hceo trouble ...please help **Writ Stayed & Variation made**

[kaka22]

Hi , I

n need of some advice .

 

A HCEO came to my address just before xmas ,

my partner told him he was unemployed and he said he would post out a means form

 

with just having xmas not had chance to fill it in and send it back .

 

Today they turn up again and say unless we pay £320 today they will seize the car ,

and given us a walking possesion agreement ,

 

The car is my partners dads which we told him and he said he would hold off taking it if we payed the £320

and he will go back to the claiment and ask if we could pay installments ,

which we were origanally doing but we had a prob with our account and closed it down and

 

the direct debit was never set back up again and the paperwork he gave me was lost ,

 

dont know if i should also mention the debt is for nursey fees and

 

the owner stopped taking the payment from my account and

 

when we realised it was almost £1000 in panic

 

I told her I would pay her back although not all in one go as she assumed .

 

We then moved house and money got tight and

 

i stopped paying her this was back in 2008

 

we have moved 3 times since this and the first I knew of it going to court was in 2011

 

when the first hceo came to visit ,

 

My partner was working then and i was pregnant and had a 9 month old aswell ,

 

I told him I didnt know anything about it but again panicked

and said we would pay £40 per month ,

 

he said we have until wednesday to get a letter of proof that its my partners dads car ,

 

we have not had any breakdown on cost and the total is now £3000

 

can anyone help dont want to loose the car and cant afford to pay the debt , thanks

[brassnecked]

Welcome to CAG kaka22, who is the debt owed to, and what HCEO is enforcing this, try not to worry, I'm sure wonkeydonkey and ploddertom will be along soon, they are the experts with HCEOs.

[kaka22]

thank you very much , C N Gaunt & Sons ...On the walking possesion agreement it says the name of the woman who owns the nursery.

[kaka22]

just to also add the original debt off £1000 will be almost payed off with what i have already payed and the £320 today but dont know what has been paid to be honest , whats fees or interest etc as never had a break down of cost just them telling me from behind a clipboard how much we have to pay .

[brassnecked]

just to also add the original debt off £1000 will be almost payed off with what i have already payed and the £320 today but dont know what has been paid to be honest , whats fees or interest etc as never had a break down of cost just them telling me from behind a clipboard how much we have to pay .

You can be sure if Gaunts are working as HCEOs the debt will have increased substantially, how much did you owe when you stopped paying but these fees can be challenged. Most likely what you have paid the HCEO will have gone entirely on their fees, and it is unlikely the original creditor will see a penny until Gaunts have taken a substantial wedge off you. Hopefully the others will be along soon, to advise

Edited January 3, 2013 by brassnecked

[kaka22]

I am not really sure never had anything in writing from them to tell me and it was so long ago , Ive had 2 more children since so got baby brain . I payed at least £480 to Gaunts and then another £320 today , he told us today that if she doesnt want to carry on letting us pay in installments the we will have to go to court to let a judge decide who is the legal owner of the car , my partner or his dad ...my partner is the reg keeper but its his dads car my partner only has it as he is unable to drive at the moment due to ill health . thanks for reading

[ploddertom]

What paperwork have they left you? Have they left a Notice of Seizure?

[kaka22]

no just a walking possesion agreement .

[brassnecked]

no just a walking possesion agreement .

 

The one that lists the car?, this will be the notice of seizure, ploddertom is on the case now so you can be sure of getting the correct advice to help you sort this

[kaka22]

Yes its got the car on and my partner signed it the hceo said we have until wednesday to get a letter to them stating the car is his dads and then the will ask the claiment if she is willing to take installments if not it will be seized and sold ..im so confused as then he told us to set up a direct debit for the end of the month for £40 and wrote their bank details on the back of the reciept he gave us for the £320 we had just paid him ...Thank you very much for any advise...its so scary

[ploddertom]

no just a walking possesion agreement .

 

Yes that will act as the NoS. You say a HCEO attended in 2011 was this Gaunts as well? Have you ever asked for a breakdown of the fees they are charging? Was anything ever seized back in 2011? You say your OH is presently out of work - would this have been employment or self-employment?

