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


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  • 3 weeks later...
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Hi again everyone, I thought I'd do a quick update as the court date is this Wednesday and I'm unsure now what the best course of action may be.

 

I had to leave my job last Monday. As I started my last job so early in the morning, I obviously used my car to get there and once my car was gone the only way I could get there on time was by taxi which I just couldn't afford to keep paying every day (buses didn't run early enough to get me to work and the job wasn't flexible hours). I've managed to secure a part time seasonal job that I started today - minimum of 16 hours per week but it's less money (minimum wage) than than the job that I did have as well as being less hours - the main bonus being that it's within walking distance of my home. Unfortunately, the job is only contracted until 31st December so I'll have to try and secure another job for when this one finishes.

 

Because of this, I'm not sure how to approach the case on Wednesday morning. My employment is no longer permanent and if I don't secure another job by the time this one comes to an end I won't have the means to make the payments to the Bailiffs. I was basing my case on my ability to pay (with financial support from my ex) but this may not be possible until I'm in secure employment.

 

Do I turn up on Wednesday and just give up? I feel as though I'm now in a catch 22 situation and I honestly don't know what to do for the best. I needed the car to get to work, without the car I had to pay for taxis, couldn't afford taxi fare so had to find a job closer to home, new job pays a lot less, need to secure a better more permanent job but am now restricted without the car......... can't afford to pay for the car if I don't secure a more permanent job. I also don't have any written info from the bailiffs about how much of the debt is their fees etc.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated even if it means losing the car at this point. Thanks in advance if possible.

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Sorry, just another quickie........ I just checked the Bailiffs website and found a link to their 'auctioneers' - they sell everything from their own 'depot'. My car is on their catalogue list already - does this mean they're expecting a good outcome for themselves in court on Wednesday? Apologies for despondency - not really sure what to do now.

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Hi Hedgey

 

Don't be despondent about Wednesday, if there had been no merit in your application initially then it would never have been granted. As well as explaining everything that has gone here has your ex been able to supply the info about your payments. You should also be able to explain how this has affected you since the car was taken - loss of job, reduction in hours & income from having to take what was on offer.

 

At the hearing be respectful & polite, Sir or Ma'am is a good way to reply to the Judge. Even if things do go the wrong way it is still expected that you thank the Judge for their time. In effect you have the best representation there is as the Judge has to take into account you know nothing - unless they are an ogre. Keep reading through things and be prepared for the unexpected questions.

 

Please let us know how you get on.

 

PT

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Hi Pt, and thanks for your reasurrance :-)

 

I don't understand legal jargon etc, so the document that I've typed out is kind of 'in my own words' and is a potted history of what's happened since this saga began. All I can hope is that the judge allows me to read this as it is and is sympathetic with some of the contents but can also see that I'm not trying to 'shirk' my responsibilities either.

 

My ex husband has given me photocopies of the receipts along with a letter in which he clearly states the communication that he had with the bailiffs on my behalf (paying the debt on my behalf whilst I was too ill and financially unable to deal with my debts, meeting the monthly payments, offering to increase the payment, etc). Hopefully this will show the judge that the bailiffs took the car even though they were receiving payments and had been promised additional payments in the future.

 

Fingers crossed! I'm nervous as hell ...... I keep going over and over the info I've got hoping that it's enough! Thank you so much again for your support, I'll post an update tomorrow when I get home.

 

Hedgey

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Hi Pt, and thanks for your reasurrance :-)

 

I don't understand legal jargon etc, so the document that I've typed out is kind of 'in my own words' and is a potted history of what's happened since this saga began. All I can hope is that the judge allows me to read this as it is and is sympathetic with some of the contents but can also see that I'm not trying to 'shirk' my responsibilities either. Make a couple of extra copies and ask the Judge nicely if he would read it, apologise and explain you are not au fait with all these matters, the other copy is for the other side if they turn up.

 

My ex husband has given me photocopies of the receipts along with a letter in which he clearly states the communication that he had with the bailiffs on my behalf (paying the debt on my behalf whilst I was too ill and financially unable to deal with my debts, meeting the monthly payments, offering to increase the payment, etc). Hopefully this will show the judge that the bailiffs took the car even though they were receiving payments and had been promised additional payments in the future.

 

Fingers crossed! I'm nervous as hell ...... I keep going over and over the info I've got hoping that it's enough! Thank you so much again for your support, I'll post an update tomorrow when I get home.

 

Hedgey

 

Whatever happens keep your chin up and make sure you have a good stiff Nescafe. I'll have more than fingers crossed.

 

PT

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Hi Pt, and thanks for your reasurrance :-)

 

I don't understand legal jargon etc, so the document that I've typed out is kind of 'in my own words' and is a potted history of what's happened since this saga began. All I can hope is that the judge allows me to read this as it is and is sympathetic with some of the contents but can also see that I'm not trying to 'shirk' my responsibilities either.

