Bailiffs help please

[namechange3567756]

Posting for traffic.

Can bailiffs take work tools and van that they have clamped outside the property? Van worth nothing, tools are "chippy" tools he needs for work. Citizens advice website says they can't take anything work tools wise under the value of £1500 but bailiff saying that is incorrect information on their website.

He also has mental health which they don't believe and are saying they will sit outside until he prove it. He can prove it but on via his gp which obviously can't be done in an hour.

Please advice would be great.

Stylish I think he's going to let them take stuff from his flat.

Please contact Stepchange you need professional/legal advice - now it's at the high court it's been fought as much as possible and now this needs to dealt with. If there's nothing to take and no money I don't think there's much more they can do (I think, don't flame me!!) but they will come back you'll never be rid of them until the debt is statute barred - I'm not even sure a high court writ can be statue barred this is why you need proper advice this is a serious situation. A DRO may be an option for the sake of MH. Stepchange were excellent for me, please try them - the advice on here is conflicting

If his income only covers essential bills and not food then he needs to either increase his income or reduce his essential bills, even if that means finding somewhere cheaper to live. Has he asked the bank if he can reduce his payments. Has he not produced an income/expenditure document for the court or bailiffs so they can see exactly how much he can pay

@namechange3567756 I highly doubt the value of the stuff is going to cover the debt so that won't be the end of it.

I strongly advise you get professional debt advice, his mental health really is nothing to hide behind unfortunately- as a PP said, once it's at the High Court, it's been through the appeal stage and now needs paying somehow

FFS, can people please stop quoting "can't pay, we'll take it away" as a reliable source.

High court bailiffs ONLY have power IF the debt is a business debt OR they are coming to evict you. Even the programme itself only shows these debts as the success stories. Where civil debt is concerned they can ONLY take items if 1. the sale value covers the entire amount of the debt and 2. if you open the door and let them in; they cannot force entry for civil debt.

It's very cleverly done and puts the fear of god into the watching viewers.

Thank you plastic I think he's going to let them take stuff. I think he'd rather they just cleared his flat because he really doesn't have any money. You can't get blood out of a stone so he's just in the mindset of well just fucking take it then.

Did you say he stopped being self-employed and then became employed? So he has a salary of some sort. Can he show them a wage slip, and offer say £5 a month, with the paperwork he has (whatever it is) about his settlement and a signed thing saying he'll oay off X amount when it comes?

He may not have £5 a month spare but he'll just have to eat beans on toast in the meantime and cut back right to the bone to find it. He just has to.

Vis a vis the MH problem. Couldn't he have written a note there and then for the surgery which you could have taken straight there for him and then you could have waited while the gp letter was written and brought it back? You could have done that in lesss than an hour.

if his exes name is on the writ he shold just send them round there-if not she is not obliged to pay anything

Marsbars is literally the only person talking sense. The rest of you sound like you watch too much can't pay or the sheriffs get in that Facebook group op, the advice here is fucking shocking!

Yes he's reduced one bill by it being cut off His flipping water/sewage is ridiculous because he's not on a meter and they can't install one (he asked them to put a meter in.) So as a man on his own he's paying the same as a family of 5 down the road! He's paying the minimum for his loan, the interest is ridiculous on it too. I swear it's cheaper to live as a family then it is on your own 🤔

the advice here is fucking shocking!

The advice that he has to pay it, or that he should go to an organisation like step change. The advice that his mental health issues are not sufficient reason not to pay, or the fact he should engage with the agents instead of hiding inside.

I have seen lots of sympathy and support from people. I have not seen much shocking advice but lots of great suggestions to help the Op and her partner, not sure which thread you were reading.

@namechange3567756
You say you're going to sit down and look at his debts with him. Can I also suggest you look at his Tax Returns and paperwork too from when he Self Employed? It may be he has not kept on top of that (and that may be why he couldn't claim ESA or SSP when he was ill) and that also may be coming to bite him at some point in the future.

Shaw yes he went to the Tax Office when he shut it down and they went through it so it was all done properly.

Think he's just ready to give them all his stuff.

I'm going crazy here because it's worrying me to death 😞

Has he got about £12k worth of stuff? From what you've said I'm guessing not. In which case they won't take it. Please believe me. Bailiffs will and do say absolutely anything to try and scare people into paying. They are pretty much full of shit and will lie and lie to frighten you into thinking you have no choice or rights at all. Civil debt is NOT a criminal matter.

I know you're getting a lot of conflicting advice and it's probably difficult to know what to believe but PLEASE listen to me. Join that group right now.

Do you know what the new outstanding balance of this debt is? As i assume that the bailiffs have added fees

Step change are really good OP they help a lot of our service users at work and will tell him exactly what he needs to do long term to get past this, give good legal advice and also help him put in place a proper budget plan for future use so he can make his payments, they can support with consolidations and IVAs etc as well. If he lets the bailiffs in they will probably see that he has no real assets anyway.

I keep searching but can only find "public posts" when I search bailiff debt and bills? I don't want to click and join the wrong one. Do you have a link at all please?

0800 138 1111 stepchange they can also advise what's best to say to the bailiffs and what kind of negotiations are possible

I don't know tbh but probably not. I'm worrying about him a lot and want to help.

OP, let me be frank.
He's doing everything wrong.
The high court agents don't care that he's waiting for a settlement.
He needs to pay.
If he doesn't the debt gets bigger and bigger.
His mental Health will buy him precisely 0 more time.

He has had a debt and has failed to pay it. So quite simply he needs to pay!

Let them and talk to them. Work out a plan. The more you piss them about the worse it gets.

Thank you fash

Perhaps his best bet is to get a full time job that pays a regular wage so he can set up and stick to a debt repayment plan. DH has recently got a job with a supermarket chain as security guard and earns over £1200 every 4 weeks.

I don't know how to link from my phone. Hang on...

This is the group. There's also a page. You don't want that, you want the group