Tribunal orders car dealer's arrest, but bailiff won't take action, citing safety fears
The Disputes Tribunal has ordered 70-year-old Keith Turner be arrested over a car debt, but a bailiff says he cannot do the job on his own.
He's short, 70, and he's recently had a knee operation. But a bailiff has refused to arrest car dealer Keith Turner on his own because he fears for his safety.
Turner, of Napier, has a warrant out for his arrest over $7000 he owes to a Hawke's Bay couple for a car that was never delivered.
But he won't give the bailiff permission to enter his home, and the bailiff says he needs a colleague to go with him if he is to carry out the arrest safely.
Patricia Ross and Stewart Haley are both owed money by Keith Turner, who promised to supply vehicles he failed to deliver.
Meanwhile, Turner – who is about 1.65 metres (5ft 5in) tall – still has the $7000, along with $11,150 he has been ordered to pay a Hawke's Bay church group over another car deal.
READ MORE:
* Battles won and lost through the Disputes Tribunal
* Taranaki man takes council to Disputes Tribunal
* Courts issued 40,000 arrest warrants in a year
* Pension crackdown on elders with outstanding warrants
"This guy keeps getting away with it," said Patricia Ross, who is owed the $7000 with partner Ray Ohia.
"How many people with warrants to arrest are getting away with it because there is only one bailiff?
"They need to start doing their job, instead of giving us the bloody runaround."
A community law group says the case highlights the difficulties of getting tribunal and court orders enforced.
Liz Tennet, chief executive of Community Law Centres o Aotearoa, said it was "a big problem" in many parts of the country.
"It's a breakdown in the justice system, because justice is not being served."
The Ministry of Justice, which employs the bailiff, said the safety of its staff was paramount.
Collections manager Louisa Carroll said the ministry had "thousands of customers every year" seeking to have civil debts paid and court orders enforced.
"While bailiffs have the power to enter or seize property or affect a civil arrest, if a debtor demands they leave the property or refuses to provide access, the bailiff's health and safety is our primary concern at that point.
"If a civil arrest warrant or warrant to seize property is not successful, another option is for the creditor to make an application to the court for an order to take money from the debtor's income."
But Ross said that option "would not work for us", because she feared they were likely to receive only about $5 a week from Turner and his wife Janet.
Ross and Ohia paid the Turners $7000 for an imported Nissan Murano. But the import company refused to release it to Turner because he owed it more than $16,000.
The couple eventually bought the car directly from the importer.
A Disputes Tribunal ruling in November ordered the Turners to refund the $7000.
But the money did not arrive and, after several months, Ross and Ohia successfully applied for a warrant to seize property to cover the debt, and for arrest warrants to force the Turners to attend a financial assessment hearing.
Turner told Stuff he owed Ross and Ohia only $2000 and had been unable to attend the tribunal hearing because he was in hospital having a knee operation.
According to a January decision from the Disputes Tribunal, it refused to grant a rehearing application from Turner, which he made outside the 28-day limit and only after "enforcement has been undertaken".
In a separate case, the tribunal has ordered Turner to repay $11,150 he was paid to supply a Hawke's Bay church group with a van that was instead sold to another buyer.
The group's representative, Stewart Haley, said he was still waiting for payment after Turner successfully requested a second hearing, which also ordered that the money be repaid.
Carroll said the Ministry of Justice would contact Ross and Ohia "to discuss what further options may be available to address their claim".
- Stuff
