Bailiffs are coming....

[zeus9876]

OK correct me if i am wrong but a couple of months ago i got a letter stating that i owed SKY like £39.00 from like 4 yrs ago. OK i thought i'll pay it now and be done with it.....How wrong i was.

I phoned this collection place and pain it in full. A month later i recieve another letter saying that it was not paid and i have 7 days to make payment. This was from another company now. So i phoned them up and told them i had paid it and they need to check their records. THey insisted that i haven't so i said "give me an email address and i will send you my bank statement proving that i have". With that said they did and i sent it to them..another couple of weeks later i still get yet another letter saying that it's still not paid and bailiffs wll be attending.

So i phone them up again and tells them that i have emailed them proof and have proof right here in front of me that i have paid it and if they want to send the bailiffs to send them because i will not be phoning them anymore wasting my time.

So i have the last letter that they sent and my bank statement waiting for when they show up.

Any other advice will be greatfully recieved.

[Paul]

Don't open the door, photocopy what documents you have and do not give them the proper copies. Hand over photocopies of the docs via the letterbox if you have to. Also send a copy by recorded delivery to the debt collection agency and inform them that since you have paid in full as stated in your bank statement, any moves to gain access to your property or take any items without consent will lead to court.

[terrynewpack]

Don't worry about it.
I had the very same earlier this year. They said that I owed them £30 from over 5 years ago. Load of rubbish because I have always paid my bills.
I must have received 15 - 20 threatening letters and maybe a dozen phone calls from the debt recovery agents but eventually they get fed up and its not practicable or economical for them to continue.
They probably pay about a fiver for your debt and once they have spent a certain amount pursuing it they give up. Have a look on Google and see the extent of the problem. Loads of people involved and nobody has ever had anything other than stupid letters and threatening phone calls ('Would you like one of our debt recovery represntatives to come and see you?' is a favourite. Correct answer is 'Yes please'.)
The funniest part was that on a couple of the letters I got was a statement to the effect that if I came back to Sky then they would forget the 'debt'. They couldn't understand it when I told them that I would never touch Sky again with a barge pole.

[Mr Angry]

Tell them they're in breach of their credit licence and, whilst it would break your heart and cause you sleepless nights were you to do so, that you'll report them and request that their licence is revoked in the event that they don't comply with the terms of their licence and acknowledge that the debt is in dispute / settled in full.

Originally Posted by terrynewpack

Don't worry about it.
I had the very same earlier this year. They said that I owed them £30 from over 5 years ago. Load of rubbish because I have always paid my bills.
I must have received 15 - 20 threatening letters and maybe a dozen phone calls from the debt recovery agents but eventually they get fed up and its not practicable or economical for them to continue.
They probably pay about a fiver for your debt and once they have spent a certain amount pursuing it they give up. Have a look on Google and see the extent of the problem. Loads of people involved and nobody has ever had anything other than stupid letters and threatening phone calls ('Would you like one of our debt recovery represntatives to come and see you?' is a favourite. Correct answer is 'Yes please'.)
The funniest part was that on a couple of the letters I got was a statement to the effect that if I came back to Sky then they would forget the 'debt'. They couldn't understand it when I told them that I would never touch Sky again with a barge pole.

I've had the same to from a firm called Louwil Portfollio based in Leeds.

[multiskilled]

I would be worried as ignoring this demand could affect your credit rating it's best to get it sorted.Also do a check with a credit reference agency ie Experian.

[murfitUK]

The bailiffs can only be used to collect a debt if the company has obtained a County Court Judgement or a magistrates' court Liability Order against you. Has that happened?

If so, you are on a sticky wicket as a court has already agreed that you owe the money.

If you don't let the bailiffs in when they come round they have to return the warrant to the County Court to decide what happens next - could be to force entry or attachment of earnings. If it's a LO the magistrates' court can then summon you to attend and can jail for refusal to pay.

