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Original poster

Bailiffs.........

32 replies

swiperfox · 20/04/2005 09:38

Apparently they came to the door this morning - didnt hear them though. They put a letter through the door to say they'd be back. DP reckons that if they come back I don't have to let them in because he's not here - is that right? I'm scared now!!!

All over a poxy £92!!!!

Maybe I could give them the cats as payment lol

OP posts:
almostanangel · 20/04/2005 09:40

oh sf you DO NOT have to let them in unless they bring police and have a warrant then im not totaly sure...have you made an offer of payment

almostanangel · 20/04/2005 09:41

but they are very good at getting very loud on your doorstep!

Original poster
swiperfox · 20/04/2005 09:47

I bet they are..... and this street is so tiny!!
I heard somewhere that if they can get a foot inside your door then they are officialy on your property so to speak so you cant stop them coming in then.

OP posts:
almostanangel · 20/04/2005 09:51

you have to let them in for them to come in! i had many a long conversation on doorstep best one was to of them ,,,one would talk then the other i asked if they were a double act and said if you talk you shut up and same to the other ,,best ever was when i had paid it all and he haddnt been told i let him go on for ages then showed him the reciept lol ,,but i know how you feel and it is not funny.

expatinscotland · 20/04/2005 09:52

I have no shame. They could get as loud as they wanted and it wouldn't bother me a bit.

fairyfly · 20/04/2005 09:52

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almostanangel · 20/04/2005 09:55

evil satinists bailiffs

Original poster
swiperfox · 20/04/2005 09:55

I havent got any money to give them and havent got a cheque book. DP has taken the letter to work to phone them so hopefully he can arrange to pay a tenner a week or something.
God its crap!!!!

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 20/04/2005 09:56

you don't have to let them in but don't leave any windows or doors open.

I would phone the people you owe the money to now and offer a settlement (even if it is over a certain number of months). Even though your debt is small now, they will almost certainly add to it the longer you delay paying it (either through interest or charges for the bailiffs being called).

If you call them now they should call the bailiffs off immediately.

foxinsocks · 20/04/2005 09:58

yes pester dp to call!! They should accept any sort of settlement even if it seems like a small amount over a number of months.

merglemergle · 20/04/2005 09:58

Do not let them in. Once they are in they will do a warrant seeking posession. This entitles them to enter (even breaking down the door) at any point until the debt is settled.

Do not leave windows etc open as they are allowed to enter this way, even before they have their warrant seeking possession.

Whats going on with this debt? Is it your only debt and if so, can you pay it? If so-consider doing it because they will charge you for the baliff to come out.

If not, can you go to a CAB or similar and get some help?

almostanangel · 20/04/2005 09:59

if you havent already made them an offer,,that you havent paid that should be ok,,yes its horrible but at least you can come on here and talk and know you are not alone i was over 20k in dept and had a nervous breakdown..look at me now ooh another pice of advice dont make an offer you cant pay!! and dont pay double one week and none the next they will still expect payment that week!

merglemergle · 20/04/2005 09:59

Sorry, posts crossed. Good luck. CAB should help negotiate though.

triceratops · 20/04/2005 10:00

They charge you a fortune every time they come out so it is a good idea to get it sorted asap. I have a friend who is a baliff and he says that he gets a lot of lewd offers. Ladies who offer him, ahem, services, if he says they were not in and goes away. This is not a suggestion by the way!

Horrible thing to wake up to, you have my sympathy.

Original poster
swiperfox · 20/04/2005 10:01

It's a really old debt of DP's. He bought a motorbike on credit years ago and has been paying it off weekly/monthly but we've hit a bit of a rough patch and he's missed a couple of payments so they're getting arsey.
I think theres still a few hundred left on the overall bill - this £90 is just his arrears from the last couple of months

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 20/04/2005 10:01

Also I was watching that BBC show 'Bailiffs', and if they get in and then you have to phone anyone to settle, they start charing a 'waiting time' of £50! What a racket!

I'd never heard of 'bailiffs' coming in and doing this kind of thing over debts till I came to the UK.

Original poster
swiperfox · 20/04/2005 10:04

I've watched a few of those too - that woman is a nasty piece of work!! If she turned up here talking the way she does to those poor people I would lose it with her!!

OP posts:
almostanangel · 20/04/2005 10:06

i dont watch that..but when your down any way ,,it is hard to not get upset with them and they know what buttons to press ,,also i noticed they only ever came mid morning ish when it was very unlikly dh would be in!

expatinscotland · 20/04/2005 10:11

I howled with laughter when that woman on bailiffs got in front of that man's car and he pressed on the gas. What a MORON! How dumb can you get, to put yourself in front of some crook's car. Duh! And then he scarppered. LOL!

Original poster
swiperfox · 20/04/2005 10:17

lol i loved that - then she was straight on the phone all shocked "He ran me over!!" lol

OP posts:
merglemergle · 20/04/2005 10:18

If you go to a CAB this is roughly what they'll do:

  1. Draw up a financial statement with your income and expenditures. There are certain allowed expenditures-what you'd expect really. You're not expected to spend 400 pounds a week on clothes while you're in debt. You get to include a small contingency fund however, work expesnse, etc.

  2. Work out from this what you can offer everyone you owe money to. If you just have the one debt thats pretty simple-whatever is left over.

  3. Send this off with a covering letter to whoever you money to.

If you went to court, you would be sent a similar financial statement and the court would decide how much you had to repay based on this. The company would rather have the debt settled, so will generally accept an offer based on a reasonable financial statement.

If you have no money over you can offer them nothing for now, or a token 1 pound (or whatever) per week.

These people
at the Money Advice Trust are a helpful starting point. They publish a really useful guide to negotiating with creditors and it is free, so I imagine it is somewhere on their website.

Original poster
swiperfox · 20/04/2005 10:37

Thank you for that. I will have to go and have a look.

Hopefully dp has phoned them and made an arrangement to pay some at the end of the week. Although his answer to everything at the moment is to run away to Australia to live with my Dad and never come back!!

OP posts:
almostanangel · 20/04/2005 10:44

good idea !!lol

expatinscotland · 20/04/2005 10:46

I must admit I secretly giggle when the bailiffs come round and the debtor has bailed. I think council tax is bollucks, anyhow.

expatinscotland · 20/04/2005 10:47

Oh, and swiper, if you have a 'mo, might be a good idea to visit the CAB yourself just in case.

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