Bailiffs broke into my house by mistake

[brownerg]

I'm at a loss,

 

I came home and found I had been broken into.

 

I found a letter from a Bailiff addressed to someone who doesn't live here regarding non payment of Council Tax.

 

I have since found out that Lambeth Council have registered this persons mail to my house,

based on the lack of Tax paid on another totally different property.

 

I can now see that the Council have used the forwarding address (my address)

as a contact for the Bailiffs who have subsequently broken in and taken things that don't belong to them

or the person they are after

 

- My problem is, is that the Liability Order went through on this person and my address was accepted as legit

- Meaning the Bailiffs could go in and rob me!?

 

I haven't contacted anyone yet as its Sunday - But who do I contact first to stop the bailiffs?

 

The Court and say they have the wrong address for the Liability Order?

 

The Lambeth Council for getting the address wrong in the first place?

 

The Bailiffs who will probably say "yeah, right, and I'm Mr smith!?".

 

Please please help - I don't know what to do?

[renegadeimp]

Sit tight. Ive alerted the site team to get you advice asap

[Jam_Buttie]

Omg this is interesting!

[stu007]

Hi brownerg

 

First have you contacted the Police and reported this incident to get a crime reference number?

[lookinforinfo]

Have you had no letters from the Council addressed to this person and more surprisingly,

no previous letters from the bailiffs.

 

Bailiffs usually knock several days beforeat least and leave two or more notices

 

through the letter box prior to breaking in.

[wonkeydonkey]

I'm at a loss, I came home and found I had been broken into. I found a letter from a Bailiff addressed to someone who doesn't live here regarding non payment of Council Tax.

 

I have since found out that Lambeth Council have registered this persons mail to my house, based on the lack of Tax paid on another totally different property. Are you saying you owe CT on another property or the person they were looking for owed CT on another property? Do you know that person and have they ever lived at your address?

 

I can now see that the Council have used the forwarding address (my address) as a contact for the Bailiffs who have subsequently broken in and taken things that don't belong to them or the person they are after - My problem is, is that the Liability Order went through on this person and my address was accepted as legit - Meaning the Bailiffs could go in and rob me!? Surely you had notifications to alert you to expect a bailiff visit in respect of the alleged outstanding CT and they didn't just turn up to execute the distress warrant without warning?

 

I haven't contacted anyone yet as its Sunday - But who do I contact first to stop the bailiffs? From what you say it seems you don't need to 'stop' the bailiffs as they have already seized goods in respect of the debt and they have no need to come back....how did they gain entry? when did all this happen? have you reported the break in to the police?

 

The Court and say they have the wrong address for the Liability Order?

The Lambeth Council for getting the address wrong in the first place?

The Bailiffs who will probably say "yeah, right, and I'm Mr smith!?".

 

Please please help - I don't know what to do?

 

Sorry if this appears to be unhelpful but until we have the bigger picture

it is difficult to advise anything other than you report this to the police.

 

If you have reason to think the Council (they give the orders so to speak to the bailiffs and the bailiffs obey them) have made a terrible mistake then once you have established that to be the case we can help you on the path to getting redress.

Edited October 14, 2013 by wonkeydonkey

[dx100uk]

urm......

 

something not right here

 

its only on VERY VERY VERY rare cases a judge will allow

a forced entry on a CTAX debt.

 

are you SURE this is for CTAX?

 

have you DEFINATE signs of forced entry or is it your left the door/window etc open?

 

sorry to doubt you but for forced entry on a CTAX debt, esp when you've never had any letters

[i assume] or visits from the bailiff before, it don't sound right.

 

dx

[dx100uk]

and I don't think judges sign things on a sunday either

 

please tell us more............

[dx100uk]

To be able to force entry to your home he needs the following:

1 - he must have gained previous peaceful entry and made a valid levy on goods.

2 - next time he calls you must have denied him entry following a default on a payment due.

3 - he must get the approval of the Council to apply for a forced entry, and they MUST agree FIRST

4 - he must apply to the Magistrates Court for an Order allowing him to force entry - very rarely given

5 - he must write to you giving you a date and time of when he is coming

6 - if you are then not in he may make a forced entry

[lookinforinfo]

When you ask "how do I stop the bailiffs" I assume you mean stop them selling your goods.

 

If you do not know the person who the bailiffs are really chasing and they have not lived at your address or used it as a forwarding address at any time,then the first call is to the Police.

[unclebulgaria67]

Is this real or another spoof posting ?

