**Bailiffs took my car this morning - please advise** ***WON!!!***

[hedgey06]

Hi everyone........... I haven't posted on CAG for a long time but this morning my car was taken by High Court Enforcement Officers (Andrew Wilson and Co) acting on behalf of Salford Council.

 

To cut a long story short, I had an agreed payment plan with the Bailiffs which I have stuck to and have receipts for but they have decided this isn't enough and the car is being sold at auction within the next 7 days unless I can give them a substantial amount towards the debt (approx £2K apparently). I don't have the cash to give them and the car won't raise much at auction.

 

I've complied with everything they've asked me to do and I feel sick that they've taken the car ....... I had no choice but to give them the keys as they turned up at my home at 6.45 and said they would remove it by tow truck unless I handed the keys over.

 

Is there anything that I can do?????? Please help if possible as my head is whizzing and I don't have a clue what to do next.

[hedgey06]

Never mind - contacted the bailiffs.......... they want the amount owed in full (thousands more than is actually owed) to return the car which I obviously can't do. They're selling the car for whatever they can get then I'll hear from them again.

[hallowitch]

is this for council tax

[hedgey06]

Hi hallowitch, thanks for replying.

 

The debt was for a car loan that I took out with the council when I was an employee. Unfortunately, I was out of work for over two and a half years and couldn't maintain the original loan payments, therefore I had an agreed payment plan with the bailiffs which I have kept to and retained receipts for each payment.

 

A couple of weeks ago, they said the amount being paid was no longer sufficient and asked me to return a completed income/expenditure form to them which I returned last week. I offered them double the amount I'm currently paying.

 

They've decided this isn't enough and have said they're selling the car to go towards the debt and that they'll then contact me after it's sold to revise the payment plan........... which, no disrespect, I won't be paying a penny towards now that they've taken the car. If they wanted a lump sum towards the debt I could have sold the car privately and got an awful lot more for it than they will

[ploddertom]

You will have to give as much detail as you can.

 

PT

[ploddertom]

Did the Council obtain a CCJ against you? Do you know how much you have paid toward the vehicle? When & how did the HCEO become involved?

 

PT

[hedgey06]

I honestly don't know PT - I think the Council did obtain a CCJ around two years ago ........ but I'm not sure how much I've paid towards the vehicle to date. However, the bailiffs are demanding a lot more than I owe as the total debt is now a lot more than I originally borrowed. The HCEO first became involved when I originally defaulted on the payments two years ago. At the time, something terrible had happened to a family member and I don't remember what happened except that I managed somehow to get everybody concerned to agree to a payment plan.

[ploddertom]

OK I think I know what has happened but you will need to find the paperwork about the CCJ as you will need the number on it. What paperwork have they left you today - have you been given a Form 55 & if so what dates are on it? I'll catch up later when I get home but all is not lost, however you will have to work fast.

 

PT

[hedgey06]

Thanks PT - all he left me with today is basically a receipt for my car that he's signed and dated, I had to sign it also. It has a writ number on it along with the council's name vs me. It says "the items listed below have been removed in accordance with the above, and will be held for five days prior to being sold. If you wish your goods to be returned, the full amount in cash must be paid to the office prior to the sale. You are also responsible for the collection and return of your goods, and any lawful charge the auctioneer may make."

[benny1]

I do hope this gets sorted for you. Apart from giving them the keys did you give them any paperwork for the car eg: logbook.

 

They cant expect you to pay an amount that you havent got. I think they are unreasonable like all Bailiffs and are just out for what they can get.

Apart from taking the car, they are also (I think) adding charges on to the debt which will make it go even higher.

 

Please keep us informed.

[hedgey06]

Thanks Benny, I didn't give them the logbook or any other details for the car. He said they could get more at auction for the car if I handed everything over but I'd given up by that point and shut the door on him.

 

I really appreciate all of your responses - I haven't stopped shaking since this happened and I hope there's something I can do instead of feeling as though they have the right to take whatever they want.

[Voxter]

so the council lend our c.tax money to people to buy cars at reduced interest ?

[fork-it]

Quite Possible.

 

When I was a Civil Engineer at British Aerospace (Now BAE) in the 1980's I had an employer sponsored car loan for a brand new Audi Quattro. As Aerospace was taxpayer owned, I guess that would have been a taxpayer supported car loan.

[hedgey06]

@ Voxter - allow me to clear up any confusion you appear to have.

