Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
Hi I am looking for any help or advice possible please
My situation is my partner had a large outstanding debt on his council tax which we set up a payment plan to pay monthly but since he lost his job and i was made redundant we had to cancel that direct debit. I have since found another job and contacted our local council to say we could not pay as much on the old debt as we were but we could pay a smaller amount, to which i was informed in writing(5/2/09) this was fine and they had set up the direct debit for this.
We then came home on Saturday to find a bailiff letter for the debt, I have spoke to the council who said the direct debit was cancelled or refused by the bank which it hasnt i have a letter from the bank stating that no direct debit was set up or cancelled during the time the council are saying.
The council say its not there fault its the bank and the bank say its the council, when i asked the council where do i go from here all i am trying to do is sort this and stop the bailiff from knocking at my door and removing goods and he said we cant do anything i suggest you seek independant advise (at my cost). I cant afford to pay the £220 debt now let alone the extra charges from the bailiffs what can i do ????
get in touch with your M P now regarding the council failure to set up this direct debit put in an official complaint through the councils complaints procedure ask the council to put the bailiffs on hold until your complaint has been dealt with
if you get no joy refer you complaint to the local government Ombudsman
if the council don't/or until they do put the bailiffs on hold do not let them into your home they have no legal rights to enter you home except by peaceful entry you invite them in they get in through an unlocked door or window
if they come to your house speak to them through a locked door or upstairs window
if you have a car not on H P move it out the street or keep in a locked garage if you have a garden move all garden furniture tools E C T if you have a garden shed make sure its locked
baillifs cannot charge for letters they can only charge for visits so as it stands you should have no baillifs charges so try to get the baillifs put on hold asap
Thank you Hallowitch i am going to write a leeter to both my MP and council now. The bailiffs havent stepped foot onto the property as yet and i dont intend to let them do so either, they have charged £117.50 to hand deliver the notice of distress letter so i will ask if the council can put them off. But seeing as there attitude was we cant do nothing its the banks fault yesterday i dont hold out much hope.
while your at it ask the council to justify there agents the bailiffs charges £117 (was this amount hand written on this letter)
The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992
A. For making a visit to premises with a view to levying distress (whether the levy is made or not): £24.50
for a second visit if needed £18
and just in case the bailiff has added a levy possibly for a car
(5) The person levying distress on behalf of an authority shall carry with him the written authorisation of the authority, which he shall show to the debtor if so requested; and he shall hand to the debtor or leave at the premises where the distress is levied a copy of this regulation and Schedule 5 and a memorandum setting out the appropriate amount, and shall hand to the debtor a copy of any close or walking possession agreement entered into.
hi i thought that it was a lot of money but reading the back of the letter with all the charges they charge a % on the levy (whatever that means) does this mean they can clamp and remover our car whenever they want??
I have written my letters now and copied all documentation and am just about to hand deliver them to the local MPs office and the council (they cannot say they never recieved this) shame i cant charge £177.5 to hand deliver the letter.
not 100/ sure about the clamp
i am going to assume that that you were at home when the notice was put through the door(because your car was there ) the bailiff did not chap you door and ask you to pay
the bailiff did not come to an agreement that you could pay x amount per week and then levy the car as security for this weekly payment put that in your letter basically the bailiff levied before giving chance to pay
levy fees
(a) where the sum due at the time of the visit or of the levy (as the case may be) does not exceed £100, £12.50,
(b) where the sum due at the time of the visit or of the levy (as the case may be) exceeds that amount, 12½ per cent. on the first £100 of the sum due, 4 per cent. on the next £400, 2½ per cent. on the next £1,500, 1 per cent. on the next £8,000 and Ό per cent. on any additional sum; plus £12 walking possession fee
and the sum due at any time for these purposes means so much of the amount in respect of which the liability order concerned was made as is outstanding at the time.
(2) Where a charge has arisen under head B with respect to an amount, no further charge may be aggregated under heads A or B in respect of that amount. (this mens they cant charge you 1st or 2nd visit fee on day of levy)
baillifs charges for this levy should be
debt £220
walking possision fee £12
levy fee £16.50 if my % are correct
well i have hand deliverd both letters to thr MP and council, we were out walking our dog when the bailiff called so car was parked on the street.
