Assaulted by Brighthouse/Caversham Finance doorsteppers claiming to be bailliffs - they are NOT!!

[gl1tangerine]

Hi,

 

Like many others at the moment my partner and I have been struggling financially for some time now,

despite that we have always maintained payments on our Brighthouse account until recently.

 

On Monday someone pressed the intercom system on my building and said they had a parcel for me so I allowed him entry into the building,

 

I opened my front door to receive said parcel and two men appeared instead.

They notified me they were from Caversham Finance and had come to take the goods I have from them back.

 

I asked him to identify himself and if he had a court order to retrieve the goods as they have protected status,

he claimed he did and completely refused to show me either his identification or the said court order.

 

I asked them to leave the building and at this stage he attempted to push past me and into my home.

Thankfully I was capable of resisting them and as soon as I did they rang the Police to say that there was a breach of the peace occuring and could they attend.

 

At this time they were advised to leave the building and wait for the Police to arrive.

 

As they were leaving my partner who was returning at the time tried to enquire as to what was going on

and the bailliff physically pushed her out of the way causing her to strike the side of her face on the wall.

 

I was obviously infuriated by this and let the bailiff know, his response was f*** you c*** as he ran down the buildings stairs.

 

When the Police arrived I informed the officer what had happened and that we wanted to press charges against the bailiff for assault.

 

The Police officers who were talking to the bailiff then approached and notified me that if we were to press charges against the bailiff

then he would be making a counter accusation of assault and racial abuse and I would also be arrested.

 

Had my 13 year old daughter not been there and already hysterical then I would have gladly taken the counter allegation on as he had no physical marks (unlike my partner).

 

As it was I was left with no option but to drop the matter (in my opinion)

the bailiffs left the scene and even managed to give me a cheeky wave and blew a kiss as they were pulling off.

 

The Police officer who was dealing with them was kind enough to say "Well none of this would happen if you just paid your f****** bills"

 

as a result it turns out the bailiff did NOT have a court order and despite the threat of "getting one in the morning" they are yet to be seen again.

 

I have contacted Caversham regarding this whole incident and am waiting for a reply.

 

The point of my thread?

 

Well hopefully to warn anyone who is having to deal with these bailiffs "DO NOT ANSWER YOUR DOOR TO THESE PEOPLE"

 

If anyone has any advice of what I should do next then please feel free to let me know.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read.

[MARTIN3030]

Thread moved here.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I think you should make a complaint to the police about there attitude

they are nit there to judge!!!

[Jamberson]

In terms of resolving the situation - obviously you can't realistically expect to keep goods and not pay for them. You don't say what they are, but say they are protected. Not sure what this means - do you want to elaborate?

[gl1tangerine]

The goods are HP goods and we have paid more than 50% of the balance therefore they are classed as protected and cannot be recovered without a court order. I have no intention of keeping the goods without paying for them. I have contacted Brighthouse several times prior to this action with an offer of a reduced payment which they have refused.

[SWLABR9]

I agree about complaining to the police. You should also advise your MP (ask for their advice too) of what's occurred including the attitude of the police. It may well be these two are gaining a reputation. Brighthouse have no business at all sending the heavies round. Do you have a local paper? I'd tell them too. Perhaps you and your partner (and daughter) should swear out affidavits about this and then take the matter further. There'll be people here better able to advise about that than me.

[dx100uk]

hello ..... smell the roses here....

 

Caversham Finance ARE NOT BAILIFFS!

 

they are no even debt collectors

 

they have NO LEGAL POWERS WHATSOEVER

 

even if they DID HAVE a warrant.

 

it would be COURT BAILIFFS that attend NOT Caversham Finance ..

 

dx

[dx100uk]

dunno if this needs to stay here

or goto the brighthouse forum?

 

you REALLY need to complain to everyone

 

they have done this before to people too!!

 

dx

[gl1tangerine]

thanks dx, I originally posted it in the Brighthouse forum but it was moved here instead.

[MARTIN3030]

Can you confirm at any point did they state that they were bailiffs ?

Or did you ask ?

[gl1tangerine]

Martin his exact words were (in broken English) "I am bailiff from Caversham Finance"

[MARTIN3030]

It was moved here as it was assumed that it was an issue that forum members here would be interested in.

If it is established that they were not bailiffs,but merely collectors engaged by BH,then of course it can be moved back there.

[Bang!]

