Hi Guys and Gals,

Bit of background info:-

My mum passed away November 08 and the funeral was approx £4000 of which i gave them £1500 up front and approx £700 spread over the next few months due to a lack of work (the joys of being self employed)

Due to the lack of work and hence money i was served with a CCJ,taken to court and offered them £150 a month which they accepted starting October 2009, i then paid the £150 for the next 5 months until March 2010 when once again due to lack of work i wrote to them explaining i could only afford £50 a month for the next few months.

I didnt hear anything back from them until a neighbour turned up today with a letter that had been put through his letter box.

The scanned and edited letters are below.

But the gist of them is a bailiff has turned up with the incorrect address on his court paperwork ( he has 19 on his paperwork and i live at 10) and left a seizure notice for goods (a caravan my neighbour has parked on his drive) at my neighbours house.Ive explained the situation to my neighbour who cant wait for the bailiff to turn up and try and take his caravan!!!

So my questions are:-

1) Do the court papers still apply if they have the wrong address on them, i have checked the address on the original CCJ and this is also my neighbours address ie 19 instead of 10

2) Can i apply to the court to accept my reduced offer that was made in March this year that has been ignored and if so how do i go about it?

3) How the hell do they get judgement costs including statutory fees of £565.48 on an outstanding debt of £1109.36?

4) How much power does a High Court Enforcement Officer have?

Any help or ideas will be greatl appreciated

Gazbo

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Hi

I am not an expert and I am sure someone will be along sooner or later to advise but I have had to deal with hceos myself.

1) Do the court papers still apply if they have the wrong address on them, i have checked the address on the original CCJ and this is also my neighbours address ie 19 instead of 10

Dont know...sorry

2) Can i apply to the court to accept my reduced offer that was made in March this year that has been ignored and if so how do i go about it?

If the HCEO has become involved it means that the creditor had a Writ of Fi Fa issued against you. This can only be issued if you have defaulted on payment and the outstanding amount is more than 600 pounds.

Do you still have a copy of the letter you sent requesting that the payments be reduced to £50 per month?

Because you were not refusing to pay, it is possible that the writ of fi fa could be discharged (and the hceo will have to leave the equation). Did you continue making payments (at the reduced amount) even though the creditor didnt respond? If you didnt continue with the payments then it means that you did default and you probably cant have the writ discharged.

3) How the hell do they get judgement costs including statutory fees of £565.48 on an outstanding debt of £1109.36?

You need to request a full breakdown of judgements costs and statutory fees. Basically, I think the cost of the writ is about £101. Then the HCEO can charge a % of the judgment amount. On £1100, I think it works out to be about £40. The hceo can then also charge you for visiting, although, in your case, he went to the wrong property, so I dont think he can charge for that.

He is charging you a daily walking possession fee. I dont believe he can do this unless you have signed a walking possession agreement.

4) How much power does a High Court Enforcement Officer have?

Basically, if you dont allow him entry to your home or access to your possessions he will eventually hand the debt back to the creditor. At this point I think the creditor has several options eg attachment of earnings order. But the hceo will be out of the picture.

Not helpful I know, but oh would I like to be a fly on the wall when the HCEO comes back.

However I do suggest that your neighbour contacts the bailiff and lets them know that they have the wrong address, he could end up losing his property and could potentially damage it in the process, and it is like getting blood out of a stone when trying to get compensation out of a bailiff.

Like most bailiffs if you ignore them they eventually hand back the debt, but I would try and talk to the funeral people and try and sort out a payment to them, explain your circumstances again, at the end of the day you cannot get blood from a stone.

 

But the gist of them is a bailiff has turned up with the incorrect address on his court paperwork ( he has 19 on his paperwork and i live at 10) and left a seizure notice for goods (a caravan my neighbour has parked on his drive) at my neighbours house.Ive explained the situation to my neighbour who cant wait for the bailiff to turn up and try and take his caravan!!!

