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[Back to Edinburgh
Claimants] [More on Debt] Debt worries?...you don't have to stand alone!If you are receiving paltry pay packets or feeble benefits yet still struggling to pay outrageous council tax demands or simply trying to afford a decent home and stuff to put in it you're probably IN DEBT. If we allow it to a burden of debt can grind us down, keep us awake at night, stretch our finances to breaking point, make life miserable. Daily bombardments of final demands, threatening letters and menacing phone calls leave us feeling anxious and isolated. It's time to realise that the Sheriff's Officers are not as scary as they'd like us to think. The purpose of this leaflet is to offer support, encouragement and advice to anyone who finds themselves up against Sheriff's Officers. Lessons learnt over a decade ago during the anti-poll tax struggle show that armed with a blend of sound information, solidarity and a strong nerve we can leave the snoops and bullies chasing shadows and pleading for pennies. If you feel it's all getting too much the solution is simple- solidarity! TOP TIPS FOR DEBT BUSTERS: dealing with scum
CONTENTS: Dealing with Sheriff's Officer's letters / Council tax debt-nothing to be ashamed of / Warrant sales abolished! -or are they? / Know your enemy-inside the mind of a Sheriff's Officer / A personal account of dealing with the Sheriff's men / How to deal with poindings / What they can and can't take / Wage arrestments-a limited threat / Protect your assets-bank account security / What if you're on benefits? / The threat of bankruptcy / Useful contacts / Update on the threat of bankruptcy.</> DEALING WITH SHERIFF'S OFFICER'S LETTERS. Entire forests have been destroyed to produce the innumerable threatening letters the Sheriff's Officers dispatch into our homes. But don't panic. these letters are computer generated. You are one of thousands receiving the same letter. There are many letters they can send carrying many different threats- most of which are empty threats. Check elsewhere in this leaflet for details on particular issues. Look at the letter closely. Does it state that they are coming on a specific date to carry out an "attachment" (the new name for poindings)? If so look at our section "Dealing with Poindings". But almost always the letter will not give a poinding/attachment date. If it merely says action will follow "after 7 days", or that they will visit "week commencing" such and such a date, or some such vague wording this does NOT give them the right to enter your home. Occasionally after sending a "week commencing" letter, Sheriff's Officers might knock on your door. If you are not in, or do not answer, they can do nothing. If you do answer, just say "Ms./Mr. Bloggs isn't in, I'm just a visitor" and just shut the door. Even if they catch you unawares and you admit who you are, don't let them in. I f you are in any doubt about a Sheriff's Officer's letter ring us on 0131 557 6242. COUNCIL TAX DEBT- NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF. Many people have found themselves in debt because of the Council Tax. A particularly vile technique used by politicians and the media to blame the poor for high Council Tax levels is to point the finger at non payers accusing them of being antisocial and of driving up the tax for everyone else. It's time to explode this myth once and for all. It's clear that this tax was introduced by Tory scum in order to let the rich pay less and force the poor to pay more. It was a Tory fallback option when the poll-tax was smashed. Now it is being administered by an equally scummy Labour Party - the same party which advised us to pay the poll tax!! The whole basis of the Council Tax is unjust. People living in mansions are paying only a little more than those in council flats. Local services need funding - those with the cash should cough up some compensation for the poor they've robbed it from. We should be proud to resist this disgraceful tax and the mercenary souls who try to enforce it. WARRANT SALES ABOLISHED! - OR ARE THEY? We were told it was a huge triumph for the rights of working class people when the abolition of warrant sales was announced a couple of years ago. From December 2002 "WARRANT SALES" were to be a thing of the past. So from then on the Sheriff's men will no longer be able to come into our homes and nick our stuff , right?........WRONG!! In January 2003 the new Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Bill became law. Details are not finalised as we go to press but it is clear that the Sheriff's Officers are to be granted powers almost identical to that which exist now. Warrant sales will still be with us but under the less provocative title of "ATTACHMENTS". The new law promises that these powers will only be used as a last resort-but that has always been the case anyway. Debtors are now offered a "debt advice package" and access to advisors so that they can come to an arrangement with the bully-boys. So far it is not clear who these advisors will be and what kind of arrangement will be deemed acceptable. If, after all this wheedling and apparent helpfulness, you still won't cough up (e.g. if you don't want to pay or can't afford an unjust tax) then it's very much business as usual. In the "policy objectives" which the Scottish Executive published to explain the thinking behind the new law they talk "unreasonable refusal"- but exactly what that means is unclear. The "attachment" of household goods can only be made after a second application to the Sheriff for an "exceptional attachment order" but how this will work in practice is anybody's guess. But if you feel a bit worried or disappointed that warrant sales are still around in spite of the "abolition"think again. If you are well prepared and are in contact with people or groups who can offer you support then warrant sales or