Bailiffs Seizure Notice My Rights

[Claire2]

I came home from work today to a Seizure notice from HCE.

 

I have a debt of £2155.63 which is not for Council Tax and for which I have a CCJ.

 

For a variety of reasons mainly my own 'cock up' I have missed the last couple of payments of the agreed payment of £75 per month.

 

I live with my boyfriend and own little of any value in the rented house.

 

I have only been able to find part time work over the last few years and earn an average of £450 per month;

as a result pretty much everything of value that was mine was sold when I moved in with my boyfriend, a little over two years ago.

 

I own

an old TV,

my pay as you go mobile phone which is now almost four years old,

a Wii game's system and some games,

a microwave,

an ancient camera, and

the hoover.

 

Beyond that my possessions are just

books, clothes, a few bits of costume jewellery, crockery, bedding,

some bits of furniture mainly flatpack from freecycle,

and some pretty worthless knick knacks.

 

My laptop broke a few months ago and has not been replaced and

my car was sold at about the same time. I

 

should also say that I currently have about £7 in my purse,

and less than that in the bank and do not have any way of raising any more money

There is noone I can borrow anything more from.

 

I am able to reinstate the monthly payments as of this month,

and if I really push it may even be able to raise the payment amount,

although that will involve tightening my belt even more.

 

What I need to know is

a) do I have to allow the bailiff into my home, what are my actual rights here.

I have read that the bailiff cannot enter unless given 'free access'

but that once allowed access they will have pretty much freedom to enter whenever they want.

However the citizen's advice site suggests that bailiff's have the right to enter the property at will in any case so I am a little confused.

 

b) Are they limited to placing seizure orders on property that is physically mine?

If so how do I go about proving what is mine and what is not?

I should point out that until Christmas my boyfriend is now away with the armed forces

so he is not available to make any kind of statement. and

 

c) Can they accept my repayment plan of restarting the monthly payments

and if so will a down payment be necessary first?

 

There is no way I can come up with more than a few pounds as down payment so is this likely to be enough?

If it is not enough what can they do legally?

I will be being paid on the 20th of the month so if I pretty much do without food over the Christmas period

I may be able to make a payment then of £100 maybe even £150.

Can they insist that I do this when it comes out of money that should go on food/council tax etc.

 

d) how likely is it that my offer of repayment in installment will be accepted?

I cannot see how the sale of all my worldly goods would come to £2000+

and don't have any possibility of loans etc to cover the amount.

 

e) Obviously at this time of year there are gifts under the Christmas tree,

the ones from me for my family and friends are of very low monetary value and largely homemade,

can these be forcibly opened by the bailiff?

 

I am shocked that this has come right before Christmas as it doesn't seem to give much time for payment or arrangements to be made.

 

Also I am somewhat shocked that this has essentially come out of the blue, without warning.

 

I would have expected some kind of reminder to be necessary before something that seems so drastic happened.

 

Any advice will be very gratefully recieved,

I must say I feel totally sick right now.

[ploddertom]

Did you know about the original CCJ?

[Claire2]

Yes I did know about the original CCJ and had a repayment plan in place to cover it. Due to a cock up I have had a couple of payments that bounced and stupidly didn't sort this out. Now just want to throw up so seriously any advice will be appreciated.

Cheers.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Claire2

[Claire2]

Also Should I contact the bailiffs first to inform them that I am unable to make payment and need to do so via installments? There are a number of template letters for this online. Would one informing them that I am unable to pay, including financial information and proposing the payment plan seem acceptable?

[tomtubby]

There is NO right to gain entry other than by "peaceful" means ( such as by way of an open window but mainly by being 'invited' into the property.

 

If you were aware of the CCJ I would strongly suggest that you WRITE (or better still email) HCE Group with an outline of your circumstances as you have given above together with an Income & Expenditure Calculation and an offer of repayment.

 

It would seem that you are struggling at repaying at the rate of £75 per month and I would suggest that you make a 'sensible' proposal for repayment as there is nothing worse for a creditor to agree a repayment only to find that the initial payment is made on time, the 2nd payment is late and the 3rd payment defaults.

 

In your letter to HCE stress that you had been paying their client at an amount that had been unaffordable and as a direct consequence you defaulted and that this lead to the writ being issued.

[Claire2]

thank you. I've sent an email outlining the above and including a copy of my most recent payslip/p60 as evidence of my financial situation. I guess I can only hope that they accept my new more affordable proposal. still feel sick though....

[ploddertom]

Personally I would change tack and choose another course of action as now the HCEO has become involved you can expect to see the enforcement costs soar. To halt the HCEO and his charges apply for a Stay of Execution which if granted will freeze all further action & charges by the HCEO. Simply being unable to afford to pay is one of the grounds you can use.

 

Secondly and to put payments on to a proper footing you could apply for a Variation Order whereby payments you make can be set at an affordable level. If you decide to do this it is another ground you can use for a Stay but be warned if you default the Stay would automatically be lifted and enforcement would recommence.

[dx100uk]

yes a variation order ASAP.

 

what was the CCJ all about please

 

dx

[tomtubby]

Ploddertom is absolutely right. Unfortunately, the courts are struggling at present and getting a Stay or Variation in place quickly is difficult and in particular we have a very long holiday period coming up.

 

Are you in receipt of benefits? If so, you will not be liable for court fees and you will need to read the EX 160 form.