baliff took our retail stock in storage worth 20k and sold it at auction for £1725

[marcus1212]

can anybody help.. we had a issue a storage company who the instructed baliffs to remove our retail stock and sold it at auction.. we did not know anything about this until afterwards

 

they took 200 items item worth approx 20k and sold it for next to nothing at 1725..

 

what can we do as we have been ripped off beyond belief for a debt of £625..

 

we didnt receive a penny as the baliffs took the remaining balance for themselves

myself and my wife are feeling physically sick by this and has left us with no stock and a huge problem trying to replace it .

 

can anybody help.. the baliffs concerned were some frim called Guants in bradford who we have contacted and found them rude annd agressive and they simply hung up the call.

 

 

any help would be greatly appreciated

[ploddertom]

Gaunts were predominantly High Court Enforcement Officers but were taken over by HCE Group back in February.

 

What was your debt for? What paperwork did you receive?

[wonkeydonkey]

Was there a ccj issued prior to the bailiffs taking this action and more importantly did you receive any claim to the debt?

[tomtubby]

Without providing any personal information could you provide a bit more information about the background to this debt and when the bailiff visited etc.

 

Was the debt owed by you personally or as a Limited Company.

 

Was the stock owned by the person who owed the debt?

[danmcr]

If this was a storage locker, I believe the storage yard have a right to sell goods when arrears arise from storage lockers, However I believe this is subject to serving notice under tort.

[HCEOs]

Once a writ is issued the HCEO is commanded to seize and sell the judgment debtors goods (if payment is not made) wherever they may be found. Clearly if the goods were located in the creditors premises then the HCEO would have no problem finding them, seizing them and subsequently selling them.

 

There are strict rules about the method of sale and these must be adhered to or the HCEO may face legal action. The goods must be sold by public auction or by private treaty if a court so allows.

 

Whilst you may value your goods at £20,000 it is not unreasonable to expect a quarter of that at auction, much less if provenience, documents or other factors that may have aided value are missing. Then the auctioneer will take their own commissions and storage costs from this. Add to this the HCEOs fees and removal costs and all of a sudden it's easy to see why the sums realised may be so little.

 

A starting point would be to ask for a breakdown of the sale prices.

Edited June 7, 2013 by HCEOs

[unclebulgaria67]

Suggest that you obtain proper legal advice on this to see what remedies are open to you. There may be a Solicitor locally who has knowledge of such issues who can at least provide a consultation as to whether they can follow this up or whether the costs/risks may outweigh any amount you could recover.

[marcus1212]

thanksy guys,extra info for you you are correct as above hceo seized the goods fro mthe container storage unit and sent them to auction in stcokport.. at no point was i informed or was i sent any details.i recieved 7 months later a breakdown of of sols items. it doesnt identify each item ,as they gave some away as packs of 5 etc they sold the hole lot for 1750 ,there was genuinely 15 at cost and sold for fivers and tenners even thouch each item cost 100-199,..i feel totally ripped off and feel ive had the guts ripped out of me.. the nasty baliffs were gaunts from bradford.i dont know what to do..

[wonkeydonkey]

Did you actually own the goods seized or were any still unpaid for and technically remained the property of the supplier?

 

My reason for asking is ....you should have been advised at the time of seizure what goods were listed, thereby giving you the opportubity to contact the 'owner' and allow a third party claim at interpleader.

[marcus1212]

Did you actually own the goods seized or were any still unpaid for and technically remained the property of the supplier?

 

My reason for asking is ....you should have been advised at the time of seizure what goods were listed, thereby giving you the opportubity to contact the 'owner' and allow a third party claim at interpleader.

 

in response: i owned all the items all paid for for...the bill i owed was £675.. the next thing i know ive got a ccj and was never told anything.. i found out 5 months later when i forced gaunts to provide an incomprtant list with scribbled auction prices at £10-15 FOR ITEM that cost 90-150 plus vat etc. gaunts were rude and evasive with information.. all i know know they took every last peeny in fees and charges of £1100.cno breakdown just sheer ignorance on their behalf.

[brassnecked]

WD has OP any mileage in the incomplete listing, and the method of sale?

[wonkeydonkey]

BN....there is not enough info on the thread to allow me to draw a conclusion but, based on what has been posted I would say that Gaunts did not execute the writ correctly. what I am reading tells me there is a strong possibility they can be held to account.

