Drakes bailiffs calling round with locksmith tomorrow!!! Please help...!!

[breenie07]

Can anybody please help here. I have a bailiff who put a card about distress warrant through my door. He's calling round to break into the house tomorrow. I cant pay now as I am broke. I have asked for a little more time but he is hardline. It's my brothers house too. I have nothing worth taking anyway. i am in a mess. How can I get more time? Only need a week. I am running out of time. Any advice would be grateful for. Ty in advance.

[Saffronflowers]

What is the debt for?

 

SFx

[breenie07]

What is the debt for?

 

SFx

unpaid fine. they wont take installments they said.

[demon_x_slash]

An unpaid fine for what? Different fines have different consequences and fees, I believe. Just put down everything about the situation, no matter how small - the devil's in the detail and people can't help if they don't have enough understanding of the whole picture

[breenie07]

it was a speeding fine from last year. silly me left it for ages and now they have come knocking on the door - while i was out working. drakes then put a card through claiming i was avoiding them and demanded full payment or they come in with a locksmith. i have checked arounf the net and it seems they an do this. i rang the court b4 and they said its upto the bailiffs what they do now. i know they are using the fear factor but it is working. i am broke at the moment. and they are being heavy with me. its my own fault.

 

i have paid 160 already last week in cash. however, i have made no money this week and cant pay the other half tomorrow as planned. i need another week, but the bailiff has said no. and i cannot get the money by tomorrow - legally!

[Guest 10110001]

Call the police on 999 if a bailiff had threatened to break & enter your property.

 

Breaking & entering is a crimnal offence. Show the police the document which makes the threat & keep a copy.

 

If the threat to break & enter your home is to obtain money then call police because blackmail is also a criminal offence.

 

if you need an emergency solution, PM me, I cant disclose it in open forum.

[breenie07]

Call the police on 999 if a bailiff had threatened to break & enter your property.

 

Breaking & entering is a crimnal offence. Show the police the document which makes the threat & keep a copy.

 

If the threat to break & enter your home is to obtain money then call police because blackmail is also a criminal offence.

 

if you need an emergency solution, PM me, I cant disclose it in open forum.

hi. thanks for your speedy advice. i saw on a website that they can force entry if its a fine from magistrates court for speeding. through it also said they rarely do it. just use the threat to scare the daylights out of you. am going to ring them again. thanks. will post again.

[Saffronflowers]

101001 that is exactly why I was asking but some can - and I think that this is one of the instances as it is a criminal offence.

 

Please be careful giving out advice unless you are one hundred percent sure.

 

Sfx

[breenie07]

thx saffron. i am just unsure what to do. waiting for the bailiffs reply. even tho it is my own fault these and the bailiff has a job to do, surely with an offer on the table of full settlement next week they wont break in??

[Saffronflowers]

They should be reasonable, my course of action would be speak to the magistrates court and tell them what your proposal is and are they happy for Drakes to accept that and ask them to email Drakes that they are.

 

FOR GOODNESS Sake do not reneg on the deal you make.

 

Still trying to find the exact info.

 

Speak to the Magistrates Bailiffs as they should be able to clarify the position in the mean time.

 

Sfx

[tomtubby]

There seems to be so much wrong information being given out on posts under the bailiff section.

 

This is a mgaistrates court fine, bailiffs can break in for this fine only. Having read through old threads from Herby it is clear. Also the magistrates court passed control of these debts to drakes swift and another company of bailiffs called swift. These companies make the decisions not the court.

 

I think you will find that if you cant pay and are on benefits you can apply for the fine to be deducted from your benefits and also if you really cant afford to pay you should be going to the court an asking for the magistrate to vary the payments.

[breenie07]

ty Tom, and everyone else who has replied. I looked around the net and there is so much contradictory info.

 

Some sites say they cant but as Tom and saffron both say, they can force entry. This is a fact if it is a CRIMINAL offence and gone through magistrates court. It is different for civil cases and other kinds of debt.

 

I will post again once the matter is concluded.

[breenie07]

So, I know that in my case it is possible and legal for the bailiff to force entry. here are some of my lessons and findings from today which I hope will be of help to other forum users.

