Urgent help with Bailiff please!

astraea

Hi

I ahve an outstanding fine for TV license. It was origionally for £150. I had put off paying it as i had some council tax bill that i needed to pay more urgent

Anyway a few weeks ago when i was at home i saw a car pull up outside my home, a man got out walked up to my door, put a letter through the letterbox and then got back in his car and left. I ran downstairs to see what it was and it was a letter from Collectica saying that i now owed them £450 including removal fees? i rang him and he said that he would give me till the end of the month to pay the £450 or he was coming with a locksmith to enter my house. I told him that i was a single mum with 5 children and he said that this did not make any difference.

To cut a long story short i did some reading on the internet and some people had written that if i paid direct to the court the £150 then the warrant would no longer be outstanding and the bailiff would not be able to break into my house.

I paid £50 at the end of last week on the online court payment system with the intention of paying the remaining £100 tomorrow when i get my tax credits. This afternoon i recieved a voicemail form the bailiff saying that although he had given me till the end of the week to pay the £450 he has been notified that i have paid £50 to the court which i had no right to do, and because of this he has 'booked me in' for a removal on Thursday moning at 11am and he will bring a locksmith.

If i pay the remaining £100 to the court first thing tomorrow morning will this cancel the warrant so that in effect he will not be able to break into my home?

Also on Thursday i am unable to be at home, but my teenage daughter will be home alone, can he still break into my house?

Thanks in advance

vikki

astraea

Would anyone be able to advise me? Thanks

~Beanie~

Have they been into your house before? If not, I'm pretty certain that they are not allowed to break in (with or without a locksmith). Just make sure nobody lets them in, make sure all windows are shut and the doors are locked.

Have found this on another site:

Our clients have reported to us that a small number of Collectica Bailiffs have said that they will force entry or break into a property if they refuse to allow them in. A threat of this kind without a Bailiff previously having gained ‘peaceful entry’ to the property is unfounded and if evidence of an Collectica Bailiff making such threats was available, he or she could have their Bailiff certificate retracted, resulting in loss of employment.

What you should do if visited by an Collectica Bailiff
Ensure that you do not allow an Collectica Bailiff into your property under any circumstances, they have no legal right of entry if they haven’t been in your property previously.

Keep your distance
If you do wish to discuss the matter with the Bailiff, do so outside of your property and lock the door behind you.

Don't sign on the dotted line
Do not sign any paperwork before gaining advice from Council Tax Advisors or a similar organisation such as Citizens Advice.

snookey

Again Id advise looking at youtube under baliff. Lots of advice on there .

snookey

Without a county court order they cannot enter your home. Ask them for proof of this.
Has he shown you proof.

spacey2012

Ignore all other advice than lock the door and do not open it to them.

onamissionEU

NEVER let a Baliff in UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Once he has gained peaceful entry (Through open window, you let him in to "use toilet" etc) he is legally allowed to enter the property again to seize goods. If he has never had peaceful entry he would need a court order to enter - which in this case is extremely unlikely.

Advice: Pay the balance of the debt and see what happens. There my be a valid claim from the baliliff for "charges" but I very much doubt they would be anywhere near 300 quid. Once you have paid and the bailiff persues you, post here again for further advice. Maybe someone else here has some thoughts about the bailiff charges?
Under no circumstances let them in if they come calling - tell them that without a valid court order you have no interest to speak to them - then ignore them, they will get bored and go home.

REMEMBER: never let a bailiff (without a valid court order) in to your home for ANY reason at all. If he falls over and breaks his nose tell him to seek help next door, you will not let him in. Maybe allow yourself a little chuckle at his misfortune lol!

AND don't panic. There is a due process for everything, no one can just enter and steal your childrens beds!

goldieds

As far as i am aware, whatever they try having your tenage daughter at home will be a blessing in disguise.
Most tradesman (im talking British gas etc etc) they are not allowed to enter the home if there is not a guardian present due to the percieved risks of accusations of untoward behaviour.
This is not a legal position, but is one taken by an ever growing number of companies (bg even advises employees against entering a room where a minor is present even if there is a guardian elsewhere in the house.)