Oh forgot to say I cant afford to vounteer for CAB as lone parent working full time, but it would definetely interest me! But perhaps you could come and be a bailiff for the day and meet all them rich debtors I told you about:p seeing as you dont beleive me. CAB are great and actually our firm has a very good relationship with several CAB offices accross the country. We have great respect for them and always appreciate it when they bring any issues to our attention.

NO NO NO, wont pay really means wont pay! It means theyd rather pay for their expensive cars, house, TV, holidays, villas, yachts etc!! Im talking about people who are RICH!! Not somebody ordainary. Believe me I see it every single day. and if you cant pay then our company will make an arrangement. Maybe other bailiff companies dont but we do!! And lots of councils wont send vulnerable cases to bailiffs and if they do thats not the fault of the bailiff. If it wasnt more than my jobs worth I could give yopu a list of celebrities, local councillers, business people who havent paid their council tax!! Only Friday I was on the phone to a certian celebrities PA trying to arrange payment of a debt which had been outstding 6 months! Most people who call the office are earning twice what I earn and I pay my council tax!!!! Ive missed it a few times but always called the council and sorted it out, maybe my councils just more helpful than most? I dont want to stick up for councils as bailiffs are often the victim of their incompetency and often have to carry the can for the councils mistake. but to be fair some councils are very good some are very poor. Right this is my last post as everyone seems to delibarately misunderstand me and twist my words!

Its only lawful following peaceful entry and walking possesion agreement I know! And as previously stated this is extremely rare. As a bailiff company we only actually remove from about 2% of council tax cases passed to us. Im aware its illegal for a bailiff to force entry prior to peaceful access being gained. Somebody on here may have made the mistake of opening the door and invitng people in, surely its important they realise not to do this as then a bailiff could technically force entry (usually with a locksmith) Thanks for acknowledging Im not necessarily a monster just because I work for a bailiff company. and yes there are some rogue bailiffs out there but I only wanted to make the point that there are many who follow the letter of the law precisely. e.g. my colleagues and I were disgusted by the BBC whistleblower programme exposing mal practiced of some individual bailiffs. Shocking!

sorry just reread your last paragraph which answers my question! This is only any good if the debtors contact the council and provide them with the relevant details. Many of our clients request we obtain employment details and return file for attachement of earnings, but this can be like getting blood out of a stone quite literally! Many peoiple actually prefer to just deal with the bailffs rather than get their employers involved. Although agree t would be a good idea to make supplying of details compulsory when registering for council tax. his could be a good deterrent as Id hate for my employers to be aware I was in debt but maybe this matters to me more than other people!! (for obvious reasons) and attachment of benefits is defnetely a good idea and I have always argued this should be the case.

Do you propose we get rid of all bailiffs regardless of what they are collecting? or just for the purposes of local authority debt. Many people believe bailiffs shouldnt be used and you are entitled to your opinion. I was prompted to post on here to make it clear that not all bailiffs are the same. It seemed to me to be a very one sided discussion Most are just trying to earn a living and pay the rent the same as the next person we dont do it for fun! Forgive me if I didnt understand you already knew bailiffs could force entry follwing WP etc but there maybe people out there who do not realise this and allow a bailiff access to their home. Ive already apologised twice on here for not being clear about that when I stated 'grey area'!! As a lone parent with no financial support from the absent father I have been in financial difficulties myself and have had experiences with bailiffs attending my property. I therefore do understand what is like to struggle and take absolutely no delight in collecting debts from people in a similar position. As Ive said repeatedly suitable arrangements can be made if you approach the bailiffs office in the first instance. Some councils are more politically correct than others and have a different approach to dealing with vulnerable cases. Often the problem is the council arent aware of the circumstances as the Chargepayer has not contacted them to discuss the situation. As bailiffs we are keen to return the files but yes some councils insist we proceed anyway. (in my experience) I maintain those who wont pay (of which there are many, whether you believe me or not) should have their goods removed to discharge the debt if they persisteantly refuse to even call the council or bailiff to discuss payment. Our firm only remove goods if the goods are ample to cover the value of the debt. We also collect commercial rent debts, business rates & county court orders, what is your opinion on using bailiffs to enforce debts of this type? what alternative can you suggest?

No most baliff law is quite clear and grey area probably wasnt the best way of expressing myself. All I meant is that there are certain circumstances where bailiffs can force entry following signed WP. Often the CAB themselves get confused by this! However most bailiff companies actually dont do this re collection of ctax arrears particuarly where the debtor is classed as OAP or vulnerable. Its your vehicles you need to be careful about as most bailiffs prefer to clamp a vehicle outside the property as this is far easier and effective. If you have bailiffs on your back, hide your car! Be aware they can levy on a vehicle very easily. The CAB are already very good at spreading this message and because people are becoming wiser this has made our type of debt collection more problematic (you'll be pleased to know) They have produced many documents/leaflets in relation to this subject. Some private firms are now beggining to opt out of local taxation collection as it is becoming too difficult to actually enforce the debt. Most files passed to us are not for vulnerable people as these files are often identified by the council, or identified by us soon after the debt is passed. We then return to the council or if unable (due to client instruction) a minimum arrangement is made. On the rare occasions we remove vehicles or goods it is when we have been persistantly ignored and the debtor actually has the goods to remove e.g. a ferrari!! And whats so secret about a walking possession agreement???????????? As this is on the reverse of all our notices its hardly a secret weapon. Its a bit sneaky to claim goods belong to a third party when they dont and cant understand why a person wouldnt just address the debt! There is no need to go to such lengths in most cases! Maybe hide your car though or sell it to your mate for a quid (this is a very popular trick)

