Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Danny on 08 July 2009, 16:01:28
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[size=12]Bailiffs have been to my house, there was no one in, so they left a card saying they are to return within 24 hours with a locksmith and attempt to gain entry by force if necessary! They aren't looking for us, they're looking for a previous occupier and they only had our house as their last known address, even though he'd been evicted over 2 years back
I managed to get hold of someone from the company to clear it all up, so they wont be coming BUT they couldnt answer this question...
what would have happened if myself and swmbo had been on holiday this week, and therefore not been able to contact them to tell them he doesn't live here? would we have returned home to find a hole where the door was and several items missing from my house???[/size]
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AFAIK they are not permitted to force an entry, so would have been burglars !!!
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they cannot force entry to your home but can get in if a window or door is open, which then allows them to break into any locked room in your home.
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What company was it, a power supplier like E-0n I am guesing. Just had the same experiance regards my new home. :-/ Not the bailiffs in my case, but apparently that was thier next more as an agent had been rount with a warrant of entry (Twice) and not caught me in.
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It's "marston group"
http://www.marstongroup.co.uk/
I believe its to collect a court fine
they have details of the procedure I should follow since i'm not the person they're after so it's not worrying me
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Not long after we moved into our first house, we had one of the council's balifs knocking at the door wanting the previous owner, we explained who we were & never ever had another problem. :y
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[size=12]Bailiffs have been to my house, there was no one in, so they left a card saying they are to return within 24 hours with a locksmith and attempt to gain entry by force if necessary! They aren't looking for us, they're looking for a previous occupier and they only had our house as their last known address, even though he'd been evicted over 2 years back
I managed to get hold of someone from the company to clear it all up, so they wont be coming BUT they couldnt answer this question...
what would have happened if myself and swmbo had been on holiday this week, and therefore not been able to contact them to tell them he doesn't live here? would we have returned home to find a hole where the door was and several items missing from my house???[/size]
I'd like to think they were bluffing.
Funny thing is, if it IS a court fine they can only be following-up on a chain of letters (to the same address) advising of the court hearing and result.
Sounds a bit as though they might have made that part up.
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The woman said she'd just been going off the last known address, which is fair enough, I explained on the phone that we were still getting their old mail and she said "well you need to be opening it, and speaking to your neighbours, especially if its from the courts", I then explained it's a criminal offence to open someone else's mail, and i have been returning it straight back and she said "that doesn't always work though". but in my opinion, I dont give a damn where these people have moved to, its not my business
I asked if she understood why i was worried about the fact they'd said they were returning with a locksmith the next day, cos if i'd been away i wouldnt have known anything, and she told me she couldnt tell me anything about that, but i've since learned that they have no legal authority at all to force entry into my house without police presence
I'm not worried
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The woman said she'd just been going off the last known address, which is fair enough, I explained on the phone that we were still getting their old mail and she said "well you need to be opening it, and speaking to your neighbours, especially if its from the courts", I then explained it's a criminal offence to open someone else's mail, and i have been returning it straight back and she said "that doesn't always work though". but in my opinion, I dont give a damn where these people have moved to, its not my business
I asked if she understood why i was worried about the fact they'd said they were returning with a locksmith the next day, cos if i'd been away i wouldnt have known anything, and she told me she couldnt tell me anything about that, but i've since learned that they have no legal authority at all to force entry into my house without police presence
I'm not worried
......the only way to deal with this Danny is via your own legal representative. You need assurances in writing.
I would also be inclined to check your credit rating as it's possible that they've put a query against residents of the address and as you have now been identified as living there you might well be, quite improperly, caught up in these convoluted matters.
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I would also be inclined to check your credit rating as it's possible that they've put a query against residents of the address and as you have now been identified as living there you might well be, quite improperly, caught up in these convoluted matters.
We got refused credit at various places that must've used address rather than the person while living at our 1st house.
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I would also be inclined to check your credit rating as it's possible that they've put a query against residents of the address and as you have now been identified as living there you might well be, quite improperly, caught up in these convoluted matters.
We got refused credit at various places that must've used address rather than the person while living at our 1st house.
If you don't have any credit cards, loans etc you may get refused credit... seems silly really but I had the same thing a couple of years back..
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I would also be inclined to check your credit rating as it's possible that they've put a query against residents of the address and as you have now been identified as living there you might well be, quite improperly, caught up in these convoluted matters.
We got refused credit at various places that must've used address rather than the person while living at our 1st house.
If you don't have any credit cards, loans etc you may get refused credit... seems silly really but I had the same thing a couple of years back..
I had & still have credit cards & a good credit rating but the local 'Electric showroom' obviously used house address when we wanted to take them up on 12 months intrest free credit - it was for a £100 'Hoover' - and knocked us back ...... :-? They tried to fob us off with The Computer says No!' bit & it's late on Sat afternoon excuses .... I went to the 'hole-in-the-wall & drew the money out ;) ;) ;)
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I would also be inclined to check your credit rating as it's possible that they've put a query against residents of the address and as you have now been identified as living there you might well be, quite improperly, caught up in these convoluted matters.
We got refused credit at various places that must've used address rather than the person while living at our 1st house.
If you don't have any credit cards, loans etc you may get refused credit... seems silly really but I had the same thing a couple of years back..
.....happens more often than you think, DLk they can't assess the ability of the applicant to hold credit in the absence of some form of credit record.
Where Danny could run into trouble is a marker being placed against his address, as this seems to be used in the initial stages of credit checks.
That's why it's important to have a legal representative contact the relevant parties to obtain in writing a statement that they have no interest in either the person residing at the address or indeed the address itself. Confirmation should also be supplied that no adverse comments have been placed on the individual's credit file.
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I would also be inclined to check your credit rating as it's possible that they've put a query against residents of the address and as you have now been identified as living there you might well be, quite improperly, caught up in these convoluted matters.
We got refused credit at various places that must've used address rather than the person while living at our 1st house.
If you don't have any credit cards, loans etc you may get refused credit... seems silly really but I had the same thing a couple of years back..
I had & still have credit cards & a good credit rating but the local 'Electric showroom' obviously used house address when we wanted to take them up on 12 months intrest free credit - it was for a £100 'Hoover' - and knocked us back ...... :-? They tried to fob us off with The Computer says No!' bit & it's late on Sat afternoon excuses .... I went to the 'hole-in-the-wall & drew the money out ;) ;) ;)
........that's where the address can hinder the application Andy and it's also the first occasion when most people discover that there's a problem.
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You need to get copies of your credit files (quid a throw iirc) and if the old occupiers show up under the address link you can have a Notice of Disassociation placed on file, basically explaining that those guys have nothing to do with you.
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The only time bailiffs can break into a property is to repossess it and then it has to be the County Court bailiff. He/she has the right to use a locksmith to gain entry and replace the locks afterwards. Or use a window to gain entry
For council tax arrears a bailiff may 'try' the doors to see if they are unlocked and if so then gain entry. They cannot use a window. This is because the law states they have to be invited in. If you open the door to them you are inviting them in. If you leave a door unlocked you are inviting anyone in. An open window is not an invitation.
Commercial bailiffs may bend or break the rules and if they do, report them to the county court and they will have their licence removed
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A lot of information and advice here, including proforma letters ...
http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk
HTH
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It turns out that a bailiff can actually enter a property by force to issue a distress warrant for collection of court fines if these fines were incurred through criminal actions
either way I did speak to the bailiff, and I have also made the police aware of the situation and obtained a reference number... just in case!! (whether that helps is a different story!)