wrongly accused of shop lifting

[carla345]

asically i have spent the last year in canada and have been back in england for a month now. yesterday i was at work and i recieved a phone call from my sister telling me i had to go home as the police and a bailiff were at my house for me. i was shocked! ive never had any trouble with the police in my life. i left work and headed home to find out what the situation was that i was oblivious to, the bailiff told me that in 2008 i had been arrested for shoplifting in dorset. i do not and have never lived in dorset and i have never been arrested! also he was asking for the wrong name, i told him it was not my name and he had the wrong person. it was ridiculous! he was demanding that we pay him £395 or he had a warrent to come in to my home and take possesions. i just couldnt believe it. My grandad then paid the amount in cash upfront as the bailiff was blaintly not going anywhere, after he left i was straight on the phone to the dorset police, extremely upset and trying to explain my situation, i had to give my details and the lady told me that she was confused at the information on the computer as the details weren't matching up, the lady was very nice and contacted the majistrates to set up an investigation. The majistrates then contacted me and told me that infact they did have the wrong person, all they had to do was look at our national insurance numbers and they would have seen this in the first place!it should never have happened to me or my family! the bailiff came back today to give my grandad the money he had taken from him, but it should never have been taken in the first place if he or the system had done their job right. i have never experienced anything like this in my life, i found the whole day extremely distressing, i could barely eat for the anxiety i felt even when it was over, i feel like a victim of the law!!

[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome,

 

Sounds like a total nightmare.

 

I'll move this thread to the appropriate Forum.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[MARTIN3030]

Welcome to the site.

This then is a case of mistaken identity which should never have happened.

You should have a cause of action to be seeking compensation,but before you begin will need to have a record of events and some paperwork to support.

The bailiffs would have been acting on information from the Courts.

Can you say if you are outside the Dorset area ?

Have you had anything in writing from anyone ?

When the bailiff took payment,did you dispute any liability and explain you were innocent ?

[MARTIN3030]

I am going to move this to the Bailiff forums,because there are people who post there with good experience of Court process and maybe best placed to advise.

Ultimately if the original case was dealt with in Dorset,then your issues are with that Court.

It makes no difference whether the account was outsourced for tracing and collection to a tracing agent -The Court would share some liability since they were a party to it.

Need more information I think.

[carla345]

yes when my granada paid the fine, he was given a receipt, we have also kept the letter that the bailiff posted through the door when he arrived, stating the money i owed and the wrong name! i have dates showing i was in work on the day i was apparently caught shoplifting in dorset along with a bank statement showing a withdrawl from my local ATM on the day aswell. i will also be recieving a letter from the majistrates, explaining what has happened. when i arrived, my mum and my grandparents were all there, we were all telling him the name was wrong but somehow he had my address and date of birth. when he said id been arrested in 2008 i told him id never been arrested in my life but he just wasn't interested, as far as he was concerned i was just another criminal trying to plead my innocence, something he probably hears every day

[night-watchman]

....... just another criminal trying to plead my innocence, something he probably hears every day

 

Bailiffs are well versed in that department, THEY do it everyday

[Tingy]

Get to the GP and get recorded medical evidence of the anxiety you are suffering as a direct result of this.

[MARTIN3030]

Once you have the letter of explanation,then perhaps you will be more in a position to know who is to blame.

They should not be allowed to get away with this.

No doubt others will post some thoughts.

If you pursue a claim for damages it will be one of tort,which are not straightforward.

But in this situation I am reasonably confident that such is the weight of evidence in your favour,that it would not reach any Court,but could be settled without the need for litigation.

[MARTIN3030]

Keep us posted.

[carla345]

i will do and thankyou for giving me some direction,im a young adult and honestly have no experience in this sort of thing so thankyou for giving me some direction, im not directly blaming the bailiff but this was not fair and shouldnt have happened if the courts had got the right information in the first place, to be accused of something and made to pay such money when your completley innocent is a very frustrating situation,

[brassnecked]

If the bailiff has refunded the whole £395, which presumably was also made up partly of fees, would the main action be against HMCS, the court itself. Perhaps the intimation of press involvement would focus their minds and release a without prejudice offer of damages?

[MARTIN3030]

Yes press involvement does no harm-but maybe the OP does not want the publicity.

More important is to get to the bottom of how it happened - media contact can always be involved if needs be.

