Thanks poppy for the info x

Thanks Pat I appreciate it. I think she was thinking more less serious offences like theft or suspected theft, not that theft isnt serious but at that kind of level. Also her partner did commit a theft when he was 16 which was 23 yrs ago and had heard that he could get it taken off now. I told her she had little chance of that as we are struggling to get our accusation off my partners and he hasnt even done anything. I will let her know when I see her later in week. Cheers LavenderRose x

Tomtubby I cant understand how these things are allowed to start creeping in again and it makes you wonder just who monitors the council. I just hope Sugarbabes finally finds the peace she hoped the BR would give her otherwise it was a big and brave decision for nothing. I was told today of another avenue someone could go down rather than chosing bankruptcy. This is where you give the courts all your debts (apart from C.Tax, they dont do that one) and attend court to explain your income and outgoings. You offer the courts a payment you can afford a month and they take on the debts for you and whatever you offer they split that between them all and make the payments each month. In the meantime your creditors cannot contact you or add any more interest. I dont know what its called or if its an option but It may be worth looking into should anyone else be in the same distressing situation. Also what exactly does BR involve (i.e what debts do they take and once someone is declared BR does that wipe the debt off etc) and how is it different for the general public as opposed to say a company. All I know is that you cant get credit for 6 years which after a long period of financial hardship may not be a bad thing. Also how hard is it to build your credit rating back up after BR. These are just general questions out of interest as its an area I know very little about. Thanks for the post Tombubby. Much Appreciated. LavenderRose x

Sidewinder, Do you know the minimum age they can show enhanced CRB info and spent convictions and how long they can hold them for. This isnt for me its for someone who has asked me and I said I would find out. She has heard that if they were under 18 they cant put it on due to data protection and minimum age thing. Many Thanks LavenderRose

Sorry its been a while since i last called in here, been so busy. I received a letter from the home office which was basically a load of garbage so I need to reply to that. In the letter it does state that you have to have been convicted or arrested and had the charges dropped. Neither of these things have happened. If you want me to post their reply I will. Thank you for your kind words privacy film and rubles and I will definately email you later today. There is nothing put in place by the government when they started the enhanced CRB law for people like my partner and there are thousands like him out there. I received another letter from the chief of police but all it said was they were still looking into it. We have heard nothing from CRB Bureau, Local Police oh and we had a letter from police complaints commission whi h I will be happy to post their reply too. It may help those in the same situation as there isnt much knowledge or support out there. LavenderRose x

Hiya Sugarbabes, Wow!! I was supposed to be doing my coursework and popped in here as I had been wondering how you had been getting on. My god, 2 and a half hours ive been glued to my laptop, it was like reading a thriller. My emotions have been up and down ranging from sadness, laughter, anger and tears for you. I am so glad you feel you can give the L/A and bailiffs the V`s and it seems since going BR you are elated and glad to be rid of all that stress. If you remember im in a fight with Ross because a bailiff came to my house and threatened to hand my account over to the police who will arrest me and put me in prison. When I complained he denied it (lying toad) so I wrote back and said it was untrue he did threaten to have me jailed and he had made an invalid levy and charged me for it and appartantely came back a week later and spoke with me through the window?? more lies. I also copied all this to the council. My reply since has been there is no law that states a levy is unlawful, apparantely even though he did not step foot in my house (and never will) he made an `all goods levy`??? And that his notebook backs this up!! His notebook must have been a new high tech invention called the invisible bailiffs notebook and used his psychic skills to mentally walk through my home and levy my goods that he has never seen!!! As for talking to me through a window I was at work at the time stated he came back. I have them by the conkers Sugarbabes as I first asked for a screen dump of my full account from start to finish including dates, times, names, letters, vans, charges etc. When I received that it opened my eyes wide to the rubbish they put on their computers. Also every reply I get back from them is the opposite of whats on the screen dump of my account. They are lying through their back teeth to get out of being wrong but putting their foot in it at the same time. I have also been charged a few times for apparently cheques that have bounced. £20 a time. I know only two bounced at the most over an 18 month period and I paid double as soon as I found out. Ross are renowned for lying and bullying tactics and I have also written to my council for agreeing with them that their account of what was said and done that day is correct. They sided with the bailiffs after their first explanation of my complaint without it being investigated properly. I sent a 2nd letter to the council complaining about this and now they are very interested in where I intend to take this. Also I work in partnership with 3 local MPs as part of my job and one of them told me that the staff who call the shots regarding CT Arrears and how much to pay back a month work on a commission basis and are only interested in earning their commission. They are really hard nosed and are not interested in anyones personal situation. I sent a cheque 2 months ago for £8 and told them that is what they are getting every fortnight and not a penny more if they want me to be able to afford the current years CT as well. I have paid it every fortnight without fail and although ive had a letter stating that they have noticed im paying £8 per fortnight and it has not been agreed and asked me to fill in a income/expenditure sheet (which I havnt filled in or replied to their letter) ive heard nothing more and they are still cashing the cheques and even send me a receipt as proof of payment. You Sugar, me and thousands of others have had, are having and many more will have experiences with bailiff companies like this and councils who treat the decent, hardworking member of the public in this way and I for one intend to write to the government stating they need to change the laws regarding bailiffs and the way they conduct their business. It may not do anything but I think if everyone wrote to downing street eventually someone will have to listen and do something about it. All that suffering youve had to endure and sleepless nights god only knows what its done on your health and your future outlook towards councils etc. They dont realise just how much owing a bit of brass to line governments pockets and the tactics they use to try to get that brass affects people. God forbid you could have quite easily gone ahead with ending it all and im sure there are people that have (and thank god you didnt) and to me that is disgraceful of them. The prime minister alone is on £188,000.00 a yr. Anyway ive waffled enough, i promised id keep you updated, im sure you have made the right choice and can i say your a shining example to us all and a role model anyone would be proud to help. You have shown true courage, fight and determination considering what you have been through and you are a credit to yourself and your children. God Bless Sugarbabes and I wish you all the best for your future LavenderRose xx

