Bailiffs damage to car when getting to another car

Silver-Surfer_2

dlm wrote: »

Firstly they should report to Police within 7 days as you would with a vehicle accident. This puts the owner in the right position to go further.

The bailiff company must be notified, along with the court sheriff (in charge of bailiffs) at the cuort issueing the proceedings. Also notify insurers. Treat as a hit and run if they refuse to give details. Police may treat it that way anyway if no report was made to them.

Where have you got that from?

There's no limit in which you can report an alleged crime. Even if there were, reporting an accident is within 24 hours not 7 days. The only time limit for crime is 6 months for a summary offence.

The police won't deal with it as a accident.

dlm

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

Where have you got that from?

There's no limit in which you can report an alleged crime. Even if there were, reporting an accident is within 24 hours not 7 days. The only time limit for crime is 6 months for a summary offence.

The police won't deal with it as a accident.

Have you ever r sued anyone in court? They have a 7 day window for reports to be made. It is not legal - but makes a difference between them considering a case and throwing it out. This is critical as the immeadiate response from a judge would be ' You say they damaged your car, it was leaking oil and unuseable and you waited x weeks to report it?

Makes a difference! Make or break in most cases. If the OP needs to take action against a bailiff company - which courts are all biased towards - they need to have a tight case to start with.

Silver-Surfer_2

dlm wrote: »

Have you ever r sued anyone in court? They have a 7 day window for reports to be made. It is not legal - but makes a difference between them considering a case and throwing it out. This is critical as the immeadiate response from a judge would be ' You say they damaged your car, it was leaking oil and unuseable and you waited x weeks to report it?

Makes a difference! Make or break in most cases. If the OP needs to take action against a bailiff company - which courts are all biased towards - they need to have a tight case to start with.

Take a deep breath and think about what you're saying here. I bet you've never sued anyone in a criminal court. You're mixing up civil procedures and criminal offences, if it were a criminal offence of damage any delay in reporting it wouldn't change things.

You do however understand reporting an accident must be done as soon as practicable and any case within 24 hours not 7 days don't you?

bigjl

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

I'm well aware of the act, but you like to edit things when people are replying.

Show me where the OP has evidenced to bold and I'll happily agree with you. But until that happens it's not Criminal Damage.

I haven't edited that statement in any way.

If you look then you can clearly see I have put quotation marks before an after it.

The statement has been copied directly from the gov.uk website.

And what is your point with putting things in bold? Other than to prove exactly my point.

The Bailiff moved someones car, knowing that doing so could cause damage.

But then you conveniently forgot to put the word OR in bold aswell.

It's criminal damage until a judge says it isn't.

It isn't the job of the Police to decide what is or isn't criminal damage in this case, and they can't refuse to take a report of an allegation of a criminal offence taking place anyway.

Consumer Action Group may have info that helps the OP, or as already mentioned above try http://www.dealingwithbailiffs.co.uk/

Silver-Surfer_2

bigjl wrote: »

I haven't edited that statement in any way.

If you look then you can clearly see I have put quotation marks before an after it.

The statement has been copied directly from the gov.uk website.

And what is your point with putting things in bold? Other than to prove exactly my point.

The Bailiff moved someones car, knowing that doing so could cause damage.

But then you conveniently forgot to put the word OR in bold aswell.

It's criminal damage until a judge says it isn't.

It isn't the job of the Police to decide what is or isn't criminal damage in this case, and they can't refuse to take a report of an allegation of a criminal offence taking place anyway.

Consumer Action Group may have info that helps the OP, or as already mentioned above try http://www.dealingwithbailiffs.co.uk/

Where is the intent to cause damage or the reckless element?

The police can refuse to take the report if it doesn't meet the alleged offence. As it stands there is no evidence an offence has occurred.

I've seen hundreds of vehicles moved and recovered, with or without keys. The mere fact it could be damaged isn't relevant to the offence you claim has taken place as you are lacking intent to damage or the fact it was reckless.

This wouldn't get anywhere near a judge to say it's not criminal damage. It doesn't meet the elements of the offence so under crime recoding standard would not be a crime. It wouldn't meet the threshold test so wouldn't get a charge or goto CPS and therefore wouldn't get into a magistrates court.

Until the OP provides evidence they were reckless or intended to damage his car his best bet is civil action, it's the only sort he will get.

Exemplar

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

Where is the intent to cause damage or the reckless element?

The police can refuse to take the report if it doesn't meet the alleged offence. As it stands there is no evidence an offence has occurred.

I've seen hundreds of vehicles moved and recovered, with or without keys. The mere fact it could be damaged isn't relevant to the offence you claim has taken place as you are lacking intent to damage or the fact it was reckless.

This wouldn't get anywhere near a judge to say it's not criminal damage. It doesn't meet the elements of the offence so under crime recoding standard would not be a crime. It wouldn't meet the threshold test so wouldn't get a charge or goto CPS and therefore wouldn't get into a magistrates court.

Until the OP provides evidence they were reckless or intended to damage his car his best bet is civil action, it's the only sort he will get.

Seconded. My brother is a Policeman and this is pretty much what he said when I sent him a link to this post.

Car_54

dlm wrote: »

Have you ever r sued anyone in court? They have a 7 day window for reports to be made. It is not legal - but makes a difference between them considering a case and throwing it out. This is critical as the immeadiate response from a judge would be ' You say they damaged your car, it was leaking oil and unuseable and you waited x weeks to report it?

Makes a difference! Make or break in most cases. If the OP needs to take action against a bailiff company - which courts are all biased towards - they need to have a tight case to start with.

In your previous post you advocated reporting to the police within 7 days, which implies criminal procedings.

You are now talking about suing, i.e, civil proceedings. Why would a judge require a civil matter to be reported to the police? And why seven days, when the time limit for an action for damages is SIX YEARS?

Hermione_Granger

bigjl wrote: »

The Bailiff moved someones car, knowing that doing so could cause damage.

How do you know that they knew moving the vehicle would cause damage?
Causing damage without intent is not criminal damage unless it can be proven that the accused were being reckless. something that is clearly stated in the definition of criminal damage

If I pick something up to look at it whilst in a shop and I accidentally drop it causing damage, have I committed a criminal offence?
Of course not as I didn't intend to damage it nor was I acting recklessly by picking up or moving the goods.

peter_the_piper

http://www.bailiffadviceline.co.uk/can-bailiffs-take-my-car/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw5Z63BRCLqqLtpc6dk7gBEiQA0OuhsNysch618zOBse9R2eEu8kvtTo_5vOyyNccOhxUg2ZUaAryH8P8HAQ
Bailiffadvice online are a great source of info on bailiffs. There may be a small charge but could be worth it.

ado

How did the bailiffs manage to break the axle of the second car and cause a problem with its oil. I know the OP said that she wasn't very knowledgeable about cars but even taking that into account I'm struggling to see how they managed to cause so much damage. I ask that as a genuine question rather than trying to find fault with the OP's situation.