Bailiff problem. Please help.

[ami1]

Hi all.

I am ex-employee of a bailiff company, as you might have seen from my previous post, I am going to be posting lots of useful information because I am sick of people being ripped off by these money greedy people.

 

This is my first message and it is aimed at people who have only just received details of a debt from a bailiff company. I know a lot of this seem very very obvious but you would be surprised how often I have seen people being charged hundreds of pounds just because they haven't kept to these simple steps...so please read carefully!

You need to read all of this to make sure you are doing everything correct in order to avoid HUGE fees and bailiffs threatening you!

 

 

 

If you receive a notice of a debt from a bailiff company then I am presuming that you are agreeing that you owe the debt, and

if not then you should be contacting the council or client to seek more details.

 

OK, so you have received details of a debt you owe from a bailiff company? There are two options for you here: either you

agree to pay the bailiff company in installments or you completely refuse to deal with them and try to get the case sent

back to the council. Unless the bailiff company are being very threatening and demanding right from the start or you have

very good reason for the case to go back to the client / council then I advise to deal with the bailiffs. It isn't as difficult and scary as you might have thought!

 

This is very important: There are two types of bailiffs, First call or Levy bailiffs and Enforcement bailiffs. Just because

you hear the word 'bailiff', there is no need to freak out. Usually, when a case is passed to a bailiff company, it will go

straight out to a levy bailiff. The levy bailiff is there to set a payment arrangement with you and is NOT there to remove

your goods! Yes they will ask for a payment up front but you do not have to offer this as they will agree to set a payment arrangement / plan anyway. If they become threatening then back off and say you will go back to the council or Citizens Advice Bureau. Levy bailiffs are usually quite easy to deal with though so this is not usually required.

 

This is also very important...DO NOT agree to a payment plan that you cannot afford because this is the start of your

downfall and is the main reason, in my experience, that most people end up dealing with enforcement bailiffs threatening to

remove their goods.

 

One thing I must mention...A levy/first calls bailiff WILL charge for the service but this is legal so there is no way of stopping it unless you really really want to force the case to be sent back to the client but to be honest I have seen so many cases go to an enforcement bailiff while waiting for the client to sort it out that I don't recommend this at all. An enforcement bailiff will usually charge around 90 pound for calling out, even if no goods are removed.

 

What if the bailiff is not accepting your offer? Try to show the bailiff some kind of proof of your income or benefits, as

this is usually good enough to send them off accepting the lowest possible payment plan. If they are still not accepting the

offer then tell them you are going to the Citizen's Advice Bureau as most bailiff companies will accept an offer from them.

 

OK, by now I'm hoping you have a payment plan in place? If not and you have been dealing with a first calls / levy bailiff then let me know and I will try to help! I don't have knowledge and experience of every bailiff firm but I will do my best.

 

 

**Very important** You have a payment plan in place? Good. Call the bailiff company to confirm this and if you have more than one case with them then you should ask them to confirm that the plan is to cover all cases because these companies often 'forget' to cover all cases so one of the other cases will default and they will send an enforcement bailiff so they can add more fees.

 

**Also very very important** Check the exact details of the payment plan with them. You need to know exactly when it starts and when the first payment is due and also how often payments are due because first calls bailiffs get this wrong so many times. You have the right to request the payment plan to be sent to you in the post. I don't think any companies charge for this either so ALWAYS request it!

 

One final tip for now... Can't call a mobile phone when the bailiff is on the road? Don't worry, call the call centre of the company and they can ask the bailiff to call you back. Don't waste all your credit on calling them! They will always call you back as it is in their best interest.

 

This should be enough information for most people who receive a letter stating they owe a debt. If you keep to this then you should have no problems and the debt will be paid off.

 

Ask me anything you need to know or let me know anything I have missed. I WILL be updating this!

 

Thanks for reading.

Don't let them beat you!

the baliff is being very unreasonable he wants me to pay a non domestic rate for a business which is not trading 11000 all together i offered him payment plan he is not listening he has levied on my sons car who has nothing to do with this i have emailded them to remove this he just not listening i am not going to let him inwhat more can i do

Edited October 6, 2009 by ami1

[tomtubby]

Ami can you PLEASE start a NEW THREAD because you have joined a very old one and those people on here who can help you will not want to read 4 page before seeing your question.

[ami1]

how do i start a new thread

[ami1]

The bailiff has NO power of enforcement. They only gain power once you give it to them by means of a WPO.

 

What letter are you talking about. I only got letters from the council, and then a liability order from the court. And then hand delivered letters from the bailiffs.

 

IMHO Never Ever agree to pay them anything. Tell them to go away, and mean it.

They will rip you off, and then deduct their fees before the council get anything if you agree a payment plan.

 

Pay the coucil direct, they cannot refuse to accept it.

hi i have rang the council and emailed them but they are refusing to acept my payment offr what can i do

[hallowitch]

Bailiffs and Sheriff Officers clink on that link it will take you to a new page

near the bottom of new page on the left new thread

[lets fight bailiffs]

I have asked the site team to start a new thread for the OP

 

LFB

[freakyleaky]

I have created a new thread for you Ami. Let me know if you want the title changing.