Bailiffs letters - complicated

[lauraflora3112]

Hi there. I hope someone here can advise me.

 

I lost my mother last february and when I went to the funeral parlour I had to sign forms saying I would pay the balance of the funeral. I signed these because I supidly believed that there would not be much of an excess as there was only £200 left owing after my dad died (after the DHSS had given me the funeral grant) only when the grants came through I found that there was an excess of £1800. I am on income support and disability benefits and this amount was really unexpected. I offered to pay the funeral parlour £45 a month which they accepted and that would have been fine if I hadn't defaulted on the payments - which I know was my own fault.

 

Everything started getting on top of me, me and Mum were very very close, she had lived with me and her memories were everywhere and in the end I decided to move away from the area and the memories because I was slowly losing the plot. Along with this debt, me and my partner also owed £7000 to provident, £2000 to london scottish and about £1000 in other debts bringing our total debts to £11,500. Anyway, as I said, we decided to move. We sold practically everything we had and moved 300 miles away for a fresh start. It took everything we had. Leaving no money for debts, so we didn't tell any of them that we had moved.

 

The ends are only just meeting as it is so once we went on the electoral role some of these companies started finding us. We have managed to negotiate with provident and a couple of small ones, london scottish and the water board haven't found us yet, and nor have the funeral place.

 

However, we have had our mail redirected and yesterday I received a letter from the bailiffs saying they were going to our old address on the 11th of this month to seize goods for the debt (which is now £1614.34) Obvioulsy they won't get anything because the people there will be able to prove who they are, but it is only going to be a matter of time before they DO catch up with us as our new address. And I don't know what to do.

 

I don't know if I should write to the funeral directors with our new address and a pro-rata offer of payment as I have done with the others (and the pro-rata payment works out at just under £25 a month) or whether I should just sit back and wait for them to find us and hope they don't while I try and raise the money? I have no family or brothers and sisters to help share the cost and I have no savings or really any available funds. I can't get a loan because of all the debt I have left behind and I feel as though I am backed up into a corner.

 

All and any advice is welcomed. I have read up that bailiffs have to give you a weeks notice, and that you can remove items - not that I actually have enough stuff to cover the debt if they tok it anyway, but I am terrified they will take my washing machine which I need because I am disabled and can't get my stuff to the launderette like anyone else would - let alone afford to do so! I'm kinda stuck here so thanks in advance.

[lauraflora3112]

anyone?

[chris600uk]

Well, if nobody knows where you live right now, you can do some preparation.

 

Sell all your stuff to someone you trust, and get a receipt, doesn't matter what they give you for it; then they can write a letter lending all the items to you, and then if it's seized they can claim it back.

 

Do make sustainable offers to your creditors.

 

Do not open the door to anyone, do not talk on the phone to anyone, do everything in writing/email.

[lauraflora3112]

God that's clever! will that stand up in court? If I sold all my excess goods to my mate for a tenner??? And yes I would trust her with my life!

 

I am making offers I can just about afford, because this is in the long term in order to clear my debts. I see no point in offering stupidly large amounts that I cannot possible keep up the payments on.

 

I guess what bugs me most is that I had little choice but to sign the forms, what else can you do when its your mum? I am also very cross that my Mum made absolutely no provisions for this event.

 

Thanks for your advice so far.

 

Do I let them find me or do I make first contact?

[Conniff]

For a tenner no - it has to be seen not as a sale to avoid the bailiffs.

[chris600uk]

God that's clever! will that stand up in court? If I sold all my excess goods to my mate for a tenner???

 

Well, that depends on your mate.

 

In the event of a bailiff gaining peaceful entry to your home, they would have the right to assume that all goods inside were the property of the debtor - you.

 

Your mate would have to provide you with a receipt for the goods, listing each item, and a letter explaining on what terms she was loaning you the items and when she would require their return.

 

The if a bailiff did manage to seize them/levy upon them, she could try sending them a statutory declaration (costs a fiver) with a covering email/letter claiming the goods back.

 

Or if that didn't work, she could make an Interpleader application to the court and ask the court to release them.

 

Of course, it's much better if the bailiff doesn't get in in the first place.

[lauraflora3112]

Well yes, obviously that's better lol I've not actually got that much anyway, but the a lot of the jewellry I have was left to me by my mum and although its cash value is next to nothing, sentimentally its priceless. I also couldn't live without my washing machine. There's definitely not enough to cover the debt anyway - once you take into account what's the kids as they have some quite nice stuff. Hubby has an xbox and a lovely watch but thats about his lot and I have this laptop (which is archaic and would raise twenty quid if I was lucky lol) so there's not actually a lot to take.

 

They won't get in peacfully and if they break in they will have a hell of a shock cos they won't be leaving peacefully either!!!