stick with the advice you get here , it may take a while to get sorted and get your life back i know i spent months trying , it took my council 4/5 weeks to get the info sent through so just keep on to them , i made payments online direct to the council not the bailiff and sent them a letter registered post telling them i wouldnt be dealing with the bailiffs and was not refusing to pay also sent same via email , i got help from PT with a letter about bailiffs fees which before i got a chance to send the council wanted a meeting to discuss amongst other things the bailiffs fees which i refused saying the fees needed removing as they were wrong a few days later after a phone call with the council the debt was returned and fees removed also some costs were removed as well so it can work out fine just need patience and dont panic , if the bailiff turns up film him it,ll make him behave though the one i filmed didnt mind lying on camera lol , i now pay weekly to the council no bailiffs calling and that feeling of dread has gone , if you can start paying what you can afford weekly via the online portal to the council and dont deal with the bailiff , listen to the good advice you,ll get here

cheers guys , just had the best nights sleep ive had in a long while many thanks for the help and support Micky

result , council taking all liability,s back having some costs removed and bailiffs fees reduced thanks PT feels like a weights been removed and i can now concentrate of staying well

cheers guys , ill hang on

so i should write to the head of revenues and ask them for a statement of account from the bailiff as there responsible for there agents/employees , cheers ill do that first thing

ok cheers ill get on to it now

i have all the information regarding liability orders from the council and they have all the information above and they seem in order apart from one which ive requested a copy of the liability order as the figures just dont add up and add £200 to the bill if im right also my partner has been paying the council direct on a special agreement which wasnt on the list and i suspect was allready with the bailiff so she /we were paying double as there are several orders lumped into one account number but on the plus side the whole account is nearly cleared having paid off over 1000 pounds + and having the fees removed should get it down even further , the other account which is over 2000 i have been paying direct for the last 6 weeks and keeping receipts also emailing the council and informing them which account it should be paid off and asking them to take the debt back . In all i can prove payments of the debt going back to may 2010 as all payments were made online so no problems with them saying im refusing payment . also according to the council the middle account in the bailiffs break down id paid off and showing a nil balance , i just need an account balance from the bailiff to work out how what fees have been added as i have letters and distraint notices which show fees added but are not on there break down but how do i get the bailiff to give me that info via my local councilor or the council ?

np and thanks

only a couple of weeks ago , its in a pdf file a few posts up and shows nothing but fees , the accounts the fees are for ,times and date attended and the bailiffs name , no balance remaining

the bailiff does not say how much is owed or how much is out standing the just sent a breakdown which shows only fees and no balances so ive no way of checking , i have letters from the bailiffs but there from 2011/12 so it wouldn't be accurate to use those

sorry if im being a bit thick but how do i work out that , just cant seem to make sense of it

the did give an exact figure for the balance just wasnt sure if it would be correct or not . this was also said in the email ( i should point out that the details shown do not include any costs raised by bailiffs instructed to act on our behalf). do i send a letter to get the fees removed and try and get accounts sent back to the council ?

ok got the info from the council on the liability orders ect they list all the payments ect but state they can not tell who made the payment and the total amount paid to the bailiff will exceed the amount the bailiff has paid to them ? and payments to bailiffs are not allocated to your council tax account immediately , so basically its a guesstimate on the total balance left , can i ask for a full statement of account upto date from the bailiff via the council , any idea what next , cheers .

okay ill wait for now , cheers

i had already emailed the council again yesterday morning giving them 3 days to send me the info or id make a formal complaint so ill have to wait , who do i contact about the fees which are clearly illegal and would the be classed as fraud under the new guide lines was thinking of send this to the head of revenues just altered a bit to fit my circumstances as ive said there has been no levy and no bailiff has gained access , and the only thing i can find on surcharges is its an extra fee for some payment and any payments we have made are through there online portal and were only 5 pounds and we got charged an extra 10p for the privilege so they have to be fraudulent and need removing [YOUR ADDRESS] [DATE] Dear Sir, Your Ref: [insert your reference] I am writing with regard to the above account. I have been visited recently by your appointed enforcement agents [insert name of bailiff company] who have charged me a total of £xxx.xx. I have attached a copy of the breakdown of their fees. I do not believe these fees are legitimately charged as prescribed by The Council Tax and Enforcement Regulations. I would therefore be grateful if you could confirm whether or not you believe them to be fair and honest. If they are not, I would request that the debt be recalled to the council, and all fees removed. [Delete if necessary] I am able to repay the amount of £xx.xx per week directly to the council. I trust this will be acceptable. Please confirm your acceptance in writing to me. I look forward also to receiving your written confirmation one way or another regarding the legality of the fees charged. I would also be grateful if you would confirm that the council is recalling the debt, and instructing the enforcement agents to cease pursuing this account. Please bear in mind your responsibilities in this respect with regard to the new government guidance, 'Council Tax: guidance to local councils on good practice in the collection of Council Tax arrears.' Yours faithfully,