Bailiff Been, Advice Please.

[oneman]

Hi all this is my first post so not sure if I am doing it correctly, but here goes.

 

About 3 years ago me & my wife's small business went bump, owing money to a few suppliers & the bank. We were left with nothing we lived in rented property & didn't have a car or anything just the dole. We wrote to everyone explaining & sent proof & most excepted that bar one.

He threatened us with court we offered what we could but he refused & took us to court.

The bottom line is he got judgement & a Bailiff has been. We filled a form to set aside but it got sent back saying no grounds & if we want to ask for time to pay a fee of £50 had to be paid (which we cannot afford).

The Bailiff has been today we didn't open the door or speak to him he waited outside for a bit then pushed a note through saying he will be back with a van & locksmith to break in & remove goods.

Can he do that what can I do?

 

Any help please?

[unclebulgaria67]

No they can't break in. It is only for criminal fines that a bailiff may force entry or High Court actions such as an eviction.

 

Is this a High Court Enforcement Officer for a debt above £600 or just an ordinary bailiff ?

 

If you are on benefits you can complete two form for the court. One to request a hearing so they can assess what you can afford to pay and another to exempt yourself from the fee.

 

Is this country court or high court now ?

[unclebulgaria67]

The court forms that you would need are N245 to ask to make affordable repayments and EX160a re court fee exemption. The government site that contains these forms seems to be down at the moment.

[oneman]

Hi, thanks for your quick reply.

 

The debt is for £1500, the paperwork I have is stamped County Court, although the address say's High court of Justice?

The letter he has left say's Aberystwyth County Court.

 

We have filled in both the forms & they sent it back saying we didn't have grounds?

 

Thanks

[unclebulgaria67]

Hi, thanks for your quick reply.

 

The debt is for £1500, the paperwork I have is stamped County Court, although the address say's High court of Justice?

The letter he has left say's Aberystwyth County Court.

 

We have filled in both the forms & they sent it back saying we didn't have grounds?

 

Thanks

 

This is not to complete them for a set aside. This is to vary the order, so you can make affordable repayments. If you are on benefits, the court will look at your income/expenses so it can be worked out what you could afford.

[oneman]

So we have to fill both forms in again only this time instead of asking to be set aside ask to vary the order to make affordable payments?

What if the bailiff comes back, can he still not force entry ?

[unclebulgaria67]

So we have to fill both forms in again only this time instead of asking to be set aside ask to vary the order to make affordable payments?

What if the bailiff comes back, can he still not force entry ?

 

Yes complete the forms asking to make affordable payments. The court staff will help you, if you ask.

 

The bailiff cannot force entry to the house. But they can get into separate outbuildings like a shed or separate garage. They may also try to seize any car outside. So anything of any value outside of the house should be put somewhere safe. If the enforcement officer returns, do not open the door. Keep it locked and also make sure windows are shut.

 

Suggest that you get the forms completed and ask to make an urgent application to the court.

[oneman]

Thanks for your quick reply, we live in a first floor flat so have no out buildings, & we don't own a car. We will get the forms filled in again & send them recorded delivery, (the court is 90 miles round trip from us).

[ploddertom]

Think you will find you are getting your forms mixed up. If you applied for set Aside this would have been on Form N244 whereas a Variation Order is done on Form N245 which is different. Have you also thought about applying for a Stay of Execution against the Writ which if granted halts all further enforcement action & charges. Have you received a Notice of Enforcement prior to him attending?

[oneman]

Hi yea we realised that from earlier posts, last night we filled in the correct forms & have sent them off recorded post this morning. We sent an email to court & a copy to the bailiff office advising them of what we had done. This morning we had a reply saying that unless I ring the bailiff he will still be calling with a locksmith to gain entry & remove goods.

From other posts & advice I have read they say not to ring the bailiff so I have refused to do so. I have replied again saying we had sent in the forms which they sent back with no advice what to do so we had sought advice & was carrying out that advice.

Any advice on what to do if the bailiff turns up with a locksmith?

Yes we had a notice of enforcement & we responded with the form 244 but it was rejected because we had filled it in wrong, so we completed a second form which again was rejected, now we understand why as it was the wrong form.

 

Thank you.

[oneman]

Any further advise please, I have to go into hospital on 22nd to check on a possible heart problem I have & all this stress isn't helpful, ( I have also told the court & bailiff this)

[ploddertom]

Any further advise please, I have to go into hospital on 22nd to check on a possible heart problem I have & all this stress isn't helpful, ( I have also told the court & bailiff this)

 

There is a distinct possibility you may be classed as vulnerable Have you had a heart attack previously? Do you take medication for any heart problems? What tests are you actually going in for? I'm not being nosy but trying to establish at what stage you are at.