I will flag this up for site team since its worthy of some legal opinion.

Carla I have sent you a message.

[brassnecked]

Don't worry carla, there is some great advice on here, and press involvement is only one of a number of options, and is not always required. Sometimes the mere threat of the press without actually contacting them can be enough.

Your rights and privacy are paramount.

[seanamarts]

This sort of thing really pi**es me off.

Courts, councils etc make mistakes all the time and innocent people have to pay for it. Ok I agree its not always the bailiffs fault but would it hurt for him to double check details before bullying money out of people and assuming everyone is guilty therefore must pay until proven innocent.

I would ask for a full investigation and then sue who ever was at fault for maladministration.

[hallowitch]

did you provide proof to the bailiff that you were not the person in question (driving licence, passport ETC)

[carla345]

he never asked for a passport or anything, my mum and my grandparents were there and we were telling him it wasnt right, they had my middle name wrong. all he then said was that maybe i had made a mistake when id been arrested in dorset! One of the police officers wasn't even interested so he went to get his breakfast instead! the only thing that the courts had wrong was my middle name, he had my address and date of birth. as far as they were concerned i was guilty, im just glad i had my family there who believed me. but the distress that was caused could have been completley avoided, had they seen the national isurance numbers didn't match with the person id been mistaken for. bearing in mind i live near leeds, a good distance away from dorset, so how i even came to be confused with this other girl is beyond me

[brassnecked]

did you provide proof to the bailiff that you were not the person in question (driving licence, passport ETC)

 

If you offered ID and the bailiff refused to look at it or dismissed it and still demanded the money, then there may be grounds for an action against the bailiff imho

[fork-it]

Have your grandfather contact his bank and get the payment refunded to his account. The bailiff has made a false representation when he obtained the money transfer.

 

If the bailiff has a problem then tell him to contact the court and let the court service contact you.

 

Speak to a CAB adviser and ask they intervene and make enquiries with Dorset Police, if the Police wrongly accused you and it was their fault, then the IPCC is your best place. If the court service or the bailiff used wrong information to obtain money from your grandfather, then you need to start the court service complaints procedure. Dont bother with the Bailiffs complaints proceedure - its not authority. Escalate your complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman if the Court Service complaint fails.

[brassnecked]

Have your grandfather contact his bank and get the payment refunded to his account. The bailiff has made a false representation when he obtained the money transfer.

 

If the bailiff has a problem then tell him to contact the court and let the court service contact you.

 

Speak to a CAB adviser and ask they intervene and make enquiries with Dorset Police, if the Police wrongly accused you and it was their fault, then the IPCC is your best place. If the court service or the bailiff used wrong information to obtain money from your grandfather, then you need to start the court service complaints procedure. Dont bother with the Bailiffs complaints proceedure - its not authority. Escalate your complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman if the Court Service complaint fails.

 

According to carla's first post the bailiff came back and refunded the money, but that is not the point, the point is it should never have hapenned the NINO was different, and this should have been checked and confirmed before the court in Dorset sent a bailiff on a mission to gather cash. What if bailiff found no one in and court issued warrant without bail and in spite of ID carla was dragged off to Dorset? yes complaints all round and IPCC,

[fork-it]

, the point is it should never have hapenned the NINO was different, ,

 

NINO, do you means a National Insurance Number?

 

I dont think this information is held by and credit agencies, or police in criminal proceedings.

[brassnecked]

NINO, do you means a National Insurance Number?

 

I dont think this information is held by and credit agencies, or police in criminal proceedings.

 

It was referred to in carla's first post, and I don't think they do access them as a matter of routine, but where there is a possible mistaken identity, unless the ID has been stolen, a NINO would be one way of distinguishing between two people with same or similar names.

[fork-it]

I think carla's photo ID would be enough, the police would have a mugshot on file.

[brassnecked]

I think carla's photo ID would be enough, the police would have a mugshot on file.

 

True, they would be able to check that out, but it would likely be at the police office, unless they mms a pic for comparison to plods mobile

[MARTIN3030]

The bailiffs are third parties here,the cause of action is with who instructed them.

It is not so easy to prove that the bailiffs proceeded to enforce despite denials,but it is crystal clear that those who instructed them did not do their homework.

[fork-it]

Carla, contact your MP and ask him to intervene.