One thing that I'm sure the bailiff lied about, is that they've said they can take any property even though most belongs to your landlord and your landlord would have to prove its his and collect it. That's wrong. Your landlord can make a statement to say what you told the bailiffs and if they still insist in removing goods that are not yours, they will be breaking the law.

Also if the council think its worth applying for the order, they'll have to wait for a court date. You can ask them that if they decide to persue this course of action, that they do so at the nearest county court to you and that you will attend.* I'd personally start making my offered payments to the council. Like someone else said, they can't refuse it. They will cash any payments made. Make sure you put your case reference number etc on the chq or standing order.*

Have the bailiffs been in your home? If not they have no legal right to enter using a locksmith to remove goods. They cannot touch anything that does not belong to you by the way. And marstons don't go to court for the orders, the council would have to apply instead as them who owns the debt case. Marstons collect only. And I've never heard of any civil order being able to be obtain that very day. It's all threats. Write a letter of complaint and send to both the council and marstons detailing your own disability and the fact that you have an autistic child in the house. Marstons go against their own guidelines if they cause children that sort of distress (if they've a disability). Say in the letter you have offered to pay a reasonable amount/week or month as you cannot pay in full but it had been refused. Still offer the reasonable amount as you intend to pay it. Even on direct.gov it says 'reasonable' amount. Bailiffs work on commission so they'll bully to get bigger payments. Also if the council think its worth applying for the order, they'll have to wait for a court date. You can ask them that if they decide to persue this course of action, that they do so at the nearest county court to you and that you will attend. I'd personally start making my offered payments to the council. Like someone else said, they can't refuse it. They will cash any payments made. Make sure you put your case reference number etc on the chq or standing order.

Ta rebel. I don't think I actually said it was an old debt anywhere but it's easy to get that idea Fortunately I'm with a different energy company so it's just the debt that is need to pay to them. I'll send that letter. And see what happens. But thanks to the advice given by you guys I feel a bit better about it

Debt isn't that old. Moved on January to new place with no gas. Only had bill statement within last few weeks. I don't mind paying but i offered what I could comfortably afford but they refused. Do you think I should write a letter requesting in writing why they refused and state the offer to pay us still there? And then say if they wish to persue via the court, to have it at my local court?

This bailiff is going against marstons own guidelines. If a disabled person needs their car to get around then they can't take it. Besides they can only take goods to cover the value of the debt. @seana: i'm thinking about marstons sending back CSA cases as nulla bona and not chasing any fees. (CSA has to pay them) I just assumed itd b the same for council.

If you've got a recording facility on your phone, use that. As long as you inform the atos person of your intent to record (and resay it when recording) it can be used as evidence should you need it. Just wish I thought of it before I went for my wca.

Are you part of a union? If so get them to represent you. Basically I had a similar situation where going into the office made me emotionally worse to the point of wanting to be physically sick. My union rep acted on my behalf and told me that I didn't have to attend the meeting. It's possible to have the talk over the phone with the nurse but they'd be aiming to give you advice on how to be 'proactive' with your recovery. It might be possible to request that the nurse comes to you or meet you somewhere else where you'd feel comfy talking about private things. Whatever the advice given, if it doesn't copy what your GP has told you then tell the nurse it's contradictory. If your manager is looking at 'attendance/sickness' procedures and to use the nurse's report, then make sure you make a loud point that a nurse is NOT your doctor, who knows you more than the nurse after an hours interview, and get your go to write a statement to support you. You should be able to politely refuse to go into details your not comfy to share. And they should accept that to push you into revealing those details would be detrimental to your health. Hope this helps.

That company has seriously breached the data protection act!!! Sue them!!!

How would you feel about going to your GP and getting signed off and applying for ESA? Might not be the best idea as ESA takes ages too. Or ask your nice a4e advisor for more help. Their more likely to know the system. Get an appointment with the CAB ASAP ok. If you need a reliable place for your mail to be sent, look into getting a po box. I've known someone who got their mail sent to their post office and picked it up from there. And, I know this'll be an extra burden but, how about moving from where you are? Your landlady seems very unhelpful. If her business has been receiving your mail, what exactly does she do with it? She has a small responsibility to get it to you alot more than once a fortnight!! Especially if you go to her!! Best of luck x

Fred is right- they can only view your credit file, which may show you have credit available in the form of c/cards (but they CANNOT legally ask you to use them to pay the debt) but only the courts can make you disclose all your expenditure etc. I reckon that someone thinks they can get a good commission and keep their boss happy with a nice tick on their stat sheet!!! Really you have the right to negotiate a lower payment if you feel you are laying more than you can afford. I've read on the direct.gov site that it's what you can 'comfortably' afford. As long as you keep up the payments they'd be pretty stupid to try taking you to court as the court will dismiss the case!!

