harassment act 1997

[sonway]

Hi all

 

Does any one have any idea what the criteria is to start a case under the above act? We were harassed by a loan company and had to leave our home. It is an exceptionally long story! We have evidence that this harassment took place and also have witnesses. Any ideas? Could we have a case?

 

Thanks

[prettykitty]

Hiya - had the debt been acknowledged by a court?

 

In any case - if you feel you've been harrassed I would ring your local police force on their non-emergency numer for advice. But I have to say, having worked in a police call centre fpr Tjames Valley Police, they are often reluctant to open up an harassment case.

 

I believe the criteria is something like, 'A person behaves in a way likely to cause alarm or distress, with intent to cause a person harassment, alarm or distress, if he a uses threating abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour or displays in any writting, signs or visual representation anything which is threatening, abusive or insulting - thereby causing that or another person harassment alarm or distress,,, This has to be a 'course of conduct', with at least 2 seperate incidents...

 

By the way - I have often asked police call centres for advice and somrimes Trading Standard depatments - and they often get things wrong - so don't be put off by any one answer - always check things out and get second and thrid opinions!

 

At TVP I know for a fact that the staff that are most likely to answer your questions are the very most recent, and so the most inexperienced mambers of staff - The experienced ones are doing Crime Reports or taking Officer Reported Crimes - and they are by no means infalabe!

 

BTW with reference to the police not investigating - don't be fobbed off by their call takers - most police call takers are not police officers but civillian staff - if you report that you 'believe' a crime has been committed (in this case harassment) the police are duty bound to investigate under Home Office rules... I believe it may have to be on-going though - not *historical - but I'd have to (and will) check that part.

 

Buzby (below) though is right though about getting these things past the CPS - that's where most cases fall...

 

 

Good luck with it!

[buzby]

This is a criminal (not civil) action, so I'm afraid if the police won't investigate or the CPS recommend a prosecution, you're up the creek without a paddle.

[tomterm8]

This is a criminal (not civil) action, so I'm afraid if the police won't investigate or the CPS recommend a prosecution, you're up the creek without a paddle.

 

AFAIK, the protection from harassment act 1997 Results within legislation - Statute Law Database provides both civil and criminal remedies for harassment, which includes civil restraining orders and damages. see s3 of the act.

 

Basically, I would advise contacting a soliciter before taking such action, however. In essence, however, you start the claim by sending a letter before action as normal, and filing a claim at the county court.

[buzby]

Tks for the link - however with no Small Claims track equivalent, the complainer would be looking at starting the ball rolling with a solicitor at £300 plus. Since this is often an issue that the harassment is debt-related, this won't be a viable option - and unless changed recently was excluded from Legal Aid.

[millsee]

This is a criminal (not civil) action, so I'm afraid if the police won't investigate or the CPS recommend a prosecution, you're up the creek without a paddle.

 

Eh? Have you got that the right way round?

 

In any case, harrassment is a criminal action and is definitely one for the police if it can be proven.

 

I would also suggest engaging a solicitor.

[tomterm8]

Tks for the link - however with no Small Claims track equivalent, the complainer would be looking at starting the ball rolling with a solicitor at £300 plus. Since this is often an issue that the harassment is debt-related, this won't be a viable option - and unless changed recently was excluded from Legal Aid.

 

AFAIK, jurisdiction in England lies with both county and high court, and there is no procedural requirement that the case should be brought in any particular track.

 

i tend to agree with you that cases involving a civil restraining order would be allocated to multi-track.

 

In terms of other cases, I haven't done the research on previous cases (indeed, i think few cases have been brought) to determine what track it would be allocated to. If the damages were relatively small, then the presumption would be it would start in the small claims track. However, it might require rather complicated legal arguments, in which case it would be fast track, and possibly expensive.

 

There are organisations that might provide pro bono work on this field. it would make interesting law, and so might find someone in the citizens advice bureau to fund the case.

