please help bayliff problem

rog2

CraigM wrote: »

just for clarification would i definatley receive a letter from the court before a bailiff can come out? and to be honest if i had received a court summons i would have tried to settle the debt before the court date. I suppoe one good thing to come from this is that it is a reality check for me, i now want to get all my debts sorted out

Bailiffs must give 14 days notice (England, but think it's same for Scotland) of any intended visit for the execution of County Court Warrants and 7 days notice in the case of Council Tax.

CraigM_2

thanks rog, would the phone call i received be considered notification or should i receive a letter from the court?

rog2

CraigM wrote: »

thanks rog, would the phone call i received be considered notification or should i receive a letter from the court?

Did they give you a date? Normally notice is given in writing, but can be from the bailiff company.

CraigM_2

no date no information, basically i told him my name address and D.O.B, he said that since i refused the 2 payment offers i was offered in april and they couldn't contact me and they were sending bailiffs and i should let my parents know and then he hung up

rog2

CraigM wrote: »

no date no information, basically i told him my name address and D.O.B, he said that since i refused the 2 payment offers i was offered in april and they couldn't contact me and they were sending bailiffs and i should let my parents know and then he hung up

I think that this is a 'scare tactic' by a very nasty debt collector. Did he give his company's name?
Yes, I think you SHOULD tell your parents as it's their house and no bailiff would have the right to threaten to take their property.

CraigM_2

thanks rog, beginning to think it is scare tactics myself, i posted another thread to find out the specifics of the laws in scotland regading bailiffs.

I'm 28 so its not as if i'm a inexperienced teenager, i dont want to tell them simply because if it is bogus i dont want to worry them and since the call i have resolved to clear my debts anyway, so i suppose if it was a scare tactic i worked or at least it caused my lightbulb moment. My debts aren't that severe anyway.

from what i can remember my debts are as follows;

2 bank debts of approx £600 pounds each from when i was 16-18 which are statute barred now

a debt from capital one over a credit card with a £200 limit which soared to £500-£650 which i refused to pay because of the extortionate charges, This cant have been any later than 2003 and i am determined not to pay on a matter of principle, It may well be status barred already

a debt with T-Mobile for approx £250 from mid 2005 caused when my uninsured phone was stolen and i stopped paying line rental, i still have mixed feelings over paying this one as even though i received the phone free with the contact i had it for less than a year before it was stolen, but that was my fault not t-mobile's so this is another that i will grudgingly pay

a £547 debt for a tv which cost approx £350 of which i had paid back between £90-£190 before i got into financial trouble and defaulted on payents the finance company then never contated me for almost 8 months during which time the because of fees had turned into a £500 pound debt which when the company got in touch i refused to pay because of excessive charges. It is due to this debt i received the bailiff threat

a £250 debt with O-2 due to the theft of my previous phone i got another one on contract and missed one payment and was charged £20 pounds which i should have called them about instead i got stupid threw a the sim card and pu in a pay as you go card. this was roughly sometime 2006 and i fully intend to pay as i still use the phone on pay as you go

a £250 debt with paypal from june this year when i ordered goods and no payment was taken from my account for about 2 weeks, By the time paypal tried to take the cash from my bank there was not enough money in my account and as they tried several times to get the money my bank charged me £180 in direct debit charges which i managed to get reduced to £40 but i still owe paypal £250 which was was my first priority to pay once i had a job thanks to the bailiff threat i'm no longer sure this is my priority

i think the final one is student loan arrears of £97, there may be some other small debts maybe totaling as much as £500 but i need to wait on my credit check to be sure

I know that compared to a lost of posters here these are absolutely trivial amounts, but in my current financial situation it is still a lot of money and i appreciate all the help i have received on this exceedingly friendly forum

rog2

Hi Craig - Debt is relative, and it's obviously causing you a lot of worry, so why not get some one on one advice from Scottish Debtline or CAB before the situation gets any worse.
Debt Collectors are tenacious little b*ggers and they can make life very difficult.
With total debts of around £2,500 and no income, you need the 'protection' of professional advice. Scottish Debtline, CAB or National Debtline will give you free and impartial advice on how to 'prioritise' your debts and how to negotiate 'token' payments, to keep these 'lowlife thugs' off of your back.

CraigM_2

again rog thanks for your help and advice i feel much more at ease since talking on these boards and i greatly appreciate all the advice i have received from several members and hopefully it can inspire me to take grip of my finances and sort out all of my debts

Again thanks to everyone who has given me advice and info