Not sure if this is the right place for this post, but I’m I need of advice. I sold my transit van over a year ago as scrap, (it was sorn + failed mot, too much rust). When I bought the van I was living with a parent, and the van was registered to that address, I moved out about 5 months after I bought the van.
I had a letter arrive at my parents address a few months after the van was sold, it was a ulez letter from Sommerset Council.. I live hundreds of miles away from sommerset, I called the council and let them k ow the van was no longer mine and to contact the dvla and sort it out with them, they had already done that and were adamant that I was the current owner of the van. So I called the dvla and sent an email stating that I was no longer ger the owner of the van and what date it was sold.
Ever since then I’ve had my parents send any mail back, with a note on the front saying ‘no longer at this adress’, the odd letter has come through now and again but all of my important documents co.e through to me via email so I thought if anything came in the post to parents house it would be junk mail.
Today my parent called me saying they opened one of my letters cu, they were curious because the envelope looked the same as a few other en envelopes, they opened it and found that it was a letter from the baylifs saying they will be on the way tmorw to collect belongings to make up for the charges that IVE ignored…
I do not live at this adress and I do t k ow what I’m supposed to do about this? I do t ha e the contact details for the guy I sold the van too and I’ve already told the dvla that I don’t own the van.
Is there anything I can do about this?? Any advice will be helpful
Thank you.
9 comments
Did you inform the DVLA when your van was scrapped?
Your parents will need to provide proof that you don’t live there, so you’ll need to help them with proof of where you do live with.
You’re in a bit of a pickle with the council, sounds like someone’s used your plates after you didn’t inform but now it’s with debt collection then you’re kind of late to getting it sorted out.
A lesson here might be to get better at admin.
I had bailiffs come around for a previous tenant in a rented house earlier this year. I told them he didn’t live here any more and sent them my council tax payment record to prove it, and that was that.
They’re technically not allowed to take anything that doesn’t belong to the debtor, so they’re usually OK about resolving things if it’s clear the person they’re after doesn’t live at the registered address.
The letter your dad opened will have a case number and the name and phone number of the person who’s been assigned to this case. Give them a call and explain the situation to them.
If you were sent letters about the van then you’re probably still its registered keeper. I’d speak to Citizens Advice about how to resolve that.
They can’t take things that don’t belong to the debtor.
A lot of government agencies just have bailiffs on contract, and fuck things up with admin errors a lot, sending bailiffs out when they’re not needed.
Brent Council chased me and my housemates for months on our council tax, despite us being students and repeatedly telling them this until we just gave up. Threats of bailiffs, etc.
Once left the house to find a bailiff on our drive, having a cig and looking at his phone. He said he knew we were students so was just writing up that he’d been and was killing time, as he’d get paid that way. Also revealed that Brent council spent more on chasing us for council tax we didn’t owe than the average yearly council tax for that area.
They should just ask to check the ID of the residents and if they don’t match you and they say you don’t live here there’s nothing they can do, they can’t take other people’s stuff.
I had some turn up in a place I rented, asked for my ID, apologised and I never saw them again, the quality probably depends on the debt collection agency, it won’t be the council or the DVLA, they’ll most likely sub it out and add the costs onto the overall owed.
There should be a number on the letter you can call the collectors directly
r/legaladviceuk is probably best for such questions honestly. Good luck with getting this sorted though.
Try contacting the bailiffs directly to explain you no longer live there or own the van. They may have wrongly assumed the old registered address means you still live there. Be polite in insisting it’s incorrect, and they should double check with DVLA.
Your parents should just tell the cunts to fuck off
If the bailiffs arrive at your parents’ they should call 999 and report a home invasion and burglary, because that’s what it is.
We need clarification.
Are these court appointed Baylifs or just Debt collectors?