Unsigned WPA - Rossendales...

[Chop_Suey]

Hi Guys/Gals

 

I was wondering if someone here could give me some advice, I have been reading the threads on the forum but did not want to hijack another persons thread.

 

My Story:

 

I have a debt with my local council and Rossendales has been thrown at me.

 

I am currently self-employed, with not much work and a low income. I have no savings and find it hard to cover my expenses per month.

 

I do wish to pay my debts. I have never said otherwise.

 

I was out on a job last week and a bailiff called at my house and left a Walking Posession Agreement in my letterbox!

 

It had listed on it: my neighbors car... and my (SORNED as I do not have the money for tax/MOT) motorcycle. (On a business note, not having my motorcycle on the road has meant I cannot take all the work I have been offered, I'm sure you can understand the spiral this has put me into).

 

I have not met this bailiff, this form is unsigned.

 

Can someone please tell me where I stand? I understand that they are trying to scare/intimidate me, but could this person come when I am out trying to earn a penny and steal my bike? And what about my neighbors car?

 

Thanks in advance.

[sillygirl1]

He has NO Levy and therefore cannot charge fees for an INVALID levy. You need to have a Form 4 complaint about this behaviour to the court which is responsible for his licence. I belive a Walking Possession Arrangement has to be signed by both parties, cannot be posted through a letter box and if it is invalid then the bailiff can be done for fraud.

 

Clearly in this case he needs to have a complaint raised against him. Tomtubby is the bailiff expert here and should be able to advise further.

 

Mods can this go to Tomtubby....

[freakyleaky]

 

Mods can this go to Tomtubby....

Tomtubby is on line and has been active in this forum today so she will more than likely see it soon enough.

Not sure what you mean when you say "can this go to tomtubby"

[Chop_Suey]

Thanks,

 

I have scanned in the form (and anonymised it) so I have it to hand if needed.

 

I will wait for Tomtubby's advice.

 

I am looking into the form 4 complaint, looks interesting, its just legal stuff confuses me... and when I've got things like this on my mind, I guess I just get distressed and less able to concentrate.

[sequenci]

He has NO Levy

 

I'm sure a Levy could be valid even if unsigned although the neighbour's car should be challenged. The motorbike could also be challenged on the ground that it is needed for employment.

[sequenci]

I am looking into the form 4 complaint, looks interesting

 

Be careful with these, should your complaint fail with the court you could be accountable for costs.

[FairPlay77]

I'm sure a Levy could be valid even if unsigned although the neighbour's car should be challenged. The motorbike could also be challenged on the ground that it is needed for employment.

 

YOU are safe as far as the property in your home is concerned. You haven't let them in and you have signed nothing, so they can't come back and break in.

 

Concerning your vehicle, I'm pretty sure that they case seize it even if you haven't signed the Walking Possession Order, so the best thing to do is to keep it somewhere where they can't get their paws on it.

 

As for your neighbour's car: the bailiff will be in BIG trouble, if he tries to steal that!

[tomtubby]

There are 2 points that I would like to raise here. One about the levy and the other about a Form 4 Complaint.

 

If a bailiff were to come into your home he will need to list items on a Walking Possession and this will need signing...although many people do refuse to sign and this would still appear to be valid as the bailiff has in any event gained "peaceful entry". However, it MUST be remembered that you should NOT allow a bailiff to come into the house in the first place !!

 

If a bailiff is unable to come into the house he can instead "levy" upon goods outside and in this case the form does not require a signature. The bailiff levying upon goods can charge just £2.50 for "attending to levy (where no levy was made".......OR if he does levy ( as in your case) he can charge instead a levy fee.....and crucially a "removal fee" if you do not pay. This is where the bailiff is able to earn a LOT OF MONEY.

 

There is case law that provides that the bailiff can "assume" that goods outside of your home are owned by you and the onus of proof is on YOU...not the bailiff to prove ownership. Many bailiffs are using this case law to levy on a neighbour's car as they know that you will have difficulty in proving to them that the car is not yours. As an example, yesterday we had a case of a bailiff levying upon 3 cars in a small car park attached to a debtor home. The car park holds 12 cars so he "assumed" that out of 3 cars, one was probably owned by the debtor!!

 

I seem to remember that I provided a template letter on Comsumer Wiki for this particular matter...if not, let me know and I will post one here later.

 

FORM 4 COMPLAINTS.

 

PLEASE can everyone be VERY CAREFUL about making Form 4 Complaints as these should be kept for serious matters and the courts expect that BEFORE taking this course of action that you first allow the bailiff company to address the complaint. Sadly, we have come across a case recently where the debtor was made to pay court costs for bringing A FORM 4 COMPLAINT.

[FairPlay77]

The bailiff levying upon goods can charge just £2.50 for "attending to levy (where no levy was made"......

 

I thought that, if they are not able to levy, they cannot add an extra charge, i.e. they can charge £24.50 and £18 for the first and second visit, respectively, but nothing else.

[chris600uk]

I think tt missed the 4, which would make it £42.50 total for the two chargeable visits, which as I understand it would make it right