Enforcing a VCAT order

Excellent result !!

Which Sherrif you get really makes a difference.
Ours have mostly been very helpful, also offering "loopholes" when we refused to return one tenant's belongings we had to put in storage, until they paid their rental arrears.
 
Not so fast young fella .... 21 Dec 2012

I should have known this wouldn't be that straightforward. We've been waiting since 28 Nov 2012 for our money. Today we received a "field report" from the Sheriff's Office dated 29 Nov 2012. This is a real body blow !! I quote the COMMENTS section .."A CHQ FOR FULL PAYMENT WAS RECEIVED FROM XXX XXX XXX ...space... ADAM CONTACTED THE SHERIFFS OFFICER CLAIMING TO BE THE DIRECTOR OF THE COMPANY. HE CLAIMED HE WAS STOPPING THE CHQ AS THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH FUNDS IN THE ACCOUNT". The FIELD REPORT says the Sherriff has (somehow ??) received a part payment of $500 which will be "disbursed to you in due course". So I phoned the Sheriff's Office and enquired " Do you check the bank accounts to see if there really are insufficient funds ?? " Answer " No, we don't do stuff like that ". I said "This company has a significant web-site and clearly a substantial ongoing business". Does this mean anything ? Answer " Well you could write to us with any information you have and we MAY look into it again." The FIELD REPORT says, in essence, there were no "seizable goods" to seize. I asked "What about the domain names ? They operate an internet based business." Answer " No, we can't seize material like that". Etc etc etc. When challenged, the guy on the phone at the Sheriff's Office agreed with me that the whole sytem was a "bit of a joke" and "didn't really work". Clearly this system has it's shortcomings. At best, this is a freakin' joke on our whole society!!! Any ideas welcome !!
Merry Xmas to all the good guys . LL
 
Ahhhhhhhhh :mad: Skata to the max!

Surely, if they don't have the goods to seize, don't they arrest them, or have I spent too much time watching the Bounty Hunter?
 
I'm jumping through similar hoops to you, but for a non-delivered fence which I paid deposit of 5k.

Already "won" the minor claim against them but no payment.
Here in WA my next step is a "Means Inquiry" summons to court. Basically the owner has to show up in court and provide proof of assets, bank account statements etc.
Hopefully I will walk out with a payment order and not a declaration of bankruptcy.

I've got my revenge however already for the trouble. Department of Consumer affairs are also now on his case as the judgement I got was enough combined with some other complaints to get them involved.
 
Costs .... how do I count thee ??

Hi Ned ... Depends on how you "add it up" and what you include. Purely direct costs of just VCAT /Magistrates Court/Sheriff .... A few hundred bucks. ALL IN GOV'T FEES I must point out !!! Lot's of personal time & travel though. No lawyer involved yet. I'm primarily interested to see if "the system" delivers for a small guy like me chasing about $2K. Thus far it seems "the system" is merely a mirage ... that employs LOTS of public servants in various buildings, takes your fees, fills out forms etc ....but in reality does NOTHING to actually make the culprit "pay up". Stay tuned .... LL
 
Hi Ned ... Depends on how you "add it up" and what you include. Purely direct costs of just VCAT /Magistrates Court/Sheriff .... A few hundred bucks. ALL IN GOV'T FEES I must point out !!! Lot's of personal time & travel though. No lawyer involved yet. I'm primarily interested to see if "the system" delivers for a small guy like me chasing about $2K. Thus far it seems "the system" is merely a mirage ... that employs LOTS of public servants in various buildings, takes your fees, fills out forms etc ....but in reality does NOTHING to actually make the culprit "pay up". Stay tuned .... LL

We have the same problem in Canada.
The frustrating part, is the government allows for all the "privacy protection", which hinders us, but the government also has all the required information to be able to collect on our behalf.
They know exactly where each person is. All they need to do is search thru their TFN. Any refunds should be used to pay off their debts. Wages automaically garnished. They know their address by looing at their driver lisence details etc.
They would know all their bank details ..by their TFN.

If the government is collecting a debt...I'm sure they use this info.
Since we are using a government agency to collect, with a government court order...they should do it for us too.
 
The frustrating part, is the government allows for all the "privacy protection", which hinders us, but the government also has all the required information to be able to collect on our behalf.

Totally agree. Most times its a small amount and thus only worth chasing so far with the current system. Soon as the tenant disappears without an address your up creek.
Over the years these small amounts and the insurance excess's add up to quite a figure.

Totally different matter if you have the misfortune to get a ruling against yourself, then every gov department crawls out of the rocks to ensure payment.
 