I didnt think the charges added up but i stupidly just assumed they would be correct how do they get away with this ?
Thanks again for all your help and info
Hi
I thought id let you know how im getting on well in 2 words "im not"
Its been 14 days since i sent both letters and have heard nothing apart from a phone call from the bailiff about an hour ago. They were calling to say they will be calling tommrrow. I am now in the process of writing another letter to complain to someone higher at the council.
the bailiffs charges are wrong the council MUST deal with there bailiffs
personally i would go to the council tomorrow and demand to speak to some one who knows what they are talking about regarding bailiffs fees
tell them your next complaint will be a form 4 complaint against there bailiff to the county court and a complaint to the local government Ombudsman
ask to speak to someone who is familiar with The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992
in particular section 45 charges connected with distress
THE COUNCIL TAX (ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT) REGULATIONS 1992 (SI 1992/613 AS AMENDED BY SI 1993/773, SI 1998/295, SI 2003/2211, SI 2006/3395 AND SI 2007/501 (SCHEDULE 5) NOTICE OF CHARGES CONNECTED WITH DISTRESS
1. The sum in respect of charges connected with the distress which may be aggregated under
regulation 45(2) shall be set out in the following Table-
(1)
Matters connected with distress
(2)
Charges
A For making a visit to premises with a view
to levying distress (where no levy is
made) £24.50
i) where the visit is the first or only such
visit
ii) where the visit is the second such
visit:£18
2.(1) In heads A and B of the Table to paragraph 1, "the relevant amount" with respect to a visit or a levy means
(a) where the sum due at the time of the visit or of the levy (as the case may be) does not exceed £100, £12.50,
(b) where the sum due at the time of the visit or of the levy (as the case may be) exceeds that amount, 12½ per cent. on the first £100 of the sum due, 4 per cent. on the next £400, 2½ per cent. on the next £1,500, 1 per cent. on the next £8,000 and Ό per cent. on any additional sum;
and the sum due at any time for these purposes means so much of the amount in respect of which the liability order concerned was made as is outstanding at the time.
(2) Where a charge has arisen under head B with respect to an amount, no further charge may be aggregated under heads A or B in respect of that amount.
(3) An authority takes close or walking possession of goods for the purposes of head D of the Table to paragraph 1 if it takes such possession in pursuance of an agreement which is made at the time that the distress is levied and which (without prejudice to such other terms as may be agreed) is expressed to the effect that, in consideration of the authority not immediately removing the goods distrained upon from the premises occupied by the debtor and delaying its sale of the goods, the authority may remove and sell the goods after a later specified date if the debtor has not by then paid the amount distrained for (including charges under this Schedule); and an authority is in close possession of goods on any day for these purposes if during the greater part of the day a person is left on the premises in physical possession of the goods on behalf of the authority under such an agreement.
3.(1) Where the calculation under this Schedule of a percentage of a sum results in an amount containing a fraction of a pound, that fraction shall be reckoned as a whole pound.
(2) In the case of dispute as to any charge under this Schedule, the amount of the charge shall be taxed.
print that out and take it with you (for there convenience just in case no one knows what you are talking about )
thank you so much for this information, Im away this weekend but will be back and taking a trip to the council with my print out on Tuesday if i have had no reply to the second compliant.
As the problem is still ongoing i have written to the council to advise them i will continue to pay them the original amount agreed monthly as i could not pay the bailiffs and felt i shouldnt.
Needless to say i havent heard a thing from them dispite 2 payments recieved.
I have been speaking to my local councillers office quite regularly but he keeps fobbing me off with his waiting for the council to come back to him i really dont know what to do i cant cope with this for much longer. The bailiffs have written to us and have said they will be arriving in a few days and will be seizing our car. I have a few more questions if anyone can help -
Can they take our car from the street without us knowing ? My partner uses this for work (when he gets some ) hes self employed in the building trade so carries tools, materials etc so he could not use public transport.
Help
we had to cancel that direct debit
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