[buzby]

It would be a comforting thought that actions for harassment could be within the reach of all who seek it, but from a cursory glance at the odd statistics provided (in my case, by the Scottish Courts Service) there were very few actions of this nature reaching the Sheriff Court, and none in the High Court (2006). A shame, when you think of the increase of confrontational approaches to debt now being employed.

[Bounce62]

Hi all

 

Does any one have any idea what the criteria is to start a case under the above act? We were harassed by a loan company and had to leave our home. It is an exceptionally long story! We have evidence that this harassment took place and also have witnesses. Any ideas? Could we have a case?

 

Thanks

 

Hello Sonway

 

Whilst Protection from Harassment Act 1997 could be a possibility, I would suggest that Section 40 of The Administration of Justice Act 1970 is the appropriate legislation. The reason I suggest this is because Section 40 is concerned with 'Punishment for unlawful harassment of debtors'.

 

Section 40 (1) states "A person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under a contract, he -

(a) harasses the other with demands for payment which, in respect of their frequency or the manner or occasion of making any such demand, or of any threat or publicity by which any demand is accompanied, are calculated to subject him or members of his family or household to alarm, distress or humiliation;

(b) falsely represents. in relation to the money claimed, that criminal proceedingslie for failure to pay it:

© falsely represents himself to be authorised in some official capacity to claim or enforce payment; or

(d) utters a document falsely represented by him to have some official character or purporting to have some official character which he knows it has not.

(2) A person may be guilty of an offence by virtue of sub-section (1)(a) above if he concerts with others in the taking of such action as is described in that paragraph, not withstanding that his own course of conduct does not by itself amount to harassment.

(3) Sub-section (1)(a) does not apply to anything doen by a person which is reasonable (and otherwise permissible in law) for the purpose -

(a) of securing the discharge of an obligation due, or believed by him to be due, to himself or to other persons for whom he acts or protecting himself or them from future loss; or

(b) of the enforcement of any liability by legal process

 

A complaint to Trading Standards is the starting point but you could consider a private prosecution in the Magistrates Court. YOU MUST SEEK LEGAL ADVICE IF YOU WISH TO CONSIDER AND OR PURSUE THE LATTER.

[tomterm8]

Hello Sonway

 

Whilst Protection from Harassment Act 1997 could be a possibility, I would suggest that Section 40 of The Administration of Justice Act 1970 is the appropriate legislation. The reason I suggest this is because Section 40 is concerned with 'Punishment for unlawful harassment of debtors'.

 

Section 40 (1) states "A person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under a contract, he -

(a) harasses the other with demands for payment which, in respect of their frequency or the manner or occasion of making any such demand, or of any threat or publicity by which any demand is accompanied, are calculated to subject him or members of his family or household to alarm, distress or humiliation;

(b) falsely represents. in relation to the money claimed, that criminal proceedingslie for failure to pay it:

© falsely represents himself to be authorised in some official capacity to claim or enforce payment; or

(d) utters a document falsely represented by him to have some official character or purporting to have some official character which he knows it has not.

(2) A person may be guilty of an offence by virtue of sub-section (1)(a) above if he concerts with others in the taking of such action as is described in that paragraph, not withstanding that his own course of conduct does not by itself amount to harassment.

(3) Sub-section (1)(a) does not apply to anything doen by a person which is reasonable (and otherwise permissible in law) for the purpose -

(a) of securing the discharge of an obligation due, or believed by him to be due, to himself or to other persons for whom he acts or protecting himself or them from future loss; or

(b) of the enforcement of any liability by legal process

 

A complaint to Trading Standards is the starting point but you could consider a private prosecution in the Magistrates Court. YOU MUST SEEK LEGAL ADVICE IF YOU WISH TO CONSIDER AND OR PURSUE THE LATTER.

 

In my opinion, it would be very, very daft to start a private prosecution. You should certainly consider complaining to trading standards, of course.

 

the advantage of PFHA is that it is a civil trial, in the county court, which - in the worst case - has limited costs (although on a multi-track trial, these could still run into large amounts of money) . A criminal trial has unlimited cost implications, and could lead to bankruptcy.