Assets seized without my consent

Partner-in-debt

Pollycat wrote: »

You appear to be blaming (partly) the storage company for not contacting you when the bills weren't being paid.

This is why they didn't:


I think you need to stop looking for other people/companies to blame and look to your (ex) partner.
She was the one who didn't pay, she was the one who ignored letters, she was the one who made promises and broke them.

I think it is that that is 'beyond belief', not the fact that this company allowed the debt to accrue to £20K.

If you didn't know that she had debt problems, how on earth would you expect a company to know.

She didn't pay.
They took your goods.

I am neither disagreeing nor assigning blame. I am the only loser in this sorry affair through misplaced trust. I am sure the storage company did try to make contact and she hid any communications from me. My point was simply that extending 20k or credit was perhaps not prudent when the t&c's indicate otherwise, but knowing the level of deception she is now capable of, I can sympathise with their position. I am 100% looking to her, but having already thrown her out, I am looking towards an imminent bankrupt for restitution which we both know is not going to happen. I was really just expressing my regret that this didn't come to light in some way sooner as I could have nipped it in the bud.

Thrugelmir

Partner-in-debt wrote: »

They still have all my personal effects, paperwork, photos, clothes and other things that are unsaleable I guess.

Approach them and make a goodwill gesture. As most likely the items will be binned after a suitable time lapse.

Somerset

Partner-in-debt wrote: »

Presumably there is still a debt to the removal company (the accrued £20k - value of goods sold). The firm told me by phone that they have no contact details for her and that the debt is effectively written off once debt recovery are involved, but would they still go after her for the difference now I have made contact? Could they send demands to my address based on the number I called them on?

They still have all my personal effects, paperwork, photos, clothes and other things that are unsaleable I guess. But I assume they will not release these until the debt is paid? Starting to get worried that they will come after me.

I don't see how they can come after you, their contract was with her only.


Your personal stuff. In theory the debt needs to paid and I doubt it's worth 20K to you. They might negotiate it for a nominal sum. It's worth nothing to them, just takes up space so that's a maybe ?? but they don't have to.


I would have thought the original (balance) debt was still live, and your partner still liable. They may have written it off. I don't know what industry practice is, but common sense says people who put stuff into storage, fail to pay the monthly, ignore communications, contents sold ..... are unlikely to be easily traced or have funds to pay up. Maybe that is built into the industry model.


I'm surprised they let it get to that level of arrears before they acted but responsibility is 100% with your partner.

Pollycat

Partner-in-debt wrote: »

I am neither disagreeing nor assigning blame. I am the only loser in this sorry affair through misplaced trust. I am sure the storage company did try to make contact and she hid any communications from me. My point was simply that extending 20k or credit was perhaps not prudent when the t&c's indicate otherwise, but knowing the level of deception she is now capable of, I can sympathise with their position. I am 100% looking to her, but having already thrown her out, I am looking towards an imminent bankrupt for restitution which we both know is not going to happen. I was really just expressing my regret that this didn't come to light in some way sooner as I could have nipped it in the bud.

Is that what the T&Cs say?

You've not mentioned T&Cs anywhere in your earlier posts (unless I've missed it).

I know you feel that this company shouldn't have allowed this debt to build up to £20K but does it say anything about debt amount in their T&Cs?

cajef

This thread is wrongly titled, if you allowed her to sign the paperwork and be responsible for the payments, how was the storage company supposed to know you were the owner and they were your assets?

RuthnJasper

Pollycat wrote: »

You appear to be blaming (partly) the storage company for not contacting you when the bills weren't being paid.

If you didn't know that she had debt problems, how on earth would you expect a company to know.

She didn't pay.
They took your goods.

I would imagine that they wrote a great many letters to your partner before taking action; she either destroyed them or perhaps they were going to your old address.

I am sorry for your situation, but I would not have been so blase about the whereabouts of a lot of my property (valuable property too) over such a long time. I would have wanted detailed information on where my property was stored, how secure the location was, was the storage location watertight and light-free, what fire precautions the company had, etc. and I would expect to receive financial terms and conditions as part of that information. It was costing £450 a month!!

Alas, it does seem as though the storage company have acted within their rights and you'll need to pursue your partner. How much more does she owe, d'you think? More importantly, does she have access to any of your bank accounts?

Hope you can find a way through this and the possible break up of your relationship.

Partner-in-debt

RuthnJasper wrote: »

I would imagine that they wrote a great many letters to your partner before taking action; she either destroyed them or perhaps they were going to your old address.

I am sorry for your situation, but I would not have been so blas! about the whereabouts of a lot of my property (valuable property too) over such a long time. I would have wanted detailed information on where my property was stored, how secure the location was, was the storage location watertight and light-free, what fire precautions the company had, etc. and I would expect to receive financial terms and conditions as part of that information. It was costing £450 a month!!

