If you have been threatened with
bailiffs.
The most important piece of advice that we can give to anyone
in this situation is to apply immediately
to the Child Support Agency for full disclosure of all of the
information that you are entitled to by law
under the Data Protection Act. This
gives you the right to request details on the personal data the
CSA is holding or processing about you, and, unless an exemption
applies, they must provide you with
a copy of this information. As there are many mistakes that have
been made in calculating your assessment, it is important to do
that you do this.
In our Downloads area, you will see
that we have a section dedicated to this; entitled Subject
Access Request where we have provided a letter that can
be adapted to suit your own particular circumstances. It should
be noted, that by law, the CSA have
40 days to supply the information requested. There is no
fee to pay for this information.
If your response shows that the amount being demanded has been
wrongly calculated, you will see with the above letter that we
are providing contact details of where to address your further
correspondence.
A bailiff can only visit if the Child Support Agency has first
been granted a Liability Order.
This has the effect of legalising the debt. You should have received
letters from the CSA informing you that this is to happen. If
you agree that the amount owing is due, but that you do not own
items or a vehicle….it is your
responsibility to inform the bailiff of this. If the bailiff believes
that you own certain items…he can levy upon them……..the
onus of proof is on you to prove different that you don’t
own the items. In the Letters section
of our Downloads area you will see
that we have provided a letter that can be adapted to suit your
circumstances.
For a detailed description of what will happen when a bailiff
is instructed, please refer to the section entitled: CSA
Collection & Enforcement Regulations.
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