Council Tax and Bailiffs.

[martonman]

I don't think you'll get anywhere with the electrical safety thing.

Good luck with the letters and your visit to the council, let everyone know how you get on.

[uneverdid]

hi setmefree, i had the same problem with council tax with bristow and sutor they kept refusing to accept my offers. I then got a bailiff who was oh so very nice not he tried to tell me that if i signed his papers he would be able to set up the arrangement i wanted no chance.

i rang my local council office explained what had happened and they rang the bailiffs and told them to accept what i had offered. So i am now on an affordable payment plan last 21 months.

good luck with your case

[setmefree]

what a surprise mine too is bristow and sutor http://www.bristowsutor.co.uk/pdf/Co...20Practice.pdf < this is their codes of practice> interesting to see the bit of what they won't take regarding basic needs, i guess that's my 3 piece piece suite safe what else can i sit on

[uneverdid]

The nice man(not) asked me a few questions about what things i had he actually said that he wouldnt even take my 14 year old daughters computer because she would need it for her educational needs. It would be interesting to ask bristow and sutor exactly what they are able to take, its worth reminding them that if you tell them an item is borrowed they have to then prove it isnt before they take them. When i rang the bailiff to tell him that the council had approved my offer his tone immediately changed and told me i must have caught them on a bad day!!! good for me though have you tried ringing your local council office tell them you want to pay but bristow and sutor wont negotiate with you, see how that goes.

nic

[setmefree]

victory for me I contacted the top recovery officer at the council they have now put my account back with them and reduced my payments from £100.00 a month to £15.00 and they also stopped any goods seizure and also gave me a month's grace

[uneverdid]

Excellent Bye Bye Bristow And Sutor:d

[Sue Brooker]

Hi

Yesterday a baliff called to collect outstanding council tax, we had previously had a letter, I wrote to them and the council because we were trying to get some housing benefit which has since been denied.

The amount they want is £361.00 difference to the balance owed to the council, I spoke to the council and they dont want to know, they said we have to deal with the appointed baliff. So i called them to advise that we are currently remortgaging so we can clear all the arrears it was £2973.00, but would not have the funds for approximately 7/10 days. As an interim I sent them a payment of £200.00.

When I got home yesterday hubbie showed me some papers that had been posted through the door, I had told him not to answer if they called.
He said the guy sat there for an hour outside.

What is our concern is that at the bottom of the letters they have entered as inventory his car reg no, well how did they get the details.
We live in a culdesac and it was parked in the road, seems to me they must have access to DVLA.

My question is can they do this?

Thanks

SB

[uneverdid]

I questioned my bailiffs about my car. They said that if i could prove i needed the car as a means of transport to work then they couldnt take it, however he did say if the car was of a good value they could take it on the proviso that they gave you a portion of the money to purchase a cheaper car. I would write to the council or ring and ask for the main person in charge explain your situation and stress that you will soon be able to settle in full.

hopes this helps.

n

[setmefree]

Hi sue Brooker please read link http://www.bristowsutor.co.uk/pdf/Co...20Practice.pdf this will tell you of what bailiffs can and cannot take.
Contact you council again and tell them you are not refusing to clear the debt infact you are offering to pay off all the debt in one go according to your earlier statement.
Then state to them that you find the response from the bailiffs totally unreasonable on the basis being that you have offered to clear the whole debt in 7 to 10 days and they have refused this proposal,I'm sure if this matter went to court it would be dismissed straight away reason being sheer greed from the bailiffs.
As for your vehicle the name on the log book does not mean your are the owner d.v.l.a's own wording, so it's a case of the bailiff proving you are the owner not for you to prove that you aint.

