In a bit of a panic

deepindebtor

I received a letter today from debt company / baliff.

This is the first letter I have had from them, never heard of them before, all the quote is a couple of reference numbers and demand payment of £295 in 7 days (now 5 days due to the time it too the letter to arrive)

Firstly, I have never heard of this company and am duly wary of them.

Secondly, they say they have a magistrates court order for non-payment, but I have never received any paperwork as such. I do remember some years back a fine that was being paid back, that was taken out of my job seekers allowance.

I have been working for myself for a year now, so maybe there was still something outstanding but being honest I wasn't aware of it and no one said anything.

I have emailed the contact address this morning and offered to pay half for two months to clear it but their letter demands full payment or they will take my belongings.

I am worried, as I work from home, that they will come and take my computer, it belongs to my company and would mean I could no longer work.

5 days just isnt enough time to get the money they are asking me for. Do I have any rights here? What can I do?

In a panic, which isnt good as I suffer from panic attacks and heart problems.

battyboimatt

First don't panic take a deep breath, which company is it, if it is a balif it will be a court appointed one, or is it just a scare tatic letter from a DCA ? if they do have a court order against you they will have had to obtain a CCJ, check your credit file or does the letter say which court and you can check with the court, im sure there will be other people on here to offer advise soon

deepindebtor

Its a company called Marston Group. No other info on the letter other than their ref and an HM Courts Ref.

casbah

Google the name and you'll find lots of info about them

deepindebtor

This is all very good but I still don't know what to do.

If I don't pay, in 5 days they say they will attend my house, that comes with a £200 increase in the fine, not to mention all the upset.

This is rapidly going to get out of my reach, for the sake of a few days.

I am actually getting more panicked and worried by the minute.

Tixy

You need to find out about the CCJ that has been granted against you. To do this you could either get a copy of your credit file or you could search the registery trust online. The registery trust website should tell you even if its a fine rather than a CCJ

Once you know the date and court that issued the CCJ/fine you need to get a copy of the judgement from the court.
You could also try to get this info from Marstons by phone or email - ask them for details of the debt etc.

If in the meantime Marstons visits your property do not let them inside under any circumstances. Keep your door locked and talk to them through a window if necessary.
Do you own a vehicle? If you don't let them into the property then the only other potential item they could take from you is anything outside like a car. If you do have a vehicle in your name is there anywhere else you could keep the car out of the way for a few days? a family members? or friends? Marstons could not levy you car if they cannot find it to levy it.

You also need to obtain a breakdown of the debt from Marstons - to find out what the original debt is, what court fees have been added and more importantly what fees Marstons have added on themselves. Bailiffs do add more charges than are legally allowed fairly often so you need to ensure you are not paying more than you should.

You might also want to look at the website bailiffadviceonline which is run by a user on here - there is some useful info on bailiffs rights, fees etc on that site and there is also a phone number you can ring (although it is a premium line) but the info and help you would get is expert. Another option might be to talk to national debtline for some advice.

Edit - it might also be worth going to your first post on this thread and editing the title so that it mentions bailiffs in the title - that way it should be read by more people with the best bailiff knowledge.

dancingfairy

I can totally understand why you're panicked but you need to take a step back:
it's not unheard of for debt collectors/bailiffs to get the wrong person/make stuff up/go after someone with a similar name so you need to find out if you really do owe this money - anybody could write to you demanding money with a scary letter and you've offered to pay it before you even know what it is.

1)I would look on National Debtlines website and even give them a call to find out exactly what these bailiffs can and can't do. A lot of things bailiffs claim are either a complete lie, or frankly just so unlikely because of the court processes they'd have to go through that you'd have more chance of winning the lottery jackpot
2) I would possibly send he bailiffs the prove it letter on here - basically saying hey hang on a minute who are you and what's going on - you can't just say I owe you money. Hopefully some kind person will provide a link for you.
3) I would get in touch with the courts they claim the money is owed to and find out from them what it's all about. I think I would still send the prove it letter to the bailiffs though as it should buy you some time and at least force them to investigate and provide the correct paperwork.

When you know more info then post back and I'm sure someone will help.
Again when you know what the fine is/was you can then start checking your bank records etc.

Best of Luck
df

deepindebtor

dancingfairy wrote: »

3) I would get in touch with the courts they claim the money is owed to and find out from them what it's all about.

This is one of the problems I have.

All they give me is "HM Courts Service Ref:", that doesn't tell me which court it was.

The letter has two phone numbers and one email address and one mailing address.

Both phone numbers are automated and there are no options or "silence" option for speaking to a person or registering a complaint.

I have emailed them but no reply.

Sending a letter does not allow me to comply with doing something within the 5 days I have remaining, not with the post we have here and any processing time at their end.

I will write a letter and I will ask for clarification but as we can see they have provided me with little to no chance of dealing with it in the timeframe they require and no information to even identify which court it was.

I feel for people with mental health issues and anyone not able to pay in a reasonable amount of time, letters like this could push someone over the edge, in my view it is criminal that those upholding the law should stoop this low. It is worse than imprisonment.

I will also complain to the relevant bodies, though I doubt that will do me any good.

My fear of course is they will add this £200 charge on top and I am pretty helpless to stop it. Shocking profiteering.

dancingfairy

Perhaps get in touch with a local court and see if they can tell you how the numbering systemworks or tell you which court it's for?
Have you tried National Debtline to find out what powers these bailiffs have and don't have? for example I don't believe they can break in and if they can't break in they can't take your stuff can they? their are also rules regarding their charges as well.
The 5 days is the bailiffs arbitrary deadline to make you panic and pay up and hope you don't know your rights and don't have time to find out - grrr.
It might be worth getting hold of your credit files if you can - there might be something on them that would provide a clue.
I hope you get this sorted - you are sounding more calm and less panicked which is good. I totally agree with you though - they sound awful. What's the betting they don't turn up on when they say they will? if they do I'd leave them to shout and holler in the street and call the police if neccessary and if they reveal any details about why they are there- ie a debt or shout your name I'd report them for that as well. You should definitely report them to the OFT, Trading Standards etc.
df

Tixy

If they visit your property and they don't answer the door and you don't have a vehicle they can levy then the maximum extra charge they can add is £24.50. Thats the law. Providing you know it you won't need to pay them more than that extra.

The £200 odd can only happen if you let them in and they do a walking possession order.

I would try the registery trust online to see if you can find more info as to what the debt relates to. If not call the national debtline helpline or the bailiff helpline for other ideas as to how you can find out about the debt.

ladybez

From reading various posts on here debt collectors/bailiffs do ask you to do things within very short time spans, it is an attempt to frighten people. Also even if the bailiff visits the amount they can charge you is strictly laid down, I think the info is on the National Debtline site. As hard as it is try to calm down, as you are not certain that this debt is actually yours.