Bailiff problem - Please Please Help!!!!

ditchy76

Hi everyone.
To be honest I have never posted on here recently but I am told it is a fantastic community where I can get some advice. I am in a hell of a state with worry and really need some help.
I have had a bailiff at my door since September 13th trying to get me to pay money back that was overpaid to me by my previous employer in 2008. Having only moved house a year ago I was unaware that any letters had been sent to me as they went to my previous address. It now turns out that I have been taken to court and a judgement made against me. I advised the bailiff that I needed some proof of the overpayment.
He has now turned up at my door tonight claiming I need to pay just under £2500 straight away or he will seize my cars. These were on the drive at the time as I knew not to let him enter the property. He did show me the proof of overpayment which to be fair maybe they have done but I am now in a hell of a state worrying about this as I have 2 young children and my wife was recently made redundant and I need to take my eldest child to school and get to work. He has left me a form with my car number plates on them saying the following items have been levied??
My family certainly dont have that kind of money to pay him and quite frankly I am all over the place. I know he cant get one of my cars because that is under hie purchase in my brothers name but we use the other car for school runs etc and I just dont know what to do.
He claims that the court sent documents here once they knew I had moved house but I have never received anything about this and if I did I would have obviously sorted it out. The bailiff also claims there is nothing I can do now because it has gone beyond just the county court.
I just dont know where to turn or what to do as he is coming back in 24 hours to take the car. I am in such a mess, can someone please help me?
Thanks for reading this.
Paul

ditchy76

Have I posted this in the wrong place?

fatbelly

You're in the right place Paul.

Do you have a copy of the judgement (ccj) or the initial claim number or a copy of the warrant? If so, ring the court with your reference numbers and get the full story

What did the 'bailiff' show you in regard to the overpayment? That would normally be established at an earlier part of the process and the bailiff wouldn't have that paperwork.

Also a bailiff would not normally still be attemting to levy after two months!

If you establish that this is the county court Bailiff with a 'warrant of execution' then it's a case of suspending the warrant and varying the order on an N245. Or applying to set aside the judgement on an N244 (if you don't actually owe the money).

I'm wondering if this has gone to the High Court and the creditor now has a High Court Writ of fi-fa. With these being High Court Bailiffs.

thechippy

Do you specifically require the car for work?

ditchy76

Hi
I have the warrant number, he has actually got copies of my pay slips which he showed to me. The problem I have is that obviously this has all been going on since I have moved house. He claims that once they knew I was here they sent a copy of the judgement to my new address which I know for a fact never came through my letterbox.
Since he came the first time I have been trying to get in touch with my previous employer who simply say that it is in the hands of the court now and I cant get any proof from them direct. He has now given me this piece of paper saying he has levied my cars and I am simply panic stricken. He has previously put letters through my door giving me 24 hours notice and claiming they will enter my property even if there is no one home to take goods but he saw my cars outside and decided to write the number plates down and go down that route.
His letterhead paper does state they work for the high court which again worries the hell out of me and I just dont have a clue what to do or how to deal with this.
I do use the car for work and if I lose my cars then I cant get my daughter to school or get to work. I am so chewed up over this Im making myself ill with worry.
We are a good family and this is just awful.
Paul

nat21luv

Oh Paul I really hope things work out for you, Im sorry I cant be of any help to you. Best of luck x

ditchy76

Do you have any idea what I can do?

thechippy

Sounds like it's a HCEO (high court enforcemeant officer)

Can you prove that you NEED that particular car for work?
Ie, public transport is not suitable etc - if you can't get to work and earn money, how can you pay them???

You can also try to negotiate a repayment plan with the hceo. If you can both agree something suitable, they may not take the car, but you must get onto it asap. It's also not true that it's now in the hands of the court / hceo period - it's who you owe the money to who has the last call, you could still try a repayment plan with them direct.

Good luck.

ditchy76

I dont have a problem with paying my previous employer if there has been an overpayment, I just cant afford to pay the full balance off and I dont think anyone could in this current climate, plus the fact that the bailiff charges come to just under what I actually owe the company!
I am going to contact my previous employer today and see what I can hopefully set up with them and I am not going to answer the door to anyone tonight when I get home from work.
As I have said we are a nice young family who have never done anything wrong and to have this kind of stress on us is absolutely awful but I am determined not to let this bailiff win. If i have to hide my cars then I will because there is no way I am going to let them take any of them.
I appreciate all the help everyone has given me, I am speaking to a debt company today to see what they can advise me as well.
If anyone else has any idea of how I can fight this or has been in a similar situation I would love some advice from you as well.
Thanks
Paul

fatbelly

What thechippy says is correct.

I think you still need to phone the court to check that this is now a High Court issue.

Even if this is the case, there are still court-based remedies available to you.

Factsheet | Dealing with debts in the High Court

ditchy76

It certainly is still a high court issue. They are working on behalf of the court. What options are available to me because I an going to make sure my cars are well away from him and I won't be answering the door. Many thanks.
Paul