Hi all....

Ive had a very heated telephone debate with a council tax bailiffs firm just as I had assumed that everything was done and dusted.

I have had a lot of success recently challenging them about alleging visits that had never been made and letters that i never had seen ect and they did (with a little pushing) only charge me for the one visit in the end.

My council tax Liabilty was cleared with the council back in september and I never denied that I owed them for this.

Once i had received all this in writing i sent them there request for payment and have not thought anymore about it untill today when low and behold i have received another Removal Notice saying council tax due and how they are going to seize my goods for sale at auction ect ect.

so I have rang them asking why this is so and they have said they have not received payment outstanding of £24.50p.

when i said i had sent them this sum they became less than helpfull anyway to cut along story short i was basically told to shut up and let them talk...

(sorry thought i made the call and was paying for it and was actually trying to sort this out)

There whole attitude stunk so much that i started to challenge the fact that they should be sending me out a letter saying councill tax due to the councill as this was rubbish as far as the council are concerned i have a nill balance then they said they still have a warrant so I asked for proof to which the reply was we dont keep it with us.

anyway in the end the very freindly helpfull soul put the phone down on me and i must stress i was not rude in anyway I was simply asking them questions that they didnt like and could not help me with so over to you guys can anyone help with this can they send me letters stating that i still owe council tax.....?????

any helpfull advice would really be appreciated.

p.s when i asked for the name of the person whom i was speaking with was told that they was not at liberty to give me this infomation

(YOU COULDNT WRITE THIS STUFF HONESTLY...) lol:D

thanks getgoing.

Did you pay the bailiff with a cheque and has it been cashed? if the answer is yes, then end of problem.

The council should have notified them that the bill has been settled in full.

me thinks they are using the old CT warrant to collect their [already paid] outstanding visit fee...this i do not think they can legally do??. even if they didn't get it.

dx

Thanks for the replys ..

I had sent them a cheque payment yes and low and behold when I contacted the bank to see if it had been cashed it had been so why they was looking for the payment in the first place I have no Idear ( could have been a ploy because they didnt get what they hoped for the original fees I wonder...)

When contacting this most polite group of people once again to make them aware of this very important fact I was surprised that there was a complete lack of help or understanding in there tone with a less than freindly voice of reason to speak with even when i had explained that it had Indeed been Paid....oh what joy these conversations bring me..

The reply goes as follows ....

Them... Did you put your details & ref's on the back...

Me....... Yes I did.

Them.... well Mrs getgoing we still have not received payment on this account it is still showing a balance outstanding of £24.50

Me....... You have received payment from my account according to my bank this was cashed on **** date.

Them..... Do you have Proof of this you could send or fax us...

Me.........not on me I spoke on the phone to the bank but I can get proof of statement.

Them...... yes you will need to fax or send us a copy we cant do anything till then and because it has been sent back now to the bailiff to collect on you will be liable for further fees that fall due....

Me... are you having a laugh I have just told you it has been paid.

Them... Not according to the screen in front of me it hasnt and I will not be able to take just your word for it.

I then basically begin going over the fact that I dont think they are allowed to do this as council tax office say I have a nill balance and the fact that I have paid the fee that was left owing as they had actually cashed the check I sent them but it just fell on def ears and it ended with them saying...

Them... Im not prepaired to waste anymore time on this I can give you the bailiffs telephone number or I can put you through direct to him.

Me... (totally flabergasted by this point)... I will not speak to any bailiff in anyway shape or form nor will I be paying a penny more to you.

So I assume that at some point this week I will have the bailiff banging on my door wanting more money out of me.

When do these people stop I have paid everything that was owed and im not a bottomless pit of money like they seem to assume i am (arrrggghhh)

sorry rant over (for now anyway ...lol)

Getgoing

Them... Not according to the screen in front of me it hasnt

You were a bit slow there gg, you should have said "well that makes you a crap secretary for not logging it then".

You know it's been paid and so do they. It's not up to you to do their work for them, let them check their own bank account.

I agree Im just worried that If the bailiff comes around again he will be entitled to start heaping on more charges like she said...not to mention a load more time and hassle.

and yep was i slow but come on that would have just been stating the blindingly obvious...lol

thanks getgoing

paid or not, these are bailiff fees... is this not now a civil matter that cannot be collected under the old warrant anyhow?

seem to of read that somewhere?

what muppets.

dx

Im not really sure there seems to be two opinions as far as im aware

(or thought I was aware) they cannot collect on the warrant for just the fees if that is all thats left.

I didnt have a problem with this but did challenge the amount that was off for the fees as this stood at about £330 quid & also how many times they had actually called at my home as this was only once and I received a hand delivered letter for this.

I challanged the extra fees and visits and they accepted this and only charged me the £24.50 for the first visit thats fine i owe i have paid it.

Its the fact that even though I know full well its paid and have proof they still think they can go ahead and try to con me out of more money with the threat that they have a warrant and that it is back with the bailiffs ect ect ect...

well im gonna see if he has the nerve to show his face this week and it should be an interesting conversation if he does...am I right in thinking he would need the warrant on him for gaining my goods ect.

thanks getgoing.

well you could always ofcourse up the anti and contact the council.

they are ultimately the ones responsible for the actions of the bailiffs they employ.

get in contact with the head of CT unit, tell him the bailiff has been paid & what he is now chasing you for, i think you might well be suprised by his actions.

dx