Bailiff, Rossendale, DESPERATE!!!!!!

[Tiggerneedshelp]

Hi sorry to post this here if it's the wrong place to post this but i'm desperate. As you will see.

I have a bailiff due tomorrow(monday) he came last week demanding £565 for council tax gave me 5 days, hold my hands up our fault it's come this far. My mum rang him that same day asked for arrangement plan with her as gaurantour, he said wanted half before any more discusion.

This is how it began


recieved letter from council, going to court.

had rep from rossendale turn up at door(didn't realise don't have to let him in) he listed goods, i signed he left.

i made plan with rossendale, payed £10pw which was hard as partner lost his job, ended up we defaulted.

bailiff came wednesday last week, didn't let him in, i wasn't rude, he was.
gave me 5 days as said. he's coming in the morning for money.

have been reading that bailiff has to have peaceful entry and levy signed, but does this mean he has this if rep came in at the previous visit??

what do i do??? i ave some money, do i give it him, do i let him in, do i get in contact with council to pay them directly. please someone help me and see this tonight. sorry for any spelling mistakes, my keyboard rubbish and am panicking too! sorry again x x

[nicolee2931]

Being as they have listed goods, they now have the right of forced entry someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not sure how to proceed but I would try and pay what you can but don't go beyond your means and ask if you can enter into a payment arrangement, as they have a walking posession order. I'm sure someone else will be along soon to offer more advice.

[Tiggerneedshelp]

Firstly these are two seperate council tax debts to begin with then the bailiff the other day had them listed together.

i'm posting this becuase i came across this threadhttp://www.consumeractiongroup.c o.uk/forum/bailiffs/84002-ive-just-signed-wpa.html

it says the person levying has to be certified.

first bill,
5/9/06
some random young lad
council tax £204.38
1st visit £22.50
2nd visit £16.50 (only just read this i misted him rang no. on posted sheet he came back within 10 mins, cheek)
levy fee £27.00
waling pos £11.00

total £281.38 - £60 that i have payed to date

second bill,
yet another random young lad
council tax £182.53
levy fee £26.00 (considering same company, they can't make up their mind on this fee)
walking pos £11.00

total £219.53


the bailiff that came last week gave me letter for these two debts, not a very nice elderly man. ( i do have the names of these 3 people)

£295.68
£265.24
--------
£565.24

my question is are the first 2 certified and if not does the wpa stand lgally for the 3rd guy? if not how do i handle this wen he comes, well in a couple of hours?????????

[caro]

I've merged your threads so anyone reading your problem can see it all and know what has been said.

I don't know anything about bailiffs, but I think the suggestion that you pay what you can comfortably afford tomorrow, or at least later, is good. I'm sure you could do with some sleep really, but if that isn't going to happen why not sit down and work out what you can realistically afford to pay back.

Write down all the money coming in on one side, and all the money going out at the moment on the other side, and see if you can pay something, no matter how small, that you can stick to each week.

At least you will be able to show that your have thought about it and come up with a suggestion of how to tackle it.

Sorry I can't help more and good luck.

[Tiggerneedshelp]

the 3rd guy thats coming back is a complete bully, this is why i'm still up, can't sleep. i know he isn't going to be pleasent or budge, i dont know how to handle him. i feel like crying, god i didn't realise how much it's affected me. i'm shattered and have 3 small children under the age of 4 to sort out in the morning and this guy and i'm just going to be no good.

[MARTIN3030]

Yes it is true to say that they can now return outside peaceful entry however this is not cut and dried.
If you are on state benefits there are guidelines in that the baliffs are required to follow procedures.
My advice here is that you move very quickly.
The Council are very unlikely to pull the baliffs off at this stage.
They only take the file back if the baliffs give it back after they have no joy in collecting.
I have known of a few cases where they have done this when the debtor has paid a good part of the debt (ie half)
by online payment whereupon it does not get rejected.
Its very unlikely that the Baliffs will act immediately and strip your house.
What they will prob want is a quick fix day that you agree to pay the lot
or a payment plan.
If you are on benefits or are restricted financially then you should inform them pronto

