Marston Bailiffs removed car illegally, now they're pursuing me again even though they have my car!!! Help please!!!?

[ploddertom]

Oh i absolutely will be following this up dont worry! i just want to get my facts straight before i go to the police and write a formal complaint to the council.

 

In answer to the other questions, no i have had no letter of intention to seize my vehicle. That isn't what I meant, but note you make reference to it in the next paragraph. The bailiff told me he hand delivered a letter but did not mention seizure of the car in it ''because he didnt have to''.

 

The only paperwork i have been left with is the goods inventory for my car, signed by him. This appears to be your Notice of Seizure - does it say Form 7 on it anywhere. He very cleverly took the only other document which was a notice of distress with the original amount on of £217, plus charges for two visits and a van. I didnt sign it obviously but he's taken it with him.

 

Has he left you a Notice of Removal - Form 9?

[nikkikitch]

Nope, the goods inventory only. Signed by himself and the removal firm.

[nikkikitch]

it doesnt say form 7 either. Literally says Goods Inventory with the account reference number, debtors name, date, details of the car and any damage, then it says received by auctioneer, date and signed by the removal chap then signed by the bailiff. Thats it!

[ploddertom]

it doesnt say form 7 either. Literally says Goods Inventory with the account reference number, debtors name, date, details of the car and any damage, then it says received by auctioneer, date and signed by the removal chap then signed by the bailiff. Thats it!

 

Is that the only document you have ever received regarding the car?

[nikkikitch]

Yes.

[nikkikitch]

Like i said, he handed me a letter when he attended in the morning which was a notice of distress, but didnt mention the car, just that they would be attending to seize goods and he hasnt left that with me anyway!

[ploddertom]

Sounds to me as if all you have been left is the removal notice, which therefore suggests he may not have followed procedure correctly. Is there any chance you can scan and post up the paperwork you do have, best done as a PDF and remember to remove all personal identifiers.

[nikkikitch]

I dont have a scanner unfortunately, ill try and take a photo and see if that works

[nikkikitch]

Hi All

 

Just a quick update on this and actually wondered if anyone could clarify something.

 

I requested copies of the bailiffs certificates from Marstons and also some documentation as to the whereabouts of my car and the final costs. I have received neither and its almost a month ago.

 

In the meantime, i have checked the register and the bailiff in question isnt on it and also i clarified this with Northampton (which took over two weeks via email) but they also advised me to check with the court where the bailiff is registered.

 

I called Marstons to once again request copies of the bailiff certificates to which i was very rudely told, that Marstons were certificated and so the individual bailiffs didnt have to be as they were working on behalf of Marstons. She also told me that the register is only updated once a year so is probably inaccurate anyway.

She then told me she wouldnt speak to me any longer and would mark my account as refusing to pay! haha.

 

I just wondered is this right? Would an individual be covered on a company bailiff certificate? It was my understanding that the individual bailiff had to be certificated to collect council tax arrears?

Is there any accurate way I can check this?

 

Thanks

[unclebulgaria67]

They have to be individually certified to actually perform any levy. From what I gather, they sometimes send one person who is not certified, with another who should be.

 

Have you not made a compliant to the Police yet ? Taking a car without being a certified bailiff is actually theft.

[nikkikitch]

I will be complaining to the police, I've just been trying to ascertain the facts first. It took the court two weeks to get back to me and Marstons are no help! I only have the name of the main guy who took the car and who has signed the good inventory notice, so i presume he is responsible. His name is not on the register.

[tomtubby]

Have you made a FORMAL COMPLAINT in writing to Marston Group and to the LOCAL AUTHORITY. The LA are "wholly responsible" for the levy and fees charged by THEIR agents.

 

The information about the bailiff certification is wrong. The CORRECT position is that the court will update the bailiff register when new information is received from the court that grants or renews the bailiff certificate. So many times the error occurs with the issuing court failing to notify Northampton.

 

Can you list down a breakdown of the charges applied to your account by the bailiff.

 

PS: I would suggest as well that you call the council again as the amount of the Liability Order would have to include the summons costs etc. What is the amount of council tax before court fees?

[nikkikitch]

That's the next step, i wanted to find out if the bailiff is certificated before I make the complaint to both the council and the police.

 

That's exactly why i want to try and find out if he is certificated as it seems the information at Northampton could be inaccurate.

 

I have no idea what the additional bailiff charges are, i wasn't left with any paperwork! I have requested this information twice from Marstons but have still not received it.

 

Again, i don't know! The total the bailiff was originally trying to recover was around £200.

[ploddertom]

If Marstons won't provide it then dump all in the Council's lap as they are responsible for the actions & charges of their agents & don't take any buck from them.

[nikkikitch]

Hi

 

I have now drafted my complaint letters to the police and council.

 

I have stated that i will be seeking damages from the council. Im a bit unclear as to what I can claim here? Marstons told me my car hasnt been sold, so they can return the car. But what about actual damages for trespass, loss of earnings on the day of the event, loss of transportation for my business and family, travel expenses etc.

 

Am i seeking a lump sum as compensation?

[seanamarts]

You need to take one thing at a time, Make your complaints to the council and Marstons first.

 

Did you request a copy of the certificate from the council?

 

This bailiff acted way beyond what he can do, forcing his way in is totally unacceptable. He had no rights what so ever to push past you and for the officer that was there, should not have allowed this, period!!

 

As for trespass, that is a very hard thing to argue over.

