Help !!

[Boozbro]

Drakes ,

Turned up at my door this morning.

My wife allowed them in and to take an inventory of goods to be removed unless the full bill of £600 is not paid within 48 hrs.
Having been of stat sick pay for 6 months and only returned to work last week, I do not have this and they are demanding removal of goods.........
these include the tv, video, dvd recorder 3 piece suite and car.
Apparently, today they have decided to call every bailiff from the uk to reclaim council tax bills from liverpool. So even if you had a payment agreement thay are null and void !

Please advise if you can !!

[Boozbro]

please offer advise !!!!!!!!!

[chris600uk]

OK,

First thing is, do you have the paperwork.
Take the name of the bailiff and get his certificate checked.

You don't say how this bill came about, or what year it's for.


Next, what's this news and where did it come from?
Apparently, today they have decided to call every bailiff from the uk to reclaim council tax bills from liverpool.

[chris600uk]

Originally Posted by chris600uk

Apparently, today they have decided to call every bailiff from the uk to reclaim council tax bills from liverpool.

That must mean they will stop collecting council tax from every other part of the country. We scousers must be really bad, I mean really really bad!

On a serious note, that would mean going back to court to reapply for new certificates for each bailiff - which I don't think is a practical possibility.
Sounds a bit like the "We're going to get you, it's not if, it's when" message the gov have been pushing about TV licenses, car tax, using red diesel in your taxi, claiming benefit while working, etc, etc. Sounds good but that's about it. (I always though taxis ran better on red diesel, or was that a myth?)

[tomtubby]

Apparently, today they have decided to call every bailiff from the uk to reclaim council tax bills from liverpool. So even if you had a payment agreement thay are null and void !

Can you explain the above statement in more detail.


Concerning this Walking Possesion.

Yet another example of why I will continue to say that you should not allow a bailiff into your property.

Can you let me know by PM ONLY the name of the bailiff and I can then check our register to see if he is certificated.

This short time span would warrant a complaint to the court. I can advise once you have provided the above by PM

[Boozbro]

The bailiff that turned up was not the person I had spoken too on the phone and dealt with previously. He stated that Drakes had called all of their enforcement officers from all their UK offices to Liverpool for a 2 day Blitz.
The bill in question is my 2007/2008 council tax which I owed £450 and has now esculated to £666 with their charges.

[chris600uk]

OK, lets try to get it all into perspective.

i) the bailiff doesn't really want to take any of your goods away, unless they are particularly valuable 10% of their current worth at a sale room auction is unlikely to pay off the debt. It takes effort on their part, they won't get paid until the goods sell, and then only if the goods sell for enough money.
Highly unlikely.

ii)letting them in tells them that you don't know your rights, and may be susceptible to intimidation. That's why they say stuff like "give us £600 within 48hours".
Look, if you could do that, you wouldn't have a bloody problem would you!

iii)So having scared the bejesus out of your missus, they are hoping that you'll strongarm your kids, granny, next door neighbour, mug someone in the street - I think you get my point. It's extortion with a legal veneer.

Actually you are probably in better shape than you think.

Go back to the paperwork and look at what they have listed, then honestly have a guess at what it's all worth at 10% of it's SECONDHAND VALUE in a saleroom full of hardnosed punters who've seen it all before.

[Boozbro]

Something has accured to me.

The bill is in my name + 1 other. The other is my wife.but it is in a miss spelt maiden name.
Also Drakes originally asked for £1050, at sometime between LCP sending the debt to Drakes and them contacting me , I paid £600.
Drakes never sent a revised bill !!
I called them to make them aware that £600 had been paid and was advised I still owed them £666 (Drakes rounded it up. They are the sign of the Beast)
At no point was I ever sent a revised bill or given the chance to pay the £450 owed.
Would either of these points help.
I have also copied the letter from this forum stating I am willing to pay but at an affordable level for me, otherwise I will be forced to endure financial difficulties.
i.e I will find it difficult to feed my 4 yr old son considering they want to take every penny I have and also are quite happy for me to have to pawn items just to pay their bill.

[Boozbro]

Mistake ......LCC Liverpool City Council and not LCP

[chris600uk]

Originally Posted by Boozbro

Something has accured to me.

The bill is in my name + 1 other. The other is my wife.but it is in a miss spelt maiden name.
Also Drakes originally asked for £1050, at sometime between LCP sending the debt to Drakes and them contacting me , I paid £600.
Drakes never sent a revised bill !!
I called them to make them aware that £600 had been paid and was advised I still owed them £666 (Drakes rounded it up. They are the sign of the Beast)
At no point was I ever sent a revised bill or given the chance to pay the £450 owed.
Would either of these points help.

Not really.

What would help would be if the goods weren't of sufficient value.

[chris600uk]

Originally Posted by Boozbro

I have also copied the letter from this forum stating I am willing to pay but at an affordable level for me, otherwise I will be forced to endure financial difficulties.
i.e I will find it difficult to feed my 4 yr old son considering they want to take every penny I have and also are quite happy for me to have to pawn items just to pay their bill.

The strategy that works best is to use the law as a blunt instrument.
So if tt discovers that the bailiff that entered the house didn't have a valid certificate, then their WP isn't valid. Then you go back to the starting position of not opening the door, parking the car away from the house, with witnesses and photos to help prove it, and trying to force the bailiffs to hand the account back to the council.

First you must go through the paperwork, and pm tomtubby with the bailiffs name. Considering a large proportion of bailiffs operate without valid certificates, you should have already done this. If you haven't do it now!

[tomtubby]

Boozbro

I not that you have sent a letter. It is best to wait for a reply. Can you let me know what response as it is vital that a complaint is mad about this immediately. I can help you with a letter if you require.