baliffs

[stephen2504]

recieved a letter today saying despite repeated attempts to contact you to arrange payment for 375 pound they are passing it on to a external agency who will visit the premises to collect payment and a charge of 100 pound will be added. before i recieved the letter i have been offering a payment of 5 pound per month because i am getting advice off payplan and thats all i can afford. what shall i do.

[themas]

1. You need to talk to Payplan about it.

2. If this is a civil debt (i.e. not a magistrates Court fine) the bailiffs - if they come - can only get in through an open or unlocked door or window. Do not let them in. If you have a car, keep it somewhere well away from the house unless you have a garage in which you can lock it.

3. I'm not sure from what you say that this is going to bailiffs at this stage. If it is a civicl matter, then unless the creditor has obtained a County Court Judgement bailiffs cannot be involved. If the creditor doesn't have a CCJ & sends someone they may try to make out they have the rights of a bailiff but this is to pressurise you and frighten you. They have no powers & can be asked to go when you have told them what you have already told the creditor.

[boxtops]

Do you have anyone you can ask for legal advice? - if not, got to the CAB. As themas says, don't let them bully you.

[CJ242]

Are they telling the truth about the 'repeated attempts to contact you'?

[stephen2504]

thanks for your answers it is broadway recoveries who want the money it says if the funds are not recieved within 7 days we will pass your file to our external collection agency who will visit your premises to collect payment of the balance and a charge of 100 pound will be added to your debt. i have made repeated offers of 5 pound per month which is all i can afford and they are refusing this

[cassa333]

NOT SURE BUT unless they take you to court they don't have to accept such a small amount as repayment.

Unless they have taken you to court (and got a judgment against you) they can't send in bailifs. It is just a frightener.

Don't offer £5 a month. Send in a cheque for £5 with a covering letter... please find enclosed £5 as part payment for account xxx... etc and see if they cash it (even by mistake). I have heard that this can in some circumstances restart the process.

[ummmm]

They are just trying to scare you.

[zzxxee]

what is the debt for ?

[ummmm]

As long as they are not court bailiffs zzxxee, it doesn't really matter.

[zzxxee]

it does because if it is say a credit debt you can ask for a copy of the credit agreement you have to give them a one pound postal order to cover the copy of posting it to you. If there is no credit agreement it cannont be taken to court (talk to national debtline for further information on this)

[milly143]

Agree with Ummm, if the debt gets passed on to a collection agency they will just send you a billion letters threatening to send someone round for ages. They might send someone knocking if you keep ignorning them but it won't happen for a while. What will happen is they will pile on the charges and you'll end up with a much bigger debt.

[ummmm]

Milly...what they'll do is keep threatening. They will then (probably) send a letter stating that they will accept xxx if it's paid within 14 days.

OH's cousin lived here for a while. Ordered loads of stuff on credit and has not paid one single penny. Got loads of threatening letters....haven't had one for over a year now..

[chrissa1]

I agree with ummm, they are just trying to scare you. If they don't have a CCJ against you and turn up, call the Police if they won't go away ask them for the proper and legal documentation about this debt.

[milly143]

I will admit in the past I was careless with money and was up to my eyes in debt. Bought a car I couldn't afford and after a while, the payments started bouncing. Being the idiot I was I ignored it. This went on for quite a while (can't remember how long) until I was woken up one morning by a woman and two burly men banging on the door who had come to collect either the payment or my car. There was no court involved and no CCJ.

Sometimes they do show up and you need to sort it out Stephen.

[zzxxee]

i would suggest you send them a budget sheet a breakdown of wages your outgoings rent/ council tax phone bills ect and show that what you have offered to pay at £5 a month is all you can reasonably afford at the moment. Keep a copy, and contact national debtline for further advice. They have passed the debt to another agency who have no more powers than who you owe the debt to. They cannot force their way in and any baliffs have to be approved by the court because the debt has gone to court.

[ummmm]

They can just turn up. You don't have to let them in though. If you owe finance on a car you don't actually own that car so they can take it.

[milly143]

That's the point thought Ummm, they did turn up.

And when there are 3 not overly pleasant people standing on your doorstep at 7am you do what they tell you to do. Aside from this, Stephen doesn't say what the debt is for. How do we know it isn't something similar.

Either way, people showing up on your doorstep is not nice and he needs to sort it out with the advice people have already given. And soon.

[zzxxee]

it would be easier to advise if i knew if it were a credit debt ? council tax ? ect

[themas]

Milly

If your car was on HP then it could well happen that it could be repossessed without a Court order - it depends on the circumstances and how much you had paid. If that was your situation then the people who came were not bailiffs - whatever they told you.

For a normal credit debt, if there has been no CCJ (or, in the case of council Tax, no liability order) then bailiffs cannot be involved & no goods can be taken. Anyone who comes has no powers & cannot do anything.

stephen2504 needs to take advice, as has already been said. If Payplan are acting for him then they should sort this out. If they refuse then he should go to another free advice agency (CCCS, CAB, National Debtline)