The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 amended to The Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rating (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2006

Well you do now I would, it'll save you and your dad hassle claiming it back if they DO levy upon it, which they almost certainly will if they get a chance. He obviously thinks you haven't read Schedule 5 of the amended Council Tax (enforcement and administration) Act - when you do it'll be your turn to laugh. He was just trying to shake your faith in us - planting the seed of doubt eh! Well I hope it fell upon stony ground. Look it up yourself just for fun.

No, they are entitled to gain peaceful entry, where you invite them in, or leave a door or window (upstairs or downstairs) open as if inviting them in. To do it at 2am, would risk being treated with extreme prejudice. Keep all doors and windows closed, and park any cars away from the house

Right thing to do, they'll get the message eventually, incidentally I wouldn't tell them you are paying the council, that's none of their business. Don't worry they'll get to that, but you must reply to each letter now separately, pointing out how incorrect they are. No they can't, when you paid off the last debt that satisfied the liability order they were granted then. Maybe they were just in the area, but it's not that unusual and of course you've got some history with the firm, so they might think you're a soft touch cos you let them in last time. They'll take a bit of convincing this time - but you can do it. Frankly no - I would treat them as if they were invisible - write to their office, and pay the council direct. If you do that, at some point they will hand the account back to the council anyway. I believe that is harrassment, and you should make a separate complaint about that. They have no right to do that. No, they might levy upon it, but the levy would be unlawful.

First, well done for keeping them out this time. I suggest that you send them a template letter warning them that you are under no obligation to deal with them. There's no need to say anymore. Then I would start paying the council direct online, that way the debt will be paid off within 6 months

"When the levy was initially carried out you signed the document claiming the goods to be owned by yourself. At the point of Jacobs having to remove goods then sufficient proof will have to be shown as to whom the goods belong to prevent the removal." Your bailiff Mr Ekiss left us with no choice but to sign the document or let him remove goods even though we offered him proof of the ownership of the goods, this behaviour was not only unlawful, he has made an invalid levy and has charged excessive fees, these are easily sufficient grounds for a form 4 complaint. This is your last opportunity to correct his error before we take action against him, please note that a copy of this letter is being sent to xxxxx council. or something along those lines. Remember that you MUST send a copy to the council, the head of the council tax department separately, and your councillor, as well as your MP to rack up the embarrassment factor, because you want as many people to know about this as possible.

Don't automatically believe that - check it with the council for yourself. You will probably find that that was done quite deliberately although you can't prove it, they won't make any money out of someone who pays regularly. As they haven't been into your house and you haven't signed anything the removal order is just a piece of paper that will (to them) justify a fee of £24.50. It never fails to amaze me the lies that council employees tell. This is simply not true. Admittedly the council have a contract with Equita so council workers have to say you must deal with them, but there's no legal obligation on you to do that. If you pay the council direct online, they won't send you the money back! As for committal, that is appalling - many people who object to council tax in principle have tried their best to be sent to prison by refusing to pay - mostly without success. You have offered to pay, and have actually made payments - so you CANNOT BE SENT TO PRISON. I say it again, he can say what he likes, but you can pay the council direct online, you don't have to pay the bailiff, if he hasn't been inside your house before, he can't come in now. You will at some point, but you simply ignore his existence and he'll go away. When he knocks, go and make a cuppa, forget he's there. Nothing, to a person who wants to pay their council tax it is the emptiest of threats. Keep the windows and other doors locked too - he's entitled to walk through an open door or climb through an open window. And park your car well away from the house. Sell it to anyone you like for a fiver - do change the logbook and do change the insurance, not for the bailiff, but just to stay legal on the road. If the bailiff tries to seize it/levy upon it you can inform them IN WRITING that it is not the property of the debtor and any levy upon it is invalid and any attempt at seizure is unlawful, a statutory declaration is normally sufficient for that. You've found this site now - where all the info you are likely to need is in one of the threads. Don't waste their time and yours, unless you want to - you'll learn all you need to know by reading through previous posts.