 

As for the car you will need to inform your OH father of what has happened and ask he submits proof of ownership for same.

[kaka22]

yes that was Gaunts too , no only had contact with them three times back in 2011 was the first time and i just aggreed to pay them £40 ...then just before xmas and today never aslked for a breakdown ..yes employment he was made redundent ..we have already told him and he is happy to submit ownership he bought the car from new and is still down as previous owner from first reg on the log book , he transferred the reg keeper details last year due to ill health but he still owns it , his licence has been revoked so he gave it my partner to use until he is fit to drive again

[kaka22]

we also moved house in march 2012 and didnt notify them , dont know if we had to ?

[wonkeydonkey]

Gaunts are a disgrace to the enforcement industry, they are renowned for ignoring procedure and are either illiterate or plain ignorant as they never reply to letters.

 

Very important question......have you seen the writ that Gaunt's are allegedly acting on? writs are only valid for 12 months and with the timeline you give there is every chance the original writ expired and the big question will be did the claimant renew it? The give away to this not having been renewed, is the fact Gaunts are looking to take low repayments which of course simply allows them to continue to add their fees to the debt without drawing attention to themselves not having a valid writ.

 

If the claimant renews the writ the period between the original expiring and the date of renewal does not allow Gaunts to enforce or charge fees to that writ when it is not active.

 

WD

Edited January 3, 2013 by wonkeydonkey

[kaka22]

dont think we have seen a writ the first time I spoke to them they came to my address in 2011, my partner was at work and I was pregnant and had a baby too so cant be 100% sure if he showed me a writ as I just wanted him to go away I said i would call him when my partner came home with an offer of payment we could afford they set up a direct debit and that was the last we heard the direct debits stopped being paid in april 2012 . The hceo who came before xmas took photos of the house which is rented , he said to prove he had been and then another fella turns up today to take the car unless we pay £320 all we have seen is the WPO we dont even know the exact amount as he caught us at the luchtime and had three children to feed we cant remember what he said .

[wonkeydonkey]

You had no knowledge of the summons for the original ccj and have not seen a copy of the writ?

 

I want you to ring Gaunts tomorrow and ask for the following.....the Court at which the ccj was granted and the claim number, then you will also need to ask them at which court the Writ was raised and the writ number...if at all possible record your call, you are not obliged to advise them you are doing that.

 

Take no nonsense from them just be firm with your request, send email request for the same information and if they fail to respond to either I will take you to the next step. I will strongly suggest you make an application for a stay of execution to the writ and at the same time an application to a variation order to get payments set by the Court to be paid direct to the Claimant. This may sound daunting but in reality the process is quite straight forward and all the help you might need is right here:-)

 

Taking this route will get Gaunt's out of the picture... more and more Judges are pushing HCEO's to justify these ridiculous fees and are looking a lot closer at them by ordering detailed assessment hearings.

 

WD

[brassnecked]

Great advice from WD and PT, you are in safe hands now, Gaunts are most likel;y being naughty and have shot themselves in the foot, if the writ has expired they cannot seize the car or collect diddly squat from you imho.

[kaka22]

neither of us can remember seeing a writ . My partner was going to go to the office tommorrow to take a letter from his dad to prove ownership of the car shoud he do this or wait and telephone for the details you said ? as for the stay of execution the HCEO cleared us out today is this really the only way as money is tight . When we agreed the payment plan my OH was in work as our circumstances have changed , we have done the means form they sent and can only afford to pay them around £8 per month

[brassnecked]

neither of us can remember seeing a writ . My partner was going to go to the office tommorrow to take a letter from his dad to prove ownership of the car shoud he do this or wait and telephone for the details you said ? as for the stay of execution the HCEO cleared us out today is this really the only way as money is tight . When we agreed the payment plan my OH was in work as our circumstances have changed , we have done the means form they sent and can only afford to pay them around £8 per month

Are you in receipt of benefits?, as I think the court forms that WD and PT will advise you on for the stay, and variation have concessions or remissions for low income and some benefits. He could take proof just to get the car out of the frame .