 

If it is real, phone the local Police on 101 and report the matter as a burglary. Ask them to liase with Lambeth Council, as to why they have authorised bailiffs to break into a third parties house and to take items from that house.

 

Don't let the Police tell you it is a civil matter. If they tell you this. ask to speak to an Inspector with regard to making a formal complaint. This is a criminal matter, for which you as a member of the public need the help of the Police to resolve.

[HCEOs]

If the OP can also advise how they know it was bailiffs that broke in this would help. As already mentioned it would be extremely rare for a C/Tax debt to be enforced in this way.

 

For example, did the bailiffs leave an inventory of the goods removed?

 

There's a lot of unanswered questions that need to be answered before sound advice can be given.

[brassnecked]

Did this happen on a Sunday, as bailiffs generally are not permitted to call on a Sunday yet.

[sillygirl1]

Bailiffs are not allowed to work on a Sunday (I know a Marston's bailiff and he said if they DID work on a Sunday they would probably have greater success at catching people in). They do work on a Saturday though.

 

This sounds very suspicious and I would think the poster would have contacted the police rather than post on a forum first.

[brownerg]

THANKYOU so much for your posts. - I am gradually getting to the bottom of this all!

 

- Police Crime Number now done ;-). (thanks stu007, wonkeydonkey)

- When I say, stop the Bailiffs, I mean coming round and breaking in again. (thanks lookinforinfo).

- (thanks sillygirl1) - just didn't think to call police - maybe I thought Bailiffs were above the law - I'm sure they know the law very well!?

 

The Bailiffs forced their way round the side of the house by smashing down a barricade and breaking a window next to the barricade during the process. They managed to get in by the back door, but my back door is very old and insecure and they actually managed to yank it open without visible damage.

 

I know that they have gained access because in the letter,

they said they identified items that could be used to pay off the debt but all my windows are covered by blinds or curtains.

My letter box gives nothing away.

 

NOW - coming to why they were there!

 

Get this.

 

I rent out another property to "Ronald Biggs".

 

I moved out of this property in April this year, but asked Lambeth Council to continue to pay by Direct Debit as it was arranged as part of our Rental agreement.

I just found out that the Council stopped taking Direct Debits completely way back in April, failed to tell me or anyone else that they had done so,

and at the same time started sending reminder letters and eventually Court Summons to a fictitious name "Ronald Henry" to my current address.

 

I've now pieced together that they actually meant "Ronald Biggs" - my tenant.

(btw Council Tax has now been paid in FULL with the exception of the Liability Order, Charge Notice and Bailiff costs).

 

Needless to say, Ronald Biggs isn't best pleased he has a Council Tax responsibility he wasn't aware of

- and isnt responsible for, and a Liability Order against him and a Charge Notice against him, completely without his knowledge.

 

- It may be that this is ok,

because The Council have actually created these court documents against a fictitious character

- he is understandably worried about a bad credit reference

- Does anyone know if this is possible with a Charge Notice/Liability Order?

 

I have just contacted CouncilTaxAdvisors who now provide a free gobetween service with you and the Council.

 

Ill let you all know how this pans out as soon as I have some resolution.

[dx100uk]

so who were the bailiffs?

 

dx

[brownerg]

Equita.

 

They say I can obtain removal officers details and the date they intend to visit, but when I phoned them up, they refused to give me either!?

[lookinforinfo]

Good for you getting the Police involved. Are they going to have words with Equita and their smash and grab colleagues or are they leaving it to you.

 

Bad enough having equita involved without compounding it with Lewisham council-they are really poor at providing a service.

 

You can tell Biggsy not to worry about his Credit as Councils do not report C/Tax to Reference Agencies.

 

Did the bailiffs leave you a list of all the items they had levied on and their fees?

 

Do the Council know what is going on yet?

[ploddertom]

I know that they have gained access because in the letter,

they said they identified items that could be used to pay off the debt but all my windows are covered by blinds or curtains.

 

That is a very generic letter you have received so they probably have not been in - yet

[i hate bailiffs]

There is no forced entry for the bailiffs but a insecure door they can gain entry

 

I suggest you fit shoot bolts or something on the inside to secure property

(It may be a breach of your house insurance not to secure property)

[zydeco]

 

From the dark side,

 

This post looks like a smoke screen to distract attention from the Marston locksmith hoax case, http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/fo ... 11-Viewing)-nbsp. Little wonder their bailiff forum is not doing well.

 

So it must be genuine.