Any bailiffs around?

[ukdavvy12]

Because there are here - or at least there will be

I moved house 4 years ago
I have had a whole heap of formal looking council stuff trickle through the letter box addressed to the previous occupant
I do not have a forwarding address for them so its all been returned to sender

Today I got a letter to 'the occupier'

Its from a bailiff company chasing this woman for ££££ saying they will be calling in the next 48h

I phoned the number and spoke to generic switchboard guy
He said as long as I verified my ID Id be fine
I asked why they couldnt just check on the Land Registry and see she naffed off 4 year ago
He admitted this was a good point but not how his company do business

I was nervous about giving my ID to a third party and mentioned data protection
He said he could see who I was from his files and that my ID was already in the public domain
This was a bit infuriating

I then asked what would happen if I refused
He said Id continue to get the letters and a bailiff would call but cant take anything unless I let him in
As the house sits behind 7" gates he's gonna struggle to sneak in behind my back but ID rather them not turn up and hassle the wife

So what to do?

Im totally not handing over my personal data to an unidentified third party on the phone
Especially so when he admits he can see from his computer screen council data saying who I am

Any comments?

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

7 inch gates arent going to hold anyone back mate

otherwise I cant realy help. If it was me i would send them a letter recorded delivery following tour phone call and then just sit and wait. like you say they cant come in unless invited......like vampires

Edited by Obiwonkeyblokey on Monday 23 March 16:12

[Oakey]

Tell them to fk off. Job done.

[Liszt]

ukdavvy12 said:

As the house sits behind 7" gates he's gonna struggle to sneak in behind my back but ID rather them not turn up and hassle the wife

Well those 7 inch gates are really going to slow them down!

D'oh, too slow

Edited by Liszt on Monday 23 March 16:12

[hondafanatic]

Obiwonkeyblokey said:

7 inch gates arent going to hold anyone back mate

Wheelchair user?

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

seen many bailiffs in 'chairs?


....not meant to be in any way offfensive to those less able bodied, just a general comment.

Edited by Obiwonkeyblokey on Monday 23 March 16:15

[Odie]

Dont Speak to them at the door, dont let them in, instruct anyone at your property to not let them in.

Give them forwarding info (if you have it) of the person they are after.

Ignore the letters, if it was me i would have not rang them in the first place (nowt to do with me, not my mail etc).

Just because your at that address doesnt make it your debt.

My old man used to work as a bailiff and ive had alsort round my flat looking for other people. Just tell them to sling there hook. I like being able to speak to them through a buzzy phone thing too, dont even have to go to open the door.

You can also ring them and tell them you are removing there "assumed right of access" the right that lets them walk across your property to ring your door bell etc

Edited by Odie on Monday 23 March 16:20

[ukdavvy12]

D'oh the gates LOL

Yeah ive dutifully returned all the mail to sender

I guess Im pissed off that they can see themselves she doesnt live her as the guy told me he can see my details for council tax on his screen for this address

Therefore I dont see why I am the one who has to prove my ID especially as Ive recently had a credit card cloned (any other cyclists here?)* thus I dont want to give out my data to a random on the phone

And he cant get near the front door either, its buzzy intercoms all round hurrah

And I only phoned them as this letter was adressed to 'the occupier'

• ref to mass cycling related credit card scam a while ago

Edited by ukdavvy12 on Monday 23 March 16:25

[ianash]

I would write them a letter stating the previous occupant had left; giving dates etc: I would then give them a date and a time when you could see them in person, outside your 7" gates. I would inform them that if they were not prepared to come and discuss the matter with you, at a time and date convenient to you (you need to make the time of the meeting reasonable) you would not help them any further. If subsequently their actions caused your wife any distress and caused you to take any time off work, you will charge them an hourly rate for the time you have to spend dealing with this matter. If they refused to pay, you will take out an action against them in the county court.

Detail all communications with them. Always demonstrate your reasonableness (important for the court to see). Just remember your objective is to get them off your back, not to piss them off for the sake of it.

[UncappedTag]

ukdavvy12 said:

I phoned the number and spoke to generic switchboard guy
He said as long as I verified my ID Id be fine

So what to do?

Im totally not handing over my personal data to an unidentified third party on the phone
Especially so when he admits he can see from his computer screen council data saying who I am

Any comments?

Whats the problem then, had the same when I moved into my house. Showed ID and they left me alone, not exactly criminating is it. Is it worth playing hard ball and expect a warrant on the next visit and be done for wasting their time/police time?

[GreenV8S]

Don't let them in to talk about it, or so they can fill in some paperwork, or so they can call their office, or because they need the loo or they're having a heart attack and need to phone an ambulance. If you talk to them face to face make sure you do it outside with the door closed behind you so there's absolutely no way they can get in.

If you were the person they were chasing then by letting them into your home you entitle them to let themselves in later. Now since it's not you they're after this wouldn't apply - but you don't want there to be even the slightest shred of doubt that they're entitled to do that.

[V8mate]

UncappedTag said:

ukdavvy12 said:

I phoned the number and spoke to generic switchboard guy
He said as long as I verified my ID Id be fine

So what to do?

Im totally not handing over my personal data to an unidentified third party on the phone
Especially so when he admits he can see from his computer screen council data saying who I am

Any comments?

Whats the problem then, had the same when I moved into my house. Showed ID and they left me alone, not exactly criminating is it. Is it worth playing hard ball and expect a warrant on the next visit and be done for wasting their time/police time?

Exactly.

Why cause yourself stress and them aggro? They're just doing a job.

