hi all im new to this site and would really appreciate as much help a i can get

this morning 28/08/2015 i had a knock at the door which turned out to be a bailiff collecting council tax arrears from 2012 to 2014

ive had no letters from the council about any arrears or any from this company

the company is called sheriff and penny private bailiffs limited

there registered office address is 152 halesowen road, cradley heath, west midlands b64 5lp

company reg No. 4900240

they have a po box 11614, edgbaston, birmingham, b16 9zg under there name on a letter he gave me

he told me he wanted £649.66 or he was going to take goods like tv computers etc etc and would also take my car which is my partners, he wanted proof of the log book which i refused to get

i did not let him in, i was able to use my size to keep him stud well back from my front door

i told him ive never had any letter from the council about this debt which he replied that i should have

i told him there is no way i can pay that and offered to pay a minimum payment of £20 a month

he refused very rudely demanding i pay him £150 by cash or card to him then pay £50 a month which i still could not afford

his reply was pay it or basicly loose goods

he said he will gain access via the police to take goods from my house at which point i had to make sure my 2 young kids of 7 and 9 was no present

i also asked for a breakdown of the bill as i said thats not all council tax surely

he said no

its 2 accounts 2012 to 2013 and 2013 to 2014

council tax outstanding is £264.66

enforcement fee is £235.00

and 2 compliance fee of £75 each account

he also said any visits will be £110 each time but he said the next visit will be with a van and a trailer to remove goods and the car

he demand he will return on tuesday 1st september to collect either the full amount or the £150 or he will bring police so he can take goods and the car

i hope someone can help with this as he has rang me again whilst i type this to remind me he will be returning tuesday

many thanks in advance

Well, he cant remove anything as he doent have "walking possession" so that is a load of huff and puff to get you worried.

Needless to say you should leave your car where it could be seen by them and preferably not on a public highway.

Put it in a supermarket car park for a few hours (tucked up against a wall or pillar).

Dont let him in under any circumstances and film him on your mobile when he arrives, preferably have a witness outside filming as well.

In the meanwhile, if this is the first you ahve heard about this then get on to the council and tell them this.

Is the debt for the present address or for somehwere else?

Is your property in a street with a similar sounding name close by such as Birch Close and Birch Ave?

If so you post may well have gone to the wrong address so you should be able to make a suitable arrangement with the council.

You would then have to get the enforcement overturned in court.

Other posts in the bailiff forum wil explain more about this.

i have him on my home cctv due to trouble in the street at times but no sound

sometimes my post goes to a house round the corner

ive emailed the council and waiting for a reply

do i have to pay the bailiff company the amount they are requesting or do i ignore them and try my luck with the council

many thanks

Asked site team to move to baliff forum

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?451144-Enforcement-officers-entering-property.ctax-debt

Have a read here

Asked site team to move to baliff forum

Done

Have you changed adresses ? Rng the council and asi if any liability orders have been granted and if they have been sent to the Bailiffs, ask them why you have received no warning letters form them.

 

i told him there is no way i can pay that and offered to pay a minimum payment of £20 a month

he refused very rudely demanding i pay him £150 by cash or card to him then pay £50 a month which i still could not afford, his reply was pay it or basicly loose goods, he said he will gain access via the police to take goods from my house at which point i had to make sure my 2 young kids of 7 and 9 was no present

 

 

its 2 accounts 2012 to 2013 and 2013 to 2014

council tax outstanding is £264.66

enforcement fee is £235.00

and 2 compliance fee of £75 each account

 

he also said any visits will be £110 each time but he said the next visit will be with a van and a trailer to remove goods and the car, he demand he will return on tuesday 1st september to collect either the full amount or the £150 or he will bring police so he can take goods and the car

 

i hope someone can help with this as he has rang me again whilst i type this to remind me he will be returning tuesday

 

many thanks in advance

In the first instance the bailiff fees appear to be correct but the bailiff is not correct when he says that any future visits will be £110 each time he attends. He can only charge this fee (of £110 once).

Given the size of the debt it would be extremely rare for an enforcement agent to accept a payment of £20 per month and this is mainly due to the fact that almost all local authorities specify in their contracts with enforcement agents that any payment arrangements should be for around 3-6 months or in exceptional cases over a longer period but as long as the debt is cleared within the council tax year (before the new accounts are sent in April 2016).

Taking the above into consideration, the payment proposal that the bailiff is willing to accept of £150 down payment followed by monthly payments of £50 per month is actually very fair indeed and very unusual.

Yes and as said earlier I think, unless goods have been taken under control he cannot charge the sale fee at all.

THe regulations state that this fee is due when the EA calls to remove goods for sale, goods cannot be removed for sale unless they have first been taken under control.

You are supposed to have a 7 day warning letter since April last year. That's the letter which costs £ 75