[kaka22]

yes we are at the moment my partner claims JSA , we told him times were hard and on benefits thats why the first one said he would send out the means form but we have a feeling that he saw my OH getting in the car and thats why they came today because he said they had checked with DVLA who the reg keeper , the address its registered to and if it was hpi clear.... he didnt do it while he was here .

[wonkeydonkey]

If your taking the paperwork for the car into the office wait until after you make the call and have sent the email....if you are on benefits then the stay and variation can be done with remission to any costs to you.....Gaunt's will not accept £8 pm but the Court will if you can show this is the only amount affordable...the most important thing at this moment in time is to halt Gaunts in their tracks and get yourself peace of mind they will not be returning to knock on your door and make demands for money you simply don't have.

 

i would be inclined to think the £320 they took from you was taken without a valid writ and that means they must return it , but more on that tomorrow as first you need the info I gave, this will allow you to verify the validity of that writ with the Courts concerned. If Gaunts will not give you the info or a copy of the writ they are asking for trouble.

WD

[kaka22]

forgot to mention (baby brain) we also had a copy of my OH dads loan statement that he took out to buy the car , this is not finance he took out a loan and paid cash for the car. The hceo took a photo of this to send to his boss as proof of ownership but said because the car is hpi clear he could still take it .

[brassnecked]

yes we are at the moment my partner claims JSA , we told him times were hard and on benefits thats why the first one said he would send out the means form but we have a feeling that he saw my OH getting in the car and thats why they came today because he said they had checked with DVLA who the reg keeper , the address its registered to and if it was hpi clear.... he didnt do it while he was here .

This just gets better and better (not) for Gaunts, you could be classed as vulnerable under the National Standards For Enforcement Agencies, by being a low income family on benefits,

 

Vulnerable situations

 

 Enforcement agents/agencies and creditors must recognise that

they each have a role in ensuring that the vulnerable and socially

excluded are protected and that the recovery process includes

procedures agreed between the agent/agency and creditor about

how such situations should be dealt with. The appropriate use of

discretion is essential in every case and no amount of guidance

could cover every situation, therefore the agent has a duty to

contact the creditor and report the circumstances in situations

where there is evidence of a potential cause for concern. If

necessary, the enforcement agent will advise the creditor if further

action is appropriate. The exercise of appropriate discretion is

needed, not only to protect the debtor, but also the enforcement

agent who should avoid taking action which could lead to

accusations of inappropriate behaviour.

 

 Enforcement agents must withdraw from domestic premises if the

only person present is, or appears to be, under the age of 18; they

can ask when the debtor will be home - if appropriate.

 

 Enforcement agents must withdraw without making enquiries if the

only persons present are children who appear to be under the age

of 12.

 

 Wherever possible, enforcement agents should have

arrangements in place for rapidly accessing translation services

when these are needed, and provide on request information in

large print or in Braille for debtors with impaired sight.

 Those who might be potentially vulnerable include:

 the elderly;

 people with a disability;

 the seriously ill;

 the recently bereaved;

 single parent families;

 pregnant women;

 unemployed people; and,

 those who have obvious difficulty in understanding, speaking or

reading English.

[kaka22]

please could you advise me on applying for a "stay" , dont even know when to begin im just so glad i came across this in google , thank u so much for your help

[Mr Worried]

Hi 22. Here is my twopenath as from experience dealing with Gaunt's

Post 16 is spot on but be mindfull that when you ask the relevant questions that they may smell a rat! however you need this info so you can submit the paperwork for the SOE (Stay of execution) if Gaunts think thats what yr up to they will be round in a flash as itt is their duty to harass and bully you for monies, so request the SOE pay the fee and go infront of the judge, I did and all was fine.

 

Remember dint give them an incline that your on here and what yr intentions are etc.

 

Good Luck

 

Mr, Getting better each day!