Bailiff called at wrong address

denmanstar | 09:39 Mon 01st Oct 2012 | Law

4 Answers

Hello,

When a bailiff is employed by a debt collection firm to call upon a debtor at his/her home regarding a missed payment, if the said bailiff goes to an address which might be similar to, ie, same postcode as, but is not precisely the debtors address, thus not making contact, does the debt collection firm still have the right to levy a bailiff visit fee upon the debtor? I must add that the firm argues that their bailiffs vehicles are fitted with GPS Tracking systems and take the view that a visit to a given postcode is evidence suffice to maintain the charge, (£215.00). Thankyou.

Rubbish on the footpath outside.

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EDDIE51

A post code covers a several houses in that area, my post code for example is the same for the entire street of 92 houses. Bailiffs are notorious for trying to extract extra cash, they should have left a note at the address if they did not get a reply. Do not accept this get back on to them. When they call again DO NOT let them in or open the door to them, just talk through the letter box. Once you have let them set foot in the house they can come back and take stuff , but if you have refused to let them in they need a county court order to get in to your house.

Brimoan

I had a similar problem about 20 years ago before the days of GPS.
I had a letter saying bailiffs would call while I was on holiday addressed to a person I do not know to this day.
They called when I was still on holiday but could not get in and I contacted them on my return to say I did not have any debts and I was not the person the letter was addressed to and nobody had ever lived at that address under that name.
In spite of the phone call I got another letter saying they were going to call at a time I was in work and I phoned and sent them a recorded letter which arrived at their building the day before the visit time.
They called again when I was out.
When I complained a stupid man said I would be responsible for payment for the 2 visits as I should have contacted them before the first visit. How could I when I was on holiday and knew nothing about it?.
I said I had sent a recorded letter saying I was not the debtor first class and they said the letter was received at the reception of the building but it never got to them.
I told them that they would have to take me to court if they wanted me to pay for the visits. I had 1 more threatening letter but no action was taken.

tonywiltshire

The bailiffs should have provided you with a list of their charges by post or on the first visit, they can claim a visit to your postcode is sufficient proof that they have visited your home but it will be up to the court to decide what proof is required and if the charge is justified. There is a great deal of bluff in English law and this may be one of those occasions, some bailiffs have been known to charge illegal, irregular or excessive levies.
If you believe the charges are unjustified make a complaint to whoever the bailiffs are acting for, after you have made a complaint to the bailiffs which may not be fruitful. If you discover an error in procedure this may provide you with a lever for negotiation you may also wish to threaten to make a county court claim some bailiffs may be reluctant to have their procedures tested in court.