Bailiffs- Goods Owned By Other People

Proving who owns the items

Should bailiffs turn up at your home and some of the items on your driveway or in your home do not belong to you, it is up to you to prove this to the bailiff.

You can prove that they do not belong to you by:

• Making a list of all the items that do not belong to you to give to the bailiff

• Make it clear to the bailiff who the belongings actually belong to

• Show proof that these belongings are not yours

• Warn the bailiffs that they will be liable for costs should the goods be wrongly taken.

Can bailiffs take goods that belong to other people?

The bailiff can only take control of the goods if they belong to the person named on the notice of enforcement, i.e. the person who owes the debt.

If the possessions are jointly owned by another person and you, the bailiff can take these items. The bailiff will need to ask the other owner what percentage of the goods they hold. The goods can then be taken and sold, the proceeds of the sale will then be split.

Conditional sale items and hire purchase

As the items do not belong to you the bailiff cannot take possession of any goods on hire, hire purchase, or conditional sale, until the final payment has been made on the agreement.

Goods purchased on credit, by way of personal loan or credit card, or credit agreement, can be taken from you as technically they belong to you.

Goods belonging to someone else are taken by the bailiff

If the bailiff is unsure whether the goods belong to you or someone else they should not take the goods.

If the bailiffs do take goods that do not belong to you, known as a third party, either you or the person they belong to can complain to the bailiffs firm, asking for the goods to be returned.

The following process should be adopted when making a complaint to the bailiff:

• Within 7 days of the goods being taken either you or the person the goods belong to need to write to the bailiff to claim the goods back

• Within 3 days of receiving your letter the bailiff must contact the creditor to get their opinion

• From the date of being contacted the creditor then has 7 days to decide whether the goods were correctly obtained

• Should the creditor agree that the goods were wrongfully taken they will instruct the bailiff to return the goods

• The claim will be rejected if the creditor confirms the goods were correctly taken

Should the claim prove to be unsuccessful the owner of the goods can apply to get the belongings back at court. When the owner of the goods applies to the court claiming ownership of the goods, the bailiff will be notified of the application. Once the bailiff is in receipt of the notification they are unable to sell or dispose of the goods until the court orders otherwise.

At the hearing the court will decide whether to order the bailiff to return the goods back to the rightful owner, they may also award damages if the actual owner of the goods suffered a financial loss as a result of the goods being taken.

The goods belonging to someone else have been sold

If the goods belonging to someone else have been sold whilst that person is taking legal action to regain possession, the bailiff must hand the proceeds of the sale over to the court.

However, the bailiff can only be liable for the mistake if either of the following apply:

• The bailiff knew the goods belonged to someone else at the time they were sold

• Prior to the goods being sold the bailiff had been notified that a third party had applied to the court to regain possession.

The belongings have been given away

Once the bailiffs are involved with the enforcement proceedings, belongings cannot be given away. If the belongings are given away in this time the bailiff can still take them.

Should you decide to give any of your possessions away, it must be an unconditional gift. If you decide to make a gift on the condition that the other person returns it once the bailiffs have gone, you face the possibility of being held in contempt of court.

If you feel you could benefit from some advice relating to anything in this article, contact our Dispute Resolution Solicitors today to turn your dream into a reality:

Telephone - 01202 393506

Email - Litigation@kiteleys.co.uk

Or fill out the form below and our team will be in touch!

Bad debt recovery

In business there is always a lot to think of, just the general running of a business in the good times can be challenging. When more complex issues arise like the recovery of bad debts, it adds to day-to-day stress, impacts on cash flow and unnecessary time in conflict.

If statements and chasing has already gone passed the point of no return, then there are still a few possible options to take to get the resolution that all parties can comply with. If you can still talk, then always try to mediate between both parties, speak calmly, positively and listen to each others point of view. Asses the situation, does the customer or client not have the funds currently, is there a dispute with the work or are they just not paying and being troublesome.

If you think that there is no reasonable excuse for the non payment, then inform them of their contractual obligations, your terms and conditions and the interest they may be likely to incur as the bad debt goes further overdue.

If you feel this isn’t rendering any satisfactory results then consider legal representation. A good solicitor like Kiteleys will guide you in the right direction. Send your debtor a formal letter to inform them of the situation and that they will hear from your solicitor, this may give them reason to react.

If this doesn’t stir them, then continue with your proposed action, contact Kiteleys, asking for a legal letter will be issued, it’s surprising how when given the threat of legal and court action most businesses find the money that they owe. A letter of claim advises that you intend to sue them unless they settle their account by a specified date. For larger sums, issuing a statutory demand for payment means that the court could ultimately close their company or make an individual bankrupt if the debt isn’t paid. Therefore this depends on how valuable they feel that their business is to them and whether it is easier to clear the debt or not, which may be awkward if they have accumulative debts.

We would hope that this method of action would retrieve the money owed but if not Kiteleys is there all the way to help you through the court proceeding and hearing costs which will be refunded when you win your case.

Radical employment law proposals

George Osborne has met with mild applause following his speech at the Conservative conference where he described radical changes to employment law asking for “workers of the world unite”.

