stage, but in reality this only happens for wilful refusal to pay or culpable neglect.

FlyingHigh_3

Ok, that's good to know. I wonder if it's worth my time giving the council a call and complaining about the fees added by the bailiffs... I could maybe reason with them and explain my situation, fingers crossed they might be a bit more understanding and accept a part payment of the debt? I think I need to pop down into town at lunchtime anyway (quick trip to the bank) so I'll pop into the council offices and have a quick chat with whoever is on the desk.... see what I can do that way.

ally663

Having had to research this for my own situation this is pretty much what I have worked out in your situation. Your Levy lists a TV and Car, so, a TV and Car is all that can be removed. The car outside your property does not have a Levy so cannot be touched (however a Levy can be put on this replacement car anytime so move that car away from your premises). So that leaves us with a TV. A TV you have said is worth nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Come the day of threatened removal, your car would be away from the property, it is not on the levy so you would be doing nothing wrong with that. You can leave a window unsecure or even the front door open, of course he will walk in. The thing is, you have spoken to him, despite him not budging on your deal you have given him yet more information in that there will not be a car to collect and there will only be a TV worth zilch. Personally if he came round and you let him in, the only thing he is going to be interested in is Levying the new car, your computer and anything else he can see once inside. Do not tell him you are moving.
I can only speak for myself but personally I would, 1. move car. 2. put computer at a friends. 3. Not answer door. 4. If entry is being made by force, let him in. 5. Let him take TV. 6. Do not sign anything else or agree to anything else other than a payment of what you can afford. 7. Whilst he is in the house let him take a seat (not literally, excuse the pun) and everything he threatens, get on the phone and check it out. If and when you get him to leave with nothing more than a TV. Sit down and work out how you are going to pay it and continue making payments that are affordable and if necessary make a complaint if the Bailiff has acted outside of the law (harassment and charges) and request the council take the debt back. The council do not refuse payments by the way you don’t have to wait for them to agree to it, to be paying them something. All the best, hope it works out for you.

FlyingHigh_3

I was hoping to use the relative low worth of the TV as leverage to him accepting a small payment from me and setting up a new payment schedule. My reasoning was that the TV was going to get him barely £20 at an auction, if that, it's very old and I only paid £30 for it when I got it two years ago.. so then he'll knock £20 off the debt and then we're back to square one... or alternatively, I pay him £40 now and set up some kind of monthly payment starting from next month. He gets his fees. I get to keep my TV. et voila, bobs your uncle.... or he could just be a stubborn oik, take my TV and threaten to do whatever it is that he does.

shayshay

To be honest, not even sure a £30 TV will fetch £20 at an auction when you can get then free from freecycle. As for the car he has details off, even if it is still in your name he would have a hard job getting it back from the scrap merchants but if he insists give him the address of the scrap merchants. As a side shoot, send the paperwork to the DVLA ticking the scrap part....better late than never.