Hi Seanamarts, Rae thanks for your replies. I see your point Rae - this did not occur to me. i followed the example of one of the letters in the forum. I 'll write to them and withdraw my proposal - and just stipulate that they return the debt back to the council - what do you think? - i guess i should have ran it by you first. What a dic....d.. thanks for the link regarding benefits etc. i'll check it out All the best/BF

Hi Everyone I have now sent the letters to both the bailiffs Phoenix and copied to the Council. Please see the attachments having sent these - i am just concernd if the letters seem "initimidating" ?? any comments please? many thanks for your continued support BF Phoenix - Council tax6.doc CAG council tax5doc.doc

Hi Rae, and Seanamarts thanks for ll your inputs. i am writing to the Council and Phoenix now per your comments all the best/BF

hi Rae - I heard from the Bailiff and listed it in the thread -I shall be grateful if you could take a look at it and give adviceas they made some false claims in the statement they sent me. Many thanks/BF

Hi Seanamarts sure i'll do that- many thanks/BF

HI Seanamarts Thanks - sorry i was out Visits - how can they prove that they've visited - that will be interesting. I was certainly totally unaware of these visits. Had I'd been, I would have been onto them from that moment! No - he did not make a list of items in the house. He certainly did not give me anything to sign. Just took my payment and noted down my mobile number and left. thanks/BF

HI Rae, PT et al well i have heard from Phoenix - they've given me the following breakdown of their fees : date Type Amount Remitte Fee 31/7/09 Visit Fee 1 24.50 24.50 09/9/09 Visit Fee 2 18.00 18.00 22/9/09 Walking Possession 12.00 12.00 22/9/09 Levy Fee 83.00 83.00 22/9/09 Payment by D/C 5.00 5.00 30/11/09 Broken Arrangement1 10.00 0.00 Payments date Status Remitted/Status Type Source Amt To Client Fees date 22/9/09 Remitted 25/9/09 D/C 255 112.50 142.50 28/10/09 Remitted 13/11/09 chq 50 50 0.00 theres a summary total £ 2621.20 paid 305.00 balance : 2316.20 Debt 2468.70 Costs 0.00 Total Fees 152.50 So this means that they are going to claim extra fees from me totalling a further £ 152.50 Regarding their fees breakdown - 1) I hv no record of their vists 1 and 2. 2) Walking possession - i met with the Bailiff on 22nd Sept - and this was because the bailiff walked in when my aunt opened the door to see who it was as i stated in the above thread. He was not asked to come in. I paid the £ 255 by Debit card as they stated, BUT a) there was never any documentation regarding walking possession b) I did not sign anything c) he did not make a note of any thing in the house d) there was no mention of a levy fee e) there was no mention that that would be a £ 5.00 charge for payment by Debit Card I dealt with the guy personally - only because he came in when my aunt ansered the door. 3) Broken Arrangement - i made no arrangement with the Bailiff. The Bailiff text me on my mobile phone a couple of days after he was at my house, telling me to make 3 monthly payments at £ 750 each. i did not reply to him. But when I wrote to him enclosing a cheque for £ 50 (on 27 Oct 2009, i made no mention of his text but stated as follows : "...In the meantime, one of my friends have kindly offered me the use of his e-bay account to raise some cash and the listings will be starting on Thursday. But this will take a good 3 weeks there on to receive payment to pay you. My plan is to make a substantial payment to you - about £1000 – by the end of November. In the meantime I am enclosing a cheque for £ 50 – I am sorry but this is all I can afford at this time..." But as you can see from the above, i did not enter into an agreement with them to make any payment. As it happend, i was unable to send this payment nor anything else as my brother had collasped with a brain hemorrhage. But the point is I had no agrement with them to break, nor did i enter into any agreement, nor was ther a walking possession. I was about to i) ) send Phoenix a "vulnerable status letter " you mentioned earlier and ii) and contesting the right of re- entry of the Bailiff to my house iii) then a letter of complaint to the council of phoenix's visit. I have not heard from the Council about the letters i have written to them so I do not know who the head of Revenue is or, the welfare rights officer. I guess I'll have to phone them tomorrow and find out. In the meantime, I would appreciate any comments and advise you wish to make on the above? look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks BF