I can see you are worried
I will pm you with my phone No as I know ppl that are able to help but dont want to elaborate here for obv reasons

[Tiggerneedshelp]

i am on benefits and have managed to get hold of £300. though it is in cash. do i pay this to the coucil directly, pay it to the bailiff or put it in my account and try to pay the council online. i haven't got a clue? oh and i rang rossendale the day he came round they said they had no info as it had been passed to him. my mum rang him to gaurentour payment he said he wanted 1/2 before any more descusions she proceed to ask him to talk to someone above him to which he replied "ur talking to him"


thank you martin, i have pm u back but it says ur box is full

[Tiggerneedshelp]

sorry martin are you still there?

[repoman]

Morning Tigger. I think the bailiff will probably accept the £300 - the last thing they really want to do is remove goods. BUT - check that whoever is there is a certificated bailiff. That means they show you their certificate issued by the County Court. By all means ring the Court to check as well. I've come across a case where the guy levying was not certificated and it appears common in the industry, which drives me mad as I'm going for my certificate on Wednesday.

If you want a hand, need some advice etc etc or want me to talk to him, I'll pm you my number. I'm in court this morning at 10 for a few minutes, but I'll try to do whatever I can.

Has the original levy document got any readable signatures on. If they're using uncertificated bailiffs it woudl render the levy invalid!

Take care and speak soon. I'll be thinking of you.

RM

[Tiggerneedshelp]

i have 3 clear signitures. like i said the 2 that got the wpa's were quite young lads and i'd be quite suprised if tey have been certified. how would i find this info out?

[Herbie]

send me a private message (pm) with the names of the bailiffs. I will check them for you immediately. Please DO NOT publish the names on the forum.

You are on benefits. That is most important as by law the arrears can be deducted at source from your benefits at a statutory rate of less than £3 per week. You must telephone the council immiedately about this.

If you have been forced to pay this money by now, make sure that you have the details of the bailiffs.

You MUST ASK TO SEE HIS CERTIFICATE. IF HE CAN ONLY PRODUCE AN ID CARD, THAT IS NOT ENOUGH. GET THE FULL NAME FROM HIS CARD.

Sorry, If I had seen this last night I would have replied sooner.

[FunnyMan]

Tiger,

PM 'Herbie' she will be able to check the names you have to see if they are certified.

Also write down discriptions of those that called, I have a case at the moment where the 'bailiff' that called is some 10-15 years younger and about 6 stone lighter (guess) than the photo of the certificated bailiff who holds the license! (This has been reported to the County Court and action is pending.)

But most important thing is to contact Herbie by PM (she is very approachable and helpful).

Also contact Repoman as above, he may be able to advise on immediate problem.

Do this post haste.

Let us know what happens.

Fingers crossed,

Funnyman

[caro]

How's it going Tiger?

[Herbie]

Thank you Funnyman,

I have checked the bailiff's details. It is important to be aware that this information is only as good as the information provided by the courts, but that is all that we have to go on.

The first bailiff that levied upon good in September , Mr S is NOT listed as a Certificated Bailiff, and therefore if this is correct the levy is invalid.

The bailiff who attended in March, Mr H , was granted his first certificate on 16th October last year and the bailiff due at attend today is also Certificated.

It is vital that the matter of Mr S be brought to the attention of your local authority immediately.

In addition, you must make them aware that your circumstances are most certainly in the "vulnerable" group. This is because you have 3 young children under 4, you and your partner are both out of work and in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance, Child Tax Credit etc. In addition, your local authority should never have sent this case to the bailiffs as it is clear that you are currently in receipt of both Housing Benefit and Council Tax !!!!!!!

When will Local Authorities learn.......

[FunnyMan]

Herbie, well done.

As to the question of when will the councils learn? Well the Banks haven't yet and it is costing them millions over unfair charges!

But at least on this one the bailiffs can be stopped in their tracks. Again a massive well done Herbie

[annaprest2384]

Hi did the bailiff turn up to your address yet?

[Tiggerneedshelp]

not as yet, have rang council tax, they passed the book, as expected. but this is not the end of the quest will keep you up dated x