bailiff charges please help explain

[selinajayne]

i have had one visit from sherforce and lots of phone calls. They know i'm on income support and i have offered £5 a week but they have refused and threatened a visit with a warrant????? i have just filled in and sent off n245 form but i will still have £1300 in bailiff charges can some one explain if there is anything i can do about this and can they make me bankcrupt over their charges

i have looked at a few threads about charges but i dont really understand so please keep at as basic as possible for me lol

thanks

[honey b]

are sherforce acting as hceos (high court enforcement officers) or as bailiffs?

 

what is the debt for?

 

how much in costs are they wanting from you?

 

have you got a breakdown of their costs from them?

 

right now, you need to keep your doors and windows locked. Move any belongings that are usually kept outside (cars, etc) away from the property. make sure you know who is at the door before opening it and dont answer the door to them (sherforce).

 

other people more knowledgable than me will be about shortly.

 

I have been through similar where sherforce were the hceos. I never answered the door to them nor did I ever sign any thing. Unfortunately I made the mistake of of leaving my car outside my drive though and they levied on it.

 

hb

[selinajayne]

yes they are acting as hceo. it was for a ccj for southern water their charges are £1300 but i havent had a break down of those charges

[fork-it]

Does the bailiff actually have a warrant?

 

Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1970/cukpga_19700031_en_5#pt5-l1g26 in particular Section 40(1)(d)

 

If the fees are too high then just dont pay them. The law is Regulation 13 of The High Court Enforcement Officers Regulations 2004.

 

Where the sum due is £100 or less - 5%

Above £100 - 2.5%

 

All this thousands of pounds of "miscellaenous fees" these HCEOs try to charge you is all nonsense, take no notice of it. Its a [problem].

 

Was the judgement debt less than £600? if yes then the HCEO fees are £0.00.

[selinajayne]

apparently they are or have a warrant what does that mean?

[fork-it]

Have you seen this warrant they threatend you with? if they turn up at your house then NEVER open the door. Ask they push the document through the latterbox and you will seek legal advice. Ask for a breakdown of their £1300 fees, if they give you an excuse or ask for a fee for giving a breaksown, then capture everything on video and you can disregard the fees because the HCEO is deliberately concealing them.

[selinajayne]

so if i keep refusing entry what will happen

[fork-it]

Probably nothing. Just make sure you dont have a car thats in your name outside. Transfer it now if you have a vulnerable car.

 

Contact Southen Water and see if they come to a sensible arrangement, but if you are palmed off with contact the bailiffs then bin it.

[selinajayne]

do bailiffs have the power to make me bankcrupt or will it just go back the water company and they go for bankcruptcy

[jimbo45]

HI ALL

YOU NEVER EVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH BAILIFF'S EVER EVER EVER FOR WHATEVER REASON.

 

Please peeps get this piece of fact through your skulls -- now it makes dealing with the issues easier.

 

A Bailiff is ONLY an agent of the person collecting the debt with a possible exception of a High Court Enforcement action. It's unlikely a late Water Bill is going to be the subject of a High Court Bailiff action.

 

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES LET THE BAILIFF IN OR SPEAK TO HIM.

HIDE ALL VEHICLES

 

Now make some sort of arrangement with the Water Company -- if they don't want to know then sit back and LET THEM go to court again -- You've tried to pay --NOTHING but NOTHING IN LAW REQUIRES YOU TO DEAL WITH THE BAILIFF IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER.

 

The only power a Bailiff has is to evict someone once a repossession order is granted on a property -- that of course is NOT the issue here.

 

Bailiff's in fact have MINIMAL powers apart from Thuggery and "Streetwise" tactics. Don't let them take or levy anything and you can with IMPUNITY tell them to Foxtrot Oscar.

 

(You'll eventually have to pay the water company of course - but that's another issue -- and note THEY CANNOT DISCONNECT YOU FOR NON WATER RELATED CHARGES SUCH AS COURT FEES, SOLICITORS COSTS ETC.)

 

If only people new their rights we'd end this totally REDICULOUS BARBARIC practice of employing Bailiff's altogether -- this is Law enforcement circa 1100 A.D not 2011 AD.

 

Cheers

jimbo

Edited September 9, 2010 by jimbo45

[fork-it]

do bailiffs have the power to make me bankcrupt or will it just go back the water company and they go for bankcruptcy

 

No bailiffs can make you bankrupt, but the water company might try, - its very expensive for them to make a petition for bankruptcy, and even more expensive if you decide to defend it so thats very unlikely.

 

If you own your own house they will more likely apply for a charging order, but having said that, the legal charge would have been considered before trying the debt with an HCEO.

[selinajayne]

this is high court enforcement action so what does that mean for me

[fork-it]

the same

 

In a nutshell, if you dont have the money, the HCEO is the one with a problem.

[selinajayne]

apparently i have filled in the wrong form and its a n244 i need to fill in

[selinajayne]

can someone tell me if i can get charged just for one visit in which i was given a letter saying the bill was now in the hands of the high court enforcement officer

[impecunious]

I believe that HCEO's invariably try to load excessive charges onto your account. You really mustn't let them in and move everything of value from your garden - so they can't levy on your goods. They'll visit a few times before giving up and returning the account "Nulla Bono" to the claimant. Then charge him abortive fees.

 

So, adopt a temporary seige mentality! Be patient and they will go away.

 

I would contact the claimant to try and make some kind of payment plan. Something that is realistic and sustainable given your finances.

 

Sounds like you've already been given this advice.

 

Good luck!

 

Impecunious!

