marston marstons Bailiff letter for United utilities water debt

[ajd01]

Hi,

i have a United utilities debt that's just over 4k

 

 

.i have received a letter from marstons bailiffs saying they are calling start of next week to remove goods

 

 

.i have had 2 previous letters,

not so much ignored but with work commitments it is has been difficult to get hold of them due to there opening times.

 

 

i am in a position to make arrangement for a payment plan.

 

 

my main problem is trusting them and knowing where I stand with this.

 

Just asking for advice on whether they will accept a payment plan.

 

 

i could make an initial payment for around 400 then 30 per week there after.

do you think this would be suitable and they would accept.

 

i think this would be reasonable considering even with my car

they would struggle to take possession of things that would be anywhere near to this amount.

 

 

i also have the original letter with Mobile number for the bailiff,would it be worth ringing him to maybe sort this out before they visit

 

Any advice would be welcome

[unclebulgaria67]

Is this for private residential or business ?

 

Has there been a CCJ ?

 

Are Marstons acting as county court or high court bailiff ? There is a difference.

 

Unlikely they would agree over the phone to a payment plan. You could try with United Utilities too see whether they would agree to it, even if Marstons are supposed to be dealing. Sometimes the creditor is more open to a repayment arrangement and if they accept, then Marstons would have to go along with it.

 

For you to do a deal with Marstons, they will want to levy on goods, but they would need to more than cover the debt. But they can then charge you more in fees.

 

If you can advise on the above questions, people can advise a bit more.

[ajd01]

It states they are acting as high court and it is personal not business.

 

I have tried to get United utilities to take the debt back this morning but they refused.

 

I have no problem dealing with marstons and making payment to them

but don't won't them turning up demanding full payment as there is no way I can pay this

,and this is what is worrying me.

 

 

they are due Tuesday but if I ring the bailiff tonight I can arrange for him to meet me earlier.

 

 

just worried about him not agreeing to payment plan.

 

And as I also stated what they could legally take would be nowhere near worth the debt.

 

Thanks

[renegadeimp]

If all your belongings obviously wont cover the debt ( a lot of items are not allowed to be taken), then all the bailiff can do is hand the debt back to the claimant and tell them as much.

[unclebulgaria67]

You can apply to your nearest High Court to come to a repayment arrangement that is affordable, via a stay of execution. This is probably the best route to take in your circumstances.

 

A link to National Debtline information is here

 

You could call National Debtline and they will chat through this with you, so you can then action what you need to do.

[ajd01]

Thank you both for the advice,

 

 

hopefully renegadeimp,

this is what will happen.

 

 

i must be honest I have buried my head in the sand a little with stress of debts.

 

 

but I am now trying to face them all but just the time to catch up and stick to realistic payment I can keep.

 

Any further advice is welcome

[ajd01]

Just been reading about filing the n244.

 

 

dont think there is time for this as the letter was delivered yesterday

and it says they are going to call on Tuesday,

 

 

but also the letter is dated the 10th and it was the 11th yesterday.

 

 

bit obviously I can not argue this with them.

 

 

also in national debt line it states 7 clear days excluding weekends..so is this actually correct

[unclebulgaria67]

Just been reading about filing the n244.dont think there is time for this as the letter was delivered yesterday and it says they are going to call on Tuesday,but also the letter is dated the 10th and it was the 11th yesterday.bit obviously I can not argue this with them.also in national debt line it states 7 clear days excluding weekends..so is this actually correct

 

You can make an urgent application. Marstons cannot force entry to your house for this debt, but you need to deny them the opportunity to levy on anything outside. So remove the car from the drive and park it away from the house. Remove anything of value from separate garages and sheds. Keep doors and windows locked,

 

Once you have given the court your urgent application, get confirmation they have received it and then phone Marstons/email them a copy, saying you have made an urgent application to the court for a stay of execution. They may then not bother to come out to see you.

 

You will have to find out your nearest high court and go there in person Friday or Monday to hand the application to them.

[lookinforinfo]

Adj

 

 

no one appears to have asked you about their Notice of Enforcement.

