Bailiff/ Suddenly we owe money

SunnySingh

Hello,

And firstly let me apologise if something similar has been posted.

The reason I need some advice is that my wife and I have been married for 6 years, and in the past week we've had bailiff letter come to the house.

Today, We received a red note through the letter box claiming that if we do not contact the bailiff, they would force entry to seize goods.

The Name on the debt is apparently for my wife in her maiden name.

It just seems like a debt has just appeared and we have no way of sorting it out without paying for something we don't owe.

Now the questions I have are as follows:

1. I understand this could fall under statue barred, but with them knocking on our door, what can we do immediately?

2. Can A bailiff force entry if we're not home? (we both have full-time careers)

3. The Red Note is apparently from HMCS with a Local address for the courts, is this something a company would "fake" in order to gain access?

4. Can someone chase a debt that is in a maiden name from over 6 years ago?

5. How do we get out of this if there is nothing appearing on her credit rating? (we only bought and moved into our house 2 years ago)

6. Is it legal what they're doing? It does seem like bullying tactics.

I'd appreciate the help as this is something I want to sort out asap. As we have too much to worry about without this adding to it.

Thanks in advance.

Sunny.

FireWyrm

SunnySingh wrote: »

The reason I need some advice is that my wife and I have been married for 6 years, and in the past week we've had bailiff letter come to the house.

What type of debt is it...a fine, or a civil debt? The nature of the bailiff visit significantly changes how you deal with this.

SunnySingh wrote: »

The Name on the debt is apparently for my wife in her maiden name.

And what does your wife have to say about this?

SunnySingh wrote: »

It just seems like a debt has just appeared and we have no way of sorting it out without paying for something we don't owe.

Depends what it is for. Have you checked your Noddle file or any of the other credit reference agencies, or attempted to identify the debt?

SunnySingh wrote: »

1. I understand this could fall under statue barred, but with them knocking on our door, what can we do immediately?

If this is a civil debt and the 'bailiff' is actually a debt collector pretending to have powers they dont :

Tell them to naff off, it's in dispute and until you can identify the debt, they can sod off.

If this is a fine, or some other criminal debt, then you need to come back with that information, but do not let the bailiff in.

SunnySingh wrote: »

2. Can A bailiff force entry if we're not home? (we both have full-time careers)

If it is a criminal fine, yes. If it is a civil debt, no.

SunnySingh wrote: »

3. The Red Note is apparently from HMCS with a Local address for the courts, is this something a company would "fake" in order to gain access?

Maybe, but doubtful. What does the debt relate to exactly?

SunnySingh wrote: »

4. Can someone chase a debt that is in a maiden name from over 6 years ago?

They can chase it, doesnt mean you have to pay it. Statute barred means that a debt hasnt been acknowledged IN WRITING nor a payment made within 6 years of the first date of action. So, the first default. Just to be clear, some debts cannot be statute barred, those to do with local authorities and student debts for instance. A debt cannot be statute barred if they have previously managed to obtain a CCJ. Provided that there is no such thing showing on the credit file, I would be inclined to sent them a straight up 'Prove it' letter and tell the 'bailiff' the account is in dispute. I cannot stress enough that if this is a true bailiff, you need to handle this differently. If it is a civil debt, then you can be as flippant as you like, but dont mess with a real court appointed bailiff.

SunnySingh wrote: »

5. How do we get out of this if there is nothing appearing on her credit rating? (we only bought and moved into our house 2 years ago)

Search for 'Prove it' letter and/or 'Statute Barred' letter and jam the two together into a hybrid 'get stuffed' letter.

SunnySingh wrote: »

6. Is it legal what they're doing? It does seem like bullying tactics.

Yes, and yes. It is up to you to understand your rights.

SunnySingh wrote: »

Thanks in advance.

You're welcome.

SunnySingh

Hi, thanks for the response, but it seems like I've missed out that this can only be a civil debt and no legal/criminal/ student loan debt (wife didn't have a student loan- parents paid all tuition/ fees).

How would it change how I handle this???

Thanks in advance again!

Sunny.

FireWyrm

What type of debt is this?

Is it a fine, i.e, parking fine, non payment of council tax, some other equally serious priority debt?

Is it a civil debt, ie you owe money to Marks & Spencer or some other private company?

Can you identify the debt?

What is the name of the 'bailiff' and what does the letter actually say?

Is there a CCJ in force?

SunnySingh

We have no idea what it could be. There's nothing apart from a reference number on the card...

This is what we can't understand or realise what it could be!

FireWyrm

OK. What is the name of the 'bailiff'. That might tell us something useful.

SunnySingh

It's hmcs.

LittleVoice

SunnySingh wrote: »

Hello,

. . .
The reason I need some advice is that my wife and I have been married for 6 years, and in the past week we've had bailiff letter come to the house.

. . .

The Name on the debt is apparently for my wife in her maiden name.

. . .


4. Can someone chase a debt that is in a maiden name from over 6 years ago?

. . .

I'm not suggesting that this is the case for you but

just because a woman has married and is known by her husband's family name does not mean that she cannot have incurred a debt in her maiden name during the course of her marriage.

FireWyrm

That's HM Court Service. What is the name of the bailiff. It should say somewhere on the letter.

The fact that it is HMCS leads to another question....are you sure they dont have a CCJ? What does Noddle say? You can check that tonight, for free if you wife is around to fill in the details.

Right, I have a long day tomorrow, so I'm going to sign off.

However....

Assuming that this is a non-criminal debt, then the bailiff (even if it is a bailiff) does not have the right to force entry but they can enter by peaceful means (through open doors or windows). I would be inclined to say this is 'in dispute' and then I would be looking to identify the debt. If it is civil and over 6 years since date of last payment, acknowledgement and it DOES NOT have a CCJ attached, you can safely tell the 'debt collector' to naff off and send a StatBarred letter to the original creditor.

However (again), there are nagging questions here that point to this being something else entirely and that is a blank letter apparently directly from a court with no information on it. How much is the debt for? Who was the original creditor etc. If there is a reference number and a phone number, I would ring the court directly tomorrow morning first thing and get some information.

You cant make a move until you have that information, so for now, DO NOT let anyone calling at your door in - not even to take a slash, or sharpen his pencil. Park your car away from your road and ensure all doors and windows are closed and locked while out of the house.

Come back to us when you know what the debt is and who is collecting it.

SunnySingh

Indeed, it could be the case, but before we got married we'd wiped off our debts so we'd have a clean slate married.

FireWyrm

SunnySingh wrote: »

Indeed, it could be the case, but before we got married we'd wiped off our debts so we'd have a clean slate married.

Your next conversation therefore should be with your wife...