Really worried

seabirch

Hi
I was made bankrupt March last year and received early discharge at the end of September last year. Just before Christmas I recieved a High Court Enforcement letter from a bailiff for a debt I didnt realised existed from April 2011. I had been told by the OR that my bankruptcy included all debts up to the time I was made bankrupt so I spoke to them and they said, even though I was not aware of it and hadn't put it in the statement of affairs, it was still included and they would add it in for me and write to the bailiffs. I am now getting calls from the bailiffs several times a week saying that the OR is wrong and cannot include this debt and they can still come after me. I seem to be going back and forwards between the OR and the bailiffs. The OR has sent them the statement of affairs and list of creditors with this debt included and I presume because of this they can no longer chase me - but they are still ringing me. Any ideas?

J

Rawls4mayor

Hire a good solicitor and take them to court

debt_doctor

Hi,

Make a formal complaint to the CREDITOR who has instructed the bailiff, in writing, indicating that if they do not cease collection activity for this bankruptcy debt you will report them to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

DD

freddy911

The bailiffs are ordered by the high court to collect the debt, I imagine the only thing that will stop them is getting the ruling overturned in the court. I would try contacting the court and ask there advice, hopefully simply sending evidence of your BR will be enough to put a stop to this.

seabirch

They have been sent all the information by the OR twice now but are claiming they haven;t been contacted. OR thinks they are trying it on. High court order is because the debt was for legal aid fees.

tigerfeet2006

Don't know if this is any good to you, adjusted for your needs

Your Address

Date:

Creditor's Name
Address.

NOTICE: Pursuit of a debt included in a bankruptcy. Do not ignore this letter. You must cease collection activity IMMEDIATELY.

Dear Sir/Madam

Account No: *****************

You have contacted us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by ourselves.

I would point out that the account was included in my bankruptcy which commenced on <date>.

Consequently, the debt in question is no longer my legal responsibility.

ALL contacts and claims regarding the debt MUST be addressed to the Official Receiver's Office dealing with the case.

My case was XXX of 200X, at <somewhere> County Court, and the address of the Official Receiver is below.

<Address of the OR.>

A copy of the bankruptcy order is enclosed for your convenience.

Please note that the Official Receiver has requested that all future contact from your company regarding these accounts is reported and forwarded to themselves, and that continued contact with myself may result in Official Receiver taking enforcement actions against your organisation.

Please also note that we are familiar with the ‘Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance’ which states that it is unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when the debt is not due.

In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore, ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

In addition, your continued telephone calls are in breach of the Office of Fair Trading guidelines. If you continue with them after the receipt of this letter an official complaint, together with a log recording the times and frequency of the calls will be passed both to that office and to the Trading Standards office.

This type of debt collection method is contrary to the ‘Administration of Justice Act 1970’ in that it is intended to cause alarm and distress to the recipient. Your methods will not be tolerated. A formal complaint will be submitted to the relevant authorities. This will be relevant to questions of your fitness to hold a licence under the Consumer Credit Act, whether or not it results in a prosecution.

Take further note that continued telephone calls after the receipt of a request not to call may constitute a criminal offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

We await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed.

We look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully



A N Other


with thanks to fermi for the template.

Mouse1812

Harassment is a criminal offence.

The Administration of Justice Act 1970 S.40 makes it a Criminal Offence for a creditor or a creditor's agent (often a debt collection agency) to make demands (for money), which are aimed at causing 'alarm, distress or humiliation, because of their frequency or publicity or manner'.