Hiya Sugarbabe, glad your still fighting on. Sticky has some good templates and one for complaining to the ombudsman but for something else. You could either tweak it to suit your case or maybe ask him to write you one. His letters are brilliant. Take Care LavenderRose x

Hiya I have received a reply from the Detective Chief Inspectors Office saying I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 21st Sept and can confirm your concerns are receiving attention. Its a start so lets hope they do something soon and get it taken off. I`ll keep you posted. LavenderRose

Hiya I have sent a massive letter of complaint to the detective chief inspector, the home office, CRB, Inspector of local police and the independant police complaints department. I.ll wait to see what they are going to do and I will let you know what they do say. LavenderRose

Thanku sidewinder I appreciate that. I have written a massive complaint to the chief of police it just worries me that thousands of ppl, teachers etc are experiencing this and cant get it off their record. One woman took her 2 yrs to find a solicitor to take her case on! Go to the daily telegraph website and type in CRB errors you`ll be gobsmacked. I work with the local police at the community centre where I work so I will book a meeting with him. I`ll keep you updated as to how I get on but from what Ive read ppl are just being passed around and no one wants to admit fault. Cheers for the info. I`ll post after the meeting. It may help someone else in the same situation. LavenderRose x

Could someone please help me with this I signed up to this site a few weeks ago and didnt know if CRB would be on so I am so glad it is. My partner is 37 and in his twenties volunteered at the local school for 5 years and has some certificates for it. he then volunteered for the local youth club for 3 years and both times had an enhanced CRB with no probs. He gave up as a volunteer 5 months ago as life was so busy and now that it has quietened down agreed to run a workshop for the local youths at the same centre. We sent of for the enhances CRB as usual and when it came just handed it in like last time. 3 days later he was taken in the office and told they could not let him volunteer and showed him his CRB. We could not believe it, it states that the police were told that he has been selling drugs from our home and from the car over a four year period. Its devestated us as its totally not true. We have never had the police at our door due to our teenagers let alone us and we dont even take drugs. This is a malicious lie that someone has phoned up and fabricated this story and it has gone on his CRB. I have researched the net and its happening to thousands of people. It only takes a pee`d of neighbour or a spiteful ex and your career could be in ruins. He now cannot get a job or volunteer anywhere and I believe you can complain but ppl are struggling to get them taken off. If anyone has any advice on this I would really appreciate it as we dont know where to start clearing his name. Id appreciate it. Thanks LavenderRose