Alas, it does seem as though the storage company have acted within their rights and you'll need to pursue your partner. How much more does she owe, d'you think? More importantly, does she have access to any of your bank accounts?

Hope you can find a way through this and the possible break up of your relationship.

Thanks for the advice. I take your points on-board. I would say though that I wasn't especially blas!, as I knew exactly where the items were stored, and had checked the paperwork, and knew the precise costs etc. The issue was that when we moved we split a lot of the costs between us as you might expect. I paid the solicitors fees and covered the costs of renting the place we moved into and she covered the storage costs which was why she signed the contract with them (I signed the rental agreement). I didn't think anything of it since we have been together for so long and with no financial issues coming to light before. I regularly asked her if she was coping OK with the costs and she never said a word. Relationships are based on trust and although I bought all of our furniture, I didn't see it in such black and white ownership terms since we lived together.

There are no other significant bills that she pays - storage was the main one, which is why it is so disappointing that she didn't pay it. Like a lot of debtors she ignored the communications, hoping to repay the debt when possible and completely neglected that a repossession of goods may occur. I am not defending her, and it is completely unacceptable. Most responsible people know their incomings and outgoings and balance the books and ask for help with ample time if they can't. She was so determined to be independent that she refused to ask for help and covered everything up. I found out from the movers, that she had given her friends address rather than ours and had even set up fake email accounts in the name of her parents promising to make interim payments. She even told the movers she had been been the victim of a violent crime and this was why she couldn't pay (to buy time). I now find myself asking what kind of a person could do this. It's not as if she is even living an exorbitant lifestyle.

A summons came yesterday saying that she is being convicted of driving without insurance or tax. So she was basically not paying any of her bills (of which there were only 3 or 4 she had to commit to). I am not sure I could of done much differently as this seems so out of character, but I am obviously finding out now what she is really all about. Its not malicious towards me, but it is completely unacceptable and disrespectful.

redcard

arcon5 wrote: »

I'm guessing your not married or in a serious relationship

I'm guessing you didn't properly read the OP:

"99% of the furniture was paid for by me".

And you're also wrong, so double fail!

arcon5

Partner-in-debt wrote: »

sadly, what makes this worse is that we have been together 15 years, so trusted her implicitly and whilst we were not married, we did try and split the bills appropriately. The storage was one of only 2 or 3 things that she was responsible for. I had bought almost all the furniture though, not that its relevant as I don't think a claim against her would have any legs given her now destroyed credit history.

I agree op.

my comment was in response to the poster I quoted whom showed a disliking for trusting her with £100k worth of stuff.
my point is if he was married or in a committed relationship he would understand fully how you got in to such a position.

not trusting her would have Been bad imo.

RuthnJasper

Partner-in-debt wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I take your points on-board. I would say though that I wasn't especially blas!, as I knew exactly where the items were stored, and had checked the paperwork, and knew the precise costs etc. The issue was that when we moved we split a lot of the costs between us as you might expect. I paid the solicitors fees and covered the costs of renting the place we moved into and she covered the storage costs which was why she signed the contract with them (I signed the rental agreement). I didn't think anything of it since we have been together for so long and with no financial issues coming to light before. I regularly asked her if she was coping OK with the costs and she never said a word. Relationships are based on trust and although I bought all of our furniture, I didn't see it in such black and white ownership terms since we lived together.

There are no other significant bills that she pays - storage was the main one, which is why it is so disappointing that she didn't pay it. Like a lot of debtors she ignored the communications, hoping to repay the debt when possible and completely neglected that a repossession of goods may occur. I am not defending her, and it is completely unacceptable. Most responsible people know their incomings and outgoings and balance the books and ask for help with ample time if they can't. She was so determined to be independent that she refused to ask for help and covered everything up. I found out from the movers, that she had given her friends address rather than ours and had even set up fake email accounts in the name of her parents promising to make interim payments. She even told the movers she had been been the victim of a violent crime and this was why she couldn't pay (to buy time). I now find myself asking what kind of a person could do this. It's not as if she is even living an exorbitant lifestyle.

A summons came yesterday saying that she is being convicted of driving without insurance or tax. So she was basically not paying any of her bills (of which there were only 3 or 4 she had to commit to). I am not sure I could of done much differently as this seems so out of character, but I am obviously finding out now what she is really all about. Its not malicious towards me, but it is completely unacceptable and disrespectful.

Bl**dy hell! What a nightmare. Must be awful for you. Just remember that she is the liar and it's not your fault. Forward anything for her to her sister's house (probably better for your blood pressure if you don't open it, plus I think it's a no-no to open others' post!). I'd also check your credit report sooner rather than later, in case she's been having fun and games with loans and credit cards in your name (I really hope not)...

I value trust also; I can understand why this is making you feel so wretched.

Best wishes.