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Bailiffs clamped my car today and I then received conflicting advice, please help

twinklyspangle
Posts: 17 Forumite

hello,
I really need some help. This morning Marstons clamped my car I have been ignoring letters for a while, and away from home for several weeks helping a family member and trying to deal with spiralling depression.
I have received through the door two letters, one stating 'Notice After Entry Or Taking Control Of Goods' and one saying 'Final Notice your belongings will be removed'
I called the bailiff, asked to put a payment plan in place as I have work opportunities that require me to have my car And my dad bought it for me and he recently died, it has high sentimental value and I'm so angry with myself for getting into this position, I feel worthless
They said they wouldn't be able to get authorization today, but would call me in the morning before taking the car with a payment plan option, which will include a down payment (I would have to borrow this from someone dodgy to be able to scrape together the 00-400 pounds that might swing it)
I panicked and called the first result on google that said 'stop bailiffs taking my car' The company was called Bailiff Advice. The guy seemed young and like he was reading a script. He said he would be passing me to their partners Money Wellness. Monday Wellness does appear on the gov debt advice page. I told the woman I was put through to my situation and she took lots of detail including getting me to open some letters I had been ignoring. During the call, I got a call waiting from the original company, with the same guy doing a strange hard sell. I said, I'm talking to a woman she's very helpful, he said well actually we wondered if you'd like to speak to our advisors. The call made me uncomfortable because he seemed to be on some commission trying to get me to talk to their guys
I ended the call and continued with Money Wellness, who told me they would put in place a Breathing Space and it would start tomorrow, but that it wouldn't cover the debt with Marstons since they had already taking control of my vehicle with the clamp The woman was very calm and clear and I was pretty upset but she seem very keen to end the call. She applied for Breathing Space for me and said that would start tomorrow. This is good for my other debts but I didn't know if it helped with the car.
I have no idea what to do next I called National Debtline and asked about the legitimacy of this all, He also seemed in a rush and said have I looked it up (yes, but I just still need some advice on what to do about the car)
He started reading from a screen under his breathe, you know when someone reads something and sort of whispers it quickly and then goes 'Right, so.' and kind of, paraphrases what they have read? He said the Breathing Space should stop all action and they should remove the clamp but this is in conflict to the advice I had just received! I don't think it's true that they now can't take my car and I am desperate for that not to happen (it's worth significantly more than the £1,800 debt)
I am scared and alone and surrounded by half opened letters and I don't feel I have anywhere to turn for help. Do I just have to wait for Marstons to call me or will they even bother, they can just take my car now at any point? Should I get the clamp cut off and hide the car and they won't be able to chase it up for the Breathing Space period? The sentimental value is very high and I am very much at the end of my tether with very few options left so if that's my only way to keep the car I will do it, but would have to do it tonight before it's too late.
I tried so hard all day to get legit advice, I'm exhausted and panicked. Please can someone tell me is any of these companies or advice legit? How can I get a real answer? How can I stop them towing my car tomorrow morning because why would they accept a payment plan when they can recoup all their money and more with the vehicle they currently have control of.
Thanks so much to anyone who read this and has any helpful advice
I really need some help. This morning Marstons clamped my car I have been ignoring letters for a while, and away from home for several weeks helping a family member and trying to deal with spiralling depression.
I have received through the door two letters, one stating 'Notice After Entry Or Taking Control Of Goods' and one saying 'Final Notice your belongings will be removed'
I called the bailiff, asked to put a payment plan in place as I have work opportunities that require me to have my car And my dad bought it for me and he recently died, it has high sentimental value and I'm so angry with myself for getting into this position, I feel worthless
They said they wouldn't be able to get authorization today, but would call me in the morning before taking the car with a payment plan option, which will include a down payment (I would have to borrow this from someone dodgy to be able to scrape together the 00-400 pounds that might swing it)
I panicked and called the first result on google that said 'stop bailiffs taking my car' The company was called Bailiff Advice. The guy seemed young and like he was reading a script. He said he would be passing me to their partners Money Wellness. Monday Wellness does appear on the gov debt advice page. I told the woman I was put through to my situation and she took lots of detail including getting me to open some letters I had been ignoring. During the call, I got a call waiting from the original company, with the same guy doing a strange hard sell. I said, I'm talking to a woman she's very helpful, he said well actually we wondered if you'd like to speak to our advisors. The call made me uncomfortable because he seemed to be on some commission trying to get me to talk to their guys
I ended the call and continued with Money Wellness, who told me they would put in place a Breathing Space and it would start tomorrow, but that it wouldn't cover the debt with Marstons since they had already taking control of my vehicle with the clamp The woman was very calm and clear and I was pretty upset but she seem very keen to end the call. She applied for Breathing Space for me and said that would start tomorrow. This is good for my other debts but I didn't know if it helped with the car.
I have no idea what to do next I called National Debtline and asked about the legitimacy of this all, He also seemed in a rush and said have I looked it up (yes, but I just still need some advice on what to do about the car)
He started reading from a screen under his breathe, you know when someone reads something and sort of whispers it quickly and then goes 'Right, so.' and kind of, paraphrases what they have read? He said the Breathing Space should stop all action and they should remove the clamp but this is in conflict to the advice I had just received! I don't think it's true that they now can't take my car and I am desperate for that not to happen (it's worth significantly more than the £1,800 debt)
I am scared and alone and surrounded by half opened letters and I don't feel I have anywhere to turn for help. Do I just have to wait for Marstons to call me or will they even bother, they can just take my car now at any point? Should I get the clamp cut off and hide the car and they won't be able to chase it up for the Breathing Space period? The sentimental value is very high and I am very much at the end of my tether with very few options left so if that's my only way to keep the car I will do it, but would have to do it tonight before it's too late.
I tried so hard all day to get legit advice, I'm exhausted and panicked. Please can someone tell me is any of these companies or advice legit? How can I get a real answer? How can I stop them towing my car tomorrow morning because why would they accept a payment plan when they can recoup all their money and more with the vehicle they currently have control of.
Thanks so much to anyone who read this and has any helpful advice