[Nicky123]

Hi,

I owe council tax for last year (2005-2006) to my local authority. I have moved address and the bailiffs have been calling at my disabled mother's house, threatening her with all sorts, as they state that they have received information stating that I live there. She has told them, truthfully, that I have not been there and she has written to the council to tell them the same but they still keep calling. Originally the debt was for about £850 but at last count it was somewhere in the region of £1200, even though they were told the first time they attended that I did not live there. They must have called at mum's house about 6 times in total.

I am now in a position to pay some of the debt, I thought I'd pay them £400 this month and enclose 2 more post-dated cheques for £400 each - this will almost ruin me though. In effect the debt should be paid by the end of April, but I am concerned that they have levied excessive charges in the first place. I would like to pay Fylde Borough Council direct but they have been hostile towards my mum in the past and I do not want to bring any trouble, or the bailiffs, either to my mum or to where I now live.

I wonder if you could advise me of the best way to deal with this situation. Like most people, I would like to pay my bills. I didn't deliberately set out to deceive anyone but I cannot deal with the aggressive attitudes of either the bailiffs or council staff. I cannot let them know where I am living or they will be here. I have a small child and I just want rid of this debt and agro.

Hope you can advise.

By the way, this is the first time I have used a forum so excuse me if I've not followed correct procedure.

[woodentop]

I wrote to the Council and the Bailiff:-
To Bailiffs address at Council Offices
“You recently left a card through my letterbox stating that we owe £573.38 in CouncilTax. I am not certain that these figures are correct.
I would be grateful if you could let me have a detailed breakdown of any charges that have been added to our account including any dates and times of visits etc.
I look forward to hearing from you”
Response received today from Enforcement Services at Council
“Thank you for your leter received 20 Feb, the contents of which are duly noted. First of all let me clarify one point, the bailiffs that attended your address is an employee of XXXX Borough Council and is not an employee of any external bailiff company.
Your entered into a payment agreement in August/September 06 to clear your council tax arrears at the rate of £200 per month and payments in this amount were received in September, October and November 06.
At the time of writing your council tax arrears including court and enforcement fees is £573.36 which is now overdue. As the previous payment plan went into default, I am not prepared to make any further agreement.
I look forward to receiving the full payment of £573.36 by return.
If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me”

To the Council Recoveries Department
“I have recently received a visit from Certificated Bailiffs for XXXX Borough Council advising that we owe £573.36 in Council Tax. I am not certain that these figures are correct and have asked them for an explanation. I would be grateful if you could let me have my arrears balance as soon as possible.
I will not be paying any monies to the Bailiff but will be paying to the Council direct in instalments starting at the end of this month.”
Response received today from Enforcement Services at Council
In response to your second letter also received 20 Feb the charges that you have incurred for non payment of council tax are as follows:-
11.5.06 – Summons costs £55
31.5.06 Liability Order costs £40
17.8.06 (14.04) Bailiff First Visit £22.50
15.02.07 (11.04) Bailiff Second Visit £16.50.
I hope this information is of use to you”
Where do I go from here - both letters are signed by the same person at the Council on Enforcement Services letterhead for the Council. I am not disputing that I owe Council Tax but how do I get them to let me pay by instalments when both are Council employees and on top of that we start again next month with the next years Council Tax and I don't want to go through this again.

[i_spam]

Name and shame the councils and the bailiff companies involved here !!!

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...-bailiffs.html

[Geordie_Aaron]

Help for a vaunrable friend if you please?
Long story short, she got a council house with her then 'boyfriend' ready for parenthood, when it came to the crunch, he couldn't take it, and flew the nest, now she has suffered with post natal depression in a severe way since the both (not helped by an unhelpful boyfriend/father), and has fell behind with the rent a little (£250) and council tax by £450 (as stated by baliff letter, will confirm with council first).
She's just been informed by her employer that her entitlement for sick pay has now ran out and she'll have to seek benefits, now to my knowledge, the benefits she's about to recieve, will JUST get her by yes?
She's scared witless now, because last night a, in her words

"a really big, mean looking guy knocked on the door, asking to come in, whilst putting one foot between the door and door-frame"

Now i KNOW for a fact that he's seen she's a 22 year old, 5'3'' female with child and has tried forcing/bullying her into getting in, he told her
'it's costing you everytime i come, and i'll be back tomorrow, and the day after'
but of course, i'm there this time, i'm 6'1'' bodybuilder, so we'll see how he likes the aggressive size difference/bullying tactics. i've temporarily moved in with her on the setee as she rang me in histerics last night after the visit thinking everything she'd bought would be getting taken for the sake of £450 (TBC) weather she let them in or not...

