Council Tax and Bailiffs.

[uneverdid]

ah, my heart bleeds

[Geordie_Aaron]

Ok....actual balance due to the council....
£277 (£377 then)
and the balliff wanted £450 + £40 to knock on her door lol

what'll happen once i've cleared the debt? will the balliff chase her for their charges? even though they've done nothing?

[setmefree]

I'm sure that if the council take the debt back then the bailiff's loose out

[An Angry Villager]

Originally Posted by setmefree

I'm sure that if the council take the debt back then the bailiff's loose out

I've just come back from the CAB today and that's what they told me, in fact the guy chuckled as he said it.

So, the council said the will take back what I owe, as long as I stick to an agreement and Bristow and Sutor loose out on the £200 charges they've added for knocking on my door. (And they didn't even do that, one time I was in when they just put a note through my door and left)

[setmefree]

Oh dear oh dear Bristow and Sutor you loose again what a shame,2-0

[Steeley]

Sandwell Council have sent me a statement saying I owe over £2,000 in CT arrears since 2003.

I question the amount as I'm sure it's less than that from amounts paid myself but I admit that the bulk of the claim is correct as my partner (joint property owner) said he had paid it but hadn't, ( long story) so I have liability orders in my name only , although I'm only aware of receiving one for 2005-2006.

I received a summons for liability of £308 for period 2006-7, which I paid on 26/7/2007 just before it went to court expecting that to be the full amount due for the year owed.

Yesterday a bailiff turned up at the house and my 15 year daughter was alone, off-sick from school, whilst I was taking my youngest to school. In her words he tried to 'bang the door down' and she answered it in her dressing gown. he asked her who she was, she told him her first name, and said he didn't believe her and thought it was me, the debtor. She told him her age ,when asked, and that I was not in and shut the door.

His attitude frightened her and she called me as he was still knocking the door and put a letter through, not in a 'sealed envelope' as per what Bristow & Sutor say they do when dealing with under 18's.

They attended previously for business rates that my partner disputes and I have nothing to do with, in which they threatened 'come back with a locksmith' to gain entry to a domestic property ,even though they had not entered the premises previously, and tried to take possession of my car, threatening me with legal action if I started the engine or moved it. I called the police and the bailiffs had to release the car.

So what B & S have now done is combine the 2 debts on one piece of paper for the sum of £1452.20, with just circling both rates and CT..

I've called the council making an offer of payment on the CT owing , which they have accepted and are willing to deal with it all if I can pursuade Bristows to refer the current year back to them, £733.55 that the bailiff is chasing up in CT. The CT advisor also said that Bristows can charge £25 every time they call for the debt and can enter the house, police assisted, even without a walking possession order or previous entry. I think he'll find his information is incorrect.

I called Bristows and they said I have to call the bailiff directly on his mobile number as it's too late for them to deal with it. I'm not going to deal with a thug that lies and cheats their way to a days pay and intimidates children that are ill

Bristow & Sutor have never sent out any advanced notice of attendance by post and I query 2 payments on the statement from the council saying that they were paid £61 and £50 directly from what the bailiffs claimed in 2005 minus the bailiffs fees. B & S have never been paid directly for CT arrears that are owed.

Their van rate was £130 but as it's owned by them I'm pretty sure that's another rip-off sneaked in and not proportionate to the true cost.

My only question is regarding vehicles.

With the Business rates bill for my partner had they listed my car reg, tax disc, and any keys, document under an unsigned seizure of goods . Assuming they list the same for council tax, how would they be able to seize the documents & keys without gaining access to the property or any property if you refuse to hand them over ?

I'm prepared to pay the amount owed in installments to the council but not to have my cars seized or obstucted by bailiffs when they are used for the purposes of employment and at the moment I'm having to keep them away from the premises.