I should have known this wouldn't be that straightforward. We've been waiting since 28 Nov 2012 for our money. Today we received a "field report" from the Sheriff's Office dated 29 Nov 2012. This is a real body blow !! I quote the COMMENTS section .."A CHQ FOR FULL PAYMENT WAS RECEIVED FROM XXX XXX XXX ...space... ADAM CONTACTED THE SHERIFFS OFFICER CLAIMING TO BE THE DIRECTOR OF THE COMPANY. HE CLAIMED HE WAS STOPPING THE CHQ AS THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH FUNDS IN THE ACCOUNT". The FIELD REPORT says the Sherriff has (somehow ??) received a part payment of $500 which will be "disbursed to you in due course". So I phoned the Sheriff's Office and enquired " Do you check the bank accounts to see if there really are insufficient funds ?? " Answer " No, we don't do stuff like that ". I said "This company has a significant web-site and clearly a substantial ongoing business". Does this mean anything ? Answer " Well you could write to us with any information you have and we MAY look into it again." The FIELD REPORT says, in essence, there were no "seizable goods" to seize. I asked "What about the domain names ? They operate an internet based business." Answer " No, we can't seize material like that". Etc etc etc. When challenged, the guy on the phone at the Sheriff's Office agreed with me that the whole sytem was a "bit of a joke" and "didn't really work". Clearly this system has it's shortcomings. At best, this is a freakin' joke on our whole society!!! Any ideas welcome !!
Merry Xmas to all the good guys . LL

do you have a judgment against company? if so you migt want to look into issuing a statutory demand. if you do this the company will have 21 or 28 days to pay. if they dont then they will be presumed to be insolvent and you can then apply to have the company wound up. what usually happens is they just pay it when a statutory demand is received as it would cost too much to defend and they may not have grounds to defend if you have a judgment.

but there is a chance they will b just wound up and you will join the queue of creditors
 
Can anyone who's been following this thread tell me how I can locate a previous residential tenant? I've already done this once through an acquaintance in a government department but upon looking up the address on google I found it to be up for lease. I rang the property manager of the address and was td the previous tenant (my defaulting tenant!) had just moved out and they weren't allowed to provide me an address.
I have the certified order, I have filled out the affidavit except for the 'respondent's address' and even have details of their employer and vehicle registration (no finance on vehicle) so all I need is an address!

Any advice would be great, cheers.
 
I have the certified order, I have filled out the affidavit except for the 'respondent's address' and even have details of their employer and vehicle registration (no finance on vehicle) so all I need is an address!

If you want to serve papers can't you do it at their employers address?
 
Can anyone who's been following this thread tell me how I can locate a previous residential tenant? I've already done this once through an acquaintance in a government department but upon looking up the address on google I found it to be up for lease. I rang the property manager of the address and was td the previous tenant (my defaulting tenant!) had just moved out and they weren't allowed to provide me an address.
I have the certified order, I have filled out the affidavit except for the 'respondent's address' and even have details of their employer and vehicle registration (no finance on vehicle) so all I need is an address!

Any advice would be great, cheers.

There is no easy way to find people
first point of call maybe do a land titles search to see if they own property. If they don't then consider giving up there are then as they may not have any money to pay you.

Next step would be to do an ASIC search to see if they are a director or a shareholder in any private company. This would show their home address which is legally required to be current (but may not be).

Then try
facebook
google
electoral roll

I am a bit concerned you used a govt employee to search people. This would be illegal.
 
I am pretty sure that the previous tenant wouldn't be a director of a company nor own any property. I am sure though that they own their vehicle and once I have an address and have lodged the order with the local magistrate the sherif will then be able to seize that vehicle and I should then be paid the outstanding monies.

As far as the legality of how the acquaintance previously found them, I couldn't tell you whether it is or isn't.
 
I am not sure how you will go with the vehicle. Maybe look into it.

If a person is bankrupted they are able to keep their vehicle to up to a certain value. This used to be around $8k i think

Also, do you know if the vehicle is in his name (and not a spouse/child etc). Is it financed? The financier would take priority.

Perhaps you could do a PPS search. Person property security search. This is a register of all personal property.
 
The vehicle is in their name and as stated earlier there is no finance on it.

Maybe an investegator would be able to locate them....
 
The vehicle is in their name and as stated earlier there is no finance on it.

Maybe an investegator would be able to locate them....

We plan on seizing some vehicles as well.Our sheriff (Canada) told us it is a bit expensive, because we need to pay for storage and auction costs etc..but those charges are taken from the sale of the vehicle first, then we get our money..if there is anything left, the tenant gets it.

Spending the approx $3k would be worth it.
 
The vehicle is in their name and as stated earlier there is no finance on it.

Maybe an investegator would be able to locate them....

How much is your debt for?

Private investigators are expensive. I had a $2500 judgment against a tenant and just didn't bother enforcing it.
 
How much is your debt for?

Private investigators are expensive. I had a $2500 judgment against a tenant and just didn't bother enforcing it.

Our lawyer hired a process server to serve a tenant we were suing in court.
Cost us approx $200 and I have no idea how they found out where she lived...but they resources available to them, we didn't.

That might be a route?
 
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