 

Local Authorities don't lend employees money to buy cars at a reduced rate of interest as a matter of course. What the majority of them DO is have a preferential loan scheme (usually half a per cent below the banks' loan interest rates) available to essential car users; social workers, community development officers, housing officers, etc. This means that employees who are required to have access to a car to enable them to undertake their duties are able to access the loan scheme and purchase a vehicle promptly. This in turn ensures that their clients (usually vulnerable members of the community) receive the care and support they are entitled to.

 

I hope this clears up any confusion you may have. If you have any advice to offer I would be very grateful as an EX Local Authority employee. If you don't have any advice to offer, at least you are now in possession of FACTS.

[ploddertom]

Thanks PT - all he left me with today is basically a receipt for my car that he's signed and dated, I had to sign it also. It has a writ number on it along with the council's name vs me. It says "the items listed below have been removed in accordance with the above, and will be held for five days prior to being sold. If you wish your goods to be returned, the full amount in cash must be paid to the office prior to the sale. You are also responsible for the collection and return of your goods, and any lawful charge the auctioneer may make."

 

There should be a Form No on it somewhere - could you let me know what it is please? I'm also hoping as well as the Writ No it also has the CCJ No on it as well. Do you also know when the Writ was originally obtained - they are only valid for 1 year but can be renewed, this is also something you will need to check.

[ploddertom]

When the original CCJ was awarded was it just for a sum of money or did it allow you to pay by instalments. Did you ever get a chance to defend/counterclaim or make offer of payment when the original paperwork was received.

 

PT

[hedgey06]

Thanks for getting back to me PT. I've double checked the form he left me and there isn't a Form No on it anywhere......... there's no CCJ number on it either, just the writ number. I'll have a look through my papers to see when the initial writ was obtained, but I have a feeling it was two years ago.

[ploddertom]

Are you presently in employment, if not do you claim any benefits, also does anyone within your household suffer from any debilitating illness or disability.

 

PT

[hedgey06]

When the original CCJ was awarded was it just for a sum of money or did it allow you to pay by instalments. Did you ever get a chance to defend/counterclaim or make offer of payment when the original paperwork was received.

 

PT

 

I'll check the paperwork that I have, but from memory the original CCJ was for a sum of money....... I managed to negotiate instalments via the council originally, then via the Bailiffs. At the time it happened I was dealing with a bad incident that had happened to a family member so my memory is a bit vague on the details, but I'll try to get the paperwork out now.

[hedgey06]

Are you presently in employment, if not do you claim any benefits, also does anyone within your household suffer from any debilitating illness or disability.

 

PT

 

I started work again part time at the beginning of September and I claim tax credits as a lone parent in addition to my wages. I don't have a debilitating illness or disability, although I've suffered with depression for the past two years and take medication for this.

[ploddertom]

I'll wait to see what you have.

 

PT

[ploddertom]

I started work again part time at the beginning of September and I claim tax credits as a lone parent in addition to my wages. I don't have a debilitating illness or disability, although I've suffered with depression for the past two years and take medication for this.

 

How many children & what age?

 

PT

[hedgey06]

How many children & what age?

 

PT

 

I've got three boys still at home..... the eldest is 16 and has just started college, my youngest two are 11

[hedgey06]

I'll wait to see what you have.

 

PT

 

Ok, I've got very little...... .I've searched through all my paperwork and can only find a couple of letters. When this originally happened it was at an awful time personally as we had a really traumatic event in our family .... I can't go into details on the forum as it was very personal.

 

My ex-husband took the debt on because he knew I couldn't afford to pay it (I was on benefits at the time - income support and tax credits) and he didn't want me to lose the car as the kids all play football and rugby and I use the car to ferry them around to their activites. All I can find is a letter that my ex passed to me where they thank him for sending payments, plus two formal notices that say "I have power under the Writ relating to this High Court Judgement debt as an Enforcement Officer acting under the authority of Andrew Wilson & co, High Court Enforcement Officers to seize your goods up to the value of the judgement, together with all additional charges and interest payable"..........

 

After speaking with the person who signed the letters, it appeared that some of the payments hadn't registered on their side because the writ number wasn't put on the bank transaction - but this was cleared up when my ex husband went into the bank the following day and had the payments traced. I thought that was the end of the matter but then received the form asking for detailed income / expenditure which I sent off to them, then they called this morning and took the car.

[ploddertom]

How old is the car & approx how much would it be worth. Any sale is supposed to:

a - cover the HCEO's fees

b - cover the removal costs

c - cover the costs of the auction including storage charges

d - cover the auctioneers costs

e - pay a proportion of the debt owed

 

For example if you owe £5k and the car is only worth say £200 then it can be argued that the HCEO has only done this to gain a financial advantage for himself and his company.

 

PT