To be so worried for my sister?

[Water41]

I do after school child care for her and have just picked a letter up from her living room floor.

It's an enforcement notice from bailiffs saying they want to take goods to cover a debt of almost £6k. I think it may be from the power bill as unfortunately her ex husband forced her to put it into her name but was fiddling it. (He was an abusive bastard in every way and she's well shot of him)

I genuinely wasn't snooping - it was half under the couch and I just picked it up to get it off the floor. I know she can't cover the amount.

She lives alone with two kids and I'm so worried that the bailiffs are going to leave her with nothing.

Can someone please tell me what she should do next? She doesn't finish work until 9pm so it'll have to be tomorrow when we can get stuff done.

Thank you

Do you have the money? Do you know anyone who has the money?

If you do, maybe ask them for help if she's too proud

Poor thing 😢, yanbu but would be racking my brain of quick ways to assist

Id be insisting that I help as well, even if it's just admin and trying to put together a payment plan

Unfortunately no, I don't have the money and neither does anyone in my family.

Hi, there is a charity called Payplan who can help and advise victims of domestic and financial abuse. She can call them herself or get refferal from domestic abuse charities.
They can help stop the bailiffs - possibly by getting what's called ' breathing space' where no one can chase a debt from you for two months.

They can take goods that are owned to sell (car is usually favourite) but at the end of the day if she doesn't have the money nor goods that would cover the debt all they can do is set up a payment plan.

If all she can afford is, say, £20pm then that's what will be put in place. Obviously she would need to show her income and expenditure to demonstrate an affordable plan.

Does she have any assets?

If it's from the bailiffs, then it sounds like your DS has been burying her head in the sand and not dealing with the problem, as if she'd contacted the power company when she first got a bill for this amount, I feel sure, from all I've heard, that they would have had to come up with a way of her paying in installments. So I think you actually need to have a good talk with her about how it's got this far, and whether this is the only debt she's got. Once you've ascertained where she's really at, she then needs to make an urgent appointment with the Citizen's Advice Bureau and get some advice as to what she can do to get herself out of this mess. Obviously without knowing all the info, it's hard to say whether at this stage it is worth her calling the power company to tell them that she now wants to be pro-active, but it's clear she can't go on burying her head in the sand.

You’d need more info to be able to advise really. Before the point it gets anywhere near bailiff’s the company themselves would have repeatedly been in touch, sent letters, payment plan requests etc so it does sound as if she’s let this go on for a long time as it doesn’t get to this stage overnight.

She can contact the Citizens Advice bureau or the National Debtline for advice.

If she doesn’t have it, they can’t take it.

It’s important to know the rules bailiffs can work by so look them up. No 1 though. Never never let them in the house. They don’t really want her stuffy that’s far too much effort. What they want is a payment plan, and if they can’t enforce one it’ll be referred back to the company.

if it is electricity they’ll use a prepay meter and claw it back like that.

She has a car but needs it for work because there's no public transport to her main base and she's in it all day visiting clients. It's not even worth much - it's 17 years old and pretty battered. The most similar one on Auto Trader is worth about 900. Plus the usual stuff of TV, Xbox (new at Christmas for her kids from our parents), a cheap laptop, furniture like sofas and stuff.

She did contact the power company but they were really unhelpful and were demanding hundreds of pounds a month which she couldn't afford. They refused to help unless her useless bastard of an ex admitted fiddling the readings which of course he was never going to do.

I've just been reading about Christians Against Poverty - they seem very highly recommended. Does anyone have any experience please?

Yes, she's just back into work after not being allowed to have a job by her ex!

Eek - she needs help quickly or else they will lose car tv and Xbox. She should take the x box to parents house and leave it there .

Not true, as long as she doesn't let them in the house they can't do anything, eventually they'll send it back to the original company who will contact her.

That’s a huge amount of money for energy, and she must have been ignoring them. 🤷‍♀️. She needs to contact Stepchange or the CAB.

I agree with pp don't let them in the house. They'll try their best but if they can't get in they can't list stuff.
She might want to leave her car parked away from the house as well because they will take it.

@Water41 get the car transferred into your name pronto. there isnt actually much which is classed as luxury items nowadays/ tv and computers are usually classed as necessities. kitchen appliances like washers and cookers are needed. the other thinks like breadmakers coffee machines, air fryers etc would be classed as luxuries. temporarily take them to your house.

This wont prevent removal. Logbooks are not proof of ownership. They will want to see invoices showing someone else purchased it.

I am an enforcement agent

They can't take anything belonging to children.
They will probably take the car regardless of low value. It's madness especially if she needs it for work.
Don't leave windows open.
Make sure kids don't answer the door either.
I think the energy company had a duty of care to enter into a repayment scheme with a single mum surely?
Poor woman, it's criminal that the actual criminal is getting away with it 😡

Transferring ownership of the car is not going to work, it’s an asset, it’s hers and they will just take it.

You’re also incorrect about what classifies as a necessity- a TV does not. The necessities are things you need, so they won’t take your oven or your fridge, but anything else really is fair game. A computer would only be regarded as a necessity if you can prove it is essential for employment, otherwise it’s a luxury and will be taken.

If you suspect they are coming I'd advise her to get rid of the Xbox and other valuable stuff temporarily (can you have in your house for eg) before they attend. If they don't see it and aren't any the wiser that she owns one, they can't take it.
Also get her some advice that has been recommended from pp's posts.

As it has reached this stage, it's highly likely your sister knows something like this is about to happen. If she can negotiate a realistic payment plan, i.e with monthly repayments that she can afford, it will be the best solution as she won't have it hanging over her. Hiding the car etc just delays the inevitable, bailiffs are aware of what people will do to avoid goods being seized.

You’ve said she has escaped an abusive relationship so she may be classed as vulnerable. If so, it may be worth contacting the company direct and advising that she has young children at home and is a victim of abuse. Some companies will not use bailiffs in such circs.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/how-bailiffs-should-treat-you/how-bailiffs-should-treat-you-if-youre-vulnerable/#:~:text=If%20you're%20classed%20as%20vulnerable%20bailiffs%20should%3A,that%20helps%20with%20your%20health

Thank you. I'm going to sit with her in the morning and see what we can figure out. It all goes back to her ex who is an absolutely awful person and seems to enjoy causing her trouble. She's just starting to get things back on an even keel then this happens.

Make sure she understands she doesn't have to let them in. Is there anywhere within walking distance of home she could park the car where they won't see it? A friend's place, or yours?