[ploddertom]

Even though you have sent the forms off to the the Court this does not prevent the Enforcement Agent attending, only a Stay of Execution can do this. I assume he is attending your home address & providing he has not gained entry previously no way can he force entry with or without locksmiths.

 

Did your wife trade a sole trader or Ltd Co? Did she trade from separate business premises?

[oneman]

Hi ploddertom,

 

We traded as a joint trader from a lock up shop which was the address for everything, we never used our home address for anything, in fact we moved from the home we had (which was rented) as we couldn't afford it after going out of business & have moved to a small flat.

The bailiff has never gained entry into here.

 

Thanks

[oneman]

There is a distinct possibility you may be classed as vulnerable Have you had a heart attack previously? Do you take medication for any heart problems? What tests are you actually going in for? I'm not being nosy but trying to establish at what stage you are at.

 

I haven't had a heart attack (yet), I am on medication & have to carry a spray around with me just in case. All i know at the minute is that my GP has referred me to Wrexham Cardiac unit for test's & my appointment is 22nd this month.

 

Roy

[ploddertom]

What you should do is to write a letter to the Enforcement Co claiming vulnerability as per The National Standards for Enforcement Agents 2014 on the basis of your ongoing cardiac problems, enclose a copy of your hospital appointment & a copy of your medication = I assume you have been prescribed a GTN Spray & beta blockers (Atenolol).

[oneman]

What you should do is to write a letter to the Enforcement Co claiming vulnerability as per The National Standards for Enforcement Agents 2014 on the basis of your ongoing cardiac problems, enclose a copy of your hospital appointment & a copy of your medication = I assume you have been prescribed a GTN Spray & beta blockers (Atenolol).

 

The enforcement company are the court bailiffs & we have told them but not forward copy of appointment & medication, I will do that now, thanks for your help

[ploddertom]

The enforcement company are the court bailiffs - do you mean the County Court Bailiff - & we have told them but not forward copy of appointment & medication, I will do that now, thanks for your help

 

PT

[oneman]

Yea sorry they are the county court bailiffs

[ploddertom]

Hi, thanks for your quick reply.

 

The debt is for £1500, the paperwork I have is stamped County Court, although the address say's High court of Justice?

The letter he has left say's Aberystwyth County Court.

 

We have filled in both the forms & they sent it back saying we didn't have grounds?

 

Thanks

 

Yea sorry they are the county court bailiffs

 

I'm a bit confused now as to who you actually are dealing with. Although they basically do the same job the ways of dealing with them are different.

[oneman]

Hi,

The original letter we had was a notice of allocation to the small claims track, it was stamped county court, but the address was high court. All the letters we have had since just say county court. The letters the bailiff have left have the same address & say van section county court.

 

Sorry if I have confused you not quite sure myself what is happening.

[unclebulgaria67]

Hi,

The original letter we had was a notice of allocation to the small claims track, it was stamped county court, but the address was high court. All the letters we have had since just say county court. The letters the bailiff have left have the same address & say van section county court.

 

Sorry if I have confused you not quite sure myself what is happening.

 

A successful claimant can pay a fee to upgrade to high court, so that they can employ a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) to try to collect monies owed. An HCEO can sometimes have more success in obtained monies, than a standard country court bailiff.

 

You could phone the court to see whether it is country court still or High Court. They will tell you.

 

If it is still county court and you have one that is nearer to you, then you can use the one nearest to you.

[oneman]

A successful claimant can pay a fee to upgrade to high court, so that they can employ a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) to try to collect monies owed. An HCEO can sometimes have more success in obtained monies, than a standard country court bailiff.

 

You could phone the court to see whether it is country court still or High Court. They will tell you.

 

If it is still county court and you have one that is nearer to you, then you can use the one nearest to you.

 

Thanks, I have just checked all the paperwork including what he left yesterday and it all say's county court. This is the nearest one to us, they closed one nearer when they opened this new one.

[ploddertom]

Can we try and establish what paperwork you have been supplied with. When the Enforcement Agent first contacted you was this titled Notice of Enforcement? Since he has now visited does the paperwork he left refer to a "Warrant of Control" or a "Writ of Control", please read it carefully as they are different?

[oneman]

First we got the warrant of execution through the post, then the bailiff called & left a letter that just said calling card.The next 2 times he has left a letter that just say's van levy on it, we have had nothing that say's "Warrant of Control" or a "Writ of Control"

He has never been in our flat or even spoke to us.