 

 

If they have not got it right it can put things back a couple of weeks so it is worth looking at.

 

If you can please let us know what the date on the Notice was, the date it arrived and when they said they would call.

 

As an aside,

how did you manage to run up a debt with the water board for £4000 that must be about 10 years of unpaid bills.

Also it would be in your interest to contact the bailiff to try and arrange a payment scheme

since if they call on you that will add a further £235 to the bill.

 

I understand that you have a problem paying, like many of us on here but I cannot see the bailiff agreeing to your proposal

as it will take about 2 and a half years to pay.

 

 

Your best bet is to sort out the matter of repayment with the Court which will then make the bailiff redundant.

 

 

However if you are unable to make the payments on the due date,

you will get a further visit at least from them which will incur more charges so make sure that whatever you offer to repay you can do it

without running the risk of a missing payment.

 

I know paying weekly sounds better in many ways but sending payments off every week for 2 years and more

is a recipe for disaster perhaps, as bank holidays, your own holidays etc may mean that your payment is later than it should be.

holidays and

[ajd01]

Again thank you for all the advice.

 

I am going to speak to the bailiff tonight to see what he says.

 

 

i am happy for him to call as long as an arrangement for payment can be agreed.

 

 

the last comment does worry me slightly but surely it would be in a better interest for plan to be put place

rather than take goods that will not amount to much if sold.

 

 

the last letter was posted yesterday but dated the 10th..

And giving notice of removal contractors on 17th with the purpose to visit and remove sufficient of goods to satisfy the writ..

 

It does go on to say to contact the office to arrange convient time to meet on this day or avoid the attendance.

[unclebulgaria67]

Again thank you for all the advice.

I am going to speak to the bailiff tonight to see what he says.i am happy for him to call as long as an arrangement for payment can be agreed.the last comment does worry me slightly but surely it would be in a better interest for plan to be put place rathe than take goods that will not amount to much if sold.the last letter was posted yesterday but dated the 10th.. And giving notice of removal contractors on 17th with the purpose to visit and remove sufficient of goods to satisfy the writ..

 

It does go on to say to contact the office to arrange convient time to meet on this day or avoid the attendance.

 

Stay of execution is the advised route to take, but it is up to you. Perhaps call National Debtline who are open to 8pm for another view point. If they agree, then you have two sources saying what the best option is.

 

If you try to deal with Marstons, you could well end up paying more. Because it is now HCEO enforcement, I don't think they have to give notice, although it is seen as best practice. That is what I have read.

[ajd01]

Ok.

If I go with the stay of execution can I do this Monday morning and have it dealt with Monday when I go to the courts.as this will be the only day I get to do it.

 

Thanks

[i hate bailiffs]

You need to remember they could only remove goods from inside the property if you let them in or leave doors unlocked

 

The only property they could take from outside is a car\ anything of value in detached garages\ sheds ect

[wonkeydonkey]

Ok.

If I go with the stay of execution can I do this Monday morning and have it dealt with Monday when I go to the courts.as this will be the only day I get to do it.

 

Thanks

 

There is no guarantee you will be seen by a Judge on Monday

but once you have submitted the application it would be as well to email Marstons to advise them its filed with the Court

and give the case number so they can check.

 

 

If they want to waste their time attending after that, then thats their problem,

 

 

all you need to do is refuse to speak with them other than to advise them yet again you are waiting a decision from the Court.

[ploddertom]

If you say you have previously received 2 letters from them over this then sadly the fees will be racking up already.

 

 

I suspect you will have been charged £75 +VAT as a Compliance Fee when they first wrote to you,

this should have been a Notice of Enforcement giving you 7 clear days to make contact to pay in full or agree a payment schedule.

 

 

I suspect that you did not respond to this and things moved on to Stage 1 Enforcement where a fee of £190 +VAT + 7.5% of any amount over £1000.

 

 

Again it looks as if no response or contact was made and you have moved to Stage 2 Enforcement where a fee of £495 +VAT will have been added.

 

 

You can see that the fees added are probably well over £1000.