I signed up to this site a few weeks ago and didnt know if CRB would be on so I am so glad it is. My partner is 37 and in his twenties volunteered at the local school for 5 years and has some certificates for it. he then volunteered for the local youth club for 3 years and both times had an enhanced CRB with no probs. He gave up as a volunteer 5 months ago as life was so busy and now that it has quietened down agreed to run a workshop for the local youths at the same centre. We sent of for the enhances CRB as usual and when it came just handed it in like last time. 3 days later he was taken in the office and told they could not let him volunteer and showed him his CRB. We could not believe it, it states that the police were told that he has been selling drugs from our home and from the car over a four year period. Its devestated us as its totally not true. We have never had the police at our door due to our teenagers let alone us and we dont even take drugs. This is a malicious lie that someone has phoned up and fabricated this story and it has gone on his CRB. I have researched the net and its happening to thousands of people. It only takes a pee`d of neighbour or a spiteful ex and your career could be in ruins. He now cannot get a job or volunteer anywhere and I believe you can complain but ppl are struggling to get them taken off. If anyone has any advice on this I would really appreciate it as we dont know where to start clearing his name. Id appreciate it. Thanks LavenderRose

Hiya Sugarbabes just wondering how you have got on so far. Im writing back to the bailiffs with a definate no your reply is not satisfactory as you hoped. I cant believe the lies that have been told. I am complaining to his enforcement association and definately sending my form 4 complaint.Im also waiting for some advice on what to put in my letter. Hope your ok and that things have improved for you LavenderRose

Good for you Sugar and TT`s right. You need to send this one to the Ombudsman, they will sort it out. Ive finally had a letter back from the bailiffs and a breakdown of charges. The bailiff is denying he ever said he would hand my case over to the police who will arrest me and put me in prison if I didnt pay in full in two days and they believe him!! Also ive got 9 pages of breakdown of visits etc. If these are screen dumps of my account im the queen mary!!! apparently he paid a 2nd visit and I spoke to him from the window?? I have never spoken to a bailiff from a window. I cant believe the list of lies. Oh and my front door is yellow? I am so mad I cant reply yet so I am going for a walk with my lovely staffy to calm down and then come back in here. Any help would be appreciated. Apart from having 4 ppl in the hallway who all heard him plain as day say it how can I prove him wrong as they were my family and a family friend. Wasnt expecting pages of verbal diahorrhea.

Oh Sugar dont ever not want to wake up hun as life is forever changing and nothing ever stays the same for long although some things might seem like they drag on forever. Your not the only one being duped by others so dont ever feel alone. Thats what this site is all about. Its not just for information and help but its for ppl to support each other in similar circumstances and each and every person here has had financial struggles and/or been ripped off. Keep posting here Sugar and we will all help you to find peace in your life and as for the bailiffs I wouldnt even give them a minutes thought. What a crummy job they have to get up each morning and be so callous to decent human beings. Their job description must include be disattached from human beings and have no emotions and you will be perfect for doing such a lousy job and then go home and sleep at night without remorse or guilt. YOU sugar and everyone here are different and You are a fighter or you wouldnt still be struggling on for a better life and future. You keep it up girl and only do what you feel is right for you. You will come out a winner in the end. I still have not had a breakdown of my charges so my complaint to the courts (form 4) will be posted tomorrow morning. I will not let this rest until justice is done and my charges are repaid. Take it easy Sugar. LavenderRose x

Well said Fair parking I couldnt agree more. I have in the past had creditors threatening me with court charges etc and in the end apart from almost having a nervous breakdown and losing weight to the points of looking like a stick insect I decided Sod You. You dont care about me and the fact I ended up on anti depressants so I sent them all £2 per week and guess what. They accepted it! It took me a lot longer to pay them all but I did and I am glad cause now im with someone who wont **** on me financially and we are looking to get a mortgage next year. If I had gone bankrupt I would have had no chance of that now. Whenever you feel down sugar come on here and everyone here will cheer you up and give you hope. LavenderRose There is a light at the end of the tunnel all you need is faith in yourself.

