as many of you are aware we moved house but now there is bailiffs knocking and asking to speak to the owner of the house (asking for them by there name) but obviously they dont live here.

also there is letters coming saying it is from the bailiffs for our landlord.

can anyone tell us what would happen if they wanted to come into the house to remove things if its not the owner living here.

Also what would happen if it was the mortgage which wasn't being paid? would we just left homeless?

If the mortgage isn't getting paid your house shall be sold under your feet and you and your possessions shall be flung out.
This needs sorting out but I think it will probably just be an old bill or summat that has been forgotten about.

Couple of questions here:

Can the bailiff enter the house? - Not without a Court Order

Can he take property that belongs to me for somebody elses debt? - No

Will he say he can? - Quite possibly

What if the police are called? - The police have ONE job, and I repeat ONE JOB in situations like this and that is to keep the peace, they ARE NOT there to assist the bailiff and all officers have now been given guidance cards to make this crystal clear to them.

What if they clamp my car? - Its YOURS, nothing to do with the debtor, tell them that if they don't remove it you will have it cut off and charge them for the removal and the time your car has been disabled.

Can they force their way in? - No, they can ONLY enter through an open door (or window), and a forcing past someone in the doorway or putting their foot in the door so you can't close it is unlawful.

Will I be made homeless? - If it IS the mortgage and they want to evict you the court has to send a letter to the address which will be for Mr A. Owner & Others. You would then know, you would be able to go to court to get the eviction put off whilst you find somewhere else or the mortgage lender can allow you some additional time (whilst paying rent to them) before you are evicted.

Does this mean I can take over the mortgage? - Not usually, it "can" happen depending on the equity but this is so rare take it as No.

If you need any more help just ask.

its half owned and half not as well.
never had this before with any place i have lived bloomin pain

thanks for the advice guys

Am new here but wanted to say I agree with the previous poster

Bailiffs can only legally enter your property under 2 circumstances - that you invite them indoors ( in which case they can enter )or if they have a court order. If they have a court order, you are only legally obliged to allow entry to those named on the court order ( it will be named for the bailiff attending your property )

They cannot take anything in the property upon gaining a court order but you may be required to show them proof of purchase or ownership etc Although I would imagine that your tenancy agreement is a suitable document to show them along with ID to show that you are not the person they are looking for.

You should be able to ask them if this is a mortgage related incident - it could be something like council tax if they are county court bailiffs as opposed to a private bailiff firm who are generally appointed for private collections ( that is not owed to a council body )

If they call again ( or if you choose to contact them ), ask them for a contact number for the people they are representing so that you can also present them with relevant information sustaining to your tenancy etc

Just to reiterate to you that you are NOT obliged to allow them entry to your home and they are legally not allowed to persist on trying to gain entry - rented or not you can actually phone the police to have them removed if they refuse to do so and can't present a warrant of execution to you. they will tell you that they just want to chat etc - they can chat on the step and even asking them to step into the hallway gives them "permission" to come in and assess your property etc which you don't want them to do.

Don't let them bully you or feel uncomfortable - they should not still be hassling you if you have proven that you are not responsible for the debt. Have you informed your landlord of their presence?

Hope this helps a little xx

Good luck monk, don't leave it

normally the bailiff will ask to see proof of who you are and if you can prove (utility bills etc in your name and address) then that is usually the end of it with them contacting you..

no they cannot clamp your car..its yours not the debtors.

yes the landlord can have his house repossesed even with tennants, but you will not be tossed out in an instant, there are procedures that have to be followed legally.

contact the bailiff at the adress/phone number on letter and explain..

also maybe be worth a call to CAB..

good luck...

Something similar happened to me only the baliffs weren't coming for my landlord but for a previous tenant who used a variety of names. I had to contact them all individually and send in a copy of my tenancy agreement. It was a pain but ultimately worth it as they then left me alone.

Hello The Monk the other post are correct but if you did get evicted because of this the council would have to rehouse you ,But god knows what state the house would be in good luck anyways

What Bailiff company is it?

One thing you DONT do let them in for any reason, even to prove YOU are innocent. I recall that there was a law that once they have been invited in they can force entry in future for the same debt. This may have changed but play safe and DO NOT let them in at all, when/if you go to get a utility bill to show proof CLOSE your door.

This is true, to a degree, it's called gaining "peaceful entry", and as I said before can be through an open door/window (if a window is unlocked but closed, they can't open it, but can open a partly open one further) or they can be invited in by an adult (so if your child opens the door they can't come in).

Once they have been in they are allowed to use "reasonable" force to gain entry again, but if you have told them that the debt isn't yours and they don't belive you (as if they did they wouldn't be coming back) and they do break in then you are within your right to treat them as a trespasser if you are there and/or to report them to the police if you're not).

In general if there is any doubt they'll send it back to their client to check, if they go busting in and it's the wrong person, after being told it's the wrong person, they can quite easily have their bailiff certificate revoked.

Oh yes, they are allowed to break into sheds, they can also break into garages, but not if they're attached to the house. They can break into commercial property under certain circumstances and with a court order which states they can, but they can't do it if it has residential property attached. (Obviously I mean in general, the rules above still apply).

The reason they break in (after previously gaining peaceful entry) is to remove goods that they "seized" (but allowed you keep hold of but not dispose of) on their previous visit. Some bailiffs have claimed that they have "seized" goods after seeing them through a window or letterbox, writing a walking possesion order and putting it through your door. This worked well for a few years, but the High Courts overuled this and said that they couldn't have it just because they saw it through the window, that was not adequate, so if they try that one tell them to go forth and multiply.

With regards to vehicles, if the bailiff clamps a car that is not on the road not only does he need to be a registered bailiff but also to be the holder of an SIA card (which must be displayed on his person), if "someone at the office has one" or he tells you that "bailiffs don't need one" tell him that the minute he leaves you're going to cut his clamp into pieces, he'll then threaten you with the police, you tell him that without an SIA card it's an illegal clamping so go for it.

Many bailiffs are good guys doing a hard job, they know how far to push it and try to help the genuine ones, but some really are low-life bottom-feeding ... who will lie, cheat and bully people until they crack. No one, and I mean NO ONE likes to hand over their hard earned money for what we often see as "nothing" (I've seen £30 parking tickets sky-rocket into the thousands) but as long as you keep calm and play the long game it usually works out in the end.

What extremes are they allowed to enter through an open window - if they used ladders would this be acceptable?

Simple answer, yes, even upstairs windows, and some bailiffs even carry folding/telescopic ladders in their vehicles for this purpose.

Makes you wonder if picking the locks would be acceptable as well. Typical half-baked rules of what is allowed and what isn't.

I know what you mean, but the rules are quite specific (often ignored, but they are there) and it states an OPEN door, if it's locked, it ain't open.

If the rules were any other way every bailiff would go and learn basic lockpicking skills.