Baliffs threat ..what should I do?....

[twofishes]

My sister lived with us briefly and in that time had a Next Account, which I also used and paid the monthly installments for 'my bit' ..there was a massive family falling out and time has gone on and she has now emigrated and is not in touch with the family..in the meantime I have fallen behind with the Next payments ( I have more than paid for my stuff but thereis another £500 of stuff to pay).Anyway to cut a long story a bit shorter, received a letter today addressed to my sister which I opened as it was from the Courts, they are demanding £300 payment within a week or baliffs are being sent 'to seize property to the value of....'
Have sat and worked out my finances and I could pay it, if we REALLY scraped on food but would still be £70 short for other payments I need to pay this month which I suppose I could try and borrow off a friend..
Can't tell DP as he would blow his top and really stress which would not get us any where, plus he has paid a huge fuel bill this month so has no 'spare' cash anyway ..
Thing is if I can't pay this £300 and only pay £250 would the baliffs still come and can they claim anything if this isn't my sisters house?...
thanks for listening

Firstly you should have returned the letter unopened marked "Gone Away".

However, having opened it, you should write to the court stating that you opened the letter with your sister's permission, but have to inform them that she emigrated some time ago leaving none of her possessions with you.

have actually resealed the envelope cos I did think of doing that, but then thought hell everyone must do that !!...I have informed Next that she had emigrated etc etc but s'pose they think you are making it up!

Go to www.moneysavingexpert.com.

The advice there is second to none. They were a fantastic crowd for me when i was going through bankrptcy etc.

send it back to them saying she doesn't live there. It happened at one of the flats I lived at the previous tenants left a whole load of debt behind. I opened them as there were loads and I was nosey!!!

If it is in her name, even if they come round, you just say she doesn't live there. Show id if they ask and they will leave you alone.

thanks everyone am worrying about it , but can't really afford to pay £300 especially as I had paid off my bit anyway , but don't want it hanging on my credit rating but it shouldn't should it if it is not my name?

Will go and have a look at that website thanks...
S'pose if they come round I 'll just say she doesn't live here anymore and show my id
part of me thinks if its paid off then i'm not waiting for a knock at the door, but its a lot of money and even with the best intentions I don't think I can feed a family of five on £30 in order to do so

The debt is not yours, it is not in your name and you have paid off anything you did owe. The account is in your sister's name so, even if morally you did owe some of it, it would still be her debt. As such, it should not affect your credit rating.

if they come round, do not let them in. If they don't have a court order, they aren't allowed in without your permission. And once you let them over the threshold, they can get very nasty - there are some dodgy firms out there.

do you think it is worth writing to the baliffs office at the address on the letter..the thought of baliffs coming round is actually quite scary !!!..

If she lived at your address, she may be on your credit record affecting your rating, or this certainly used to be the case.

DH and I went through our credit records a few years ago, 'cleaning' them up - when we requested them from Equifax and Experian, they were full of all the credit application for everyone we'd ever lived with, our parents, siblings, flat mates, everyone. We completed a notice of disassociation I think it's called, stating that our finances were nothing to do with this person and their records were taken off ours.

This was a few years ago but it might be worth requesting your credit record and checking whether her details are on there and having them removed if so.

thanks ...have just requested a copy of my credit record ...think I might just try and pay it perhaps ring the baliffs office on Monday morning and see if they would accept a £200 payment maybe

but it isn't the usual letter from a credit company it is from the local court (in official envelope etc) so does that make it more official?

Thanks Starlight... what do you reckon is best ?...shall I just wait for the baliffs or ring/write and tell them its not me

if they come round don't let them in. bailiffs can be utter c*nts sometimes. if you let them in once they have power of entry again (i think)

like vampires...only not as cuddly, and with worse one-liners.

Phone the bailiffs and tell them that this is your sister's debt and she is no longer in the country. As long as you are polite and calm on the phone they will be polite and calm back: they have no legal right to take your belongings or enter your house when this is NOT YOUR DEBT.

god I love MN!...thanks think I will ring them on Monday morning and follow up with a letter too....feel much better now