bailiffs

[dylanfanatic]

A friend is in debt to a mail order company and is expecting a visit from the baliffs. He doesn't have much for them to take, just an old t.v. etc. What he is worried about is his laptop, which has private and personal contact numbers, addresses etc on it. Are they allowed to take that or can my friend refuse to let them under the data protection act?

Thanks
Bob

[cockatiel]

Perhaps you could look after it for him so it wouldn't be there for the bailiffs to take.Maybe a visit to the CAB would be helpful if he hasn't already been there.Perhaps they can help him come to an arrangement with the mail order company to pay a reduced rate until the debt is cleared.Then it's best to avoid mail order catalogues or just order what can be paid for easily

[ChuckFickens]

Well firstly

tell them DO NOT LET THEM IN!

They have no legal right of entry to the property without a court order (which wouldn't be granted for a mail order company debt). They can not force their way in (they can however enter through an open window or door if one has been left open)... however, once they have been let in once they can then break in on latter visits, so I repeat.... DO NOT LET THEM IN.

So your friends best bet is to either talk to them through the letterbox or an upstairs window, tell them to pass the debt back to the original company and then arrange payment terms with them, And make sure they do arrange to pay it off, the debt won't go away.

[RAV1D]

They are able to bring a locksmith with them to open a locked door without force, They can bring the police along with them but the police are not there so that you open the door, They only there to assist them if anything gets nasty for them but usaly the person living at the house will not realise this and feel they have to open the door because the police are present. The locksmith can not get into a house with a bolt lock on the other side of the door as they cant force the door to get in. They can only pick a lock. If they do come inside the house they have to have proof that the items are the house owners. To avoid this you get a friend who lives far away, possibly abroad to print out a contract signed by them that all items/contence of the house are rented and belong to them, not you. That means they can not take any items from the house as they belong to someone else as far as they believe from the contract paper made by your long distant friend.Obviously there must be contact details on the contract of your friend and for your friend to play along with the story when they contact them. If you own a car or a van, They can not touch that or any item in that. Keep your laptop in the car. They can't take garden items and beds,cookers, basic things you need to eat or cook food with. They can't do anything before they have taken you to court but stand at your door any say lies so much you will beleive. Just don't let anyone in even if they say there the gas man etc, unless you know for sure the gas man was coming round at that time. once there in they won't make things easy for you.

[ChuckFickens]

They can only "break in" with the help of a locksmith if they have a court order, and that's only going to happen for non-payment of fines or taxes, not for a catalogue debt.

The people after your friend are not bailiffs, they are debt collectors.

[chrissa1]

NEVER LET THEM IN. I repeat, NEVER LET THEM IN. Again, NEVER LET THEM IN.

[NOX]

Hang on a minute- does your friend have a County Court Order against him for this? If he does then possibly the bailiffs can do as previously said, if not they have no powers at all and you can just tell em to 'feck off' and should do so. they have no right of anything unless a court tells them they have. If it hasn't gone to court he has nothing to worry about.

[NOX]

Several great minds thinking alike- sorry those last two answers weren't there when I started typing.

[daffy654]

I doubt very much if they will be coming to actually seize goods, it is more likely that they will want to arrange a repayment plan with your friend, that is if they even turn up. In my experience they send these letters to scare you into contacting them to arrange a payment plan to clear the debt.

[chrissa1]

But don't fall into the trap of....."can I just come in to sort the paperwork out"?. DON'T LET THEM IN.

[FredPuli43]

The most important thing is that there must be an unsatisfied court judgment for the debt before any bailiff can seize anything in satisfaction of it (there is still, in theory, an exception for the Revenue but the Revenue have always been outside the law, as it were!). Has your friend actually got a County Court or other court judgment against him for the debt? Mail order and some other companies have an unpleasant practice of suggesting in letters that the baliffs will visit and seize property without adding the essential fact that that can only be under a court order.
The bailiffs are indeed liable if they seize property not belonging to the debtor if they are on notice that it is not the debtor's. The true owner can get damages or an order for restitution if the bailiffs ignore that notice. Of course, the bailiffs know that debtors may claim that everything is someone else's when that is not true and may feel that they can take the goods, because it is manifestly false!

[tonywiltshire]

I think you have a consensus of do not let the Bailiffs in. They have to make peaceful entry unless they have previously made peaceful entry and produced a walking possession order which has been signed, they are then allowed to break in on the grounds that the goods belong to them. They are restricted to what they can take, the goods must belong to the debtor and if the Laptop is used for work they must not remove it.

[d9f1c7]

he could always get really extreme and actually pay what is owed!

[cathfromsaron]

if he has almost nothing, then they will most likely not even bother calling!

can you intervene/support to encorage/negotiate a repayment scheme?

[dickythecook]

What happened to the stuff from the catalogue?

[New Judge]

The situation with the bailiffs and their right of entry has been well covered. However, one thing that will NOT prevent them taking your laptop is that Data Protection Act. Just because you hold personal details of other people (whether on a computer or on the back of an envelope) it does not make you a “Data Controller” under the meaning of the Act. It is only designated Data Controllers who have responsibilities for the control and use of personal data under the Act.

Of course should the bailiffs take your laptop and attempt to use the data on it for purposes to which they are not entitled then that may be a different matter and they may fall foul of the Act. But that will not prevent them from taking it if they see fit.

[factor-fiction]

How big is this debt?

[themas]

Some of Rav1d's post is not correct. Bailiffs cannot pick a lock to get in - unless there is a Court order (for a magistrates Court fine etc.) allowing them to break in. Bailiffs can take a car so - if bailiffs are expected - it is best to keep it elsewhere. They can take garden items.

Chrissa has it right - do not let them in under any circumstances. This means making sure doors and windows are shut or locked & can't be opened from outside. (They have even been known to bring a ladder to get in an open upstairs window.)

However, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it is not bailiffs. Debt collectors frequently say they will send bailiffs when there is no Court judgement. Anyone who visits in that situation is not a bailiff, & has no rights & no powers at all.