Bailiffs And The Data Protection Act

[alymac]

Can anyone enlighten me on this, i had a bailiff call at my home regarding outstanding council tax from 2002 which i was unaware of.

 

this was in joint names with my ex which i shared that house with.

 

i now live with my new better girlfriend, well the bailiff approached my gf and asked if she was my ex which she told then no and was harassed by the bailiff and was quite shaken by the experience and told bailiff he needs to speak to me.

 

i wrote to the council asking if this was correct which sure enough it was a i tried to make arrangements to pay.

 

today another bailiff came to the door and spoke to my gf and managed to get into my house, took down what goods we had in the house.

 

now what i need to know is that can the bailiff address this to my gf as its not in here name and is in mine and my ex gf.

 

i may have not wanted my new gf to know is or the fact that i was once married to say Myra hindley ,

 

in a world now were the date pa affects everything and this has no effect here surely something is out of context

[stan5131]

Your girlfriend has done the worst thing by letting the bailiffs into the property. They now have a Walking Possession! Bailiffs cannot gain entry until invited.

 

You need to give a little more detail as to whose house it is and who owns the possessions in the property ie. is your home in joint names?

 

Also can you give a little more detail on how much the debt is for, and what paperwork have the bailiffs left. Also have they left a breakdown of their charges, and which bailiffs are they?

[alymac]

the house is joint names, most of the goods are owned jointly some are my gf's.

 

my gf never invited him in, he followed her in after she turned away to get a pen turned back and he was in the house, unware of the consiquences, he left a notice of seizure of goods with a break down of his charges,first visit 22.50 second visit 16.50 levy fee 45.00 redemtin of goods fee 22.50.

 

britow and sutor are the bailifs.

 

i paid the outstanding ct on line after speaking to the council which was a complete joke and did not want to accept part payment but would take full payment i then agreed but was told sorry cant take payment by card as it had gone 4.45pm.

[stan5131]

I am afraid the fees are correct. One thing to remember is never walk away from the door when a bailiff is on the doorstep. Always step outside and lock the door behind you. As long as they have made peaceful entry, there is nothing you can do.

 

The fees they have charged you are fair, if that helps. We see on this site all too often that bailiffs charge hundreds of pounds for just one visit.

 

Did the bailiff visit AFTER you had paid online to the council? This could be your only argument.

[alymac]

can some one make anysense of the following, trying to see if bailiff has breached any of the DPA by disclosing a dept to a third party.was told by the ICO that they had and by the bailiff's office they can under sec 29(3)

 

Crime and taxation. 29. - (1) Personal data processed for any of the following purposes-

(a) the prevention or detection of crime,

(b) the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, or

© the assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of any imposition of a similar nature,

are exempt from the first data protection principle (except to the extent to which it requires compliance with the conditions in Schedules 2 and 3) and section 7 in any case to the extent to which the application of those provisions to the data would be likely to prejudice any of the matters mentioned in this subsection.

(2) Personal data which-

(a) are processed for the purpose of discharging statutory functions, and

(b) consist of information obtained for such a purpose from a person who had it in his possession for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (1),

are exempt from the subject information provisions to the same extent as personal data processed for any of the purposes mentioned in that subsection.

(3) Personal data are exempt from the non-disclosure provisions in any case in which-

(a) the disclosure is for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (1), and

(b) the application of those provisions in relation to the disclosure would be likely to prejudice any of the matters mentioned in that subsection.

(4) Personal data in respect of which the data controller is a relevant authority and which-

(a) consist of a classification applied to the data subject as part of a system of risk assessment which is operated by that authority for either of the following purposes-

(i) the assessment or collection of any tax or duty or any imposition of a similar nature, or

(ii) the prevention or detection of crime, or apprehension or prosecution of offenders, where the offence concerned involves any unlawful claim for any payment out of, or any unlawful application of, public funds, and

(b) are processed for either of those purposes,

are exempt from section 7 to the extent to which the exemption is required in the interests of the operation of the system.

(5) In subsection (4)-

"public funds" includes funds provided by any Community institution;

"relevant authority" means-

(a) a government department,

(b) a local authority, or

© any other authority administering housing benefit or council tax benefit.