HI Diddydicky thanks - good point. I'll check this out too as soon as i receive the papers from them and get back to you many thanks/BF

HI Diddydicky thanks for yr posts - yes you are right on both. but i hv not seent he agreement nor do i remember agreeing to it. If they inserted this clause without my knowledge or if it was there at the time and i missed it....i hv no idea. i have asked for all copies of agreement invoices etc. My quesiton is as accountants, should they not announce that "...you are personally liable if the company folds/cease trading to pay our fees..." just like when you take out a mortgage .. "your home may be at risk...etc. anyway - will update when i receive all the copies. thanks again diddydicky all the best/BF

Hi Rae - thanks for the message last night which for some reason i had difficulty in seeing - till this morning. Hi All - thanks so much for your support. I am overwhelmed. i hv read throught he thread a few times to get my brain in gear. so far yesterday : a. I sent a letter to Phoenix per Ploddertoms emplate in post #6. b. I sent a letter to council asking for breakdown and contact details of their head of revenue and Welfare Risk officer. my plan now is to send letters in stages on Friday i plan to send c) "Vulnerale" Letter - per Raes post # 18 d) Greenpimpernel's suggestion of contesting right of re-entry next monday formal complaint letter to Council with a proposal for repayment... what do you think? Many thanks again/BF

hi All letters sent - will give you update immediately as it happens. thanks again all. All the best/BF.

Hi Rae, Hi PT, Greenpimpernel well i sent a letter to Phoenix requesting breakdown and a letter to Barnet Council requesting details per messages in this thread above. i'll send the other letters (vulnerable, contesting +council) at the weekend. I think its better to spread them a little. will give you update as it happens. many thanks again/BF

Hi Rae many thanks indeed. I shall have it done today and sent. all the best/BF

HI - Thanks Greenpimpernel Great advice. I'll do that too tmrw - contest that any levy had occurred and deny any right of entering my house again. this may sound real sad - but I could not sleep over the weekend as i was checking through the site and reading various threads on bialiffs and worrying. now i am all "adrenalin-ed up" - thanks again to everyone. All the best/BF

Hi PT, Rae Horizzzzzzzontal position??? great idea !!! Second that motion! Thanks for all yr support. will start early tmrw and write these letters/emails and update you. All the best/BF

HI Rae, Hi PT Thanks so much for your fast and extremely helpful replies. This is really great. I did not expect such support. Thanks again. BF

Hi CCM Good point - Many thanks / BF

Hi PT Thanks very much - thats real kind of you. I'll send this tomorrow The issues that really bugs me are: a. what are the consequences because the bailiff had gained entry b. what options are available for me c. what if my dear aunt is "vulnerable" - what do I do as a result? pl clue me what to do. Many thanks/BF

HI Rae - thanks for your reply. Basically, my aunt is from Burma - she came over in 2005 when my mum was real ill. They are the last siblings. My mum passed away in Aug 2006 - so my aunts been living with me ever since. She's a spinster, and not really familiar with the English ways - let alone Bailiffs. My aunt is partially blind, partially deaf and partially disabled (she cannot walk much and needs a wheel chair). Basically she opened the door as she was by the front door when the bailiff knocked. She told me that before she could do anything, he just walked into the house and asked for me by name. As she could not hear, he had to shout, she got frightened and screamed for me. I was up in the loft and not the most nimble - by the time i got downstairs he was already in the house, in the front room. My aunt explained to me in Burmese that he just walked in and there was nothing she could do. So thats the story of his entry. He was not prepared to leave unless i pay him something and as my aunt was really distressed i thought the most expedient thing would be just to pay up as little as possible and deal with it later. I read many threads in CAG and am pretty scared regarding the consequences as the bailiff "gained entry" and i just need some serious advice on how to deal with this. What are the consequences, and what can I do to prevent them? If you could send a template that would be great. My goal is to handle the "consequences of his entry" and pay a small amount per month - as at this precise moment i am seriously broke. Whilst i have sent a letter to the Bailiff asking for a breakdown of charges i 'd like to send another as a follow up using a template i hv seen on this site ("....this is not a Subject Access Request, and therefore i do not have to enclose a £10 fee, but ...") what do you think? Many thanks BF

