High Court Enforcement

[UtterlyShafted]

I have just got in and found a letter from a High Court Enforcement officer

saying that they have seized all the goods in my property and my wife's ancient car

in relation to a judgment debt against me.

 

They have not been inside the property which is rented and paid for by the Council as we are homeless.

 

We do not have any assets and anything we do have is my wife's as I have sold everything I own due to crisis.

 

Do /can these people take the landlord's white goods?

 

Can they take my wife's possessions / her car?

 

The judgment debt is for around £550.

 

With costs etc it is now up to about £1,000. I have nothing of any value left.

Edited May 29, 2013 by UtterlyShafted
typos

[dx100uk]

heh

no they cant!

 

whats the debt all about?

and who are they please which hceo?

dx

[UtterlyShafted]

They are Marstons. The debt is several years old - utilities - from before our present homelessness.

[dx100uk]

so.

 

have you checked your cra file?

 

or www.trustonline.org.uk

 

the util co [name them]

MUST have gotten a CCJ FIRST before hceo'd involvement.

 

you need the background data.

and how old is the debt?

 

dx

[UtterlyShafted]

They do have a judgement debt - I said that in the first para of my first post.

 

Name of utility co is irrelevant, I owed them money.

THey took me to court. They won. I have a CCJ.

 

I haven't paid because I can't.

 

Now HCO leaves letter taking possession of everything.

 

How do I get them off my back?

 

They have "seized" my wife's car (regestration number written on their letter) a

nd say they have seized everything in the property (Which they have not entered).

[renegadeimp]

You may owe them money, but when was the last time you made a payment to the debt or acknowledged it in writing?

[UtterlyShafted]

I have not made a payment. I don't remember when I last communicated with them, but the original debt is less then 6 years old. The CCJ is 3 or 4 years old.

[dx100uk]

and they CANT!

 

its not your car

 

they have not entered the property.

 

invalid seizure - end off!

 

time for a stat declaration from her I think

 

dx

[UtterlyShafted]

What is a "stat declaration"?

[ploddertom]

Who's name is the CCJ in? I assume you have the Form 55 - what amounts are listed on it - there should be CCJ debt, costs of Execution etc?

[UtterlyShafted]

The CCJ is in my name. I have a Form 55.

I have rounded the figures - approx amounts are:

£580 judgment debt

£170 judgment costs

£110 execution

£160 interest

£360 Offices fees (will increase by 29p per day

Total £1380

[ploddertom]

The CCJ is in my name. I have a Form 55.

I have rounded the figures - approx amounts are:

£580 judgment debt

£170 judgment costs

£110 execution

£160 interest

£360 Offices fees (will increase by 29p per day

Total £1380

 

Thanks for that seems like another that has sneaked in via the back door from them adding costs. Don't worry too much about the them claiming to have seized everything - clearly they have not as the Notice of Seizure only contains your wife's car.

 

Since the initial CCJ have you paid anything towards it?

[UtterlyShafted]

No, I haven't paid anything.

[renegadeimp]

A stat declaration is where your wife goes to a local solicitor and states under oath that everything is hers, and nothing is yours. She can list the items too if she wishes. The stat dec attracts a small fee, but once it has been issued and you send a copy to the HCEO and a copy to the court, the HCEO MUST take it seriously as it is now a full legal document.

 

Lying on the stat dec will attract a criminal prosecution and a mandatory jail sentence as it would be seen as contempt of court. Thats why it is taken very seriously. I suggest you head to a solicitor ( doesnt matter which) and get this stat dec done asap.

[ploddertom]

To move things along you will need to apply to the Court but in order to do this you are also going to have to start to make payments otherwise I suspect any application to halt further HCEO action & charges will fail. I'm not talking large sums as you would submit I&E and if on the bottom the payment(s) would be minimal.

 

As far as the car goes does your wife have a receipt in her name, proof she paid fom her own funds, insurance in her name and only as sole driver otherwise you could be seen to have a vested interest in it.

[UtterlyShafted]

OK I'll tell her she has to do this but your replies seem to be differing...Why does she need to do a statutory declaration if they haven't been into the property. Does she needs to itemise everything? Or just say "everything is mine"? What about the landlord and their kitchen goods?

 

So far as the car is concerned - the V5 is in her name. The insurance is in my name / we are joint drivers: she uses it for S,D&P and I use it, occasionally, for [self-employed] work. From what I can see a car for work is exempt from the seizure in any event (there's a list of exempt goods under section 99 and schedule 7 of the Courts Act 2003 at the end of the letter).

