Warrent of Control Center not answering phone

Valimatka

Hello,

I received a letter from South East Warrant of Control centre saying about bailiffs coming out regarding a debt from Cabot and no amount given and according to the letter they have said they've sent out a notice letter and tried phoning me. Neither of which have happened. 

I have been trying to phone them since Monday when I received the letter. Since then I have attempted to phoned them several times. I'm either hung up on saying the lines are busy or it just rings and rings for over 30+ mins and nobody answers. No "We are busy please hold." message just ringing. 

I've also been trying to phone the county court phone number on the letter and I've been stuck on hold with them several times for over 30 minutes each time and nobody answering.

I just want to get this sorted out and a payment plan set up since my income has decreased since I'm having to fight to get my PIP back after they said I no longer am eligible for it even though my health has got worse. 

What can I do about them not answering the phone?

I've been taking photos and screenshots showing I've been trying to phone them as well.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Grumpelstiltskin

Hold on has a CCJ been awarded against you?

If so have you paid anything on it?

Valimatka

According to this letter it says

"We need to talk to you about money you owe which has been issued with a warrant. This means the court has decided you must pay the debt. A County Court bailiff will come to your home if you do not contact us."

There's no amount on the letter to tell me what I apparently owe and no date from when the debt was from. If a CCJ was awarded against me I never received any paperwork about it or I would have set up a payment plan for it. 

RAS

Have you checked your credit records? You can do it for free via MSE. They would show any CCJ within 6 years.

Valimatka

It looks like there is one on my credit file, but I've never received any paperwork or phone calls regarding this. I would have set up a payment plan as soon as I knew about it if I did. 

Grumpelstiltskin

So have you moved house in the last few years?

My guess is they have been contacting a different address.

BadDebtor

Sounds like a scam or a back door CCJ that has been obtained at an old address.

First rule, NEVER let a bailiff into your home, if it is for a business then they will be able to enter a business premises. I do believe that they have more rights if the debt is for something like Council Tax, but on YouTube people send them packing even for those debts it seems.

If a CCJ has been obtained for a consumer debt that was statute barred at the time of the Judgement then you can apply to the Court for it to be set aside, however, if the CCJ is getting to 6 years old then it makes no sense to set it aside unless you have very strong evidence.  It costs over £250 to file the application and you will only get it if you can prove it was void to begin with.

A Warrant of Control is just a creditor asking bailiffs to examine what you have so they can make a list and see what they can sell.

The bailiff should give you seven clear days’ notice that they are due to visit you. This is often called the ‘enforcement notice’. ‘Clear days’ do not include Sundays, Christmas Day or bank holidays.  Chances are the call was to try and arrange a visit to save them visiting, that's why I would not be calling them over consumer debt.

Baliffs have no right of entry to your home except if you leave a door unlocked and they can gain peaceable entry, since 2014 they have not been allowed to enter via a window but keep them shut anyway.     If you let them in once then they have right to come back in.

I never open the door and a ring doorbell allows you to converse whether in or out, they don't like cameras for some reason!

It sounds like County Court Bailiffs but I have heard of scammy debt collectors pretending to be them, that being said there are these 12 Support Centres, you can read about those at this HCEO company

https://shergroup.com/post/are-you-using-a-warrant-of-control-centre-we-ask-why/  

If it was a consumer debt, e.g. a credit card,  then it is not recoverable via High Court Enforcement.

This National Debtline fact sheet explains process 

https://nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/county-court-bailiffs-ew/

However, remember if you don't let them in they can't force entry, some have been known to put foot in door which is not allowed, another reason I don't engage with them.  

This is a useful summary read the slides too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yh_N3DYSMU


It is really going to depend on what the debt was originally for?

Don't give detail on here that will identify you, like the exact amount.

Don't worry about them not answering phone, go online and pick any court then choose any number including bailiffs, they take forever to answer, often the calls are redirected to a central call centre who are as useful as a canoe in rapids without a paddle.

What they want is to get you to be compliant and agree for them to come knocking, even if they come in they are time limited so if you can block them from passing in the way shown in this video then they will get bored and go to the next sucker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFvnGs6csD8

RAS

Valimatka said:

It looks like there is one on my credit file, but I've never received any paperwork or phone calls regarding this. I would have set up a payment plan as soon as I knew about it if I did. 

OK, ring the court tomorrow and try to find out more about. 

What date is the CCJ?  

Bailiffs get paid fees for every visit, and in particular for attending your house to list goods, to secure the debt. So don't agree to a visit and keep doors and windows locked. Do you have a car?

Do you have enough money to pay off the debt in full if need be?

fatbelly

These. WOC centres are not really working are they?

You will see that they are supposed to contact you to engage with the creditor, in this case Cabot.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKHMCTS/bulletins/24c3af1

So if that-s what you want to do, go ahead.

Equally if you want to ignore this process, the account goes back to Cabot. You are not going to get an aggressive bailiff as this is the County Court

If you want to contact the WOC you should be able to email them on

Oxfordwocsc@justice.gov.uk

Valimatka

RAS said:

Valimatka said:

It looks like there is one on my credit file, but I've never received any paperwork or phone calls regarding this. I would have set up a payment plan as soon as I knew about it if I did. 

OK, ring the court tomorrow and try to find out more about. 

What date is the CCJ?  

Bailiffs get paid fees for every visit, and in particular for attending your house to list goods, to secure the debt. So don't agree to a visit and keep doors and windows locked. Do you have a car?

Do you have enough money to pay off the debt in full if need be?

I'll call them as soon as I get up tomorrow, 

The Default Date on the Credit File was 2018. I need to check the file again since I couldn't find a date for the CCJ on there. It could be me being an idiot and not reading it right. 

Nope, no car, I'm not healthy enough to drive one. 

Not a chance. I'm on benefits and I've got no savings either. 

Valimatka

fatbelly said:

<snip> 

If you want to contact the WOC you should be able to email them on

Oxfordwocsc@justice.gov.uk

Thank you for the email address! This will give me a chance to have a paper trail when contacting them.