 

It is not something that should be done on open forum as there will be a lot of sensitive info required but if the OP is prepared to give that info I will be happy to take a closer look.

 

WD

[brassnecked]

BN....there is not enough info on the thread to allow me to draw a conclusion but, based on what has been posted I would say that Gaunts did not execute the writ correctly. what I am reading tells me there is a strong possibility they can be held to account.

 

It is not something that should be done on open forum as there will be a lot of sensitive info required but if the OP is prepared to give that info I will be happy to take a closer look.

 

WD

 

If OP is willing and site admins are Ok with it, I feel they should progress this with a PM of the info to yourself, as this is best kept off open forum for the time being, don't want Gaunts to be given any inkling of what they may get hit with. I feel they have botched the enforcement but defer to those who have more knowledge.

[HCEOs]

Whether or not the Writ was executed correctly will be for others to determine but I would remind the OP of my early post regarding the value of the goods when sold at public auction. The prices quoted as realised in the sale are quite plausible in the current market.

[marcus1212]

Whether or not the Writ was executed correctly will be for others to determine but I would remind the OP of my early post regarding the value of the goods when sold at public auction. The prices quoted as realised in the sale are quite plausible in the current market.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

you think 10-15 for a item that costs 100-200 is ok?

 

i owned all the items as im a sole trader business..

 

the storage yard offered me a discount at one point in settlement then locked my container and refused to let me in at all.. hence we couldnt supply any goods and couldnt bring in any funds.. we asked several times if we can get 1-15 items out as they were sold. the container people refused.

 

they put a double bolted lock in on the unit so had no chance of getting in.

 

i then find out guants have emptied the unit, sold it all at auction and i never knew a thing about it until 5-6 months later. gaunts sent me a list of items sold but it was shabolic list you can barely read. all i can see is 10-15 etc

 

total sale 1765 approx.. gaunts simply took the rest in the fees without sending.. no exucses as i lived at the same address for 13 years. at no point did gaunts contact me they just took everything.

 

private message me if you want more details etc

[marcus1212]

not sure where i stand but 15k of stock plus vat all paid for taken by guants..all brand new and some items from what i remember cost upwards of 350 plus vat. all they had to let us do was delivery 5-10 mirrors and pay the container bill..

 

im feeling physically sick and unwell and face loosing my business as the stock was key to our cash flow.

[ploddertom]

Have you served a Subject Access Request on Gaunts - now HCE Group?

[marcus1212]

i havent done a subject to access request but i will do one and see what they send me ...

 

the issue is i would have bought the items back but had no knowledge of the auction at all.. i in fact never had any communication at all /nor did i receive the residual funds gaunts said they were going to send me as little as they may have been.

[danmcr]

I think you need to seek professional legal advice on the matter.

 

Gaunts really haven't done that much wrong. They have seized and removed items and sold them at public auction (to which they have no control over the selling price) as commanded by the writ issued by the Court and directed to the HCEO.

 

The question you should be asking is why you never received the claim form. The process would have taken well over a month to get the HCEO stage.

[ploddertom]

A reliable source tells me Gaunts paperwork left a lot to be desired, seemingly record keeping was never top of the agenda.

[danmcr]

record keeping was never top of the agenda.

 

hahahahaha Could say "when is it ever for most bailiff cos"

[HCEOs]

you think 10-15 for a item that costs 100-200 is ok?

 

I understand your frustration but it's not a question of it being OK it's just a fact that auction values are very poor at the moment. It would help if I understood what type of goods you're referring to as some fair better than others at a public auction. For instance, untested electrical goods will often sell for very very little.

[marcus1212]

what happens if gaunts cant provide any paperwork etc? im at a total loss here, everyweek that goes by is another nail in my coffin so to speak.its going to ruin me hand over fist.. items concerned were decorative mirrors uk hand made and expensive too..150-300 at cost gaunts gave there director mobile number but frankly the guy was most unhelpful..

[HCEOs]

I'm afraid you will need to contact the HCEO or the Auctioneer regarding the paperwork but I will say that items such as those you describe will rarely fetch anything like the value you put on them at a public auction unfortunately. They will have been sold to the highest bidder on the day and to that end I cannot see that the HCEO has done anything wrong regarding the conduct of the sale.

 

If you believe otherwise it would be best to seek independent legal advice from s Solicitor. I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

Edited July 10, 2013 by HCEOs

[ploddertom]

Have you served a Subject Access Request on Gaunts - now HCE Group?

 

Have you done this yet?