attachments or whatever they want to call them next are an EMPTY THREAT DEALING WITH POINDINGS From January '03 "poindings"(when the Sheriff's men come to decide which of your property they want to steal and sell) has been replaced with exactly the same thing under a different name. Fortunately there are easy and practical tactics you can use to make sure they are wasting their time. Elsewhere on this leaflet you can find a list of the things they can and can't take. You will notice immediately that the "can't" list is very long and the "can" list is very short! Since you will normally be given some days notice about when the poinding will happen it is a smart move to temporarily remove a few of life's little luxuries to a friends place. The scum will have to apply for another warrant to come back again so you can relax for a while. Of course even if you have the confidence of knowing that there is nothing worth taking in the house it can still be an uncomfortable experience having these people in the house. The solution is to have a few friends or supporters drop by during the day in question to offer a bit of solidarity. You could arrange a rota so that you're never alone. It is worth bearing in mind that experience shows that the Sheriff's Officers will behave themselves when doing their "home visits" so you needn't expect abuse and strong-arm tactics. Even so if you can get your hands on a kiddies tape recorder (they can't poind toys) it's worthwhile carrying it around as they prowl around-it all adds to their sense of discomfort. The most important rule is not to answer any questions. Make it clear to them when they come in the door that you want them to do their job quietly and leave and that you will not be conversing with them in any way- and stick to it. If you're feeling mean and militant and are hell bent on causing maximum bother you can always pack the house with some pals/ neighbours/ relatives/ anarchists etc. and just tell them where to go! This approach worked well during anti-poll tax days and still remains an option. So remember - don't leave any valuables lying around, don't answer questions, and have some support (check out the numbers in this leaflet ) That way they'll leave with their tales between their legs. WHAT THEY CAN'T TAKE AND WHAT THEY CAN Items exempt from "attachment": Beds and bedding, household linen, chairs and settees, tables, food, lights and light fittings, heating appliances, curtains, floor coverings, fridges, articles connected with storing, preparing or eating food, articles for cleaning, mending or pressing clothes, furniture for storing food, clothes, bedding and food or food related equipment, tools for maintenance and repair of house or it's contents, computers and accessories, microwaves, radios, telephones, T.Vs, clothing, tools of trade or articles reasonably required for work, medical aids and equipment, books or other articles necessary for education or training, toys and child related articles. In practise this leaves them only interested in: VCRs, DVD players, CD players and other electrical "luxury goods". KNOW YOUR ENEMY - INSIDE THE MINDS OF THE SHERIFF'S MEN It takes a strange mentality to make a living harassing and bullying the vulnerable, squeezing cash from the poor and snooping into peoples personal circumstances. It is important that debt resistors understand the warped logic of these peoples minds, because they may try to trick you into thinking of them as normal human beings. Never be fooled by this. They are paid by results and see you only as a resource to be exploited. Remember that when they are talking to you all that they see is a swelling pay-packet for themselves and a pat on the back from the boss. They are always sniffing out weakness and gathering information to use against you. They will even sometimes question neighbours if they can't get information from you: `Oh, hello, I'm just trying to contact Mrs Bloggs upstairs, do you know where she works, it's quite important.....'. No doubt they would love to be let off the leash to crash through your door armed with a big stick but the law restricts their powers so much that they must resort to tricks and empty threats. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. Don't make their job easy-GIVE THEM NOTHING. PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF DEALING WITH THE SHERIFF'S MEN `We are in debt with council tax arrears covering about four full years worth. At first we struggled to pay the full amount but as it went up to crazy levels we paid only what we could afford and now we don't pay at all. Every year we go through the whole process of getting threats and final demands in the post, then warnings about court proceedings and summary warrants. We've got used to this over the years although at first it used to cause a lot of worry, until we realised that most of it is just bluster. `On two occasions we were threatened with Warrant Sales. This is the most upsetting thing they can threaten you with as it actually involves them coming into your home. We contacted people who had fought against Warrant Sales during the anti-Poll Tax struggle who were able to tell us how to make the "poinding" (when they come to value your goods) a minor nuisance rather than a major trauma. `We were pleased to find out that they can only take luxury goods and that they have to give you several days notice. We just moved our stereo, T.V.and computer out of the house to a friend's place for two nights. For the first poinding we arranged for friends and sympathisers to come round during the day for support and company but as it happened the Sheriff's Officers arrived before anyone turned up. I was by myself with my two year old daughter when the doorbell went. There was only one guy on the doorstep, which I knew was wrong-legally there has to be two of them. It turned out he didn't want to do the poinding at all but