Bailiff: Are you Ms X?
OP: Nope, I'm Mr Y - here's my ID. I've lived here for 4 years since Ms X moved away.
Bailiff: Oki doki. Thanks.

[speedfreaky]

Seriously ,the best thing to do would be to inform the council and get them to inform the bailiffs .Dont worry about the bailiffs ,as it is not your debt there is nothing they can do ,and even if it were then if you just ignore them then they will eventually go away.They cannot force their way into your property ,whatvere they tell you ,and the police have no powers in these cases other than to keep the peace!

[Rico]

V8mate said:

Why cause yourself stress and them aggro? They're just doing a job.

Bailiff: Are you Ms X?
OP: Nope, I'm Mr Y - here's my ID. I've lived here for 4 years since Ms X moved away.
Bailiff: Oki doki. Thanks.

Yup. They might want to have a quick look around, check that Ms X doesn't live there. EG if you claim you're a bloke living alone and you've got a load of girl's clothes/mags/post etc around, then they're going to be curious to say the least. Be as helpful as you can in proving you're the only people living there and they'll send the warrant back to the court saying "not found", and won't bother you again.

[UncappedTag]

Rico said:

V8mate said:

Why cause yourself stress and them aggro? They're just doing a job.

Bailiff: Are you Ms X?
OP: Nope, I'm Mr Y - here's my ID. I've lived here for 4 years since Ms X moved away.
Bailiff: Oki doki. Thanks.

Yup. They might want to have a quick look around, check that Ms X doesn't live there. EG if you claim you're a bloke living alone and you've got a load of girl's clothes/mags/post etc around, then they're going to be curious to say the least. Be as helpful as you can in proving you're the only people living there and they'll send the warrant back to the court saying "not found", and won't bother you again.

Deeds as a worst case senario, case closed do not even need to come into the property.

[anonymous-user]

ukdavvy12 said:

I have had a whole heap of formal looking council stuff trickle through the letter box addressed to the previous occupant
I do not have a forwarding address for them so its all been returned to sender

Today I got a letter to 'the occupier'

Its from a bailiff company chasing this woman for ££££ saying they will be calling in the next 48h

EXACTLY the same thing has happened to me. Ever since I move into my current house (few years ago) I've been receiving mail for some Polish guy who used to live here. I sent all the letters back, unopened, with "Not known at this address", etc. on them and didn't hear much more. A few days ago I got a letter which was hand delivered (not in an envelope) threatening the same things as you've had.

Phoned the chap up, gave him my name and explained the situation (to be fair he was very helpful and understanding), I haven't got a clue who the person they want to find is, or where he is now. He said they'll "pass it onto the powers that be and double check everything", so god knows what that means. My advice is just to play ball and give them your ID, their beef isn't with you so there's no need for you to make things more difficult than they need to be.

PS he also confirmed they can't enter the house or take ANY property without comfirming that it belongs to the person whose name is on the warrant, so don't worry about that aspect, but the advice about not letting them in for any reason is probably pretty smart.

[Plotloss]

You're under no obligation whatsoever to give them any information or let them in.

They cannot force their way into your house, take your goods or even knock on your door without you granting permission.

Write them a letter stating that the debtor has moved, that you expect that to be an end to the matter and that any further calls or contact will be considered as harrassment.

[Nickyboy]

V8mate said:

UncappedTag said:

ukdavvy12 said:

I phoned the number and spoke to generic switchboard guy
He said as long as I verified my ID Id be fine

So what to do?

Im totally not handing over my personal data to an unidentified third party on the phone
Especially so when he admits he can see from his computer screen council data saying who I am

Any comments?

Whats the problem then, had the same when I moved into my house. Showed ID and they left me alone, not exactly criminating is it. Is it worth playing hard ball and expect a warrant on the next visit and be done for wasting their time/police time?

Exactly.

Why cause yourself stress and them aggro? They're just doing a job.

Bailiff: Are you Ms X?
OP: Nope, I'm Mr Y - here's my ID. I've lived here for 4 years since Ms X moved away.
Bailiff: Oki doki. Thanks.

+1

Why make things more difficult when you can solve it simply by doing the above. Despite what people say they don't just come storming in taking what they want and bugger off again it's done a little more professionally that that

[ukdavvy12]

I suppose my thoughts here are twofold:

1) I spoke to a guy on the phone who says he can see the woman doesnt live her but the onus is still on me to prove who I am

2) I am basically dealing with a random on the phone, I have no idea as to his legitimacy or even if he is who he says he is, and he is asking me for the kind of details a crim would have a field day with when cloning ID's

If the bailiff turned up in person with ID I would have no problem letting him see my driving license/passport
My concern is that the bailiff turns up and is let in by my wife/kids/cleaner

Thanks for the comments

[UncappedTag]

ukdavvy12 said:

I suppose my thoughts here are twofold:

1) I spoke to a guy on the phone who says he can see the woman doesnt live her but the onus is still on me to prove who I am

2) I am basically dealing with a random on the phone, I have no idea as to his legitimacy or even if he is who he says he is, and he is asking me for the kind of details a crim would have a field day with when cloning ID's

If the bailiff turned up in person with ID I would have no problem letting him see my driving license/passport
My concern is that the bailiff turns up and is let in by my wife/kids/cleaner

Thanks for the comments

Do you not talk to your wife/siblings then? They do not simply come around and demand to come in. It's not in their interests. If like you have explained on the telephone you are the new occupant of the property, they will want to call and be gone asap and move onto the next earning potential client, not dead ends. You appear to be winding yourself up over nothing. If you want to go that extra mile why not just send them a registered letter with a photocopy of your deed & driving license/utility bill

/thread