Help required re my first HCEO form 55 notice of seizure.

[Nick Riffef]

Hi, I am a complete novice when it comes to both forums such as this and dealing with High court enforcement officers and would appreciate any advice on the following.

 

In 2010 I signed an agreement with an estate agent with regard to the sale of my house.

At the time the Home Information Pack inspection was still required and I signed to pay for a discounted rate of £99.00 which was to be the total I paid provided the sale went though with that company.

If I withdrew for any reason there would be an additional charge of £399.00 + VAT

 

The estate agent put through a total of 4 or 5 offers from prospective buyers at different times which we accepted.

All of these eventually fell through as a result of all of the 'cast iron' prospects not having the finances for various reasons. For example: One self employed buyer presented accounts which the estate agents mortgage department accepted until they asked for some further documentation and were presented with a totally different set of books by his accountant.

 

Having been told that there would be absolutely no problem selling my property, relations between myself and the estate agents went down hill. The branch manager and his assistant were removed from the branch and I refused to accept any more viewings unless the buyer could prove to the estate agent that they had the means to purchase.

During this I became ill and was finding it harder to make arrangements for people to view.

As the house had been staged to be presentable to buyers a lot of my property was in storage and costing me a fair bit so I decided to bring it home.

The estate agent contacted me for a viewing which i refused due to being unwell.

This happened again and eventually they asked if I was refusing to accept viewings. I explained that I was unwell and that we would have to put viewings on hold.

They asked if I wanted to take the property of the market, i said no.

 

I heard no more until they sent a letter saying that they would take me to court for the £399.00 + VAT.

 

Being unwell and not not in a good place mentally, I ignored the letter.

I heard no more until I got a Form 55 notice of seizure posted through my door yesterday.

The form states that I should contact the enforcement officer as a matter of urgency.

 

I was at home at the time. Nobody knocked, they just posted the form which states that the require at total of £1444.71 and that they have seized goods including 2 cars parked outside my house one of which is registered to my wife, although I'm the registered keeper, and is under an HP agreement,

I think the other one belongs to an elderly neighbour.

 

Whilst I'm not functioning at my best and I have memory problems, I'm sure I would have remembered getting a date for a court hearing. If not me, my wife definately would have!!

I would have liked to have had my say of even made some sort of counter claim if possible.

I have no knowledge of anything coming from the court although the enforcement officers letter has a District registry claim number.

 

With the Form 55 is a Walking possession agreement that says I have to sign it to say the officer can take my stuff! Do I have to sign this to get any idea of when they may arrive?

 

Do they have to give notice of when they expect me to hand me property over?

Do I have to let them in?

 

Do I have to prove, as they have requested, that these cars that I don't own aren't mine?

 

Is there a posibility that I could pay the claimant what they are owed plus their judgement costs?

As much as it grieves me, they do have my signature on a form to say that I would.

 

Sorry for rambling on.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

[ploddertom]

Are you saying the first you knew of any Court action is when the HCEO left his letter? Are you in a position to pay the original sum demanded - the £399 +VAT = £478-80? The letter they sent saying they would take you to Court - do you still have it?

[Nick Riffef]

I can honestly say that i don't recall receiving any notice from the court with regard to either a court date or an outcome.

 

I would have expected notification via recorded delivery or similar but nothing is coming to mind.

 

I think I may still have the letter from the estate agents asking for payment for the HIP pack.

[Nick Riffef]

I am not currently in a position to pay it all off in one go.

[ploddertom]

The process should be:

1 - they send you a letter outlining your debt and demanding payment - AKA letter before Action. They appear to have done this.

2 - Because you did not respond or make payment they submit a Claim to the Court for payment and a copy of this is sent to yourself allowing you to defend or counterclaim. It appears you have not received this.

3 - Probably because they are (the Court) saying no acknowledgement or defence has been received from you, you are adjudged "guilty" and Judgment by Default is entered.

Forms from the Court are sent ordinary post and are deemed to be served to you.

4 - As no payment has been made or is forthcoming your Claimant has transferred the debt to the High Court for Enforcement which is where you find yourself now.

[ploddertom]

You will need to check your Credit History using Registry Trust Online - small payment required, or a free subscription to Equifax, Experian or Noddle. The first 2 need to have the subscriptions cancelled or you will pay a monthly fee, Noddle is completely free. This information gives you the Claim No, the amount of the Judgment & the Court where it was done - I will hazard a guess at Northampton. You will then need to contact the Court and get copies of the paperwork, in particular check to see what address they have on file for you.

[Nick Riffef]

Ok. Is there anything I can do about this?

Does this mean that, even though I didn't get notification from the court, can no longer pay the claimant.

Am I able to appeal 'after the fact' as it were?

I don't want my neighbour's car dragged off. Worse still, my wifes car.