HI DX Many thanks for such a fast response. I certainly will. It really makes me feel much better seeing yr response. Stops the guts churning. thanks/BF

Hi Pl help with this Bailiff/Council tax matter. I've spent an entire weekend reading through the threads in CAG and got a fairly good idea but feel that i need to ask those more knowledgeable on this site. I am in arrears for 2007 and in Sept 2009, a Bailiff from Phoenix Recoveries visited my house. Unfortunately, my 88 year old aunt who is quite infirm and unwell - let him in as she was by the front door. He threathend me with various things but wanted me to make a payment and i was able to pay him £ 255 by Debit card and he left. I signed nothing, he did not make a note of anything in the house. He then sent me a text message on my mobile asking me to make 3 monthly payments of £ 750 each. Oct 2009 - I wrote to Phoenix and explained I could not make these payments. I stated in my letter that I could sell some stuff on ebay and then pay them £1000 from the proceeds at the end of Nov. 2009 but i did include a cheque for £ 50 int hat letter. Then my brother collapsed with a brain haemmorrhage and was in intensive care, in a coma afer 4 operations in his head. That completely changed everything as the Neuro surgeons wrote him off and i was fighting them as well as trying to get my brother out of his coma. (We are very clse) (In addition to my brother collapsing, i also had other personal problems which i wont mention here) I wrote to Phoenix at the end of Dec. 2009 apprasing them of my situation and that i ahd not been able to work (I am self employed) I wrote to them at the beginning or March asking them for a break down of what i owe, but have not heard from them. 1) Having read the threads concerning these cases, it seems to me that my biggest problem is that my aunt let this guy in the house. What is the issue on this please -can some one advise me. My aunt is is 88 years old. She opened the door, and he just stepped in asking for me. 2) My aunt is partially deaf and as it was cold i guess she had no choice but to allow him to get in the house. - Can she be classed as Vulnerable? and in which case what do I do about this? 3) Should I write to the council (Barnet) and ask for a break down of the arrears? 4) and Phoenix? my letter to them simply asked what the amount outstanding was - but I see from my research on this site, that there is a more detailed letter i can write. 5) Also do I send a "Subject Access Request" to Phoenix? 6) Financially, I am seriously in dire straits at the moment and cannnot really afford much. I want to propose to either the Council or Phoenix to pay an affordable sum of around £ 20 - £ 30 per month - i think the amount outstanding is in the region of £ 2000 so this may not be acceptable to them. Please let me have some ideas on how to proceed. Many thanks/BF Many thanks

HI DB good point - No I did not receive any. thanks BF

Hi Ell-enn well i've not received anything from Bank of Scotland in writing so if i still do not receive anything more tomorrow, i will write a letter and confirm my dicussions with them. thanks/BF

Hi DB Many thanks. I'll stipulate this in my letter to their solicitors. meantime, what if they claim they sent statements? thanks BF

Hi - thanks DB and Debbbs. Your comments are very interesting - I am not sure if they have sent statements. I have not seen them. if they were sending statements, they would be addressed to my company whose registered address would be my previous house. The writ is addressed personally to me at my new house.(I moved in 2005) Should I ask to see the statements? As I said I hv written to their solicitors asking for a) the original agreements b) all invoices and i will let you know as soon as i hear from them Many thanks to you. BF