 

It's good that it's in your own words, and if you find you don't understand anything, remember it's the judges job to make sure you do, so don't be afraid to politely ask for things to be explained if you need it.

 

My ex husband has given me photocopies of the receipts along with a letter in which he clearly states the communication that he had with the bailiffs on my behalf (paying the debt on my behalf whilst I was too ill and financially unable to deal with my debts, meeting the monthly payments, offering to increase the payment, etc). Hopefully this will show the judge that the bailiffs took the car even though they were receiving payments and had been promised additional payments in the future.

 

Excellent.

 

Fingers crossed! I'm nervous as hell ...... I keep going over and over the info I've got hoping that it's enough! Thank you so much again for your support, I'll post an update tomorrow when I get home.

 

Hedgey

 

Sounds like you're well prepared which I'm sure you know is the important thing.

 

Good luck Hedgey.

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Thanks everyone, I think your best wishes for me worked today :-)

 

The bailiffs didn't turn up to the hearing, but a solicitor from the council did. She asked to speak with me prior to the hearing so we had a chat and I gave her a copy of my 'statement' to read. She seemed quite shocked when I told her the debt stands at 7K as, from their point of view, I now only owe 4K having paid over 3K off the loan already. It also became apparent that the bailiffs DIDN'T pass my income and expenditure form to the council (they're adamant I didn't send them one even though I did) and apparently the payments being made had not been AGREED WITH THE COUNCIL either. All in all, it seems as the bailiffs have basically done everything in their power to ensure that the car was taken to be sold towards the debt (or should that be towards their own fees??!!!) The lady from the council was absolutely lovely though - I explained that I'm not trying to wriggle out of paying for the debt, that I've literally not been in a strong enough position (financially, emotionally, health wise) to deal with it but that I'm finally starting to climb out of the 'hole' I've been in and I think she genuinely understood this and realised I was being honest with her.

 

At the hearing, the judge was absolutely lovely. He acknowledged that I'd had some very unfortunate circumstances in the past couple of years and also acknowledged that I was doing my best to sort things out. The upshot was that he adjourned the hearing - allowing the stay of the writ to remain in place. He asked the lady from the council and myself to speak with each other to come to an agreeable solution within the next 28 days so I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that this may yet have a good outcome :-) We've agreed that I'll complete an inc/exp form directly from the council and make an offer to pay the debt which will hopefully see the car returned and the debt being paid again. I think this is what it means anyway........ as the bailiffs will sell the car for such a miniscule amount that it won't even take a decent chunk out of the debt.

 

All in all though, I'm feeling a lot more positive than I have done for the last few weeks - and I want to thank you all for the support that you've given me. I honestly would have just let this go without question if I hadn't have had CAG to turn to. Thank God this site exists!

 

Hedgey xxxxxx

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Thanks PT!! Strawberry milkshakes are definitely on me!! :-) xxx

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Out of curiosity, I just contacted the bailiffs. They sold the car last week regardless of the stay on the writ :-(

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Ok, tears over..... the car's gone. BUT. I'm blazing mad now. The bailiffs wouldn't tell me how much the car was sold for - and according to Parkers it was worth (in a Private sale and Good condition) £3,320. That's based on average mileage of 40,000 - my car had 22,000 miles on the clock so I'm assuming it was worth around £3,500. Therefore, as far as I'm concerned, my debt to the council is almost paid in full. The bailiffs have levied almost £3K in fees on top of the debt owed but I think that's another court case for another time?

 

So, now that I'm in fighting mode, can anybody advise me on the best steps to next take? IMHO, I was bullied and intimidated into handing over the keys to my own car which was parked on a private driveway....... the only reason I handed the keys over was because the bailiff said he'd return with a tow truck anyway, but as my car was parked on private land am I correct in thinking he didn't have the power to do so? Given that the Judge ordered a stay of execution of the writ on the 18th October and the bailiffs sold the car last week, have they acted unlawfully? Can I take them to court over their actions?

 

Strangely enough, when the council solicitor phoned Andrew Wilson and Co this morning to ask why they'd told me the debt was almost 7K, they told her the debt was around 5.5K..... so they clearly let my car go at auction for around 1.2K.

 

I really hope there's some course of action that I can take as I'm now blazing mad and want to do something via the courts about this.

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Well that's sort of taken the shine off things.

 

Things to bear in mind:

Did your Stay expressly forbid sale? Did the HCEO know of the existence of the Stay? As far as I know the Creditor is responsible for the actions of the HCEO and they should also have advised them of the Stay and the reasons why. Ring the Court tomorrow and advise what has happened and see what they say.

 

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Thanks PT, I've just got home from work and contacted the Court and explained what happened. They've advised me to seek legal advice urgently about this as the car should NOT have been sold and the bailiffs basically ignored the Judge's directions completely (they DID receive a copy of the judgement at the same time as myself and the Council - even though they basically tried to say yesterday that they hadn't!)

