Family Dispute. Please Help!!

[italy06]

A few months ago i trusted my mother and my half sister with helping me with my finances as i got myself in to a bit of debt. Due to a family fall out i asked for all my paperwork back from my mother and my half sister however they wont give it back. They have bank statements invoices and recipts from my self employment days which i have now been fined for a late tax return. They have kept me rent ca, gas card, my mother has mine and my sons passport and a lot more. I also have proof that my half sister has been rfinging companies pretending to be me. I have now been waiting 4 weeks for my belongings. Is there anything i can do legally??

[Buenchico]

To use civil law to get your possessions back you'd need to get a court order (unless the mere threat of a court order, in solicitor's letter, proved to be sufficient). That might take some time and could prove to be expensive. If you want to consider following that route you might try contacting the CAB, to see if they can put you in touch with a solicitor who'll give you a free initial consultation and an estimate of the costs involved in court action.

If you approached the police, to seek a solution via criminal law, you'd probably be told that it's only a civil matter and nothing to do with them. However I note that the property held by your mother includes your passports. It's a criminal offence to be in possession of someone else's passport without good cause. I suggest having a word with your local community police officer (or, if possible, with the officer covering the area where your mother lives) and specifically mentioning the illegal possession of another person's passport. He/she might then 'have a word' with your mother, hopefully prompting some action from her (and from your half-sister) when they realise that you're 'getting serious' about getting your property back.

Chris

[DJHawkes]

It all sounds very odd, what does your sister hope to achieve by ringing companies pretending to be you? What sort of companies is she ringing? You have until the end of October to submit your end of year SE tax return, unless you mean last years in which case if you knew you had problems back then with the missing account paperwork you could have acted sooner than this. You can get a replacement rent card from your landlord and replacement gas payment card from your gas company, you can pay either bill online or by phone without the need for a card. Bank Statements you can get from your bank. Report your passports lost and get replacements if you need to travel. You can move on I am sure, a few bits of paper don't dictate your future .

[tonywiltshire]

The law and the civil courts are not an always the best remedy, particularly within a family, I have seen families torn apart over what to others appear a minor matter. You should ask yourself what will the other side say, probably that you asked them to help and you did not put a time limit on when the documents should be returned. If you do not think a quiet chat will get your papers returned ask a solicitor to write and demand the return of your documents, with vague talk of legal action if they have not done so within 14 days, (this may not make you flavour of the month).
When dealing with your debts the first stage will be to divide them into priority debts, Council Tax, Fines, Mortgage and anything secured debts and non-priority debts, loans, credit cards, non-secured debts et cetera, there are many organisations that will help.