I'd say that if they have already obtained a CCJ and you want to dispute it you need to seek help from a debt counsellor - try the local CAB for free advice and assistance first before paying anyone.

Originally Posted by murfitUK

If you don't let the bailiffs in when they come round they have to return the warrant to the County Court to decide what happens next - could be to force entry or attachment of earnings. If it's a LO the magistrates' court can then summon you to attend and can jail for refusal to pay.

For them to force entry they need the police to be in attendance, in most cases the police wont assist for a civil matter, the only time they'll assist is if there's a chance of violence being used by the person who's debt it is.

[murfitUK]

Originally Posted by Nidge

For them to force entry they need the police to be in attendance, in most cases the police wont assist for a civil matter, the only time they'll assist is if there's a chance of violence being used by the person who's debt it is.

The police don't need to be in attendance for a forced entry. Most bailiffs will request a presence though in case the householder turns violent or neighbours think its a break in.

They can force entry if they have been invited in on a previous visit. Some of them will ask to come in for a chat and that then gives them the right to force entry the next time.

Forced entry means whatever force the bailiff thinks necessary and can be anything so long as it does not lead to any deliberate injury. For example, if they kick your door down and you're standing behind it - tough. They didn't deliberately set out to hurt you: it was an unintended consequence, your honour.

They can also use reasonable force against you if you attempt to stop them - again so long as they didn't intend to hurt you - and like all civilians can take reasonable steps to protect themselves if they think they are in danger.

The police, I've found, don't know the law (strange but true) and usually take the bailiff's side if a dispute arises. They often tell the householder to let the bailiff in to discuss the matter (which then gives the bailiff a right to force entry next time), tell them that the bailiff is allowed to do things that, legally, they're not etc.

And even if you don't have the debt (eg in someone else's name) if the bailiff gets your goods its up to you to prove they belong to you. Could you prove - to the bailiff's satisfaction, or on the "balance of probabilities" if you took it to court - that the telly you bought 5 years ago is yours? I couldn't.

I yearn for the good old days when bailiffs were civil servants. County Court bailiffs still are - they are on a salary so get paid regardless. I've always found them to be polite, knowledgeable, helpful and fair.

The private/certificated bailiffs are on commission so its in their interest to threaten and intimidate to get their money. If you watch these programmes on the telly about bailiffs its the private ones. Some of them act badly even knowing that the cameras are there. What do you think they're like with no cameras around?

But regardless - the OP needs to establish whether or not a CCJ/LO has been issued.

[zeus9876]

no ccj's or anything has been gotten yet. I will just stand my ground and show my bank statement when and if they do come.

[dcclanuk]

Originally Posted by zeus9876

no ccj's or anything has been gotten yet. I will just stand my ground and show my bank statement when and if they do come.

As soon as they come in by kicking ur door down, show them that u have paid, then give them a bill for ur inconvenience and for a new door

[terrynewpack]

Originally Posted by zeus9876

no ccj's or anything has been gotten yet. I will just stand my ground and show my bank statement when and if they do come.

These people don't go anywhere near the Courts. All they do is threaten you and they are on dodgy grounds by the number of threats that they issue.
They rely upon people being weak and paying up because they don't want any hassle. I can understand that attitude but when you are confident that there is no basis for the claim , as I was, then just ignore them and they will go away. If you don't believe me then like I said previously just put the debt collectors name into Google and look at the results. Dozens of examples and nobody has ever been taken to court in respect of this mythical Sky debt.
Don't pay and don't worry!!

[Rob]

The real question should be whether or not Sky, as the originator, agree there was a debt in the first place. If there was and that has been passed to the debt collection agency, then fair enough it should be settled. If however, and I might be reading a bit too much into this, there is no debt, then the actions of the debt collector agency threatening bailiffs would be criminally illegal and should be reported to the police / trading standards..

[banjo]

You know this is scarey stuff, just thinking about bailiffs makes me shudder !