High Court Enforcements Officer at my door

[PretABoire]

A friend of mine is in a complicated situation with lots of debt and no fixed abode. Somehow she’s been traced to my flat. Yesterday morning a High Court Enfirceemnt

[Thiscantreallybehappening]

Friend doesn’t live here no - she stayed for a few days a couple of months ago and get gets the odd bit of post which I open and pass on

This is your problem, if you are receiving post for your friend. You need to get your friend to redirect her post. They are tracing her by her last known address and if she owes a lot of money the letters will keep on coming.

Do you have a telephone number of the enforcement letter? if you do you need to ring it and you can prove your friend doesn't live with you by sending a copy of your council tax bill. That should put a stop to this particular problem. Then get your friend to redirect her post or send it back marked "not known at this address".

Also, print off some copies of your council tax bill to prove that it is only you that lives there. If any bailiffs turn up and you show them that they should then go away.

[Flowerpot1234]

PretABoire

she’s in such a shitty place I can hardly blame her for putting her own priorities first.

Her priority is: food and keeping alive, then paying off outstanding debts in that order. Anything else comes after that.

Why won't you give them her number?
Why have you said a PP has outed you via your employer? Do you work for a company named in a link? Who say they are experts in debt recovery....?

[Basecamp21]

I handled the finances for a friend who went to prison for a long time and I got court letters and Bailiffs relating to both the debts and the POCA..

You need to contact everyone and make it very clear this is a C/O address and not their address. I had such a problem with the water company in the end I had to say I removed permission for my address to be used as a C/O. Your contract and council tax/electoral role documents should be enough to prove who actually lives in the property. It is important to do this as the debt may become attached to your property and affect your credit rating.

The companies were always clear on this but when they handed it onto the debt collector the info got confused and I had letters addressed to Mrs C/O and Mr.....

It was not difficult - everywhere accepted this even though I would not give them my friends prison number. They would be in serious trouble if they did take your stuff having been informed of this.

[charlestonchaplin]

The tenancy contract, council tax and other bills will help. I don't think there's anything more you can do other than press your friend to deal with the debts. And don't let the HCEOs in!

[Thiscantreallybehappening]

Just seen your update about council tax. You do need to get your address off your friend's correspondence. Otherwise you will find these letters will just keep on coming. Unfortunately, you can't remove her address, she has to. I would honestly make this a priority.

[AboutAGallonofDietCoke]

So much misinformation on here!
High court enforcement do not have to give any notice they are coming.
They do have power to force entry with a writ.
HOWEVER
They will listen if it not the address of the person. But you have to prove it, they won't believe you outright, because everyone says that!
I'd be proactive, contact the people on the paperwork, explain what's happen and offer to send the proof you have and the forwarding address of your 'friend'. They aren't interested in enforcing a writ on the wrong person.

[wildchild554]

not your debt, they aren't allowed in, aren't allowed to take anything either, once you proved your the tenant that's it. If they try force entry call police as it is illegal.

[PretABoire]

On a slightly philosophical level it’s a damn shame that the vulnerable, homeless and unemployed can’t take even the most basic steps to get back on track, all she wanted was a bank card to her own account so that if she could secure work she could access funds. It’s not my problem by any means but it annoys me that her ex is fine but his debt could follow her forever.

[EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard]

Whenever I’ve changed my address at the bank I’ve had to provide utility bills, driving licence and so on as proof.

[kittensinmydinner1]

Flowerpot1234. I think that you are talking about a very specific kind of debt.
The type of debts that OP is talking about are credit cards, loans, payday loans. All amassed under the consumer credit act.
High court enforcement can apply to the court NOT to notify in the standard amount of time, but the application is more time and of course cost. The run of the mill debt that OPs friend is being chased for, would more than likely not be the sort of thing (or value) that would warrant such a course of action.
HCE officers DO NOT have the power of forced entry at residential premises. They can enter commercial premises where there is no residential accommodation.
So, OP stop worrying about them bashing the door down. It's illegal. Call the police if that is threatened.
Send an email to the enforcement agents clearly stating that she doesn't live there and attach your AST.
End of.
Anything further , contact the company, explain you have provided evidence and any further visits will be regarded as harassment and will be reported to their client, (the debt ) their governing body and the police.

You have to be firm with these people. They think they have a link and do not care how they get the money. 'Legal' intimidation is their stock in trade. People pay other people debts simply through emmanarrasment at having Bailiff at the door - to make them go away. They know this and take advantage of it.

