failure/aborted warrant of control

[mabski]

Hi It's been a long time since I was last in debt and had to deal with bailiffs' and debt collection companies so i'm not sure if things have changed so i'm looking for a bit of advice ?

 

I Went home this lunchtime and a bailiff had left a letter threatening to get a locksmith to break into my house to remove goods with the police possibly present.

 

..in fact the letter was quite threatening

I thought that this was illegal as the debt owed was a personal debt through a county court CCJ not a magistrates fine or debt to any other governmental department,

 

what I need to know is are they allowed to do this.

 

The debt collection company who pursuing this debt is lowells and they have bought a lot of my debts and are trying for CCJ's on all of them and is this how they operate now ?

 

 

Thanks in advance for any replies

[unclebulgaria67]

No forced entry to the house. But separate garage or shed can be forced entry to. Also vehicles near house can be seized, if they think you own them.

 

You mean Lowell finance have the CCJ's. What is the total value of CCJ's ? Remember bankruptcy threshold is £5k.

[fkofilee]

List all debts and current statuses - Lets see if we can help.

[dx100uk]

so they've already got a CCJ then and these are court bailiffs

they are your friends

nothing to worry about.

 

 

I will guess you ran away from all your debts and did not inform your creditors you have moved

and they are now getting CCJ's at old addresses

that would fit

 

 

dx

[brassnecked]

Lowell MO is to gain default CCJ at previous address if it can. Was the last payment more than six years ago?

[Bailiff Advice]

 

I Went home this lunchtime and a bailiff had left a letter threatening to get a locksmith to break into my house to remove goods with the police possibly present.

 

Was the letter from a County Court bailiff?

 

Instead of posting a copy of the letter, could you copy the actual wording regarding locksmiths etc.

[mabski]

I think i owe around 10 k in total over about 8 different accounts and my wife whos also named on todays notice owes about 4 k on 1 account.

 

I have 3 CCJ's at the moment with lowells trying for another and they have 2 of the others.

[mabski]

The letter was a unfilled out removal/ take notice with the local courts address on it which named both myself and my wifes separate debts owed to lowells and read like this...

 

Enough time has been wasted with this matter and failure to respond.

 

As you have failed to contact me in reference to the above warrant issued.

 

You leave the court no option to enforce the warrrant by removing goods to the value of the warrrant plus added court costs

this may be done in the presence of local police.

( then theres a hand written part " locksmith £250")

 

then theres the option to contact him to pay immediately to avoid enforcement of the warrant and the n threatening to come back in 7 days to remove goods..

[dx100uk]

lowells not lavals.

 

 

somethings not right here

no bailiff would mention all you and your wives debts on a warrant.

its for one CCJ

and it says Court bailiffs ..yes?

not High Court Enforcement Officer?

[mabski]

I think im confusing things here i have about 8 accounts that i owe but this is for one of mine and my wifes one.

 

it looks like a blank generic notice with both my case number then my wifes case number handwritten on the top of it.

 

I think its for one of my CCJ's and also my wifes CCJ..

 

I think its from my local county court even through both CCJ's were gained from Northampton bulk.

 

The notice has the local county court header on it and it just states the guys name and his title -Baliff/enforcement officer and his mobile number

[unclebulgaria67]

If you don't enter into repayment of CCJ's, with debts over £5k, you are risking being made bankrupt. If you own any assets such as a house, that would then be at risk. The various costs added in bankruptcy would be horrendous.

 

Suggest you deal with the CCJ's by offering a payment arrangement that you can afford.

[mabski]

i have a 12 year old banger outside with a dodgy gearbox and an even older car on the drive that we bought for our son as his first car which doesn't run either ..

 

 

i live in council housing so theres nothing really to take apart from household items ..

. we're not rich we just got into a load of debt that we couldnt pay back...

 

If you don't enter into repayment of CCJ's, with debts over £5k, you are risking being made bankrupt. If you own any assets such as a house, that would then be at risk. The various costs added in bankruptcy would be horrendous.

 

Suggest you deal with the CCJ's by offering a payment arrangement that you can afford.

 

As i said i don't own my house and we're only just managing as we are so i couldn't afford to pay them back even if i wanted to.

[dx100uk]

he can only inc your wife if its a joint debt and you BOTH got CCJ by default because you didn't each respond to the claim

[unclebulgaria67]

i have a 12 year old banger outside with a dodgy gearbox and an even older car on the drive that we bought for our son as his first car which doesn't run either ..

