sheriffs high court enforcement

[Kay2620]

Hello

I hope that someone can advise me as I feel absolutely sick with worry......

 

Last week there was a knock on the door and there stood a bailiff from Peter Noble Watt, an appointed High Court Officer who said he was there to enforce a writ of execution........(at least that's what his paperwork that i eventually got said, i didn't hear much of what he said due to panic)......Basically he was there to enforce a debt of £8370.

 

A long time ago I had a benefits cheque cashed by a cheque exchange place.....the problem arose because the benefits then refused to pay the 3rd party the giro amount......I did argue that that wasn't my fault and that checks etc had been done by the cashier before she let me have any money ......which was less than the face value of the giro due to their charges. But i did eventually agree to repay this amount mainly because the owner visited my then home address and was insistent that I paid or else he would take further steps. He said he knew that the benefits had replaced the giro and quoted actual amounts that I had received from the benefits. He also said he or his agents had followed us (including my kids) and knew where we went & what we did...........

 

Well I did try to repay him but failed with the eventual balance been about £1600 left out of £3000 plus interest..........time moved on and I forgot about this debt, until i had a notice form another company stating that they had bought the debt & it now stood at £3000odd........i disputed it but unsuccessfully (before I knew about here) it was then taken to court and a charging order was put on my house......not the house i currently live in but one that is in trust. I appealed and tried to fight the charging order, but heard no more apart from the fact that it was now placed on the property. I understood that was that until/unless the property was sold.

 

Then last week the knock at the door .......I wouldn't let him in and he wouldn't talk to me through the door or the window. I phoned his office but they were unhelpful, I explained that I am on benefits, 2 of us in the house are registered disabled and there are 4 teenagers too. I offered £20 this was refused and they said that they wanted £4500. Wouldn't listen to me saying i couldn't do that. About 3 hours from the bailiffs arrival a low loader came to remove my SORN car which had no tax disc.

 

So what do i do? I am in arrears which are very serious on my mortgages and 2nd charges to the point of having a stay of execution on both properties and I am hanging on by the skin of my teeth. There is no equity in either property actually its probably in negative.

 

I have done a budget sheet which i got from the National Debtline and the absolute maximum I can do is £20 per month and that will be a struggle. The debt now stands at £8700.

 

Please help

Many Thanks

Kay

[buzby]

Hi Kay,

 

Sorry - I have no magic wand. The time to challenge is long gone and the only way to wipe this is to seek the cancellation of the debt, and the only way to do this is via Bankruptcy - which in itself it quite expensive to initiate, but does permit you to wipe the slate clean.

 

Since your credit file is already fried, you've really got nothing else to worry about - however the attachments to property will need to be removed as part of the trustee in bankruptcy administration.

[Kay2620]

Hi Buzby

Thank for your reply.......however would bankruptcy actually work for me? I have got a couple of properties which i dont want to lose......i am currently just about keeping them at bay.

 

Once again thanks

Kay

[seanamarts]

what I am understanding from this is that you got a giro which you cashed at the exchange, the DWP or DSS did not honor the giro.

The exchange should of been aware that any crossed giro's can only be cashed at a bank or post office savings account in your name only. So really shouldnt of cashed the giro.

If the DWP or DSS did not honor this giro then in theroy they should still owe you this money. did the DWP or DSS ever send you out another giro for the amount in question, you could of asked them to send it in smaller amounts so that you could cash them at a post office so you could of paid back the exchange.

[buzby]

It all depends on the property - any debtor could get an attachment (as has already been done) and if enough get together, they can force sale. So avoiding bankruptcy doesn't prevent the property loss. With intresest accruing all the time, it will get to the stage that the assets will not cover the debt, and the delay has simply added more money to the folk doing the chasing.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, just before you consider bankruptcy - consider this:

 

It sounds as if the creditor obtained a CCJ by default - if you have moved address then the court papers would have been sent to the last address they had for you.

 

If that is the case then it may be possible to have the judgement set aside as you were unable to defend the claim. First thing tomorrow you should contact the court (go there in person if possible) and ask for a copy of the judgement, then ask for a form to put in an application to the court to have the warrant suspended. If you can't fill it in there and then, come back on here and you will get help with it. You shouldn'd have to pay a fee if you are on benefits.

[buzby]

Whilst it is certainly possible to reverse the action (in effect, asking for the case to be re-heard) it is the the apellant who has to pay for this recall, AND the court has to be satisfied there were genuine reasons why the case was not defended when it originally called. It is not sufficient to say you didn;t think they'd do it or they weren't serious.

[Ell-enn]

Not receiving the claim forms is a good start for applying to have the judgement set aside !

[danboy381]

Hello Kay,

 

It is possible to protect the properties in bankruptcy, - but before that explore all other routes available to you.

 

If bankruptcy really is the only option get good advice from someone that cares about you and your circumstances.

[buzby]

Not receiving the claim forms is a good start for applying to have the judgement set aside !

 

you need to look at the full picture. To set aside may just delay the reimposition of sanctions, at further cost. If the primary cause of the dispute is still a certainty, why bother wasting more money?

[Kay2620]

hi

thanks for your replies..........

 

i did receive a replacement giro (actually several giros) from dwp but used the money to pay other pressing debts........stupid maybe but at the time i was advised that the exchange couldn't pursue me as they were at fault for cashing it, as they should have known that they couldn't.

 

As to the set aside action, surely the fact that i have tried to appeal against the charge means that although i might not have received the initial forms the fact that i have appealed etc since then surely negates the chance of getting it set aside?

 

Thanks for all your help

Kay

[seanamarts]

well personally I wouldnt call it stupid I would of called it some thing far worse. Debts or no debts the money was not yours and you should of paid it back straight away, which was the moral thing to do.

[gh2008]

IMHO, if you have 2 properties and both are negative equity with large mortgage arrears, together with other charges, I think it's only a matter of time before you are forced to sell.

 

I would urgently get advice CAB, National Debtline, not just about this particular debt, but your situation as a whole, as that's what's really important.

 

If you leave it the High Court Enforcement Officers will basically take everything apart from your basic bedding clothing etc. and the debt will probably be still there as they may not find about £16k worth of property to take to auction.

 

You could try applying for a stay of execution at the High Court on the basis that they have a charging order together with an offer of payment, however I would seriously take further advice. £20 per month is pretty much for life and you miss 1 payment they will have, in effect, your permission (from the High Court stay) to come back and start again.

 

The other issue is that if you have £20 spare per month then the mortgage arrears and any other 'priority debts' should be cleared first.

 

Are you on benefits? as that could change things and may class you as vulnerable.

 

That does not however remove the debt .............

[Kay2620]

I have spoken in detail several times to National debtline and am following their advice. I have done a personal budget sheet as supplied by them.

 

Yes I am on benefits........one of the problems has been that i was changed over from one benefit to another and my claim has been llost no fewer than 5 times. However i am now told that this has been rectified and with the back payment i am recieving i am paying of some of my mortgage arrears. I am also told that i will be receiving mortgage help from them.

 

Kay