[UtterlyShafted]

Thanks for that seems like another that has sneaked in via the back door from them adding costs. Don't worry too much about the them claiming to have seized everything - clearly they have not as the Notice of Seizure only contains your wife's car.

Err...what do you mean "sneaked in via the back door from them adding costs"?

[ploddertom]

OK I'll tell her she has to do this but your replies seem to be differing...Why does she need to do a statutory declaration if they haven't been into the property. Does she needs to itemise everything? Or just say "everything is mine"? What about the landlord and their kitchen goods? The HCEO may only seize the goods of the debtor but in many instances it can be taken that as a married couple you have a vested interest in those goods. They certainly cannot seize any goods belonging to the Landlord. Any way that can only happen if you decide to let him in which you certainly do not have to do - he has no automatic right of entry despite anything he may say.

 

So far as the car is concerned - the V5 is in her name. The insurance is in my name / we are joint drivers: she uses it for S,D&P and I use it, occasionally, for [self-employed] work. From what I can see a car for work is exempt from the seizure in any event (there's a list of exempt goods under section 99 and schedule 7 of the Courts Act 2003 at the end of the letter). A lot will depend on what type of work that is.

 

You will need to make 2 applications to the Court(s).

 

1 - Apply for a Variation Order - this will allow you to suggest a figure you can comfortably afford and if the Claimant rejects it then the Court can make an Order that they have to abide by - altough they could then apply themselves to have payments increased. This is a simple application made on Form N245 from HMCTS website and asks you complete I&E which should back up the offer you are making. This application should be returned to the Court where the original CCJ was granted. Cost is £45 unless you are entitled to Fee Remission.

 

2 - Apply for a Stay of Execution against the HCEO - if granted this halts all further enforcement action & charges unless you break the terms of the Order. This is applied for on Form N244 and cost of the application is £80 subject to Fee Remission again if applicable. This time the application is a little more awkward but I do have guide for this if needed. This time the application needs to be returned to the High Court in London or a County Court that also acts as District Registry of the High Court. The application is best taken in person to the Court preferably on a morning whereby you can ask it is treated as urgent and often a Judge can be found who will hear the application immediately. Your grounds for applying for the Stay are:

i - you cannot afford the fees demanded

ii - pending determination of a Variation Order

iii - the HCEO is threatening to remove & sell property belonging to your wife.

 

Fee Remission

If on certain Benefits or low wage you may be entitle to have the fees waived. See Forms Ex160a & 160c for details.

[ploddertom]

Err...what do you mean "sneaked in via the back door from them adding costs"?

 

Judgment is supposed to be £600 before a HCEO becomes involved but they are allowed to include costs.

[wonkeydonkey]

Your landlord will need to provide a letter to say the property is rented and furnished with...white goods etc:

 

If the utility bill is in your name then you are the only person they can enforce against....if the V5 is in your wifes name then she must make a 3rd party claim to ownership, this must be done in writing. Marston's must then forward your wife's claim to the claimant and they must respond within 7 days to state if they admit the claim or dispute it. If you require a template for the claim let me know.

 

WD

[UtterlyShafted]

RESULT!!

 

I just want to say

 

 

A HUGE THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP

 

 

We thought we'd try the direct approach (rather than all these court applications and forms which cost money and take a lot of time) so my wife wrote to Marstons. She advised them the car is hers and that none of the contents belong to me and that if they tried to enforce / take anything she'd be after them for costs etc. She's just heard back from them: "...We confirm that we have withdrawn from possession of the goods and effects seized."

Edited June 13, 2013 by UtterlyShafted
clarification

[ploddertom]

That is only releasing the goods they originally seized. Nothing else will have changed so expect another visit shortly. Providing you deny them access to your property then there is not much they can do.

[lookinforinfo]

That is good news if it is in writing. if they said it over the phone they can easily retract it by saying that the person who told you that was wrong and had no authority to say it. I know because

bailiffs did that to me.

[UtterlyShafted]

That is only releasing the goods they originally seized. Nothing else will have changed so expect another visit shortly. Providing you deny them access to your property then there is not much they can do.

 

Why do you think they will come back? There is nothing left to seize.

 

Their letter confirms "we have withdrawn from possession of the goods and effects seized".

[UtterlyShafted]

That is good news if it is in writing. if they said it over the phone they can easily retract it by saying that the person who told you that was wrong and had no authority to say it. I know because

bailiffs did that to me.

 

Yes, it is in writing.