CCJ and Bailiffs

[MRSAHILL]

I know absolutely nothing about the above and would be grateful for any advice. I've just discovered that my 22 year old son, who lives with us when he's not living in uni student accommodation, is heavily in debt. He has used our address on everything, as it is his main address, but it's only whilst he's been home from uni that I've seen mail he's opened and just ignored, stating he's behind with payments and he's confessed the absolute mess he's in. I'm worried that if he gets a CCJ or if Bailiffs turned up at the door, what implications would this have for me and my husband? Would bailiffs take our car (it's 12 years old), would they take our TV, microwave etc or would they listen if I explained none of the things in our home belong to him? What proof should I have ready? I don't have receipts for these items as they are years old. Also, if he did get a CCJ, would it be "registered" against our address and could it cause problems if we try to sell the house? We have paid all his debts off for him previously, we've also tried to help him arrange a payment plan but he's spent any money given to him on drugs and he hasn't kept up with any arranged payment plans. He's just been fired from his part time job as he has a terrible weed habit and things are only going to get worse. We are at our wits end and now feel we have to think of ourselves and what the consequences for us could be when bailiffs/CCJs are threatened etc.

Hi OP, so sorry to hear about this.

I've just found this link from Gov.uk, which says you’ll need to prove which property is yours when a bailiff comes around - are you able to prove your car is yours etc? - www.gov.uk/your-rights-bailiffs

Also worth remembering that you don’t need to let bailiffs in, if they do turn up.

In terms of helping your son, I realise he’s put you in a very difficult situation. Would you be able to get him in for counselling (with his permission, of course)? Do you think that would help?

Bailiffs can only take things if he loses at court (MAKE SURE YOU GO!) and if you THEN don’t pay the debt in the 21 days.

if a high court writ is issued, bailiffs will come. They can’t take anything that you can prove is yours. So anything in your name can’t be taken. Just ensure you have receipts for everything. It’s highly unlikely he will have enough of value but they will then accept a payment plan 9/10 times.

I'm assuming that your son is registered for council tax elsewhere when he's at uni? If bailiffs turn up, show them a copy of your council tax bill and state he no longer resides with you.

CCjs and debt issues only affect the person named so this will have no impact on yourself or your husband, there's no such thing as having a black mark against an address, that was just a myth.

bailiffs can enter through unlocked doors but they are not allowed to break in so if your son starts receiving bailiff letters, I would be inclined to keep the doors locked

Thank you. I've just had a quick look at the link you provided. I only have my car log book to prove ownership, I don't have any receipts. My husband suffers from psychosis and is classed as mentally disabled so whether that would make any difference to Bailiffs, I don't know. Our 2 tvs are over 10 years old and we have nothing else really of any value. My son has extremely valuable computer equipment which he needs for his uni course but these items would be at his student rented accommodation and not here. I've tried to get him counselling, he refuses all help. We adopted him aged 4 and he has many problems arising from his first few years of life. He turns violent and smashes things up and I am at the stage of calling the police. He is due to go back to uni in 2 weeks and my priority at the moment is getting him out of the house but then my major worry is the effect his debts will have on my home. I don't want to sound heartless but we have spent years trying to help him and even now we support him financially but cannot afford to pay off his debts yet again.

I have a copy of our council tax bill. He lives in student accommodation and when he's at uni, will he be registered for council tax there or do they still class my house as his main address? All his mail comes here, even when he's at uni. There has been literally piles of letters waiting for him and I've only seen what they say since he's been home this summer.

His main address will be where he pays council tax. With your husbands health issues, they would need to be mindful of this if they visited.

@NancyVicious thank you. His main address will be our house then. That is the address he has used to take out credit. Yes, it would distress my husband massively if bailiffs turned up. He is already extremely worried about what could happen hence my post on here. Thanks again for the replies.