SY

[uneverdid]

Im afraid i cant help regarding business rates however if these are your partners then they cant take your car for his debt. Regarding the car if it is used for work purposes even going to and from then they list in their own paperwork that they are not allowed to take it. I have had numerous problems with B and S. I also was told that the only way to stop them breaking my door down was to sign a walking possession order, i refused and rang the council and explained that i was willing to pay just couldnt afford the instalments that b and s were demanding. The council were very good and rand B and s and told them they had to accept my offer which they did although they still did try and get more out of me.

Read the other threads on B and S and you will see that we are all of the same opinion that they are dreadful. i like to think of the B and S standing for B*** S*** which if now how they are referred to in my house. !!!!!!!

Good luck let us know how you get on

[setmefree]

Dear Steeley
Your council are solely responsible for the actions of Bristow & Sutor,They do not have to ask them to transfer the debt back to them they can demand it.
With regards to your daughter,the bailiff is required to walk away as she is under 18 no excuses.
A bailiff cannot enter your premises without firstly gaining peacefull entry.
If the bailiff is unsucesfull enter your premises they will return this debt back to the council.As regards to your vehicle you only have to state that your deny the amount they are requesting, and you want a full breakdown of all charges before any further action is taken.
I'm sure that your daughter must be very distressed by this matter and also your close neighbours who witnessed this bailiff using threatening behaviour towards your daughter ,so it must be in your your interest to inform the council of this matter and also Bristow&Sutor.Once again remember your council is solely responsible for the bailiffs action.
GOOD LUCK

[Tiffla]

Hi, Ladies and Gents.

First time posting for me in this bailiff thread, I’ve been a little busy in the bank charges threads.
Please don’t judge me or hate me for what I’m about to say…..

Several years ago I used to be a bailiff (about 15 to be a bit more exact).
Although at first I enjoyed the job (I was only driving) it soon became very clear of the underhand tactics that they used, to the point of me feeling that nobody had any morals within the company. Even the directors and operations manager were/are very shady and had no respect for debtors or their staff.

B+S’s name would pop up quite frequently in conversations, mostly about their bullying tactic and wrongful entry to premises. Even to another bailiff company, they seemed even more underhand!

With such a high turnover in staff, the majority of us didn’t even have court certificates, those that did seemed to be the ‘blue-eyed boys’ who were given the ‘easy’ jobs with the highest fees (mainly commercial debts).

None of us really had a true knowledge of how we stood in legal terms when recovering council tax debts, it was all made up as we went along – even the more senior bailiffs would just return the file back to the council if they thought they were treading on uncertain territory.

But, as I said, that was all a long time ago, and the ironic thing is that I too have been hounded by bailiffs and debt collection agencies for some form of debt.

My advice to anyone would be to not answer the door to them under any circumstances.

They are only acting on behalf of the council (even though we used to tell debtors that we were acting on behalf of the local magistrates).

There is always the opportunity of contacting the council again, they can ask the bailiffs for the file back at any time and for any reason.

Good luck to anyone trying to get them off your backs, they really are the scum – I should know!!

[nas2211]

HELP NEEDED ASAP!!

Can anyone please advise me urgently. Bailiffs from Chandlers Ltd have just called at my door on behalf of Lewes District Council in respect of a council tax debt now amounting to £231.30 including extra fees.

The bailiff wanted me to pay £100 immediately to stop any further action which I couldn't pay as I'm a single parent and my 7 year old son was in bed so I couldn't go to the bank and I didn't have any cash on me. She's coming back at 9.30am tomorrow and expecting me to pay the amount in full. I'm on income support and although I have the cash in my bank (rent money) it would then leave me in financial hardship if I paid the debt in full (i.e. I wouldn't be able to pay my rent at the end of the month).

Should I print out the letter at the beginning of the thread and give it to her tomorrow? I'm really frightened as to what might happen if i don't pay and can't handle hiding behind the front door tomorrow morning so if anyone can help I'd be so grateful.

I'll sign back on in an hour to see if I've had a reply

[nas2211]

Hi thermometer,

You're right I should have started a new thread which I have just done.

I didn't let the bailiff in or sign anything so I will ring the council first thing to try and sort it out before bailifs return and if no joy will give bailiffs a copy of letter from top of this thread.

