To be honest an AOE would be fine. She's had one before (to repay an overpayment of one of her benefits), and it with any luck it would eliminate some of the bailiff's fees. I'm sure she could negotiate for an affordable amount too. So far, we've contacted the bailiff with the letter as suggested by dx100uk and emailed a local councillor. My daughter is going to contact the council to ask the questions also suggested by dx100uk, so hopefully all these won't be too long in replying. I'll let you know how we get on. Thanks to everyone!

Thank you for this, we will try to obtain this information. Hi, no unfortunately I haven't had a chance today, been really busy at work. I'm only just sitting down now to it.. Thanks for your help BTW I've looked at the bailiff's statement again this evening, and am slowly getting my head round it. Their statement is divided into 7 pages, so presumably 7 different debts all to the same council, covering different time periods, and dated from August 2016. They were pressurising my daughter to pay £200 per month and were refusing to accept less, between August 2016 and the beginning of 2017 she did pay them this amount each month - but was not paying her rent and some other bills because she couldn't afford to do both, when she had a big burly man regularly on her doorstep she was too scared of what would happen if she didn't pay him. Unfortunately she didn't tell anyone else what was going on. I had no idea. by April 2017 she'd received a Court summons over her rent, and ultimately an eviction notice. It was only then that she told us. In April and June 2017 she paid them £200 each month, but then was temporarily staying with either a family friend or with me, and they only managed to track her down again once she settled in a new flat. At that point she was addressing her debts with the help of citizens advice, and Grencar agreed to a temporary arrangement of £80 per month. It was supposed to be for 3 months, but she just kept paying it even though it was quite difficult, and they left her alone until this week. It was as if they were waiting for her to make a mistake and give them a reason to come back, although she had actually paid them £80 per month. She knows she has the debt and is happy to pay, but it's the heavy-handedness that we object to, the fees added and the lack of flexibility. The total arrears was £4778, and the total fees added so far is £1238 on top, of which £75 x 7 for Compliance and £1232.75 in total for Enforcement fees. There is currently £3496.44 outstanding, with 3 of the separate debts paid off, and 4 still in progress. I shall try to find out more information about the Enforcement fees, because the amounts seem to vary quite considerably with each debt... I've posted some more information below with details of the exact arrears and fees. I will try to obtain a breakdown of their Enforcement fees. She doesn't expect to escape council tax, and is keeping up with it at her current address. I've posted below more details about how much she owes and the fees that have been added in case anyone wants to comment on this. Her problem is that she is a single mum with a 7 year old, and an ex-partner who is a waste of space when it comes to being a father. He rarely pays any maintenance and they are always at loggerheads. He lives back with his mother and only works sporadically so she has been unable to pin him down to pay maintenance via the CSA. However, my daughter has always worked and still does, she is trying really hard to cope and to clear her debts while keeping up with her rent and other bills now, but it's really tough. Grencar now want to review her payments and have asked for her payslips and bank statements, which we do not feel comfortable in providing. I feel that it would be great if the debt could be handled by the council instead of through the bailiff, and if a more reasonable monthly repayment could be agreed upon. The bailiffs off her case would be an excellent result! Thanks for your advice, it's much appreciated. Sent! This is very interesting, thank you. I wouldn't have thought of contacting the local councillor!

Although the council tax arrears may date back to 2014 or earlier, I don't think they went to the bailiff until August 2016, as that seems to be the date quoted on their statements.

My daughter has a historical council tax debt, which according to the bailiff Grencar is currently standing at around £3500, however that figure includes their various fees. I only became aware of this problem when my daughter broke down in tears about 18 months ago, having got her finances into a dreadful mess and was threatened with eviction by her landlord. she had various debts at the time which we have managed to sort out, however the council tax debt with Grencar continues to haunt her. They had been demanding payments of no less than £200 and whenever they put the frighteners on her she found a way to pay them £200, but unfortunately this meant she couldn't pay other debts - it was a vicious circle. While she was living in temporary accommodation with her young daughter following her eviction, with a family friend, she managed to shake them off, but now that she is back renting again they have found her. Last December they finally agreed to accept £80 per month as a 'temporary' arrangement, but she has managed to keep paying it since then every month and she had hoped they would let the arrangement run on. Unfortunately a few payments were late in Grencar's eyes (just a few days), although she did actually make a payment every month, but they've used this as an excuse to come knocking at the door again, at 6.45am last week. They issued her with a letter stating that they would be back 2 days later to remove goods - we do know never to let them in. We immediately emailed them apologising and asking if the £80 per month could continue, even though it was difficult for her, and asked for a copy of her account with them. They have now replied saying they've put her account on hold until 1st October, and they want to do a new review of her incomings and outgoings, see 3 months payslips and 3 months bank statements. Can they demand to see these things? We don't feel comfortable showing them her bank statements. I have been looking on your site at similar threads, and some people seem to have had council tax debts referred back to the council, and refused to deal with the bailiff. Is this something we should consider trying to do? I just feel that she's never going to pay this off if they keep adding fees anytime they feel like it. The figure never seems to go down much! I'd be grateful for any help and suggestions, thank you.