 

The key is what kind of bailiff and what is the debt for and who to. If it's a an unpaid fine for a criminal offence like speeding for example from magistrates, and the bailiff is certificated, then forced entry is an option open to them. (though it rarely happens - they have to get enough sellable gear to raise money and it's hassle for them - they want a result and to bag their commission) the same could apply if you owe tax and have HMIR after you. Generally a county court bailiff can't force their way in esp on a civil matter.

 

There is a wide variation of opinion on the net. Some of it I found to be dangerously inaccurate! This site clears up the forcible entry issue in the case of unpaid fines.... !!READ THIS!!!

 

What to do???? If you can pay, some how, then do it. They CAN accept installments but you will have to push, beg and plead with the bailiff. Believe me you will have to do this. The bailiffs want their commission and won't roll over easy if at all. But they know they can't get what is not there. So think. take advice and BE RATIONAL. Hard I know...

 

Keep your cool. Don't lose your rag with them or you lose any moral highground and make it all worse for yourself.

 

My lesson..... PAY EVERYTHING ON TIME IN FUTURE.

Or if not, communicate with creditor and make an effort. I got into this mess cos I buried my head in the sand!!!!!

 

NEVER AGAIN... NO WAY... NEVER!

[breenie07]

Well, they haven't been round yet. I've offered to settle in full on Tuesday. They know that I own nothing, the house I am in is not mine and what's the point in all the hassle if they end up with nothing and I end up homeless. However, the bailiffs are trained in the art of bs and masters in the use of fear. They play a psychological game. They have to! Let's face it I have avoided paying my debts for ages and it took this to wake me up. It's been a lesson. A bundle of hard earned bank notes will be handed over next week. A weekends graft still to be done, but at least I can sleep.

 

TY to Saffron, Tom, Herbie and this forum for help offered. I have learned a lot from it.

[SOMEFRIENDLYUK]

just one point to clear up. If the house is rented and the stuff in the house belongs to your brother, surely if you made this known to the bailiff company, by email, phone and registerd leter letter to be sure there can't say they did not recieve it-then surely they can't break in ????

[ja-de]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you have to prove it's not yours, & that it belongs to someone else by producing the relevant proof, receipts etc.

[sillygirl1]

The proof of ownership doesn't rely on receipts any more - there is no legal basis for this claim - it's bailiff's talk. You can't produce a receipt for items which aren't yours and they know it..... all you can do is get a letter signed by your landlord and possibly counter signed by a solicitor to state that the only belongings in the property you have are your clothes, everything else is the landlords.

 

I found this out when a bailiff tried to come round and 'clear me out' - I am in rented accommodation and had he 'cleared me out' it would be theft - pure and simple.

 

Please bear this in mind should anyone return. Again it's the fear factor coming into play.

[Guest 10110001]

The proof of ownership doesn't rely on receipts any more - there is no legal basis for this claim - it's bailiff's talk. You can't produce a receipt for items which aren't yours and they know it..... .

 

That doesnt sound right. A neighbour can get a speeding ticket and a bailiff can break & enter my house and take my TV because my neighbour cant prove he doesnt own it.

 

I am sure the burden of proof of ownership is with the bailiff, if the owner says he doesnt own the goods and they are taken as distress, then you are dealing with a burglar and not a bailiff.

 

If you havnt paid the bailiff yet and you havnt paid the Court, then pay the court now and get a receipt. Warrants cannot be enforced once a debt is paid.

 

If the court refuses to accept payment or confirm receipt then then take somebody with you and use magicians choice to obtain a signature confirming refusal to sign.

[breenie07]

.....They know that I own nothing, the house I am in is not mine and what's the point in all the hassle if they end up with nothing and I end up homeless. However, the bailiffs are trained in the art of bs and masters in the use of fear. They play a psychological game. They have to! ....

Thanks for your posts folks. It would be good to get some solid legal opinion on this area. But, as I stated and have bolded up again, it's all part of the mind games they play. To an extent it is necessary. However, it is debatable how far, and if some go too far.