If you need to reply please go to my new thread in the bailiff section so i don't get into trouble for a double thread

Thanks for your help.

[Tiffla]

Hi, 'Therm'.

As stated above, the first thing to do is to call the council first thing tomorrow morning.

If you're on income support the council should take this into consideration and recall the file from the bailiffs.

Should the bailiff return tomorrw, then under NO circumstances should you let her in!!

In my experience (albeit very limited) it really does boil down to the council and how far they will let the bailiffs push. Some will let the bailiffs go all the way (so to speak) and others will call off action when it's gone far enough.

Best of luck.

[setmefree]

Tell your council that you are on income support as this means you no longer have an ongoing liability against you,also tell them that the bailiffs are demanding money that you haven't got and that their threatening behaviour is out of order.ask for the council take take back this debt and offer to set up a standing order every month to a sum you both agree on, usually this works as they will have a revenue going into their account. GOOD LUCK.

[helen7]

Originally Posted by blockhead

Hi, could this help me?

Rossendales have my bill now, its for approximately £850. They have not been in my house, when she came to the house we left her standing at the door, but she did ask my wife what possessions we had, tv etc.

We wrote to them offering to pay £10 per week, they refused this and said we must pay £80 per week. There is absolutely no way that we can afford to pay £80 per week. I rang and told them this and they told me to send another means test to them.

I kept paying £10 per week in order to show that I was willing to pay, so I wrote out the means test and put it in an envelope with a £10 postal order. They contacted me earlier this week saying they would send out a van to remove my goods unless I paid in full within 7 days. I rang them and told the lady on the phone that we had sent a means test to them and were waiting for a reply. She said they never recieved this. The best thing about this, is she acknowledged recieving the £10. I asked how could that be as they were in the same envelope, but she was adamant that they didn't recieve the means test.

She then said it would be quicker to give her a means test over the phone, so I did. Afterwards she said "your outgoings are as much as your incomings". I replied "Yes I know, thats why I can't afford to give you £80 per week." I really wanted to shout and scream at her as she was an arrogant *&^*. But I didn't, I stayed calm.

She then said I have to send proof that I am paying my other creditors the lowest amount they will allow and gave me 14 days to do this.

Is it too late for me to send a copy of this letter. The bill is in my wifes name and she is a bit worried about any consequences. Has anyone else tried this with rossendales and been successfull.

Thank you for any information, I really appreciate it.

Hi I have just submited by 1st post explaining my problem with Rossendale (didnt mention the name) I am at the moment paying £60.00 per week they wouldnt accept anything less and now they want another £60.00 for last years countil tax. We just cannot afford it as at the moment I carnt pay my electricity due to paying Rossendales. They said that £50.00 a week as enought to feed 5children and 2 adults a week!!!!! WHAT A JOKE

[setmefree]

Originally Posted by helen7

They said that £50.00 a week as enought to feed 5children and 2 adults a week!!!!! WHAT A JOKE

I have 2 children and my wife and our shopping bill is at least £100.00 a week,obviously your bailiff's are related to the smurf's, have they done a walking possession on you ?? if not phone your council and tell them that the amount your are required to pay them puts you below the goverment's basic needs allowance for you and your family. also phone up pappa smurf bailiff and ask him to explain how you can feed a family of seven on £50.00 i think it's a case of if wa_ _ers could fly they would be squadron leaders

[kerry26]

hi i had the baliff come an silly me opened the door i said he wasnt coming in and he read the law that the court had ordered him to do a walking possion so i let him in i had to pay 205 there an then and i have to pay 105 for 7 months now i know am silly but i was really worried as i have a 4 mth old son and didnt want them coming back and takin my things

[setmefree]

Firstly as your child is under 2 the baliff is restricted on what thay can take,secondly NO court orders bailiffs to do a walking possession they are talking total c_ _ p, and last but not least if this matter of debt is concerning council tax contact your council with regards to your bailiff's action's and ask them for a means test to be carried out this will establish as to whether or not you can afford to pay their monthly amounts.
GOOD LUCK