I don't know the name of the bailiff unfortunately. I checked with my doorman and there are no letters and no records of any visit (no surprises there) but if I hear anything further I will be sure to let you know. Cheers!

That is great news, thank you so much for you advice!

Hi, This is my problem in a nutshell: At the beginning of August Haringey Council issued me a letter saying that my account was being passed to the bailiffs. The problem is this - I never received the letter (I'm presuming because of the postal strikes) and as such had no idea that my account was with the bailiffs. I am moving home at the end of the month and called Haringey Council to close the account. They did so, noting that I had overpaid by £15 for which they would issue me a cheque, and remarking that I didn't have any further debt "with them", which is why the whole thing came to light. By coincidence I received a letter today from Newlyn saying I owed £690. I called them, they said that they had been notified from Haringey that the account was paid up so it was just the outstanding £290 that I owed them. They have given me the dates of 3 visits to my home (none of which I was aware of!) and I have asked for a full breakdown of charges which apparently I will be sent. Here are my issues: 1 - I don't think they actually made the visits. The letter I received today in the post was the first time I had ever heard of Newlyn. My building is such that if I am not home it is impossible to access the front door of my flat or my postbox. The alternative is to leave a letter with the doorman who will sign for it. So if they had made 3 visits, 3 letters should have been left with the doorman but none was. 2 - I made council tax payments in full and on time at the beginning of August, September and October. 3 - the account is now closed and I don't owe the council any money. Can Newlyn still pursue me for £290.50 in charges? If so, how, since I didn't even know they had my account! I'm finding this really intimidating; any advice you can offer would be much appreciated. Many thanks Cathy T