Council Tax Bailiff Visited

[Tristesse]

Hi,

On Saturday a Bailiff called at my property to 'recover' an unpaid council tax of £300 from my partners old property. When she moved in with me at the start of December the Council closed her account and sent us the final bill. The bill had no date by which to pay and as we are struggling financially we were about to write and ask they take installments. Unfortunately she already had a liability order against her from a previous missed payment and as such sent the bailiffs round.

We were out at the time but they left a letter with a mobile number to contact to 'make an arrangement'. I phoned the bailiff on behalf of my girlfriend (as thanks to this site I know her rights) and offered a repayment plan of £10 pcm, I stated this was all i could afford and if required was willing to produce an income and expediture sheet showing this. He rejected the offer stating that the full amount needed to be paid within 7 days otherwise he would be coming to take my stuff (which he can't as the warrent isn't in my name and my partner actually owns nothing of value). I then explained to him very calmly that he would in no way be able to enter my house peacefully and asked that he return the warrant to the authority.
After some complaining and threating me with prison he started shouting and eventually said 'i'll return it to the council'. I immediately made a first installment £10 payment to the council via there website.

My questions are these.

1) Is it likely he will return this to the council or is he just playing the fool.
2) I noted he had already added £60 to the bill for one visit
3) I have the receipt of payment made to the council will it be in my interest to send this to them as my girlfriend is perfectly willing to pay this debt off.
4) What happens next can the council get a warrant so they can enter the property?

Many thanks for any thoughts

[i_spam]

As you have made a payment also you have offerred a monthly payment i cannot see the bailiff getting a warrant of entry but i would still keep a close eye on the situation as the bailiff could act like a complete and utter so and so and go for a private warrant hearing and you may return to discover that your goods have gone.

[caledfwlch]

Originally Posted by i_spam

As you have made a payment also you have offerred a monthly payment i cannot see the bailiff getting a warrant of entry but i would still keep a close eye on the situation as the bailiff could act like a complete and utter so and so and go for a private warrant hearing and you may return to discover that your goods have gone.

Can Council tax Bailiffs legally actually break into your home then? ie an "extremely unpeacefull" entry?

[rbrears]

nope. they have no right of entry. Never let them in and make sure your windows are all shut when you go out. Once they are in they are allowed to break in next time they come.

[seylectric]

An official compalint is in order if he threatened you with prison - he has no authority to send you to prison or even take action against you that may lead to you going to prison; it's nothing to do with the bailiffs' that's the council's job (to instigate committal proceedings) but they will probably employ seperate solicitors to do the dirty work and in any event you can ONLY be imprisoned for non-payment when you are actively seen to be refusing to pay rather than simply being unable to afford to pay.

Not being able to pay your council tax bill is not an imprisonable offence by any stretch of the imagination.

As far as I am aware they cannot break in even if they have previously been inside your home unless they have handed you a walking possession agreement - there may also be a requirement for you to have had to sign this - but I'm not absolutely certain about this to be fair.

[Tristesse]

Many thanks for all your help I've drafted a letter which I will send recorded to the council today. I'd be happy with any thoughts:

Dear Sirs,

I understand that you have recently placed the Council Tax arrears collection I owe with a Bailiff. Please note that I find this action unnecessary and am perfectly willing to pay the arrears at £10 pcm. This figure has not been derived lightly and represents the amount I can afford to pay. If required I can provide you with an income and expenditure sheet showing this is to be the case.

I have already made the first instalment as a gesture of goodwill and will continue to do so monthly on or before 5th of each month (if required I will set up a standing order to guarantee payment).

I did initially offer the bailiff £10 per month which he ceremoniously rejected and stated (which I believe to be harassment) that unless I pay the full amount to him I will end up in jail.

This claim is unfounded as I am not refusing to pay the monies owed but due to my fears of harassment am only now willing to pay this directly to the Council.

I also note that the bailiff in question has added some costs of £40 for one visit which is above the rate the council has set out.

I am asking you to accept the repayment plan and ask the bailiff to return the warrant to yourselves.

Again I would like to stress that it has never been my intention to avoid this debt and I am perfectly willing to repay it, unfortunately at present I am only able to repay by instalments.

I look forward to your response.

Yours Faithfully

Hope this sounds ok but the council didn't even send us warning that the bailiffs would be visiting. Infact we haven't really had anything from them until now.

Many thanks