[Nick Riffef]

You will need to check your Credit History using Registry Trust Online - small payment required, or a free subscription to Equifax, Experian or Noddle. The first 2 need to have the subscriptions cancelled or you will pay a monthly fee, Noddle is completely free. This information gives you the Claim No, the amount of the Judgment & the Court where it was done - I will hazard a guess at Northampton. You will then need to contact the Court and get copies of the paperwork, in particular check to see what address they have on file for you.

 

I am happy to try this but I know that asking for documents can take time. I don't know how much time I have to do this in before the HCEO attempts to seize stuff.

[Nick Riffef]

I am happy to try this but I know that asking for documents can take time. I don't know how much time I have to do this in before the HCEO attempts to seize stuff.

 

Court:NORTHAMPTON BULK CENTRECase number:xxxxxxxxAmount:£702Information Source:Registry Trust Ltd

 

If I apply for the documentation can I fend off the HCEO whilst I'm looking into it?

Edited December 12, 2012 by Nick Riffef
Brain failure

[ploddertom]

I'll try and take this in some form of order that you need to do things.

 

The cars

If your wife's car is on finance you should send a copy of the finance agreement to the HCEO- is it HP or a Bank Loan, if the latter then they can seize it. As for the other car you are supposed to inform the owner & it is for them to claim ownership. However as they are elderly I would inform them they should do a simple DVLA search as you fear the shock of this may have an unexpected consequence on the old chap.

 

Under normal circumstances you could have applied for Set Aside as you did not receive the original documentation but as you cannot afford to pay the debt in full you would be swapping 1 CCJ for another. Instead you should apply for a Variation Order whereby the Court can set the level of payments. You apply for this on Form N245 - cost is £45 but if on certain Benefits or low wage then this may be free - see Forms Ex160a & Ex160c for details. These Forms must be returned to the Court where the CCJ was granted.

 

As for the HCEO, do NOT under any circumstances allow him entry to your home. The seizures of the cars should be removed and there is no need for you to sign & return his Walking Possession. You may instead submit an application for a Stay of Execution, this is done on Form N244 - cost £80 unless you apply for a Waiver as above. The grounds you need to apply on are:

i - you cannot afford the fees so demanded - provide a comprehensive I&E showing this like that need for the Variation Order

ii - pending determination of a Variation Order application - again provide proof of this application

ii - the HCEO is threatening to remove & sell 2 vehicles, one of which is on finance the other the property of a very elderly 3rd party.

This form must be returned to the High Court or a County Court that acts as a District Registry of the High Court. This form is a little more difficult but we do have a guide to helping you fill it in.

 

The Stay of Execution is the most important application as if granted it halts all further enforcement action & charges.

[Nick Riffef]

:oops:This raises another couple of queries. Sorry.

 

I'm sure the car is under HP.

Regardless of that, Can they take my wifes car even if it is registered in her name? I don't actually own a car.The Seizure notice is against me.

 

What if I could afford to pay the debt in full?

 

Sorry to be a pain.

[ploddertom]

:oops:This raises another couple of queries. Sorry.

 

I'm sure the car is under HP. You need to make sure.

Regardless of that, Can they take my wifes car even if it is registered in her name? Whose name is it inured in? This is one of those grey areas wherby being married gives you joint interest in certain property. She may need to swear a Statutory Declaration. I don't actually own a car.The Seizure notice is against me.

 

What if I could afford to pay the debt in full? If you could afford to pay the debt in full you could apply for Set Aside rather than a Variation Order which means you could be allowed to make payment, defend or counterclaim + it would wipe the CCJ from your Credit History.

 

Sorry to be a pain.

 

I have to be at work but will look in this afternoon if not too busy.

[Nick Riffef]

Many thanks for that.

I am currently looking through paperwork re HP. ta.

[wonkeydonkey]

I don't want to 'Butt in' as PT is more than competent in advising you..........

 

Can I just ask..... did you ever request the house to be taken of the market? did the agents write to advise you they were removing the house from the market outlining their reasons for doing so?

 

WD

[Nick Riffef]

Many thanks for that.

I am currently looking through paperwork re HP. ta.

 

Defo HP.

[Nick Riffef]

I don't want to 'Butt in' as PT is more than competent in advising you..........

 

Can I just ask..... did you ever request the house to be taken of the market? did the agents write to advise you they were removing the house from the market outlining their reasons for doing so?

 

WD

 

Not that I recall or have a documentary proof of.

We sort of stopped accepting viewings and they stopped requesting them.

Regards

 

Nick

[ploddertom]

Defo HP.

 

Get copies off soonest to the HCEO's.

[wonkeydonkey]

In which case...that they never formally notified you they intended to remove the house from the market they could well be seen to have broken their own agreement? If you can raise the £399 in question I would be inclined to suggest you go for set aside and make good use of the argument I have outlined?

 

WD

ps. whichever way you decide to go ...get that stay application in place asap.