 

Last night I also emailed the Council's solicitor who I met at the hearing yesterday explaining that the car was sold last week and asking her to confirm the selling price. The reply I received said that they don't have the full details regarding my car but that the bailiffs are now in the process of trying to recover it from the 'purchaser' (I know what I'd tell the bailiffs to do if I was the purchaser, but it's not polite to swear in public!)

 

So, I think we're at stalemate at the moment. I've replied to the solicitor explaining that I won't be entering discussions about the outstanding debt until I'm in possession of the full facts regarding my car (what it was sold for, etc). Yesterday, the Judge adjourned the hearing for 28 days to allow us to come to an amicable conclusion........ so I'm trying to come up with a plan of action that covers all the bases! I'll stay in email contact with the council's solicitor but I also think now is the time to get my local Councillor fully into the loop and explain in detail what's happened. I'm reluctant in some ways to seek legal advice as I'd like to be able to deal with this myself......... I think I'll wait to see what the council come up.

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I was just thinking... If the bailiffs didn't have good title to the car (and there is a fair chance that they didn't, for many reasons), then they had no right to sell the car, which means you are still the owner/keeper and you could actually get the car off the new owner yourself (would need to get the police involved of course), it would then be up to him/her to chase the bailiffs for a refund and that would cost the bailiffs even more... Tempting.

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What a terrible story,

I feel thjat you urgently need to establish what the Bailiffs have charged you in fees and what they should have legally charged you.

Once you have this info. and the bailiffs have to reveal it, you will be in a stronger position to negotiate with the Council who are responsible for the actions of their agents.

I would also write a letter of complaint to the council chief executive , headed official complaint, outlining the story you have told here and the helpful attitude of the judge.

Also, if you feel brave enough and I know people don't like washing their undies in public, get onto the local press who are generally up for a story about council/ council agents misdeeds.

Best of luck,

Martin g

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Pleased to hear some progress has been made but I fear it may be a long road. The advice for legal representation is a sound one as I would imagine the "other side" will end up picking the bill up. Shame you don't live near me as i have a top class legal eagle who would revel with this. It would be interesting to know at what stage the Council became aware of the HCEO's decision to sell - I would have thought in normal circumstances they would be in close contact with each other. It begs the question did Council and HCEO envisage your Stay being lifted and they jumped the gun.

 

As far as I am aware the HCEO does not have to tell you how much any item is sold for at auction, I'm under the impression you have to make an application to Court for this information and must be done within a short time frame. However given the issues that now surround this I think they may now start to bend over backwards. As your car has now been "used & abused" - recovered, stored, sold and now used by whoever I'd be nearly tempted to tell them to keep it and reimburse you for its current market value - not what it sold for at auction, + a sum of money to compensate you for losing your job, stress, denial of its use and any other multitude of things you can think of.

 

PT

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Thanks again everyone - I feel as though I'm getting stronger by the day with this thanks to the advice I'm getting here :-)

 

CD - I am sooooooo tempted at this moment in time to phone the police and report the car as stolen. If I'd have known that morning what I know now, I never would have handed my car keys over to the bailiff. But at 6.45am with kids to get up for school and a job to go to, I couldn't handle the thought of a tow truck coming to collect the car....... even though he couldn't have done it because it was parked on private property. B'stard. I should have logged onto CAG instead of flapping around like an eejit! If there's any merit in contacting the police though I will definitely do that. If nothing else, it throws another cat amongst the rather scatty pigeons right now?!

 

Martin - thank you so much for posting. I never considered contacting the Chief Exec but your post has convinced me that they need to be advised of what has happened under their control - maybe they can be the voice of reason if nothing else. I think I've done everything that I was able to do at the time (under the circumstances) and I feel even more able to tackle this further........... and I definitely WANT a full financial breakdown from the bailiffs now despite their reluctance to give this so far.

 

PT - thank you so much for guiding me through this :-) Is there a form I can take to court tomorrow to request the info from the bailiffs as to the exact details on the car's sale? I could get to the court for around 2.30pm to file this if so.......... shanks pony is getting used to the leg mileage!! Also, can I request that the Council send me information regarding their communication with the bailiffs so that I can ascertain was was/wasn't agreed between them? I've opened a letter from the Court tonight that states " IT IS ORDERED THAT 1 The hearibng of this application be adjourned to 18 November 2010 when the hearing will take place at 10.30am and 2 The stay of execution of the Writ of Fi Fa do continue until after 18 November 2010 - Dated 10 November 2010.

 

So I think I need to gather everything together and move pretty quickly? I actually feel ready for this now though!

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Hi Pt! Sorry, my inbox was cluttered with old messages - I've just deleted them :-) xx

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  • 2 weeks later...

so what happened?

Please overlook my typos and spelling mistakes, sometimes my fingers arent in sync with my brain :)

I am just a consumer and have no legal training. My posts are opinion only, based on my own limited experience. If in doubt you should seek legal advice from a qualified practitioner.

 

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