0
Comments
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The first question has to be "what is this debt for?"
Money Wellness are Gregory Pennington rebranded, major providers of IVAs and more recently DROs.
All on-line and phone basic debt providers use scripts, so how you feel about the advisor may well depend more on how empathic they were than the actual advice.
Meantime @sourcrates @fatbellyIf you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing1 -
Don`t be ringing anymore helplines or clicking on links for "bailiff advice" as the majority of them have nothing to do with actual help dealing with a bailiff, they are mostly lead generators for IVA`s, although National Debtline is a good source of advice, they don`t specifically deal with bailiffs.
And they ALL read from scripts.
What debt are Marstons chasing here ?
Is the car on finance, or is it owned outright by yourself ?
If it`s on finance, they can`t take it, as its the property of the finance company, if that is the case, do not allow the bailiff into your home, and show them proof of the finance.
If on the other hand it is yours and owned outright, you are kind of stuck really, as they have clamped the car, which you need for work, you are going to have to make some kind of deal with them, and I would assume that would involve letting them in, I see no other way to deal with it.
Removing the clamp yourself, although tempting, is illegal.
Look at this logically, the last thing they want to do is remove the car, but they will use it as leverage to get as much of the debt from you as possible, all you can do is offer what you can as a down payment, and get a payment plan set up for the rest, but don`t be tempted to over extend yourself financially to do this.
Stopping bailiffs taking your vehicle - Citizens Advice
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I can't see that the OP has told us what debt this is.
Here is a factsheet explaining the scheme
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/breathing-space-ew/
Breathing space will start the day after the debtor’s details are put onto the breathing space register.
Marstons will likely get notified immediately by email.2 -
It's for a transport for london fine, which I think is congestion charge related?
I own the car outright.
I just wondered where I can find out if the Breathing Space will get me anywhere with Marstons, if I let them into my house they will take things, surely, and I don't have 1,800 worth of stuff anyway. I've already sold anything of value.
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I believe Marstons should remove the clamp. A local authority fine is not an excluded debt, and if they have not removed the car they cannot do that during Breathing Space.
They should not attempt to enter your property during BS and in any case do not have the right to force entry on this type of debt.0 -
fatbelly said:I believe Marstons should remove the clamp. A local authority fine is not an excluded debt, and if they have not removed the car they cannot do that during Breathing Space.
They should not attempt to enter your property during BS and in any case do not have the right to force entry on this type of debt.
They called me this morning trying to get me to pay 669. I told them about the breathing space and he said he would call me back after I sent him the document that Money Wellness sent me. I sent the document, it doesn't actually confirm I'm on it though, just that I had applied and it would start tomorrow (today)
He just called me and said, his exact words, don't worry about the money and he will call me later today to confirm removal of the clamp. They are obviously bound by the BS, but I am still scared - I called Money Wellness and they said it won't have been activated yet, but a supervisor is calling me back. It still seems to have been enough for now. I have no idea what to do, should I continue to try to borrow the money in case they find out it's not activated yet?0 -
The breathing space isn't active until tomorrow, he's taken it on my word anyway but I'm terrified he will look further into it and realise it's not active yet.0
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It's a big organisation, and an email sent to one bit might well take time to get passed to the individual dealing with your case. That side will be fine.
You now have 60 days to put a strategy together.
Is 'try to borrow the money' realistic? Do you have other debts? What did Money Welness suggest?0 -
fatbelly said:It's a big organisation, and an email sent to one bit might well take time to get passed to the individual dealing with your case. That side will be fine.
You now have 60 days to put a strategy together.
Is 'try to borrow the money' realistic? Do you have other debts? What did Money Welness suggest?
I have now received a government email stating that the Breathing Space starts tomorrow, I just hope the bailiff doesn't look too far into it and sticks to his word, but I'm guessing he doesn't have to
I can only borrow money from source that will require significant interest and I'll be in more trouble than this if I can't pay it back so it's not ideal. I have 14K worth of other debts and only very sporadic work. Money Wellness said they would contact me in around 20 days and may be able to put me on a debt management plan, but I would need a steadier income. I am job hunting for literally anything now that will give me a regular wage.
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I guess they couldn't recommend a DRO because of the car value being over 2k0
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