Bailiff chasing my wife despite debt being settled

Mackhie

I originally posted this in Debt Free Wannabe, but I think that might have been the wrong forum, so I have reposted it here.

Here's an unusual situation.

My wife had two parking fines. She thought she had resolved them both with the Council.

Months later, a Bailiff shows up claiming that these two fines are outstanding and we need to pay charges amounting to over £500.

There were no notices in the interim about the outstanding fines.

We phoned and then went to the Council to find out what was happening. The Council were very nice about it. One of the fines was waived (parking in the wrong zone, a one-time let-off).

The other was a ticket that should not have been issued, she had a ticket for the time and place stated with the ticket clearly on display. This was questioned at the time, she even went into the Council offices within 5 minutes of the fine being issued and was told that it was a mistake and the penalty would be removed.

This was also not disputed by the Council when we went to see them after the Bailiffs first visit. He took copies of the parking fines and tickets and said "Leave it with me. I'll make sure that these are removed and you won't have to worry about Bailiffs.

The Bailiff had scheduled to come round on 4th November 2014 to receive payments of the fines plus charges. He came round on the 5th November (when we weren't in) with a notice that he would be back to take possession of goods on the 6th November, with an additional £110 on top. The amount was for only one of the fines (plus charges) so one of them HAD been removed.

I phoned up the Council to ask why the Bailiff was still coming round. I spoke to the same person I saw on the previous visit. He remembered me and said that their was a problem with their system contacting the Bailiffs but again reassured me that the fine would be removed and I didn't have to worry about the Bailiff coming round.

This has left me very distressed and uncertain, to the point where it is affecting my health. I am considering hiding my wife's car round at a friend's house and securing my house so that the Bailiff cannot gain entry.

Can I trust the Council to sort this out, having been assured three times now that the matter was solved? What should I do?

Mackhie

Unintentional double post. Thread was taking a while to post and didn't think it had gone up.

Is there a way to delete a thread?

J_Howard

Yes , there is way to delete your thread if you have started it. go to edit and then delete it. There will be no problem at all.

Mackhie

J_Howard wrote: »

Yes , there is way to delete your thread if you have started it. go to edit and then delete it. There will be no problem at all.

No good. Clicked Edit. Options came up Edit - Go Advanced - Cancel on OP. (Yes I even looked at Go Advanced).

Only replies have Delete in Edit, not OP. Maybe a mod will delete one of them.

Umkomaas

Mackhie wrote: »

No good. Clicked Edit. Options came up Edit - Go Advanced - Cancel on OP. (Yes I even looked at Go Advanced).

Only replies have Delete in Edit, not OP. Maybe a mod will delete one of them.

Send a PM to Crabman (forum guide) and it will be sorted.

The_Deep

In my opinion, if this is indeed affecting your health, and is down to Council incompetence, you would be wise to engage a solicitor to handle the matter.

Also. I suspect that you have been dealing with officials face to face, if so, start getting things down on paper, there is nothing like a sheaf of incriminating documents sent to the Ombudsman to focus the mind of Council jobsworths.

Mackhie

The_Deep wrote: »

In my opinion, if this is indeed affecting your health, and is down to Council incompetence, you would be wise to engage a solicitor to handle the matter.

Also. I suspect that you have been dealing with officials face to face, if so, start getting things down on paper, there is nothing like a sheaf of incriminating documents sent to the Ombudsman to focus the mind of Council jobsworths.

That was very helpful. I am considering legal action for the distress caused. I am, after all, a third party in this matter, as it is between the bailiff and my wife. At the moment, though, I am reluctant to leave the house to go and see a solicitor in case the bailiff turns up and tries to force entry.

With regards to involving the Ombudsman (something similar to what I have done before, with immediate results), I feel like I am treading on eggshells. The people at the Council were friendly and helpful, but I still feel that they are dragging their feet.

I did ask the Council to provide written confirmation that the parking fines (or whatever the legal jargon is) had been cancelled, and was told that it would be sent but may take a couple of weeks to arrive (this was a couple of weeks ago).

kaya

The bailiff can not force entry unless you allowed him in on a previous visit where he listed goods for removal or are in a commercial premises. There is No exception to this at all, he can enter through an unlocked door or open window or climb a fence. He is ordered by the court to collect a debt on their behalf not given permission to subvert any laws in doing so and breaking and entering is a criminal offence even with a locksmith. After a few attempted visits have failed they are deemed unsuccessful in their duties to the court and the debt is returned to the court where all and any bailiff charges are removed

bazster

1. Bailiffs cannot force entry. Don't leave any doors or windows open.

2. They can however seize your wife's car if it is accessible, so hide it on the other side of town or lock it in your garage if you have one. Of course, if it's your car they are not supposed to seize it, but they might not be too fussy about that.

3. The Deep is spot on, it's time to get everything in writing.

4. Contact your councillor immediately and get him/her to kick a***s at the council.

Triumphstag

Contact your MP, there is an election in the offing.
I know from personal experience that local councils hate it when an MP gets involved in an issue, the paperwork is horrific.
Most MP's run local surgeries at the weekend, find out when the next one is and attend.
Details are probably on your MP's website or in the local paper.

Mackhie

bazster wrote: »

1. Bailiffs cannot force entry. Don't leave any doors or windows open.

2. They can however seize your wife's car if it is accessible, so hide it on the other side of town or lock it in your garage if you have one. Of course, if it's your car they are not supposed to seize it, but they might not be too fussy about that.

3. The Deep is spot on, it's time to get everything in writing.

4. Contact your councillor immediately and get him/her to kick a***s at the council.

1. Well aware of 1. Doesn't stop me from being concerned though. Primal fear kicks in (my home and family are threatened) and I need to deal with it.

2. Sorted.

3. Best I can do regarding paperwork is scribble notes about conversations, given the reluctance of the Council to provide me with the written evidence that I requested.

4. Absolutely agree with this.



Thanks also to The Deep, kaya and Triumphstag.