 

If you get no joy from the council then you would need to contact the Ombudsman, but please go through the complaints procedure first.

 

Please keep us informed.

[nikkikitch]

A copy of the bailiff certificate from the council? No because they wouldn't hold that information, the court does. But as hes not registered, there isnt a certificate! Ive detailed what happened and bullet pointed the breaches of enforcement, which total 8!

[seanamarts]

The council can request a copy from Marstons, if he does have a copy. If the council request to see it and they can not provide it then the council would need to know why Marstons are sending out an uncertificated bailiff to collect due CT, when they know that ALL bailiff that are collecting on their behalf should be certificated.

 

Marstons will hold a copy of all their bailiffs certificates.

 

Marstons will be very foolish if they have sent out an uncertificated bailiff, especially if they are trying to work in getting their act together, so too speak.

[nikkikitch]

Hi

 

Yes ive asked Marstons already and she told me that the bailiff was certificated under their company certificate!

I understand now that individual bailiffs have to be certificated, they cant be under a company.

 

Ill send the letter and the council can investigate it further! I've checked with both the register of bailiffs and my local country court and the name isn't on either.

 

Thanks

[seanamarts]

I doubt whether the bailiff would be certificated under your local court. It could be that he was certificated at another court. Your court wouldnt have these records. Do you know what court he was registered at before his certificate ran out. It would be worth contacting them to see if he had renewed it there.

[nikkikitch]

No i dont know what court he is registered at as Marstons wont tell me. Therefore, i checked the national register, which he is not in. Im in Manchester so just as an afterthought, i checked with Manchester County Court.

 

This is why im asking, is there an accurate, up to date way i can check?

[seanamarts]

Can you PM me his name please

[nikkikitch]

Hi there,

 

I posted nearly a year ago about Marstons bailiffs acting on behalf of my local council for an outstanding council tax bill.

 

The liability order was for £217 and Marstons removed my car, which I use for my self employment business which was worth £2.5k at the time!!!

 

I have just gone through a stage 3 complaint with the council who are still refusing to accept that the bailiffs acted illegally. I have detailed it all in earlier posts if anyone wants to read about it, but basically they gained access by using a police officer, made out i was causing a breach of the peace, then basically bullied me for 6 hours by making various threats about removing my sons items, my mobile phone and other items which were not valid.

 

In the end they took my car, which i use for my work as I'm an events manager, so I use it not just to get to and from events but to carry equipment.

 

The council have ignored my complaint on two occasions and it took the Ombudsman to contact them to get them to escalate it to a stage 3, their response is the same as it was originally in that they haven't accepted anything I've said about the bullying tactics used, but more importantly that the bailiffs acted illegally, taking a £2.5k car for a £217 bill.

 

Their argument is that the car would have fetched much less at auction and that there were also bailiff charges added to the £217 bill. Before the new legislation this year, I know that bailiffs could only charge a certain amount per visit, but they've tried to add a further £500 in charges.

 

My car STILL hasn't been sold a year down the line from what I can gather and the bailiffs are now trying to pursue the bill AGAIN, I received a letter about it last week.

 

The next stage is to get the Ombudsman to investigate properly but my question is what happens then if nothing comes out of that?

 

I have told the council I'm going to sue them for damages as I've had to use public transport for a year to run my business, its crippled me financially and I've missed work because of it!!

 

This is downright bullying and just disgusting to be honest. Just to clarify my situation:

 

Bailiffs attended my property and gained access by using a police officer, they told her I'd started screaming on my doorstep and caused a breach of the peace- NOT TRUE

 

They then removed items from my home including my sons items, placed them all on my front garden for the world to see

 

I was threatened with physical violence if I didn't hand over my mobile phone- Illegal, they cannot remove mobile phones because of data protection. Just to add, the police officer did nothing when i was threatened with this violence!

 

After 6 hours of trying to scare me in to paying on the spot and even though i made three offers of payment, the bailiffs would not accept and decided to remove my car instead even though i told them i used it for work.

 

I called the council twice whilst they were there to offer payment- it was not accepted.

 

After 6 hours, they decided to take my car, leaving all the other household items they had removed on my driveway.

 

I was left with no paperwork and didn't sign anything.

 

The bailiffs laughed and joked with the police officer whilst i sat in tears.

 

I complained to my local police station about the police officers conduct- she didn't have a clue, at one point the bailiffs threatened to take my housemates laptop and so i hid it, then was told by the police officer if i didn't hand it over, it would be considered theft and i could be arrested.

 

I put in a formal complaint with the council asking for my car to be returned and i received an email from them from Marstons with the biggest load of CRAP i have ever heard. Basically saying I was abusive and wouldn't co-operate and they followed procedure.

 

Just a load of rubbish basically, to say its been stressful trying to sort this out is an understatement, I don't know how our local governments can treat their residents so badly to be honest.

 

Anyway, i will escalate this to the Ombudsman next but just wanted some advice on what happens if they come back with nothing!? I need my car back, I've had to pay the insurance for a year with no car to use! Its cost me an absolute fortune in public transport and I need a solution! PLUS as I'e said above, I'm now being pursued AGAIN for the same bill!??

 

Sorry long post, it's just so frustrating!

[dx100uk]

old threads merged for history

 

dx

[nikkikitch]

This is a different account ha! The one above is a separate issue, I'm not having much luck ha! It's what you get from moving house lots and sharing with other people