Just had bailiffs round,we are upto date with council tax & have £325.94 left to pay before march,yet the letter they threw in my face states they want £650.44 + costs & charged an extra £50 for the visit & letter today.

We have had no correspondence from the bailiffs prior to them calling today.

Called the council & was told that it is still £325.94 that is owed.

The lady said a liability order was put in place on 20th oct due to paying late & that I would need to contact bailiffs direct to arrange payment.

Told her I would pay rest of my bill online to them & I would not deal with Jacobs as they are aggressive & arrogant.

Any ideas what I can do next?

Just found this on HMCS website

Certificated Bailiffs-traffic debts and non-domestic rates, should leave a copy of the fee scales that they can charge with you when they visit your premises.

Bailiffs and enforcement officers are not allowed to charge you more than the amounts stated for that piece of work in the scale of fees.

I normally only post under the bailiff section, I had no idea this section was here.

You need to make a complaint to the council as to why you were not advised that a summons was being issued for a hearing to take place at a Magistrates Court for the council to be awarded a Liability Order. You would also have been charged approx: £90 for the LO.

There is no provision in law for the bailiff to write letter to you. If he does then he cannot charge any fee for doing so.

The bailiff can only charge a fee of £24.50 for "attending to levy" (but where no levy was made) ie: where you were not at home and can charge an additional fee for a second visit of £18.00.

If you do pay the council direct please be aware that the Liability Order will only be discharged when payment of the council tax AND bailiff fees is paid !!!

Had Jacobs round again this morning,I didn't even bother answering the door to them.

They have now changed what I owe to £368.44 + costs,the amount I owe is £325.94,so the extra is £24.50 & £18,but the bailiff has put again at bottom of letter £50.

The letter says if you fail to contact me in 24hrs the matter will be passed to our enforcment bailiffs who will attend your premises to obtain full immediate payment or remove goods for sale at public auction.

Well I sent an email on monday informing of my rights etc etc & that I wont be paying them only the council direct & I wanted a breakdown of there costs.

Am I correct in thinking an enforcement officer needs a warrant to enter any property?