The controversial idea requires for employees to, in essence, give up their employment rights in exchange for tax-free shares within their company, which would aim to see an enforced loyal workforce, and help businesses grow while putting an end to many lengthy and costly unfair dismissal claims.

This new and intriguing “employee-owner” voluntary scheme, to be rolled out April 2013 was explained further by Osborne.
“Today we set out proposals for a radical change to employment law. It’s a voluntary three way deal. You the company: give your employees shares in the business. You the employee: replace your old rights of unfair dismissal and redundancy with new rights of ownership.
“And what will the Government do? We’ll charge no capital gains tax at all on the profit you make on your shares. Zero percent capital gains tax for these new employee-owners.
“Get shares and become owners of the company you work for. Owners, workers, and the taxman, all in it together. Workers of the world unite.”

With the pressure still on the Chancellor to reduce the deficit and find ways to get young people in to work, he has tried to ease both concerns with a two-pronged attack.

Already planned is a further £10 billion welfare cut by 2016 with the vast amount of these cuts will see the younger generation  bearing the brunt with an emphasis on those who look to the state for housing having never worked a day.

Another top agenda welfare cut plan is to see those families who keep producing children when they can not afford to support them and then expect Government handouts.

Road Traffic Accident claims process

If you are about to pursue a claim for compensation for a road traffic accident (RTA), or are on the defence in a case, it is beneficial to have a good idea beforehand of what happens throughout the process.

This process outlined below applies to accidents in England and Wales after 6th April 2010 with a value between £1,000 and £10,000. Contributory negligence is not to be taken account of at the outset when determining if the case is in this process.

The following are specific exclusions of RTA claims:

–    Untraced drivers agreement
–    A party is deceased
–    A party is bankrupt
–    A party is protected

The work in an RTA claim is carried out in stages:

Stage 1

a.    A claim Notification Form (CNF) is sent direct to the Defendant’s Insurers (Annex 1).
b.    All boxes on the CNF are mandatory and must be signed with a statement of truth. NB. This document will be used as the Claim Form at any final hearing and must therefore be 100% accurate and preferably signed by the Claimant.
c.    The Defendant’s Insurers have 15 business days to respond. 30 days if it’s the MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau). Time will start the next business day after receiving the CNF. Time cannot be extended by agreement.
d.    For the case to remain within the process there must be an appropriate admission. That must consist of an admission of fact, breach and causation, although they do not have to agree the extent of the causation.
e.    If Contributory Negligence is alleged (other than failure to wear a seatbelt) it will leave the process.
f.    If Defendants deny liability they must give reasons. It will then leave the process and enter the pre-action protocol stage at the beginning i.e. they will have a full 3 months to investigate.

Stage 2

a.    Claimant’s Solicitors to obtain medical report. No need to nominate experts.
b.    One report is needed only unless it is clear at the outset a second report is needed or if the expert recommends a further report.
c.    Medical expert to prepare the report which needs to deal with all the issues set out in the Medical Report Form, although it appears they do not need to complete the actual form.
d.    The cost of obtaining medical records is not recoverable unless the expert identifies a need for the records.
e.    Report when received needs to be checked for factual errors before it is sent. Once it has been sent there is no opportunity to challenge errors at a later date.
f.    Within 15 business days of confirming the Medical report is correct, the Claimant’s Solicitors must complete a settlement pack and send it electronically to the Defendants along with the medical report receipts to special damages.
g.    In the settlement pack the Claimant’s Solicitors set out what figure we are seeking for general damages, special damages and whether there is to be a percentage reduction for contributory negligence. Special damages are all listed in separate boxes, no need to prepare a separate schedule.
h.    The Defendants have 15 business days to accept the offer or put forward a counter offer. They will complete the same settlement pack settling out what they agree with and what counter proposals they have.
i.    The Claimant’s Solicitors have 20 business days to consider any counter proposals. This time can be varied by agreement.
j.    If further medical evidence is needed, the Claimant’s Solicitors send an interim settlement pack and the medical report. An interim payment should then be made by the Defendants of £1000, although a higher sum can be requested. That sum should be paid within 10 days.
k.    If the Defendants deny causing the accident or quantum (the amount of compensation the Claimant deserves) cannot be agreed the case leaves the process. It will also leave if fraud is alleged, or if the Defendant does not comply with the timescale or if the level or interim payment cannot be agreed.
l.    If there is no agreement on quantum the matter will proceed to Stage 3, but before then, the Defendant will pay the full amount of their offer as set out in the Settlement Pack.

Stage 3 – if quantum cannot be agreed

a.    Claimant’s Solicitors complete the Stage 3 settlement pack and forward it to the Defendants. They have 10 business days to complete their section. If they do not comply with this timescale, the Claimant can make an application to the Courts anyway.
b.    Claimant’s Solicitors will send the following documents to the Court: CNF, Medical Evidence, Stage 3 Settlement Pack, including Final Offers in a sealed envelope, receipts for special damages and disbursement vouchers. No witness evidence is to be submitted.
c.    Request an Oral or Paper hearing.