MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Right, just had a call from the Mrs(not a happy bunny), who is working from home today.
We have lived in our property for roughly 18 months, had loads of letters for the previous owners which have been forwarded or returned to sender if we did not have the forwarding address.
Obviously this has been going on for a while and guess some are chasing letters.
Anyway, Mrs had two burly blokes ring the doorbell and fortunately for for her she had the sense not to open the door, the timid little thing she is 😉
They are chasing a debt from a name that does not seem to match with any of the letters we have had, wanted her to open the door to discus, so she called me before doing anything..
I told them to leave their details and I will call to discuss with them latter.
They left (after a while) ...
Question:
Any idea what sort of proof do I need to show these goons that the person they are chasing does not or never has live at my address?
Any advice appreciated, before the seize my bike collection 😉
Ta.
Ask them to prove the person lives there not the other way round. You cannot prove a neagtive!!
do you own or rent? Show them proof with your ID (passport or drviing licence). They can only gain entry with a court order?
I've had a couple of them turn up before and ask if i'm Mr debtor. On saying no, he moved out years ago, they went away.
Must remember that as a devious plan if I ever to get in Debt 🙂
As Junkyard said, you don't need to prove anything. Personally I'd take great pleasure in telling them to f*** right off.
Paranoia but they could also be Burglars/confidence tricksters.
Find out what company they're representing and contact the company letting them know that you live there and not the person they're after.
If proof is required, a copy of your mortgage statement or tenancy agreement will suffice.
Do not let them in, ever
normally bailiffs can enter through an open window or door without being invited so be careful
Trouble is, the Bailiffs probably are working for one debt collection agency appointed by who ever to hunt down the individual debtor.
Could there be other agencys queing up ?
Your National Insurance Number & DOB should be enough to verify who you are and also your wife will need to do the same.
Obviously they will have some kind of details as to who they are looking for - would be a crock of shit if they happened to have the same DOB as you 😉
Find out which firm sent them and have a chat with them but never let them in your house cos if you invite them in and they become reluctant to leave the Police probably wont be of any help.
Just another thing, if debt collectors are banging on your door, then perhaps you best check your credit rating ? often its the house thats blacklisted... just thinking 😕
Houses/addresses can't be black listed anymore, only people.
Ballifs (excluding Inland revenue) can only enter "peacefully" if they try and force themselves into the house call the police. This may be [url= http://www.freeadviceonline.co.uk/debtbasics/bailiff-guide.htm ]useful.[/url]
telling them f.off wont work, show them proof of I.D and bingo all done and dusted.ask for there I.D, they prolly wont show you any offical paper work , but thats due to privacy laws,police wont get involved (in my experiance ) unless theres an imminent breach of the peace.
steve_b77 - Member
Houses/addresses can't be black listed anymore, only people
Sorry, not quite right. The address CAN be blacklisted, but if you then apply for credit they will have to check (and it should be OK).
Open ALL suspicious looking mail and call the debt collection agency (if that's who it's from) and explain the situation. I've had many a conversation with such people!
EVENTUALLY, after many such calls, we have stopped getting letters demanding payment. Also, we told our rental agency about the situation and they called the debt collection company threatening them with police action for harrassing us.
Hope this helps.
Julian
If bailifs enter a property through an open window or door into a house where the debtor dosen't like, isn't that and ilegal entry? and the removal of items not belonging to the debtor is theft? Am I wrong about those facts?
do not let them in without a court order. Demand to see id and if they start hassling you call the police and say someone is trying to force their way into your property.
You're right Mikey-simmo. Only a court appointed bailif can enter your property without your permission and/or sieze your goods. Debt collection goons (they're not actually bailifs in reality even if they like to think they are), cannot enter your home [i]at all[/i] without your permission, and if asked to leave your land should do so immediately, otherwise they are technically trespassing.
If they try to force their way in they are breaking and entering, and if they use any type of force, or threats against you that suddenly becomes aggrevated burglary, which carries a much higher sentence...
As for proving that you aren't the debtor they're after, it's up to them to prove that you are, or that that person is living there. If they can't produce the proof or a court order there and then, tell them to leave or you'll call the police. The police will get involved, and the goons really don't want that, as an official f*ck-off from the plod means they can't return without good cause, otherwise they could be arrested.
The sad fact is though, they are probably just trying to put the frightners on you, just in case you are the debtor, and you're trying to fool them. It's not nice, and it shouldn't be allowed to happen. The OFT is trying to regulate debt collectors, so if you find out who is harrassing you, a quick call to them might help...
Right, thanks for all the advice above, Mrs was actually quite upset about it when I got home, they had threatened to take her car apparently, which was nice of them?
Anyway, called the goons this morning and it looks like they are fishing as they have more than one address for who they are after?
So its seems to be sorted with this group, but I fear this is just the start 😉
My curtain twitching neighbour said they got a ticket for parking on double yellows which made me chuckle 😉
If they try to force their way in they are breaking and entering, and if they use any type of force, or threats against you that suddenly becomes aggrevated burglary
There would be an ambulance called to collect them after the trusty clawhammer came out of its box to meet them.
There would be an ambulance called to collect them after the trusty clawhammer came out of its box to meet them.
No no no hora. It didn't come out of the box. It just happened to be lying close to hand because you'd recently been using it to put a picture up, and you reacted instinctively when you were certain you saw something glinting in their hand, right?
Call the company and get it sorted asap. As Davy said, goons have very little power, but court-appointed officials - not bailiffs in the normal sense - do have a power of entry, and if they need to force entry, by getting a locksmith, you pay the bill. And court orders for non-payment of fines are not just against people, they are against addresses - if this muppet is still using your address, and I've seen this happen, you can get all sorts of people turning up at your address. The police (me) will indeed just stand-by to make sure nothing kicks off, but also to make sure that no-one oversteps their powers. I will not let anyone enter an address without documentary proof that they are entitled to. Write to the company and explain the matter and threaten to sue the sh1t out of them should they continue with proceedings.
thegreatape 
I once had dealings with 'bailiffs' (i.e debt collectors) when a former housemate was finally caught up on some old debts. He kept running away to his g/f's place whenever they turned up and left me to deal with them.
Thing is, they tried to threaten me but as soon as i pointed out it was a shared and rented house but that i was the main renter (rentor?)) they backed down. They could not prove who owned what in the house, and because i lived there they were in the poo if they attempted to break in even with a court order apparently.
In the end he did a runner and they left me alone after i told them i would bring a court action against them if they came round again.
Ask them to come back 2morro where they enter the lounge where 30 Singletrackers armed with baseball bats say hello to them...
Call Police and say your wife felt threatened.
Could be burglars as said.