[jimbo45]

Hi there

I don't think I have EVER heard of a utility company EVER going for a Charging Order --after all what does it get them -- you might not sell the house for 40 years by which time inflation would have eroded the debt into NOTHING.

 

No Judge is going to make you sell your house for a meagre 1300 of debt (meagre to the Water company that is not to you BTW).

 

The whole use of Charging orders has been vastly overdone in recent years and with the new Coalition proposing that these won't be effective for debts of less than 20,000 GBP the whole function of using this tactic is rather pointless now.

 

In any case just deal with the water company -- YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE BAILIFF IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM --EVER EVEN WITH A COURT ENFORCEMENT ORDER.

 

THE COURT HAS MERELY ORDERED YOU TO PAY A JUDGEMENT.

 

If other people need to use these SCUMBAGS to enforce an order that's THEIR PROBLEM.

 

You will still have to pay the Court order or come to an arrangement with the creditor but THAT'S YOUR and NOT THEIR CALL.

 

(The only exception is for Eviction via a repossession order but that really is a special case).

 

Added BTW -- for debts of under 5,000 GBP INTEREST and other charges CANNOT be added to the CCJ so a charging order for these amounts of debts really is a TOTALLY BOVINE strategy for any DCA or creditor attempting to collect their money -- IT DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE.

 

Cheers

jimbo

[fork-it]

Hi there

I don't think I have EVER heard of a utility company EVER going for a Charging Order --after all what does it get them -- you might not sell the house for 40 years by which time inflation would have eroded the debt into NOTHING.

 

No Judge is going to make you sell your house for a meagre 1300 of debt (meagre to the Water company that is not to you BTW).

 

Thats not how charging orders work.

 

There is no minimum debt - AFAIK - to apply for an order For Sale after obtaining a charging order. When I apply a charging order, the debt is charged to th debtors property. I can then ask for an order for sale and the debt is paid. Its never eroded into nothing because interest accrues. When the debtor does finally sell the property (regardless whether its by Order) conveyancer asks me for a Redemption Statement stating how much is owed with interest and the conveyancer pays it from the sale of the property.

[selinajayne]

sherforce have been on the phone again today. I have told them they wont be coming in and they said they would go for bankcruptcy. They are saying its for £2500 when the actual water bill is for £1200. I asked what the rest was for and he said it was court costs for it being taken to the high court, is that right?

he also said it was for sherforce costs and when i told him they had not levied he said they had, on a car i have already told them i dont own.

[Amejade]

Hi,

I'm also having a Sherforce thing going with SW also a simular sum owed.

Have you tried to talk to SW they had told me how much my debt was with them as Sherfocre would not give me the whole picture. I am currently sorting something out with SW and will get back to Sherforce after.

 

I have also done a CCJ and HCJ online search with Registry Trust cost me £16.00. I was able see that we have not got a HCJ against us as Sherforce had stated in their first contact letter so i know that charges will be lower than what they will be saying (they havent told us yet).

 

In the mean time keep everything closed and locked till something is sorted and confirmed.

[ploddertom]

Hi,

I'm also having a Sherforce thing going with SW also a simular sum owed.

Have you tried to talk to SW they had told me how much my debt was with them as Sherfocre would not give me the whole picture. I am currently sorting something out with SW and will get back to Sherforce after.

 

Be wary as technically SW should not be doing this, they may still accept payment from you but may pass it to Sherforce anyway.

I have also done a CCJ and HCJ online search with Registry Trust cost me £16.00. I was able see that we have not got a HCJ against us as Sherforce had stated in their first contact letter so i know that charges will be lower than what they will be saying (they havent told us yet).

 

One thing to remember is that the Judgment you have will always relate to the County Court, it is the means of Enforcement that has changed by having the Order transferred up through to the High Court for enforcement only.

 

In the mean time keep everything closed and locked till something is sorted and confirmed.

 

PT

[bladeboy]

sherforce have been on the phone again today. I have told them they wont be coming in and they said they would go for bankcruptcy. They are saying its for £2500 when the actual water bill is for £1200. I asked what the rest was for and he said it was court costs for it being taken to the high court, is that right?

he also said it was for sherforce costs and when i told him they had not levied he said they had, on a car i have already told them i dont own.

 

Bankcruptcy my arse!

 

The creditors petition will cost them around £1,000 and then they lose control of the debt - it passes to the official receiver! Don't worry about that, they won't do it. It's all part of the bully boy tactics. All they want to do is to get you scared into borrowing off friends and family to pay them. ********s

[Amejade]

Thanks PT,

 

I am treading carfully with SW making records of everything said. Having another conversation with them tomorrow before I ring Sherforce again.

Thanks for clearing CCJ and HC for me found it a little confusing

[ploddertom]

i have had one visit from sherforce and lots of phone calls. They know i'm on income support and i have offered £5 a week but they have refused and threatened a visit with a warrant????? i have just filled in and sent off n245 form but i will still have £1300 in bailiff charges can some one explain if there is anything i can do about this and can they make me bankcrupt over their charges

i have looked at a few threads about charges but i dont really understand so please keep at as basic as possible for me lol

thanks

 

If you are on Income Support then the chances are you are classed as vulnerable according to the National Standards for Enforcement Agents to which Sherforce acknowledge. Therefore they should return the debt to the Creditor.

 

Did you know about the original CCJ or was the first you knew when the HCEO turned up?

 

PT

[selinajayne]

i did know about the ccj, it was a few years back and i just forgot about it.

i told sherforce right at the start i was on income support and they keep asking me for my national insurance number but i havent given it to them