just to get me talking. I had made up my mind in advance that they wouldn't get me talking so I told him to fetch his colleague and do the poinding. I politely explained that I would neither answer questions nor talk about anything with them. `He was a bit surprised that I wanted him to do the poinding. I felt that I had called his bluff. He went and got his mate and they shuffled around the flat for about two minutes and, after making another attempt to get me talking which I just ignored they walked out empty handed looking pretty stupid. `I tape recorded them while they were in the house in case they got cheeky. I used my daughter's Tomy tape recorder as they could have poinded a "grown up" one. It was a pretty good feeling when they had left and I knew I had wasted a lot of time worrying over very little.' WAGE ARRESTMENTS - A LIMITED THREAT Sheriff's officers have the power to demand that your employer hands over a proportion of your wages for the payment of debts. This is, of course only of any use to them if they manage to find out where you work. This is not easy for them unless you tell them. If you refuse to give them any info about yourself this can't happen. They just don't have the resources to send out spies to follow you around. On occasions they have been known to ask neighbours so if you are on good terms with your neighbours it would be worth having a wee word with them. Even if they do manage to find out where you work there are strict limits to what they can take from your wages. For example if you take home between £540 and £580 per month they could take £61-that's only a fraction of the amount you would pay if you are coughing up for the council tax in Edinburgh. The rate rises to £68 if you take home up to £620 and £75 for up to £660.(These figures are based on a monthly income-there are separate tables for weekly and daily wages, but the amounts are broadly similar. If you require further info on this check out the numbers at the end of the leaflet.) The important thing to bear in mind is that usually any amount you were forced to pay from your wages will compare favourably with the amount you were supposed to pay in the first place! In any case -- provided you don't volunteer the info -- it's highly unlikely that they will track you down. BANK ACCOUNT SECURITY-PROTECT YOUR ASSETS. Probably the most effective tool the Sheriff's men have is the power to freeze your bank account. However there are some simple security procedures you can use to make life difficult for them. Avoid the bigger banks and building societies and use different initials for your accounts such as using a middle name, or different surnames such as a maiden name etc. Their usual procedure is simply to send lists of names to the banks and hope for the best so even small variations in the "format" of the name you use to open an account can cause difficulties. You could also open accounts in the name of your kids if you have them. Another smart move is to split up your money over several accounts with different banks so that you don't have all your eggs in one basket. Joint accounts are not a good idea as any arrestment served will affect both account holders. You should, of course, never volunteer any information about your bank details. If they do track down your account they will serve an "arrestment" which can cover funds up to your total debt plus costs-but this only applies to funds in the account on the date of the arrestment. Any money paid in after that date is still accessible to you although they may of course seek another warrant to steal that from you as well so ti should be moved to a new account as soon as possible. They cannot arrest a bank account and your wages at the same time. So by using a combination of the above techniques you can make it almost impossible for them to find your bank account(s). Keep your money on the move and think carefully about what bank to entrust your cash to. Use variant names, initials and spellings to throw them off your scent and split your money across different accounts. Make life tough for them so they can't make life tougher for you. THE THREAT OF BANKRUPTCY Although the threat of bankruptcy is rarely used in the case of household debts it was used in Scotland during the Poll Tax struggle.It has recently been used by Edinburgh City Council in an attempt to pressurise council Tax debtors. So far we are unaware of this threat having been carried through. It would be a political minefield for the local authorities especially in the wake of the fuss surrounding warrant sales/attachments. Bankruptcy involves the "sequestration" of your assets (excluding items exempt from poinding/ "attachment"-see list elsewhere in this leaflet).Sequestration means that someone else takes over and manages your finances. This person is called the "trustee". The trustee then comes to an arrangement with your creditors about paying off your debts. Homeowners or those running businesses would be most at risk from this procedure. But it's worth bearing in mind that it is a difficult and inefficient means of recovering debts and you are highly unlikely as a private individual to be faced with this threat. If you are threatened with bankruptcy you should contact the numbers in this leaflet for help and advice. SOLIDARITY Edinburgh Claimants Solidarity Network brings together claimants who are willing to accompany each other to benefits interviews and benefits medical examinations. Contact us if you'd like to join, or find out more. We advise people to take someone with them to any potentially tricky benefits interview. Don't face them alone! Published by Edinburgh Claimants ACE is open tues 1-4pm (claimants day) & sun 2-6 pm. We have regular meetings and activities and welcome new people. We can also put you in touch with contacts elsewhere in Britain. September 2004 |
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