 

They will obviously realise at some stage they have an incorrect address - whether your neighbour points them in the right direction is another matter. If not then it probably wouldn't take them long to get the right one. However you are now forewarned of impending action.

 

So my questions are:-

1) Do the court papers still apply if they have the wrong address on them, i have checked the address on the original CCJ and this is also my neighbours address ie 19 instead of 10

A technicality only - you have been making payments previously so do not dispute you owed originally.

2) Can i apply to the court to accept my reduced offer that was made in March this year that has been ignored and if so how do i go about it?

Form N245 from HMCS website - need to do ASAP.

3) How the hell do they get judgement costs including statutory fees of £565.48 on an outstanding debt of £1109.36?

They use a different system of guesswork called think of a number and see how many times we can multiply it.

4) How much power does a High Court Enforcement Officer have?

If he has gained access to your home or business then you are more likely to see any goods go through the door. As with an ordinary Bailiff if you keep him at bay then there is not a lot he can do.

 

As you are now aware he is on the prowl it is in your own interests to take action ASAP. Don't forget also that they read these forums and may already have identified their error!!!

PT

1) Do the court papers still apply if they have the wrong address on them, i have checked the address on the original CCJ and this is also my neighbours address ie 19 instead of 10

Credit agreements and contracts are made to a named individual - not an address. In the same way that if someone were to place something negative on YOUR credit file - it wouldn't have an impact on people at your address.

2) Can i apply to the court to accept my reduced offer that was made in March this year that has been ignored and if so how do i go about it?

I'm not an expert on English law, but I would assume they would have to serve you with a notice of attachment (or English equiv.) before seizing items.

This could have been served to your neighbour, and you would never have known. It's not your fault - it's their's.

3) How the hell do they get judgement costs including statutory fees of £565.48 on an outstanding debt of £1109.36?

Interest and officer charges. You should ask for a breakdown of capital, interest and charges on the account.

4) How much power does a High Court enforcement officer have?

High Court Enforcement Officers

You should contact the organisation who owns the debt immediately.

Thanks for the advice, got my neighbour to fire off a letter to the bailiff's office explaining they have the wrong address etc and have found the letter i sent to the OC in March making them a reduced offer,so have sent a copy of that to them with a covering letter explaining the situation so will have to wait and see what happens now. Will keep you updated as and when i hear anything and once again thanks for the help

Gazbo

Make sure you request that breakdown of costs, too.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice, got my neighbour to fire off a letter to the bailiff's office explaining they have the wrong address etc and have found the letter i sent to the OC in March making them a reduced offer,so have sent a copy of that to them with a covering letter explaining the situation so will have to wait and see what happens now. Will keep you updated as and when i hear anything and once again thanks for the help

 

Gazbo

You have to remember that the HCEO is only carrying out what the Creditor has asked them to do. No matter how much letter writing you do will not stop enforcement from carrying on. Until you get this situation resolved you must either get the Creditor to halt the action or apply for a Stay of Execution pending any other application you make eg Variation Order.

PT

Quick update:-

Not heard anything back from OC but have had 2 visits from the bailiff, he didnt knock just put seizure notices through the door (1 for my car and 1 for my brothers car-who was visiting)so sent them recorded delivery letters explaining that my vehicle was still subject to finance and enclosed a copy of the HP agreement and the other vehicle was registered to British Gas(who my brother works for)

That was a couple of weeks ago and since then not heard anything until Saturday morning i got a "Judgment for Claimant (acceptance)" from Kingston-Upon-Hull County Court stating i have made an offer to pay £50 a month and the original debt has increased from £1109.36 to £1774.36 with £85 costs.

So, is there a form to fill in disputing this debt or do i just write to the court explaining i havnt made any offer and asking for a full breakdown of the amount outstanding?

Any help appreciated

Gazbo

Just a quick one:-

Can the claimant add on the HCEO's fees to their claim???? Thought a HCEO only got paid if they collected the debt!!!