yes I am fully aware bailiffs are not allowed to force entry prior to gaining peaceful access. Once peaceful access has been gained and a walking possession order in place bailiffs are permitted to force entry to return and remove the levied goods. As I say it is rare this practice is undertaken and it is only done after a walking possesion order has been signed. I wasnt stating that putting a foot in the door isnt forced entry - indeed it is. Whether this is morally correct is one thing but is certainly allowed under law if the correct procedure has been followed. So of course the advice is dont let a bailiff into your home in the first place! Call and make an arrangement! Please dont be so unpleasant, I indicated forcing entry is not always allowed by stating this was a grey area. Im sorry if I didnt phrase that very well. There are a million and one websites which will confirm this is the case

Its a grey area but bailiffs are technically allowed to place their foot in the door. Although we do not encourage this practice in general. (as I said not all bailiff firms are evil pantomime villains boo hiss) The majority of debts passed to bailiffs are ignored and we only manage collect about 20% of the files which are sent to us. Quite often we are just subject to an awful lot of abuse when we are simply carrying out our clients instruction. I appreciate you speaking from your experience but was keen to offer my views from MY experience! Ive got no time for bailiffs who act incorrectly and for example I found the whistleblower programme showed on BBC extremely disturbing. Some of the stuff which was shown was absolutely disgusting!! But we dont all behave like that.................. please believe me!!

All I was trying to say is that it isnt fair to assume all bailiff companies act incorrectly and ignore the very complicated legislation which is taken very seriously by the bailiff companies and the council they work for. Many people assume bailiffs are not accountable when in fact we are under close scrutiny from many differnet bodies (quite rightly). Its not an easy job when all is said and done I mentioned the fact that many debtors WONT pay is because a huge 80% of files referred to the bailiffs are not collected successfully as we are ignored quite often! Unfortunately we dont get any kind of reimbursement for these files despite the fact we may have visited the property on several occasions over a number of years. I was not referring to council tax collection rates in general but specifically the files which have been referred for bailif enforcement. Personally I always try to treat everybody with respect and am happy to discuss their financial circumstances and set a suitable arrangement accordingly. The people who set an arrangement and maintain it as agreed avoid fees being applied as no action is taken. Please also remeber we are given set guidelines by the council and they often insist we collect the debt in a certain amount of time e.g. 3 months. Unfortunately if this is the case we are unable to extend the arrangements no matter what the circumstances I think a few of you have taken my comments the wrong way! I was simply trying to offer my opinion from my perspective. I certainly do not think anybody with outstanding arrears are scumbags! In fact Ive had to deal with bailiffs myself in the past but avoided any fees by making an arrangement in the first instance. My message to anybody who recieves a notice from the bailiff is to contact them asap and make an arrangement. This is just my advice. Unfortunately there are rogue bailiffs out there and of course it is important you bring any issues to the attention of the company so they can be addressed. If you are not satisfed with any response recieved it is possible to issue a complaint against the bailiff at the court they are certificated and the bailiff will be summoned to be examined by the judge. Also our clients are very eager to ensure we are acting correclty and believe me they will always follow up any complaint that is made very thoroughly. My firm IS reputable and we take any complaints very seriously indeed. We have a firm procedure in place and all the bailiffs are closely monitored. Montoring and auditing of the bailiffs is crucial and any problems identified are addressed. WE ARE NOT ALL VILLAINS!!!! am quite offended really, but it kind of proves my point that we all get tarred with the same brush.

I dont think its justified for people to tar all private bailiff firms with the same brush. Bailiffs can only be instructed following a valid court order from either the county court or magistrates court. Plenty of opportunity is given in most cases to agree an arrangement in accordance with your income either with the original creditor or the bailiff companys themselves . Bailiffs have a repsonsibilty to their clients and society and face much unfair press and abuse whilst trying to peform their duty. I work for reputable bailiff company collecting priority local authority debt. All fees applied to council tax or business rate debt is in accordance with very strict guidelines. We are accountable not only to the local authorities themselves (who are very keen to monitor their bailiffs thoroughly), but also governing body ACEA (Association of Civil Enforcement Agencies) plus other bodies e.g The Citizens Advice Bureau I wouldpoint out that many debtors have had several debts with a particular company for a number of years. Multiple letters, visits and phonecalls are made in an effort to collect the debt and there are strict limitations to what a company can charge. As a bailiff company is not paid by its clients. the fees applied to the file account for all of their income. However MOST bailiff companies DO work within the law and are peforming a difficult and necessary function. The cost involved in collecting from people who cant or mainly WONT pay is substantial to the councils and also to the bailiff companies they use. Which the rest of end up paying for in our ever increasing council tax bills.