The goods are HP goods and we have paid more than 50% of the balance therefore they are classed as protected and cannot be recovered without a court order. I have no intention of keeping the goods without paying for them. I have contacted Brighthouse several times prior to this action with an offer of a reduced payment which they have refused.

 

Firstly there is virtually no chance these people were bailiffs, as Brighthouse generally doesn't do court. This now makes it interesting if they represented themselves to the police as such.

 

Secondly - as it may cover more of your goods from them - the amount in question is a third - from s90 CCA 1974

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/90

 

The bottom line is something needs to be done with both Brighthouse and the police - and sadly I am not singly referring to what happened with you.

 

This effectively creates a lose/lose situation for the police, as they would have to claim those present were bailiffs to justify their actions, and if they claimed otherwise then why were they (the police) acting as they did?

Edited July 14, 2012 by Bang!

[brassnecked]

Perhaps a complaint to the Chief Constable as to his officers supporting an illegal attempt at reposessing goods subject to the CCA, by Brighthouse staff fraudulently claiming to be bailiffs is in order, alomg with a complaint to Trading Standards and the OFT.

 

What is certain is that it once again exposes police incompetence, and a woeful ignorance of the law in that area. The Brighthouse scrotes should have been arrested and charged with assault imho, not police threatening the householder with a tit for tat arrest due to beleiving the lies of the illegal debt collectors fraudulently claiming to be bailiffs

[old bill]

Section 40, Administration of Justice Act 1970 was originally enacted to deal with those who impersonate bailiffs.

 

However, there is a more appropriate offence, in this case, that of Attempted Burglary (Section 9(1)(a), Theft Act 1968).

 

These two cockroaches (Sorry, that's insulting to cockroaches.) entered the building as trespassers, as they had no business being there, with the intention of stealing items belonging to another, because the OP had legitimate custody of them and was protected from repossession by legislation, with intent to permanently deprive the OP of the items.

 

The maximum penalty for Burglary or Attempted Burglary is 10 years' imprisonment. However, it is possible the cockroach's actions may constitute the more serious offence of Aggravated Burglary, which carries a far harsher sentence, due to violence being used.

 

The police officer who attend really does need a good hard kick up the arse. Their attitude is totally unacceptable and failure to act bordering on, if not, amounting to Neglect of Duty. Although the final call lies with the OP, I would make a formal complaint to the Superintendent in charge of the station where this excuse for a police officer is based.

 

One thing that must be done as a matter of urgency is to report Caversham Finance and Brighthouse to the Credit Fitness Team at the OFT.

 

The complaint should be sent by email to [email protected] and the words CREDIT FITNESS inserted into the subject box on the email browser.

 

This matter is just too serious to be ignored and I cannot honestly see the OFT tolerating this sort of behaviour. I am attaching the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines and the Theft Act 1968 to this post for the OP's reference.

Theft Act 1968.pdf

OFT Debt Collection Guidelines (2011).pdf

Edited July 15, 2012 by old bill

[BanditQueen]

Hi, hope you have recovered from the shock.

You did nothing wrong.

 

These thugs came into your building on false pretenses and you asked for identification and the warrant which is quite correct.

You then asked the man to leave the building and he did not.

He should have done so at once.

He then attempted to force entry illegally into your home and you stopped him.

You did not assault him; you used your right of self defense and you would not have been charged.

 

You have three months to report a crime and if you feel that you have been assaulted by this bailiff person, then you can bring a formal complaint against him.

The fact that your child was present also improves your case as you were also defending her and that gives strength to your argument.

Never be put off that the other party are saying they will also bring charges.

The police will make the final decision as to if they go ahead with any charges and prosecute.

 

The bailiff would most likely be persuaded to withdraw any charges as he was in the wrong and you defended yourself against his aggression and attempts to break into your home.

He does not have any right to come into your home and it is not an offence to refuse him.

 

You can make a complaint now and also make it to the police about the officer as he had no right to make the remarks that he did

and in any event why did not a female attend as you are a female involved in the incident?

 

You should not be put off from bringing charges or suing him for damages and it may be a good idea to check id,

before opening the door if you have an intercom by asking them to put it through the letter box.

 

Do you have a way to look out to see if a parcel is being delivered or not?

Another good thing is as soon as you open the door, put a chain on and make sure first or ask who they are and just refuse to even deal with them.

 

Tell them no thanks and close the door on them.