If you have it in writing that the bailiffs have overcharged you im sure you can put them in front of a judge for fraud. I would read stickys threads. He has some cracking letters you could use. Dont be afraid of these people they are bullies and have no right to intimidate you just to get their commission. Any letters you still get from the bailiffs keep them as proof of harrassment and send one of stickys letters to the council offering them what you can afford stating (and this is important you add this) that you are by no means refusing to pay your council tax but cannot pay the amount they are demanding and only wish to pay an amount you can afford without causing further hardship and defaulting on other accounts) then offer them an amount you can afford, pay it and stick to it. I understand why you have been advised not to go bankrupt. It puts your credit in the bin for 6 or 7 years and means you wouldnt get credit again for a long time. Im sure there is an option and I cant remember what its called where you write to the courts for this whatever its called and fill out a form giving all your debts. The only one you cant add is c.tax. You offer the courts a monthly amount that you can afford and they write to all your debtors and stop interest being added. The payments you send the court they share out to your creditors until the debts are paid. They cant write to you for payment, add any more interest or take you to court while you have this. I think its some sort of injunction. I dont know what anyone else thinks as im unsure on this but maybe martin3030 or someone knows what im on about and can give you more info. Also bailiffs are not allowed to call at silly oclock so you get some sleep you deserve it. All the best and keep your chin up x LavenderRose

Sugarbabes47 my heart goes out to you. What callous ppl they are. You do come under the vulnerable persons group with your bereavement and also you DO NOT have to have any dealings with the bailiffs whatsoever. They will simply give your account back to the council if they do not get any money from you. I would just pay the council and not a penny to the bailiffs not even their ridiculous charges. I am in the same predicament with a bailiff who called at my door, gave me two days to pay £459 or he would hand my case to the police and i would be arrested and put in prison. I am a single mother so I come in the vulnerable group, he has overcharged me so I have lodged a complaint against him to the council. And he threatened me with imprisonment which he has no authority to do so. I sent a letter for a breakddown of my charges and screen dumps of my account and got a letter back saying my case has now gone back to the council and all correspondence has to go to them from now on. Er I dont think so! I have sent a letter to the council to complain about his conduct so they are investigating it and waiting for an explanation from the bailiff about his methods of collecting arrears. I sent a 2nd letter to the bailiffs stating that if I didnt receive a breakdown of my charges I will complain in the form of a form 4 and see him in court in front of a judge for fraud, breach of code of conduct and threats. I have also asked the council which enforecement agency he is registered with and they have told me so they are getting a complaint too. I suggest you write to the council and ask which enforcement agency this bailiff is registered with which if its rossendales (same as me) it may be that they are all registered with the same one, they sent me the address and the email address. When you get it send a complaint. If a bailiff does come ignore him and he will go away. Id write to the council and give them 14 days to find your missing account that shows its paid or you will be writing to the local ombudsman, that will make them shift off their backsides. The council wanted £60 a month off me which I could not afford. I stated I am not refusing to pay just cant without incurring more hardship and sent £8 a week and have been doing so for the last 3 weeks. They have cashed each cheque and even sent me a payment card to send with the cheque so that they can stamp it and send it back. The arrears department in the councils are paid on a commission basis and are not interested in circumstances but just making their commission. They cannot though refuse any payment. I hope all this makes sense and I will post any more replies I do get. I am now going to write my complaint to the enforcement agency who will investigate my complaint. If I have not received my breakdown of charges by next Wednesday my form 4 will be in the post. This bailiff is going to wish he had never met me.lol I hope this is some comfort to you and please do trust the advice from the people on this site as they are brilliant. I am only advising from my own experience and I am not a qualifed adviser or expert but have done all my fighting back from the advise from this site and its working. I wish you all the best and I hope this gives you peace of mind. LavenderRose x

Hiya in reply to post 576 this may be a breach of their code of conduct. In the bailiffs eyes he has gained peaceful entry AND got a walking possession signed. He cannot take your things if you have agreed a payment plan so long as you dont default on it. I think someone more experienced with a signed walking possession would be better to help you as I am not sure what they can and cant do when that has been signed. All I can say is he is one sneaky weasel. Bailiffs have to follow a code of conduct and below is what they have to comply with: Bailiffs working for the company are trained to carry out their duties with firmness, but strict fairness. Everyone with whom they meet is treated with tact, consideration and courtesy. All bailiffs carry with them identity cards, bearing their photograph and signature and this is produced each time they meet with the defendant. Where appropriate, written authorisation from the client to act on their behalf is also carried and produced on request. On the first visit, goods and chattels are not immediately removed for sale, unless the defendant indicates that he/she will not pay and will not enter into a payment arrangement, or agree to Walking Possession. In all other cases, the defendant is expected to enter into a Walking Possession Agreement and an arrangement to pay. I would also check with a site team leader on this site for further advice who will also help you draft a letter to the council in complaint of the bailiffs conduct. Hope this helps LavenderRose

U poor thing. They had me worried sick and I couldnt eat. Then I came on this site by accident and started reading about everyone elses experiences with bailiffs and your rights. I do wish id of know this sooner. The people on here are amazing and will help others all the way to the end. This should be called Consumer Angels Group instead. They are a breath of fresh air in this money grabbing world. Anymore probs and send a message to any one of the site team members in the bailiffs section and they will start you with your own thread. People will then give you lots of information and help. They are much more experienced and more knowledgeable in this area than me as I am still learning myself. The info I gave you before is what I have learnt so far from here. I wish you all the best.

