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.

My dp wasn't going to let them in and talk to them and leave his dd in the other room. I doubt she would have stayed in the other room in the time it would have taken to talk to them.

Hopefully he has got hold of them on the phone by now.

Bailiffs are often dishonest and intimidating, which is why the advice from a PP to go straight to that FB group is the best advice you have been given. You should never let a bailiff in willingly, because once they have been in, they have the right to force entry next time.

I wouldn't let bailiffs in unless I have nothing and am likely to continue to have nothing for the foreseeable future. They don't need to enter the property to negotiate a payment plan. They use the fear of losing those sentimental items or other people's things to pressure you to beg anyone and everyone you know to lend you the money. This is often not appropriate. For you or for them (friends and family members).

Sweeny he was fighting the case with the company for years trying to prove they didn't fulfill their part. He offered them part of the money they said he owed but they wouldn't except it. The court date was the beginning of May and my dp contemplated appealing within the 21 days after but I advised him not to because I didn't think he would win. So day 21 of the appeal period was last Friday so they have sent bailiffs at the first opportunity today.

Yes just want to say his mental health doesn't affect his debt and he will be treated the exact same as everyone else who has debt and a writ from the high court

They've every right to send the bailiffs. You are acting like it is so mean of them to do so.

Mental health issues would have to be severe for them to be used to mitigate a debt.
Think someone with learning difficulties and schizophrenia who was unable to understand the terms of the contract they were signing.

Not mild depression and stress. A large amount of the population have this, can you imagine if the debts were written off for anyone who had depression or low mood?

I’m also not sure about you’re use of the term ‘vulnerable.’ I would take vulnerable to mean at risk of exploitation/ severe risk to mental health e.g suicide, a woman who is being abused by a partner and is terrified, an 18 year old care leaver.

By the sounds of it they don't play nicely with anyone, try to intimidate and lie all the time so I doubt they were only like that because my dp (quite rightly) didn't let them in.

I had an encounter with a bailiff the other Bank Holiday. The only advice I can give is NEVER LET THEM IN YOUR HOUSE. I foolishly let him in after he had wheel clamped my car on my drive. It was for a parking fine which had been paid. The bailiff was a complete asshole.
We had paid but as it was a bank holiday we had no way of verifying it, and my husband had shredded after payment.
He said that a log book wasn’t proof of ownership my car but my husbands fine. We said you are not taking the car check the records the fine has been paid. He had NO paperwork with him. He went outside and my husband overheard him calling the police saying he had been threatened. I had offered him coffee and we had been unfailingly polite despite it being 6.30 am. The police came and my husband asked why they had attended, suggested they look at his personal webcam to see if he had been threatened at all, they refused and said they were attending because he planned to remove goods from our home as he knew I owned the car and he couldn’t take that. Because we had invited him in he was now able to call a lorry to remove goods. I then paid £700 again rather than continue arguing with him. Long story short we had paid, took Marstons to Court, got the money refunded and the Bailiff had the cheek to ask that we didn’t make him lose his job. Treat these people with the utmost contempt, they lie and lie. Don’t believe a word you see on the TV about how understanding they are. They were completely in the wrong but were not in the least bit bothered. Complete and utter cunts. They had no right to even come to my home.

Citizens Advice has some good pages on dealing with bailiffs here, including how to get them to take into account mental health problems.

Realistically, it looks like your DP needs to speak to a debt advice charity about bankruptcy options, as it doesn't seem like he is going to be able to pay off all this debt.

He has much bigger mental health issues than mild depression and anxiety.

He didn't ask to have the debt written off

And another thing get the man to go and sit in the van they cannot remove it if there is someone in it.

@namechange3567756 from what I can gather he owes under £20k, has a vehicle worth under £1k and doesn't own his own home and has very little disposable income. Please tell him to look into getting a Debt Relief Order. It costs £90 and his debts will be frozen for one year. If at the end of the year his financial situation hasn't improved his debts will be written off. Stepchange can advise further

Not David I quoted some information from citizens advice to him and he basically said their website was wrong. So I looked on gov.uk which more or less had the same information to which he backtracked and tried to make it out like I had said it wrong

Sorry notdavid stupid phone

@namechange3567756
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!

