Bailiffs Bristow and Suiter

nicnak1

So..they have charged twice for their levy fee...£47 and £48. Can i ask them to accept lower payments? should I just let them into my house....clearly I don't have anytthing worth taking. The kids however, do. Can they take the kids things? Should I write a letter to the council begging them to take the debt back?

RAS

nicnak1 wrote: »

he kids however, do. Can they take the kids things?

they are not allowed to take the kids' things, although if you have been buying play stations and flat screen TVs for their rooms, they might well argue with you. if they were presents from other people, then no problem.

thechippy

It's indeed unlawful entry if they shove their foot in the door. I'd get a sworn affidavit off your friend as to his actions and report them.

I'd also be asking for a comprehensive breakdown of the charges.

They are taking the pee.....

EllieB_2

It sounds like the bailiffs possibly acted illegally in taking the levy in the first place - but proving this is a different matter. Sounds also like there is scope for querying the fees if they double charged on one visit. However it is difficult to take these arguments on, it is a legal minefield. It is highly unlikely however that the bailiffs would remove your goods, its not worth it for them, and no, they can't take your childrens possessions. They usually only bother with removal for higher value items such as a car. Most likely the debt will eventually be returned to the council, but only after they have harassed you for a while to try and bully you into making payments. Don't forget that if the debt is returned to the council then they council will only be looking for the original amount not the bailiff fees, so the debt will revert to the original amount. If anyone in the family could be classed as vulnerable eg because of a disability or health problem then it would be worth checking whether your council has any special procedures for dealing with vulnerable people. If at all possible it would be worth trying to get a local advice agency or CAB to act on this for you as they often have special arrangements with the council and could get the account returned more quickly than you can on your own.

thechippy

They are only allowed to charge for two visits.

The first at £24.50 and second at £18 - that's why the need is there to demand a full breakdown of charges.

It's not unusual at all for bailiff scum to try it on, working on the principle you don't know the law and they won't be challenged.

RobertoMoir

thechippy wrote: »

They are only allowed to charge for two visits.

The first at £24.50 and second at £18 - that's why the need is there to demand a full breakdown of charges.

No, they're not "only allowed to charge for two visits".

The charges you refer to are for a maximum of two visits with the intention of levying, but where no levy was made. That's not the issue here, as a levy has clearly been made at some time. The levy is possibly illegal and therefore renders any charges and further enforcement action unlawful if that can be proved, but in any case the two charges you mention are not relevant here in the slightest.

thechippy wrote: »

It's not unusual at all for bailiff scum to try it on, working on the principle you don't know the law and they won't be challenged.

This is certainly true. It's easy to get confused by what charges they can and can not impose at various stages isn't it? And yes, sadly they do try it on.

thechippy

I should have elaborated further, but it's Friday and I'm tipsy......:D

Anyway, as an ex bailiff (glad you saw the light!) - your input on these issues are welcome...:D

nicnak1

do you think this is an alright response?
Dear Sirs
I am replying to your letter .

In the first instance, I am informed that your bailiff had no legal right of entry therefore making the levy invalid and illegal: I was away from the house for a family emergency for a week: the man I had looking after the house was disabled. Your bailiff put his foot in the door and refused to move it, the man who was looking after the house tried to shut the door, but the bailiff refused to remove his foot. A relative was called who could understand the bailiff. This relative was told that the bailiff had right of entry or the police would be called. These witnesses will sign a legal document attesting to this. I was away from the house at this time for 2 weeks.

The items in the levy your bailiff made was clearly below the amount that was owed in the debt. Indeed, the items were only worth a few pounds: if you include the mirror that was £10 and the glass table that was £15. This glass table has since broken, but I have saved it for you anyway. The T.V was bought for £60 4 months ago, and the skybox from a car boot sale. The sofa was given to us, if you can get any money for this you are welcome to it! The pine TV stand was bought from Argos about 15 years ago, and the dvd player was a gift when dvd players were new…its about 10 years old!
I am informed that if you cannot claim the value of the debt, then it has to be returned to the council.


I have also been charged twice for a levy fee: £47 and £48. I am reliably informed that as these actions were done at the same time, two fees cannot be lodged. I am therefore asking for a full breakdown of your fees. I, of course have some of that in writing from your bailiff as he wrote on both of the levy’s at the same time dated 6/9/11. Because of this, I am questioning your other fees. Did those fees occur on the same day? I think they might of, in which case they too, are illegal. I have noticed that there is no date added to the levies. There was also no council reference number, only your reference: this made it impossible to log into your website. Your bailiff also left a telephone number that was one digit short. Therefore we could not get in contact with him. I have saved the envelope that he wrote on as proof of this.

I wrote to you asking if I could come to an arrangement with you: you replied saying that you would accept £258 per month. If I could afford to pay £258 a month do you think I would have got in debt in the first place?

In conclusion, as your entry to my property appears to be illegal, your fees appear to be questionable, and your levy certainly doesn’t cover the amount owed, I suggest that you return this account back to the council.

FTW

thechippy wrote: »

It's indeed unlawful entry if they shove their foot in the door. I'd get a sworn affidavit off your friend as to his actions and report them.

I'd also be asking for a comprehensive breakdown of the charges.

They are taking the pee.....

I'd go along with this.

FTW

nicnak1 wrote: »

do you think this is an alright response?
Dear Sirs
I am replying to your letter .

In the first instance, I am informed that your bailiff had no legal right of entry therefore making the levy invalid and illegal: I was away from the house for a family emergency for a week: the man I had looking after the house was disabled. Your bailiff put his foot in the door and refused to move it, the man who was looking after the house tried to shut the door, but the bailiff refused to remove his foot. A relative was called who could understand the bailiff. This relative was told that the bailiff had right of entry or the police would be called. These witnesses will sign a legal document attesting to this. I was away from the house at this time for 2 weeks.

The items in the levy your bailiff made was clearly below the amount that was owed in the debt. Indeed, the items were only worth a few pounds: if you include the mirror that was £10 and the glass table that was £15. This glass table has since broken, but I have saved it for you anyway. The T.V was bought for £60 4 months ago, and the skybox from a car boot sale. The sofa was given to us, if you can get any money for this you are welcome to it! The pine TV stand was bought from Argos about 15 years ago, and the dvd player was a gift when dvd players were new…its about 10 years old!
I am informed that if you cannot claim the value of the debt, then it has to be returned to the council.


I have also been charged twice for a levy fee: £47 and £48. I am reliably informed that as these actions were done at the same time, two fees cannot be lodged. I am therefore asking for a full breakdown of your fees. I, of course have some of that in writing from your bailiff as he wrote on both of the levy’s at the same time dated 6/9/11. Because of this, I am questioning your other fees. Did those fees occur on the same day? I think they might of, in which case they too, are illegal. I have noticed that there is no date added to the levies. There was also no council reference number, only your reference: this made it impossible to log into your website. Your bailiff also left a telephone number that was one digit short. Therefore we could not get in contact with him. I have saved the envelope that he wrote on as proof of this.

I wrote to you asking if I could come to an arrangement with you: you replied saying that you would accept £258 per month. If I could afford to pay £258 a month do you think I would have got in debt in the first place?

In conclusion, as your entry to my property appears to be illegal, your fees appear to be questionable, and your levy certainly doesn’t cover the amount owed, I suggest that you return this account back to the council.

There's an extremely good letter that puts strict onus on the bailiff to prove the legality of his 'charges'. It's the one in the initial post.

http://www.getoutofdebtfree.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25247