 

 

Because you have failed to respond so far will probably mean they will not be prepared to accept an instalment plan although this decision should be made by the Creditor.

 

Even if you apply for a Stay of Execution it could be that you may be held responible for any fees to date.

The attending Officer will only make so many visits before realising he is wasting his time and has no option but to return the Writ back to the Creditor,

in turn other forms of Enforcement could be attempted

- Charging Order, if you own your own home,

an Order to attend Court for questioning as to why you have not paid

or even engaging another HCEO.

 

 

It may then pay to wait until this happens and in the meantime put away what you are offering to pay so at some stage you can then offer a bigger lump sum.

 

Assuming the Officer has not been in your home gives you a stronger position as there is no automatic right of entry

- he must enter by peaceful means only and it would be a seriously bad idea to let him in.

[ajd01]

I have just spoken to the bailiff.

 

 

he stated as people have said that agreement would be difficult to put in in place,

but with a payment up front more than I had planned we could get one in place.

 

 

i can get together his figure and keep to the payment plan he discussed.

 

 

i know everybody is saying don't let him in etc

but I really don't want to live in hiding not knowing if he calls

 

 

i have a wife small child and really don't want to put this on them.

[dx100uk]

drop your other non priority debts down to a smaller monthly figure

 

 

get this paid off asap.

 

 

like mobile phones/catalogues/credit cards etc etc

 

 

how old is this bill and for how many years does it cover with UU?

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Out of interest, isn't a water bill a consumer debt? Like gas and electric?

 

If so, should marstons high court be chasing it at all? I thought that high court EA's were not allowed to chase consumer debts on a high court warrant??? Unless its commercial of course.

[BornThisWay]

Well they are chasing me Gumpy and I am not commercial.

 

 

Seems way over the top to me but Anglian Water are utterly ruthless and would probably send an armed gunman to my door if they thought it would get them money for their French shareholders!

 

 

From what I have read High Court Bailiffs normally chase criminal monies such as unpaid Magistrates Fines, motoring fines and TV Licence fines.

 

 

Seems way over the top for a water bill.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

No, magistrates bailiffs chase fines like that.

 

High court ea's chase all manner of civil debts.

[wonkeydonkey]

Out of interest, isn't a water bill a consumer debt? Like gas and electric?

 

If so, should marstons high court be chasing it at all? I thought that high court EA's were not allowed to chase consumer debts on a high court warrant??? Unless its commercial of course.

 

No they are not classed as consumer debts, the water company can and frequently do transfer a ccj up to the High Court

[dx100uk]

Out of interest, isn't a water bill a consumer debt? Like gas and electric?

 

If so, should marstons high court be chasing it at all? I thought that high court EA's were not allowed to chase consumer debts on a high court warrant??? Unless its commercial of course.

 

 

a water bill is NOT like gas /electric

 

 

its treated the same as a credit card debt.

 

 

hence it 'exists' and can be claimed for 6yrs under limitations act

 

 

unlike gas/electric which is subject to the back billing legislation.

[i hate bailiffs]

 

 

i know everybody is saying don't let him in etc

but I really don't want to live in hiding not knowing if he calls

 

 

 

Do not let them in unless you want to make things more expensive

 

You will not be living in hiding all you have to do is lock the door behind you they can not force entry

Bailiff may sound nice they want one thing money

[ajd01]

What happens if he takes goods..

I know that what he can take is not really worth it.what if I told him he's free to take stuff.is that it,is he signed off on that job and Im free to go out replace the things he takes.couldnt see creditor being to happy about this

[brassnecked]

What happens if he takes goods..

I know that what he can take is not really worth it.what if I told him he's free to take stuff.is that it,is he signed off on that job and Im free to go out replace the things he takes.couldnt see creditor being to happy about this

You will owe more in fees as in costs of removal, sale and storage, so maybe three times or 30 times in fees to what the goods fetch at auction. As a rule of thumb, for a £1,000 debt an EA needs to remove £10,000 worth of goods as items in a distress sale can fetch as little as 10% of their value at auction.