The landlord should have your deposit in a separate account I agree with Oh Boy's post, the correct route is the county court who as I understand it, because of the sum you are chasing, the county court would hand the debt to the High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO for short). I'm sure Oh Boy will correct me if I'm wrong I think that you take a great risk with private bailiffs.

That's just sour grapes from him, because he won't make any money from you. You are not going to jail because you haven't refused to pay. email shmeemail? take no notice It's starting to sound like the account is being/has been handed back to the council - in which case your troubles should largely be over - hopefully It doesn't matter at this point, just keep paying the council.

Strewth! I thought that only happened in spain!

I would do more than that. In your position I would start the process of a form 4 complaint, on the grounds that the bailiff is attempting to charge unlawfully after the liability order has been satisfied. Before you do that though, check with the council that the liability order has definitely been satisfied. You are entitled to a printout of your account.

What happened to you was wrong p4ul, you were treated badly by the bailiff and the police, and you should go through the complaints process with both the bailiff and the police. That is an instance where you would benefit from tomtubby's advice.

I suspect you would have to write to the Chief Constable before you will get the police involved, at least that way they will find it less easy to fob you off. However in the first instance I'd be inclined to make a form 4 complaint, which could result in the bailiff who charges excessively or fraudulently losing his certificate.

If the account was handed back to the council then I believe the bailiff definitely abandoned the goods.

Actually all a bailiff has to do is touch an item, or express a wish to levy upon an item that he can touch and it is seized. Of course he must generate some paperwork (a list saying what he's done is enough) to show WHAT he has seized, but it doesn't require a signature. On the other hand a walking possession order/agreement isn't valid unless it's signed by the debtor.

If you have any doubt about that read this: The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 In particular I'm referring to this section Distress 45.—(3) If, before any goods are seized, the appropriate amount (including charges arising up to the time of the payment or tender) is paid or tendered to the authority, the authority shall accept the amount and the levy shall not be proceeded with.

When was the council tax paid in full? Once the sum on the liability order was paid, no further action (or fees) is possible.

I think it depends on how much the ccj is for

Thanks for all the input so far. The latest advice we've had from the CAB's specialist support is as follows: ”Certain conditions must be satisfied in order for the court to suspend a warrant pending sale by the lender: 1. That possession would not be required by the lender prior to sale 2. That the presence of the borrrower pending sale would enhance, or at least not detract from, the sale price 3. That the borrowers would co-operate in the sale 4. That the borrowers would give possession to the purchasers on completion. Your clients would therefore have to convince the court of all these things. However, note that the court also said that it found it hard to envisage a case where all these circs could apply - if they did, then logically the sale should be entrusted to the borrwers anyway. We have no experience of this case being used but it seems to me that if you don't try it, the client will definitely be evicted on 17th March, whereas if you do, you have at least a chance of prolonging the inevitable”. Anyone have any comments or info to add?

But that's really hard to do, because it's politically embarrassing so they'll do everything to avoid that. There are people who've managed it, but they had to really work at it

Then the bailiffs should not be involved, and the council should be taking money from your benefit for this one as well. They are entitled to get liability orders. Contact the bailiffs in writing tell them you are on benefits and have a payment arrangement with the council already. Send a copy to the council.

yes, so what you do is tell noone and just quietly pay them online, they'll know about it, after you've done it, and I promise you....they won't give you the money back

On reflection I now think you are quite right, the bailiff has the latitude to act as you have said and only a judge can decide if he/she acted correctly or not. I think this is a case for tomtubby

Well then they should accept the evidence that you were no longer there, no-one starts paying council tax at another address unless they've actually moved there.

You need input from The Bailiff, or tomtubby. The Bailiff is an hceo, and tomtubby deals with this stuff for living.

Out of time statutory declaration seems appropriate.

Ignore it for now, first get yourself moved, do not ring or speak to them. If they visit ignore them, treat them as it they are invisible no matter what they do or say. Park your vehicle away from the house, well away. Don't leave anything outside that could be levied upon. Pay the council direct online.

How about an Out Of Time statutory declaration? You can download it from the HMCS TEC webpage.

Well if you really want to, you could go down the route of holding them to the letter of the law. As I understand it, the bailiff is entitled to charge for visiting to attempt to collect the debt or remove goods. There is a school of thought that says, to do that they must attempt to speak to you. That would mean knocking on the door, not just sending a letter. There is no provision in the regulations for a letter fee. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 amended to The Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rating (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2006

LOL, sorry but I needed to get that right. He has no right of entry, and you do not need to let him in again. But you must explain this in your letter/email to them. next time he visits, tell him to go away as he is at your place of work and make sure you have a reliable witness in case he attempts to misrepresent his powers again. You must challenge the levy explaining that he has listed the property of a third party at your place of work, ie your employer. Just exactly what was the debt? You can check with the council by ringing up and asking how much the liability order was for. You are entitled to that information. It is very likely that you have overpaid and you should take the trouble to get the overpayment back off the council. There is, but you need a reliable witness to his statements to make a form 4 complaint stick, however you may have grounds for complaint to the court if he has charged excessively.

If you contact the council - they will tell you that you have to deal with the bailiff. This is because the council have a contract with the bailiff so the council worker has no choice but to say that even though it isn't true. They will refuse payment if you ask them directly, however they do not refuse payment if you make it directly online. If you do pay the bailiff, you'll find they will take their fees out, and pass what's left if there's anything left to the council - it will make it more difficult to pay your debt off.

he really has you on the run doesn't he! Well it's time to stop. First of all you do not have to speak to him or let him in. Don't open the door to him, ignore him AND HE WILL GO AWAY, although after speaking to you already he may persist for a bit; but once he gets the message he'll stop, and ultimately the bailiffs will pass the account back to the council. It doesn't matter when he turns up if you ignore him, you are not legally obliged to do business with him. You will not be breaking any laws whatsoever and there is nothing he can do if you don't answer the door and keep all doors and windows locked. You must park any vehicles well away from the house.