Variation N245 sent - can I contact Court Bailiff?

[weezle]

Hi Everyone,

 

I received a notificaton from Northampton County Bulk Court at the weekend to say that a CCJ has been passed against me and I must pay in full by 16th September or the Court Bailiff will come and take 'goods to sell at a public auction'.

 

I had already replied to the creditors solicitors but it appears that they had not passed on my request to pay in installments.

 

After reading the forum yesterday I downloaded an N245 variation from the justice.gov website and have sent off today recorded post.

 

I am really worried about the bailiff coming on the 16th Sept - can I call them and tell them I have sent Northampton the N245, or is that totally pointless??

 

How will I know if my request is successful and when will they tell me. Also if its refused will I have to pay the whole amount by 16th?

 

Thank you so much - I'm really worried, I live on my own with my small daughter.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, the bailiff won't call on the 16th - that is the date payment is due. If you do not pay by then, the creditor has to apply to the court for a warrant of execution and a letter advising you of this would be sent from your local court. The letter would give you another date to make payment by (usually only a few days) if you don't pay into court by that date then the local court bailiff will call. Local court bailiffs are usually ok to deal with and can be quite understanding of circumstances.

 

However, if you have sent a N245 to court, you should hear soon whether your offer of installments has been accepted.

 

Who are the solicitors ? are they acting for a bank or credit card/loan company ?

[weezle]

Hi,

 

I already have a 'notice of issue of warrant of execution' this is dated 2nd Sept. The date for returning the court forms was 30th Aug the CCJ was issued on 31st Aug.

 

The notice gives the details of the bailiffs at my local court - do you think I should contact them?

 

The solicitors are called Collins & Curtis and they are acting for a funeral directors.

 

Thanks for you help

[Ell-enn]

When did you send the court form to the solicitors ? did the court form state to reply to them and not the court? It looks as if they have gone for a default judgement straight away.

 

Have you sent the N245 to the address on the notice of warrant of execution ? should be your local court

[tomtubby]

I would strongly suggest that you contact the bailiff office as it is possible that the solicitor can apply to transfer up the debt to a High Court Enforcement Officer. The CCJ needs to be in excess of £600 for this to happen.

[weezle]

Hi,

 

I sent them to the solicitor because thats what it said on the court forms.

 

I have sent the N245 back to Northampton Bulk Court - should I have sent to my local court??

 

Its so confusing and you have so little time to get advice!!

 

But you do think I should contact court bailiff?

 

Thanks so much

[Ell-enn]

Do you have any proof that the solicitors received your defence forms ? i.e. did you send by recorded delivery?

 

If the warrant letter came from your local court then you should have sent the N245 to the local court as that's where the bailiff's will be coming from. How did you send the fee (£40) with the N244 ?

 

Did you take a photocopy of the form before sending?

[ploddertom]

The Court Bailiff will do as he is told regardless of any contact you may make with him. If he has received notice of the N245 then obviously he won't - I assume on this you applied to both vary the Judgment and suspend the Warrant. As has been said the Court Bailiff is usually quite amenable as he gets paid a salary and does not rely trying to rip you off with inflated fees. Of course you have to remember that even if he does call he has no automatic right of entry to your home, deny him this & otherwise prevent himseizing any goods outside and he is absolutely powerless.

 

The worry comes if they do as Tomtubby suggests.

[weezle]

Hello,

 

Yes, I did send recorded delivery to solicitors and I photocopied everything that I sent to Northampton Court yesterday. Shall I send copies of everything to my local court too?

 

It's seems really unfair, all the correspondence states that you should seek advice from the CAB but give you no time to actually wait for an appointment so you can make sure you are doing the right thing!!

 

I've also had a letter today from the solicitors - returning all my paperwork and rejecting my offer of 10 a month and stating their client will accept 130 a month over 6 months. But surely I've already got the CCJ now?? The original debt was 471. They can see from my I&E that I can't afford 130 a month.

 

I'm really so confused and obviously desperate to stop the bailiffs turning up on my doorstep.

 

What do you think is my best option?

 

Thank you

[tomtubby]

I personally would contact the court bailiff.

[Ell-enn]

As Tomtubby says, contact the bailiff office at your local court - there will be a number on the warrant letter. Explain to him that you have sent an N245 to Northampton, not realising that you should have sent it to the local court (they are usually perfectly polite and quite helpful) He may ask you to send a copy to him.

 

What date did the solicitors recieve your defence form? sounds to me like they didn't do anything with it then applied for a judgement by default straight away.

[weezle]

They got it the day before the CCJ was passed. I knew it would be close because I had to wait for an appointment at my local CAB and I only had 14 days to complete and send the forms back. But I had no idea it would be so quick to be passed.

 

I'll contact the local court in the morning and send them a copy of the N245 and everything else - do you think I should cancel my original cheque for 40.00 and send a new one to the local court. I could email Northampton County Court to tell them what I have done?

 

This is an absolute nightmare - why do things have to be so difficult??

[Ell-enn]

Northampton will no doubt pass your N245 to the local court - but it might be a good idea to ring them and ask if they have done that. Just explain you have only found out you should have sent it to local court.

[weezle]

Hello,

 

Phoned my local court and Northampton today - neither of them could tell me if my N245 would be passed on to the local court so I have sent another one today (recorded delivery) and another cheque to the local court.

 

I will phone bailiff's on Monday to see if they have been notified about the N245.

 

I would strongly advise anyone else who gets themselves in this situation to get some expert help in completing and where to send the forms. The instructions are not clear the timescales are really tight and if you live somewhere semi-rural with only a part-time local CAB office - you've basically had it!!

[FightToTheEnd]

Is this a CCA regulated debt? If so I'm pretty sure that HCEO can not be used and it will remain with local county court bailiffs.

[weezle]

Hello,

 

No, its not CCA regulated - its part of a funeral bill from a firm of undertakers who relocated and then had problems with the PO forwarding on their post.

 

I had no luck contacting the local court bailiffs, have left a few messages on a voicemail but they don't return the calls (maybe they don't have too??)

 

The local court helpdesk have been very nice and I have called every few days for an update on my case and they have assured me that the bailiffs will be aware that an N245 has been submitted.

 

So just have to wait and see what happens:?: