Bailffs

A question about : Bailffs

I have never been in debt that has required a bailiff before . One came to my house to retrieve a council tax debt that was under liability order. I let him in as I have a toddler and did not want to leave her alone. He got me to sign a payment plan which I later realised was a walking posession order (after reasearch on the internet). He kept talking to me , saying he knew my partners second name and he played football with my partners uncle and asking me what I did at univerisity , It wasn't until I read the paperwork later that evening I realised he had levied items without discussing them with me or checking they were mine and he made conversation with me he was secretly wriiting down items for levy.He at no point explained any of my rights, how long I had to pay, what he could and couldn't take , what he was writing down or explained the charges apart from to say they can charge up to a Ј100 for setting up a payment plan . The information I was given was basic. I was told that they were going to take items but would not if i submitted to a payment plan and agreed to it.I explained to him was out of work and only my partner worked and that particular week I had no budget left to pay him a Ј50 token agreement he had asked for but could pay him the following friday. He then said they wanted Ј35 a week for four months and that was the timescale the council had given them. I told him this was an impossible ammount if i wanted to eat and he said he would go away and work out a payment plan with lower payments. He said ring me next friday and pay me the Ј50 and we'll sort something out. He wrote this on the back of the form (but not on the carbon copy) in black marker pen and signed it with his first name. It is not in my handwriting.

I was later advised by a family member that I should not have let them in. That she had dealings with this company where they made false visits which she later proved with a cctv camera attached to her house. I have never been notified of there initial visit or that they were coming by either the council or the company. Some of the items he levied are my daughters . One is a television that was a gift to my daughter as we had no tv and is our main television. And one is a laptop pc that was given to my daughter by a friend. He didn't check the items with me and he got the size of the tv wrong. I know I should of read the form but was distracted by his conversation and my toddler. I was harassed that day and very busy and I wrongly trusted his word that this was a payment agreement.I know it was stupid but I am really tired and stressed right now and not thinking straight. I wish I had read it.

I then rang the council to ask why they never let me know about the bailiffs as a week ago now I rang them and they said the bailiffs would send a letter to me before visiting and this was the first time anyone had told me the debt was with the bailiffs. They said the don't need to if they have a liability order in our name. I then contacted the office of the bailiffs via telephone and they told me that I had to pay Ј35 a week by law and that the minimum repayment time was 4 months by law and that i had to contact the bailiff only from now on.I also rang the council and begged them to take the debt back explaining I was unhappy with my dealings with the bailiff company.They said they can't and any complaints about bailiffs must be directed to the bailiff company. I then constructed an email letter as I felt that the company was being less than honest in it's dealings with me. I sent an email to the council and the bailiffs detailing the visit and stating i was unhappy . I have saved this. I then rang the company and let them knwo I had emailed them and they then continued to deny the information they had given me and the bailiff had given me in reference to minimum payments was contradictory even so far as going to say the initial conversation with their office in which they told me that new legislation required me to pay in 4 months and it had to be Ј35 was false and that the office worker had merely referred me back to the bailiff which was untrue. He did not say this in a nice tone of voice. Infact it was down right rude.So i emailed them again and detailed the phone conversation and stated that all future dealings between me and them would be recorded as I felt I could not trust them.

After this i sent an email to both the council and the company offering Ј40 a month and stating that I wished to pay them and had all along just wanted to set up a payment plan.I have been comletely misled here. The bailiff didn't even tell me that it was a walking posession order I had to look it up online. I had no idea what i was signing until a family member told me to check what i had signed. I honestly thought it was a simple payment plan wherein they would take items only if I refused to pay them. He never told me any information regarding charges apart from the time he said they charge for payment plans , what had been levied , what he was and wasn't allowed to take and my partner was in the kitchen so he did hear this. what can I do ?

Best answers:

• Hi pintsizedgirlie, thank you for your query regarding bailiffs.
  Challenging bailiffs is a complex area of law and I would suggest you seek specialist debt advice as soon as possible. You can find details of your local Citizens Advice Bureau at www.citizensadvice.org.uk. Regarding you stating bailiffs did not tell you that the agreement you were signing was a walking possession order. The bailiff should have given you a document called a Notice of Seizure or Walking Possession Order on the document that listed your goods. Regarding you stating bailiff did not ask you if goods belonged to you. We would suggest you write up an inventory of goods in the home and which belong to you or others and gather any proof you have that goods do not belong to you such as hire purchase agreements, rental agreements, receipts in others names etc. For more informations on bailiffs go to www.adviceguide.org.uk.
  Hope this is of assistance