So.... my question is, i'm about to send the above mentioned letter to both ballif company (Rossendales) and local authority.... am i ok to say at the door
"your not getting in, i'm in the process of contacting your company and local authority, but also the police for your attempted forced entry yesterday, and any payment for this debt will be made directly to the council?"
From what i've read above, i'm within my/her rights to do this, as he wont be breaking any protection act with regards to my friend as he wont be giving me any details of amount owed, or whom to?

QUICK RESPONSE if possible guys, he's coming at 11 today.....but not getting in either way

[i_spam]

Do not open the door talk through a window. also try and make an agreement or even before he arrives contact the council and tell them what is what. Bailiffs should immediately back off if this is the case.
take his name and place of cerification. Also call the police if he gets stroppy but do not tell them he is a bailiff as they will arrive pretty sharpish.

[uneverdid]

my understanding of bailiffs is that they must have a warrent and be accompanied by the police, unless you have let them in before and signed a walking possession order.

sorry not responded before only just got your message

Please please let us know how you got on today

[Geordie_Aaron]

Ok, i thought i'd listen behind the sitting room door, to hear how he spoke and what his body language was like....
So my friend answered the door, stated that i had gone down to the council tax office and paid £100 off, he IMMEDIATLY said
"your lying, the council dont accept money once it's been passed to us, the baliffs, now let me in and we'll sort something out"
Of course, this is where i step in, his foot that was, again, between door and frame, so i promptly put abit weight behind the door with a little speed.....and he moved it, explained that's twice he's attempted to gain entry by force without a warrant, or police escort....then i stepped outside and shut the door, his whole attitude changed, aswell as his language towards me/her.... i asked what he'd feel like if i began to bully him ETC then got onto the real details....

I told him i'd just been down to the office and paid £100 cash to he cash desk (i did too) and he said the same as above "you didn't they can't..etc....". and grabbed his phone, "ok i'll call them" and he did, and they confirmed that i'd paid it, welll...that put him right in his place, i'd obviously called his bluff and won, now i had his tail between his legs, i told him to knock on the door all he wants, add all charges that he wants, but that i wasonly pyaing MY money to the council, and any charges he's made up....can be settled elsewhere/how.
he then asked to 'just write on my notepad' on the drawer set in the hall way, well i'd caught straight onto this "let me in ploy" and told him no before she had a chance to say ok.... he then said, look your the householder, you have to answer, she said no, and he walked away saying i'll be back wanting more money ETC.... i've again been down today and paid a further £100 to the council and had a word with the women behind the desk, gave her an outline of what my friends going through with post natal depression, lack of money and taking her down to benefits place, she said she'd consult her manager and see what she can do....

so now the baliffs will be coming o the door for a £250 debt.... i THINK it's cheaper for them to give this one up isit not?

any help again greatly appreciated as my backs starting to ache sleeping on her setee now lol
Cheers people

[i_spam]

What councils should do is have two lots of bailiffs one to deal specifically with non payers and one with who are on benefits etc. I would personally allow someone to pay a£250 debt ad 10% and let them pay in instalments of £7.50 per week and if they wanted leave them a paying in book to pay over the bank counter. As long as they stuck to it i would not be to bothered. also before this i would ask for proof of benefit and so on. that would sort this out but if you have a business debt of thousands dont know what i would do with them apart from pass it back to the council.