 

 

i live in council housing so theres nothing really to take apart from household items ..

. we're not rich we just got into a load of debt that we couldnt pay back...

 

 

 

As i said i don't own my house and we're only just managing as we are so i couldn't afford to pay them back even if i wanted to.

 

Best to work with the court bailiff to show them you cannot afford to make payments and have no goods of value to be sold. The court bailiff will report this back and then you may be left in peace.

[ploddertom]

Have you sent requests under s.77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for all of these debts?

 

 

Too late if a CCJ has been awarded.

[mabski]

he can only inc your wife if its a joint debt and you BOTH got CCJ by default because you didn't each respond to the claim

 

No we have never had a joint account we keep our finances separate... they have listed her credit card debt CCJ and my debt with a different credit card company on the same form...

 

I think he's just combined it to save chasing us both separately .

[dx100uk]

as you already know

they cant use locksmiths on a ccj warrant.

 

 

 

 

 

dx

[Bailiff Advice]

Hi It's been a long time since I was last in debt and had to deal with bailiffs' and debt collection companies so i'm not sure if things have changed so i'm looking for a bit of advice ?

 

 

I went home this lunchtime and a bailiff had left a letter threatening to get a locksmith to break into my house to remove goods with the police possibly present

 

If you challenged the letter with the court, I would think that you would receive a response advising that the letter had not threatened that locksmith would break into your home and that instead, the letter was advising you of the fee (of £250) that could be charged if the court granted permission for forced entry.

 

As you are unable to pay the judgment in full, have you considered apply to the court to vary the payment terms? This needs to be done by way of an N245 Application. There is a court fee for these applications but if you are in receipt of qualifying benefits, you may be exempt from paying (EX160).

[mabski]

I thought that the court couldn't grant a forced entry ??? or am i wrong ?

[Bailiff Advice]

I thought that the court couldn't grant a forced entry ??? or am i wrong ?

 

Put the matter out of your mind and instead, concentrate your efforts on getting sensible payment arrangements in place for this judgment by way of an N245 application.

[mabski]

I can't afford to pay Lowell that's the problem..

. it's not a case of won't it's just we're barely managing now and if I offered payment on this case they would just keep coming back for my other debts as well..

..it would never end..

..I just need to know exactly what are the possible outcomes??

[unclebulgaria67]

Best option is to speak to the court bailiff and provide details of your current situation.

If you can't pay anything and have no goods of any value that could be sold,

this would get reported back to Lowells and they would stop trying to enforce this debt.

 

You can't just do nothing hoping it goes away.

Lowells don't know your situation and think you are just wanting to avoid repaying debts.

[Bailiff Advice]

I can't afford to pay Lowell that's the problem... it's not a case of won't it's just we're barely managing now and if I offered payment on this case they would just keep coming back for my other debts as well....it would never end....I just need to know exactly what are the possible outcomes??

 

If you contact any one of the advice agencies recommended by the government (Stepchange, National Debt Line, CAB etc) you will get the help that you need. If you want to speak to someone today, then National Debt Line would be a good starting point. They will do a budget sheet for you and assist with letters to your creditors.

 

If it is the case that you cannot afford to pay even a nominal amount in repayments, it may be suggested to you to apply for a Debt Relief Order. The first step that is needed is for you to make contact. Today is as good a day as any.

[mabski]

UB - The bailiff is likely to want to enter the property in order to satisfy himself that there is nothing of value to be taken. That is not something that I would personally recommend.

 

I believe that the best course of action would be to arrange an appointment with Citizens Advice and to inform the bailiff of this.

 

Citizens Advice are then in a position to help and guide the OP (on a face to face basis)

 

Moving forward, the options for Lowell are to transfer up to High Court Enforcement, apply for an attachment of earnings or apply for bankruptcy

 

What's the difference with high court enforcement and how often does it go that far ?

[Bailiff Advice]

What's the difference with high court enforcement and how often does it go that far ?

 

In your particular case, even if Lowell did transfer the judgment up to the High Court (which they are entitled to do in certain circumstances), it will not affect you. You have no assets of value.

 

Furthermore, as I understand it from your earlier post, this debt relates to a credit card debt. Accordingly, this type of debt is not one that can be enforced via a High Court Enforcement Officer.

 

Just getting back to basics for one moment. How much is the judgment for that the county court bailiff is currently enforcing? I'm not even persuaded that Lowells could pursue you for bankruptcy either.