If you request a water meter and the water company is unable to fit one, they have to give you the option of choosing to pay an "assessed household charge" instead of water rates. It is a charge based on what it is estimated your bill would be if you had a water meter i.e. it is done on how many people live there. It is A LOT LESS than water rates. It should also be backdated to the date the water meter was requested.

Thank you bunty, I've known a few people do that. The financial settlement will be sorted after a meeting next week with her parents and his parents. Then his debts will be cleared and I might just step in at that point and help manage his finances so he doesn't get himself into this sort mess again. His ex wife used to do their finances so hopefully I can manage them for now.

I've previously had bailiffs at the door (Student Loans Company debt) - I was unemployed and had been fucked over by ATOS (MH disabilities). I let them in, made them a cup of tea and explained that they were welcome to take anything from my room (shared house) to offset the payment.

I filled out their income and expenditure form that showed I was short £30 per week for utilities and rent, without any allowance for food or transport, and they left without even a payment plan in place, as they said they could see I couldn't afford to honour it.

I suspect they were so nice as at no time had I shouted the odds, tried to pretend it wasn't happening or that I didn't owe the debt, and did not make any excuses for why I was in arrears. You do, no matter what anyone tries to tell you, catch more flies with honey.

That aside, as there's now a writ, their hands are quite tied. As well as taking advice from Stepchange, how about posting on Legal Matters? Obviously, no one knows who anyone else is on the internet, but you have a better chance there of finding someone who's knowledge of the law doesn't stem only from Channel 5 poverty porn.

@namechange3567756 sorry think I missed the bit about the settlement. It's good that you have a plan in place. The DRO would be useful if you think the settlement will be months rather than weeks so if you think it could drag on for over a year then that option is there.

Hope the bailiffs stay away til he gets sorted.

I had bailiffs force themselves past my very elderly FIL whilst MIL was dying in the living room. They didn't give a toss.
He was deaf, couldn't hear what they were saying and held the door open so they came in.
Their behaviour was appalling, complete bastards.
The debt wasn't even his, it was another family member who'd given their address.

I quoted some information from citizens advice to him and he basically said their website was wrong.

I suspect he will get further if he puts something in writing to the head office, as it is a lot harder for them to deny or backtrack if there is written evidence to contradict them.

theyre not baliffs theyre high court enforcemtn its not the same thing

dont treat people doing a job with contempt-theyre not to blame for peple getitng into debt

He tried to tell them his circumstances with the settlement and told them he could get it to them in writing but all they kept saying was they want the money on full TODAY aggressively. Again you cannot get blood out of a stone so telling him to beg, borrow and steal from friends and family to get the money isn't going to magically get the money. He cannot set up a payment plan because he has no money. He wasn't going to let them in because his young dd was in the flat. He is going to pay the debt and said he will prove there is money coming but he cannot pluck 6 grand out his arse because they are telling him he has to pay** NOW.

He's going to stay with me tonight but is going to leave his van at his (minus his tools) so if they come back they can take his shitty van (I'd sooner let him borrow my car) and can take what they want from his flat. He doesn't want his dd there with the threat of bailiffs coming.

I realise they need to collect money but from the stories here with lies and bullying and they way treated my dp then me this morning with lies and bullying it is going to make people treat them with contempt. I'm not a rude, confrontational person but when faced with someone who is going to lie to me, make me out like I quoted citizens advice wrong and shouted at me then yes I will treat them accordingly.

I really hope the settlement comes through quickly so he can pay off all his debts, but even that sounds dubious. Why will it come through after a meeting between the parents. Isn't this some sort of legal thing the solicitors would deal with. Once the debt is paid off he need to sit down with somebody and work out his incomings and outgoings because obviously having no money for food at all is not sustainable.