Never deal with anyone you do not know at the door or on the phone.

These people are bullies and they should all be locked up!

[brassnecked]

@ BamditQuieen They were not bailiffs, they had no right to be there,

they weren't even bona-fide debt collectors so oldbill's advice holds good here,

 

further the "(non)Bailiffs" should be charged with attempted burglary (Section 9(1)(a), Theft Act 1968) with menaces,

at the very least and as the OP's partner was injured and it was visible, possible ABH.

 

The force used to remove them would therefore be proportionate imho ,

so the only ones who the police should prosecute are the scrotes from Brighthouse

[old bill]

@ BamditQuieen They were not bailiffs, they had no right to be there,

they weren't even bona-fide debt collectors so oldbill's advice holds good here,

 

further the "(non)Bailiffs" should be charged with attempted burglary (Section 9(1)(a), Theft Act 1968) with menaces,

at the very least and as the OP's partner was injured and it was visible, possible ABH.

 

The force used to remove them would therefore be proportionate imho ,

so the only ones who the police should prosecute are the scrotes from Brighthouse

 

You're right about the injuries sustained by the OP's partner amounting to Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (ABH). However, the circumstances of the incident, dictate that this is an offence of Burglary per se, as opposed to Attempted Burglary, as the debt collector had already gained access to the building as a trespasser and was intending to and, indeed, attempted to steal property from the OP. I have double-checked the maximum penalty for Attempted Burglary/Burglary and find that it is 14 years imprisonment and not not 10 years as stated in an earlier post. Sorry about that, folks. Good thing I double-checked. However, it appears the Cockroach Brothers used deception to gain entry to the building. That is Burglary Artifice. It is an aggravating factor.

 

This matter really does need to be dealt with by the police and I would be very surprised if the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) did not run with it. Certainly, the management of Brighthouse and Cockroach Finance, sorry, Caversham Finance, should receive a visit from H.M. Constabulary and the matter needs referral to the OFT and Trading Standards first thing tomorrow morning. The email complaint can and should be sent to the OFT today as a matter of urgency.

[brassnecked]

Agreed OB, that should be the first action by Op tomorrow. It is about time that Brighthouse/Cavendish ripoff were haled over the coals, this is not an isolated incident, they carry out muppetry on this scale as a regular MO.

In this case I think site team were absolutely correct to move the thread here, to let fresh eyes have a look at the shenanigans, and false claims to be bailiffs used by Cockroach Finance and Dimwelling examined.

Edited July 15, 2012 by brassnecked

[old bill]

If there are any other similar cases involving Brighthouse and Caversham Finance that caggers know of on CAG or not, there is strength in numbers and going to the police, en masse, can make a difference. It means the police cannot ignore it. The same applies to Trading Standards and the OFT Credit Fitness Team. Please refer to Post #15 for the email address for the OFT Credit Fitness Team.

[gl1tangerine]

Thank you all for the extremely helpful advice. I will ensure that I fire off an email to the OFT today as mentioned.

 

Does anyone know if a record of the incident will be held on the Police's computer system so I can identify the officers involved?

[Bang!]

The police should have records of who attended - having the number from the relevant cop's shoulder would help too.

 

Perhaps you should also complain to the police for the cop offering financial advice without having a licence! :D:D

[old bill]

If you can give the time, date and place the incident took place, this makes it easier for the Force Information Centre of the police force involved to trace it on their computerised Incident Log System. And, as Bang! says, if you have the collar number of the officers involved, that makes it easier to identify them and get their backside kicked.

 

In addition to this, it might be a good idea to contact those at the top of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) under whose portfolios the OFT and the licensing of companies such as Brighthouse and Caversham Finance fall.

 

The relevant details are as follows -

 

Dr Vince Cable MP (Secretary of State)

Norman Lamb MP (Minister of State) [Portfolio includes Consumer Affairs]

Baroness Wilcox (Parliamentary Under-Secretary) [Former chair of National Consumer Council]

 

All correspondence to -

 

Ministerial Correspondence Unit

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

 

The Permanent Secretary at the BIS is Martin Donnelly.

Edited July 15, 2012 by old bill

[dx100uk]

yes there was one earlier in the year here

the oh's boyfriend even got arrested

 

funny i cant find it anywhere i'll have to ask.

 

dx

[MARTIN3030]

This was another example of masquerading as bailiffs.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?301784-Brighthouse-fake-bailiffs-at-my-door