[PretABoire]

There literally is no forwarding address. They have her phone number and I confirmed it to them.

It is a bit outing (to my boss mainly!) but I can’t explain how without making it worse we’ll live, hopefully this doesn’t reflect too poorly on me.

[Flowerpot1234]

PretABoire
it’s a damn shame... all she wanted was a bank card to her own account so that if she could secure work she could access funds.

I don't understand this post. What's her getting a bank card got to do with the HCE? Do you work in this area?

[Cherrycokewinning]

Phone and write to the court and EVERYONe else who contact you telling them the address is wrong. You are the tenant and the owner of all contents.

Whatever they might be able to do at a debtors house is irrelevant- they can’t do anything at the wrong address.

[CuriousaboutSamphire]

High court enforcement do not have to give any notice they are coming.
They do have power to force entry with a writ

Their own website and procedures show differently... I appreciate that there are ways around some of their restrictions but the straight line procedure starts with a Compliance letter and proceeds without forced entry being an option in residential properties. It is scare mongering to suggest that they will turn up unannounced and break in on visit 1!

'Legal' intimidation is their stock in trade AKA they are legally obliged to get payment on the date that s on the writ!

[PretABoire]

flowerpot she had a bank card sent to my address - I think thats how this all started. Hers had broken and without an address she couldn’t get another one. I think her head is deeply in the sand about the severity of the debt. I don’t blame her, by my standards it’s huge.

[Andro]

I don't understand this post. What's her getting a bank card got to do with the HCE? Do you work in this area?

I suspect that OP's friend had the card sent to OP's address - hence the odd bits of post and OP's current situation wrt HCEO's turning up at her residence.

[Andro]

cross posted with you OP, I hope this gets sorted quickly for you.

[Cherrycokewinning]

I don't understand this post. What's her getting a bank card got to do with the HCE? Do you work in this area?

They’re just trying to find the friend. They’ll go to any address she might be living at.

[QueenAravisOfArchenland]

I can understand your sympathy for her - who wouldn't have some sympathy for how she ended up in this position - but I think you have to toughen up and stop accepting mail for her. Write "not known at this address" on everything you receive with her name on and send it back. She's obliged you to do what you need to do to protect yourself now - and even if you see off this bout of high court enforcement you could be looking at another one if you don't do what you can to remove the link between your address and her.

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

Are you in contact with her at all? I would guess not, if you don't know where she is.

I don't know whether this will help at all, but I bought a flat where the previous owner had left no forwarding address - it was thought that he'd returned to his home country.
I very soon found out that he'd left debts, since for a start the electricity had been cut off and there were arrears on other utilities.
A lot of mail kept arriving for him, and 'return to sender, not known at this address' had no effect - it kept coming.
Suspecting it was mostly debt related, I started opening it - yes, I know you're not supposed to, but given that I had no way of forwarding it to him, and I didn't want bailiffs at the door, I didn't see what else I could do.
Sure enough, he had not just utilities debt, but cc debt, phone debt, all sorts, amounting to over £20k.

I phoned as many as possible, following up with a letter - at least 12 of them - explaining the situation and enclosing copies of my council tax bill.
They all then backed off.

[Flowerpot1234]

flowerpot she had a bank card sent to my address - I think thats how this all started.

OK... then she has funds. After food, there is only one direction any of these funds need to be directed - to pay off her debts. Any funds she thinks he has are not "hers" - they are owed to her creditors. This seems to be a common misconception with debtors, something Martin Lewis has talked about for years. This false belief that accumulating a nice amount in a bank account is a good thing, it's not, as he said, the priority should be to pay off the debt and get clear of that.

[demirose87]

It's not your problem. Tell them you know her but she doesn't live with you and show proof of that, council tax bill or something. Then tell your friend that unless she faces up to it she can't stay with you any longer.

[Mix56]

so you know where she is, as you forward her post (which obviously is how they traced her there)
I wold give them her address personally

[wildchild554]

check unify its a banking facility for people in bad situations

[WeAllHaveWings]

Your friends situation is deteriorating by the day and her debts will be increasing dramatically with charges. She needs to get her head out of the sand and face up to it all and get an action plan in place that doesn’t involve dropping her friends in it.

She really needs to speak to a professional who can help her with her debts. You have had HCE at your door, tell her it’s time she sorted out her mess and get her down to a local CAB office even if you need to drag her there kicking and screaming (metaphorically).