Pink_eeyore, no - I'm not even sure how to do that: I don't claim benefits, and I work as much as I can, though fatigue is a huge issue for many neuropathies. Thank you to dx100uk, hallowitch and layercake for your advice, and wonkeydonkey: your words have made my christmastime a little better, cheers! I wouldn't eat a bailiff though, they're either too tough or full of **** Any advice on where it's likely to go from here - I'm paying close to what the council insisted on, so I'm hoping, perhaps in vain, that this will all just go away. Cheers all.

Thanks, i've been reading, but i'm still worried that it'll turn out badly. I'm tired of begging the council to take the matter back into their own hands, and all I'm doing now is making whatever payments I can, and hoping that I'll not end up in prison - or with a criminal record. Can they actually do that? The whole situation is horrible, and my nerves are shot. I'm jumping at shadows and dread returning home if I go out as I don't know what I'll find.

I posted what just happened elsewhere, but I thought I'd post it on my thread too, as I can't quite believe it. The bailiff just put a 'notification of bailiff visit' through my door, quietly, without knocking, it was signed with an 'x' and the 'full name' field was 'Jim'. Also, he got my name wrong on the form. I am being charged an extra £16 for 'Jim's' visit. Is this something that's common for them to do?

It's not just equita either - Bristow & Sutor do it to. *Just this minute* it happened to me - he got out of his vehicle, *quietly* put the letter through the box, for which I am to be charged £16, and left. I should refuse to pay that, as he did not attend for the purpose of seizing my goods, he attended to deliver a note that he could charge me £16 for. {edit} - He also signed the notification of bailiff visit with an 'X' and put his full name as 'Jim'. Sheesh

Firstly, I hope that this isn't covered elsewhere and that I'm not just being annoying by posting, but my head is spinning so badly that I'm finding it hard to read too much. I've run up a council-tax bill and want to pay it off, but the council's proposal for payment went into my spam folder and didn't get noticed before being passed to Bristow and Sutor for collection. Not all of the council tax owed has actually been accrued yet - some of it is for next year, but they want the lot and have a liability order. The council wanted £180 a month from me, which is more money than I have. I emailed them back and told them that I would pay, even though it might mean that I have to eat packet noodles for two weeks a month (which would play havok with my disability, which leaves me emaciated and weak.) I was told that they couldn't do anything and I should talk to the bailiffs. I called Bristow and Sutor and was told that they absolutely will not negotiate unless I allow them into my home to seize goods. Over my dead body. I immediately made a payment of £150 to the council, which they accepted, and asked that they withdraw the account from the bailiffs - to which I was told: "I told you how much we wanted from you, now the account has been passed to the bailiffs and I am unable to withdraw it." What do I do? I don't want to go to prison, I just want to pay off my debt at a rate that I can afford. If you can offer any advice, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.