I've been around since Nov 07 and tomtubby deals with this stuff every day for a living. Please believe us when we tell you that the bailiff is not being truthfull. They are lying to you - having you on - telling porkies. The whole point of what this type of bailiff does is to pressure you into feeling that you must pay them as quickly as possible, so that they can get paid as quickly as possible. I owe them thousands and pay what I can afford direct to the council - it's as simple as that. You can pay the council direct too. That is standard scare tactics, nothing more. Of course they can't come into your house and take your stuff, they haven't been in before, and THEY KNOW THAT. But they hope that you won't. We've already told you they can't. They can only charge fees of £42.50, that's £24.50 for a 1st visit no levy, and £18.00 for a second visit no levy. That's it, and if you happen to pay the council in full they can't get it off you anyway. They will stop coming round once they realise that you won't let them in, and will eventually hand the account back to the council. They have to come twice, and if they think you are weak enough they'll keep coming in the hope that you'll crack. Frankly if you can afford to pay the council in full, you should pay them direct online and that will end this matter because the liability order will then be satisfied and the bailiffs will no longer have any right to call round. Oh yes it does, I've proved it over and over. What matters is how you say it and who you say it to - anyway you don't ever say anything - you only ever write. Now what you need to do is read this thread very carefully again. Night, Chris.

Best thing to do is check if the bailiff has a certificate.

If the wpa lists exempt items then those items may not be removed. If there are items that are clearly NOT exempt then my understanding is that those items may be removed. If the wpa includes a global reference like "any other items in the house except exempt items, then the whole wpa may be invalid.

And our grandson is just as bad, bet there are small children under the age of five everywhere opening letters

normally I'd agree, but I suspect that 5134mills has a little dog just like ours who attacks any letter that comes through the door, ripping the envelopes apart completely:D Dearie me, what will the little scamp do next:rolleyes:

The reason tt said the council pays, is because the bailiffs are acting as their agent - it's that simple So, the council owes you money.......and they appear to be refusing to pay. If I were you, I'd write back pointing out that they know perfectly well that they are liable for the bailiffs and that you would like your money returned to you within 14 days please. If they didn't pay, then again, if it was me, I'd then send a letter before action warning them that they had a further 14 days to pay before I started a claim in the county court. You go to court, and get judgement and an order for costs. If they still won't pay.......instruct bailiffs. tomtubby may disagree, if so, please ignore what I've just posted.....:D:D

Well you should write/email them back pointing out that that won't happen unless they gain peaceful entry, and you won't be granting them that. You should also point out that you are not legally obliged to pay any money to them, and that it is not a criminal offence to refuse to pay bailiffs. Unless you've been daft enough (and I doubt that) to leave stuff in the garden they can levy on, or park your car up the driveway or outside your house. Then they cannot do that. No contact simply means that you are refusing to contact the bailiff in person or by phone, it does not mean you are refusing to pay the council at a rate that you can afford. If that's the first, then they should have charged a fee of £24.50 for that.

Best thing to do under the circs is not to let him in, and not to sign anything. Tell him "very sorry, but the people at the consumer action group say I shouldn't talk to you, and should do everything in email/writing from now on."

Why are the bailiffs going to return the debt? I would park the car well away from the house so no bailiff would think it's connected to you. The council is quite capable of insisting that the bailiff accepts any amount they see fit - the bailiff after all is acting as their agent. I'm still confused about why the bailiff should return the debt if he's coming round?

Read this thread, I'd completely forgotten about it. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bailiffs-sheriff-officers/127900-drakes-bailifs-magistrate-court.html

Is this it? http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences/181944-westminster-council-recinded-pcn.html

Explain that he WAS a lodger and that he's gone

Statutory Declaration if they won't accept your mums word, and anyway, each one that contacts her needs to be written to explaining simply that the debtor skipped as soon as he heard they were coming. Anyone who says they will be calling should be warned in advance by whatever method is easiest. Don't let them bully you or her, they don't have the right

Yes it does, because if he doesn't live there anymore, then not only is it not her debt but the debtor will have gone away. As far as your mums concerned that will be the end of the matter. Any debt collector should accept that, and if they don't they may be risking a complaint of harassment.

She didn't have to pay £600, she could have filed an Out Of Time declaration and got the penalty dropped down to the original fine. I suppose that's just rubbing salt in, I'm sorry... But she needs to contact these debt collectors and warn them that the lodger owns nothing of value at her property. I'd still throw the creep out, and give the debt collectors his new address.

How about throwing him out?

You need to ask a mod to merge your threads if this is the same problem

Look up the case yourself and you'll see. By the way, I would use a template letter and challenge their fees, warning them that if they don't correct their mistake you will complain to the court. Read the stickies, and look for any posts made by tomtubby.