Yes send the letter at the start of this thread. Personally I left the bit out offering the bailiffs payment and instead I sent a copy to the council of the letter I sent to Bailiff and enclosed a chq as an initial payment and stated I would be paying them in future. I also said same to bailiffs in their letter that I would not be paying them a penny and instead I will be paying the council. Its up to you who you pay or I would ask sticky but whoever you do pay make it a payment you can afford and stick to it. LavenderRose x

The bailliffs cannot do a thing. all they will do if they cant get payment is send your bill back to the council. I wouldnt even pay them. They make 40% on your bill which is why they put extortunate prices on. Just dont let them in and keep you windows and doors shut. You dont even have to talk to them. I am taking a bailliff to court for threatening me that if i didnt pay up in 48 hours he will give my case to the police and I will be arrested and put in prison. He also charged £110 for van which he didnt even need to bring as he has never been in my house and never levied my goods. I have complained to the council that employed them and im charging him under the fraud act for charges way over what they should be. £24.50 first visit and £15 for second. Cant charge you after that. A van should be reasonable but usually they have their own. Im also a single mother and come in the vulnerable category so thats dropped him in in as well. Im complaining about him to the association he is registered with for his bully threats and tactics. He got me as I was walking down my path. Please read this taken from this great site. I've a tendency to NOT pay any bailiff firm a penny. By all means send a similar letter and regular payments to the council but for goodness sake do not send any money to bailiffs. Reasons? Bailiff firms do not get paid by the councils, they make their money from any fees they can possibly add on to your council tax bill. It's not in their interest to take stage payments and trust me on this, they WILL find some excuse for your payment plan to foul up. The bailiff that calls at your door is more often than not a self-employed collector working on a 40% commission of the fees he can add on, 8 times out of 10 they are not even certificated (as they should be by law) or CRB checked. You can check this by asking for ID and a copy of their County Court Certification. Never been provided with one yet! They rely on intimidation and people's ignorance of the law to extort money from the most vulnerable in society. I have always paid arrears directly to the council, no bailiff firm has ever tried to chase me for their 'fees' once the council debt has been settled. I you're worried, write to the bailiff firm under a Freedom of Information letter asking for a full breakdown of their charges on you along with exact timings etc of calls, letters, van visits etc. they claim to have made. If they do bother to reply these can always be disputed as they very rarely keep any kind of correct record. These firms are not run by businessfolk, but by ignorant bullies. Don't even bother phoning the bailiff firm, in my experience the staff answering the phone are trained to be as unhelpful and awkward as possible, only interested in taking your money for their fees. Just ignore their threats as unless you let them in your house the worst they can do is hand your case back to the council. QUESTION the bailiff's fees and demands by writing a letter to them, including details of your current situation. Copy the letter to the council and tell the council that until the bailiff's demands and charges have been fully investigated you will be paying the council direct. Send the bailiff's letter recorded delivery, and personally take the council letter down to the council if possible. Ask to speak to the Recoveries Officer or someone else high up. If possible send an email or letter to your local councillor asking for their help. The letters should put the bailiff's recovery action on temporary hold. Once you start paying the council, keep it up. Check your charges and please go to the forum bailliffs and sherrif officers and read stickys thread. theres masses of help in there and they will also draft a letter for you. They are extremely knowledgeable on these things and will help you no end. Theres some threads in there from people who have had threats of their cars taken etc You must make sure you add the bit in your letter that states In no way am I refusing to pay my council tax .... Hope this helps and good luck

Park the car somewhere else and read stickys thread and others that are posted on the main site. Theres loads of info in there and template letters to send. Do not let them in and be sure to send them the letter refusing them peaceful entry and check your charges you may have been overcharged and can claim them back and complain. The threads on bailliffs will tell you everything you need to know and arm u up with all the tools you need. good luck