If a bailiff can't gain access then he has no legal authority to use a locksmith. If I were you I'd write a letter of complaint to the council about their behaviour as the bailiffs represent them in a way. I'd also I Clyde statements from your witnesses. Make sure you tell the council of your vulnerability status and tell them to make sure marstons close their case on you. If you at paying the council direct you won't have to pay bailiff fees as the bailiff will have no choice but to send the case back to the council as a 'nulla bona'. If, after you've told the council, you still get the bailiff contacting you in anyway, immediately report it to the council and contact the police if it's a visit. I'm sure there is an authority you can report marstons to complain about harrassment.

Thanks sillygirl. I rang them but they refused as it would take 145 months to pay off and they'd need evidence that I couldn't afford to pay more. I said I could get it but not immediately as I'm going to see the CAB but as they only open 1 day/week il have to wait for the next available appointment. I also said it'd be for 6 months till I get my finances back on track. The guy put me on hold to speak to his manager but came back and still refused. I'm under slot of stress and am on medication and waiting for an appointment with the mental health team. I just font know what else I can do apart from writing to ten to request that they apply to my nearest county court.

It's the councils responsibility to make sure the the amount on the lo is correct even on the day of the hearing. U paid s few days before the hearing date therefore the council should have immediately reduced the amount on the lo. Basically they've gone to court with a false amount. I'd make a complaint to the court itself.

Ive had a letter from Coll dir. They're threaten ending me to go to county court for the debt I owe npower of £142. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't debt companies supposed to go to a magistrates court first to get a liability order? Also the letter has their address as oi box 93, peterlee, sr8 2xx and at the bottom is basically says its a trading name of npower northern supply(etc) ltd. I was going to call and say ill pay £1/m as im on benefits. Any ideas?

Hi Scott. U did indeed send me a link and took me here. I assume this is the right thread? Hi bazooka. When I got 3 calls asking for the wrong name I did say wrong number in a peed off voice. Haven't had anymore calls. Just the letters. I've dug pug another letter re the fraud account and it's from Robinson way. Again with the wrong name. As littlewoods told me in writing that they removed my details from the account, do I have the right to claim compensation for stress and harrassment?

With regards to these agencies getting their alleged overpayment back, they cannot send bailiffs until they have been to a magistrate's court for a liability order. To do that they have to send you official notification. If you get such a letter, immediately ask for a local hearing. That way you can attend and present your evidence to the magistrate. Don't inform the council/jcp of your evidence beforehand. If they don't have the evidence to prove you are guilty, then the court cannot find you guilty. I used to work in the civil service and was told of a lady who was taken to court for benefit fraud because her ex said he still lived with her. She told the authorities that he stayed at most 2 nights in a week and not every week. They can't find you guilty just because you had a friend that visited you often. Ask your friend if he'd write a sworn statement for you to sent to the appeal/tribunal/ take to court. The DWP/council has to prove 'beyond reasonable doubt' that you committed fraud. This is actually very hard for them to do in reality. Another thing you may want to point out to them, is that it is not against any law to use another address for correspondence. It happens all the time and agencies like JCP and CSA use them. Your friend, if he's happy to write a statement for you can state the reason for using your address. It's a valid reason. Good luck.

Hi Scott, can you post a link for me please? I can't seem to find it. Or at least the thread title?

Thanks guys that's very helpful!

I have had a letter from Global Debt Recovery LTD today who states thier client is Experto Credite. A bit strange that a Debt company is representing another. Anyone else had this? I know GDRLtd is related to Tower Investigations, thanks to this site. I completely believe that this particular debt they insist I owe is from an account that was opened in my name fraudulently some years back. This was supposed to have been dealt with for the second time in August 2009 by the original company's fraud team (Littlewoods). I have since tried to correct my credit file to remove the incorrect address and gave the company and the CRA information on the person who commited the fraud (they are know to me; which was discovered once I found the address on my credit file). Since then I have been getting calls and letters address to me and addressed to me but with the wrong lastname, which matched the then partner of the fraudster. Has anyone got anyadvice as to what i should do 1) about these debt companies chasing me for a fraudsters debt; and 2) about this matter supposedly being resolve and my details were supposed to me removed ie can I sue any of the companies for negligence or the like?? Thanks