Good morning CAG'ers, Following some excellent guidance recently I am ploughing my way through negotiating debts with various companies... but I have one issue... I am dealing with Moorcroft to sort out my overdue water bills... I have tried to tell them I can only afford £10 approx a month but they insist that as they are a priority debt, I have to pay £60 p month. I just wont be able to maintain that and WILL end up in more trouble. Can anyone advise what minimum repayment they might have managed to agree? I am not sure how to handle the priority bit.. pls help as I intend calling them again today. With thanks, P x

From my dim & distant past I recall that u do not have to have the benefit paid direct to landlord UNLESS you are more than 8 weeks in arrears. I'd insist all payments now come to you.

Well done you for looking out for your neighbour. Definitely advise mental health team get involved or a relevant care/case worker. Bailiffs cause enough stress to us without adding ever more distress to the lives of vulnerable people.

At your council you need to identify who has corporate responsibility for equalities, a staff group representative, the union & HR. There is No Way any council as an employer can get away with giving u less than you are entitled to. They are a public service organisation and have extra 'duties' placed upon them to act as exemplar employers.

What a nightmare. Not sure if this helps but some years ago I was renting a room in a shared house and my brother was renting another (4 different tenants in total). Anyway, housing benefit wrote to me saying that I would be getting a visit from one of their team. Bloke arrived asked me to explain who John Smith was to me... They thought he was my partner. I laughed and said no, he's my brother. The bloke went into our rooms and then to the kitchen, when he saw that we had separate cupboards for food and separate shelves in the fridge he was happy. I just wonder if you and your ex have a similar set up at home? Have you not been visited before benefits was stopped?

Interesting. I haven't spoken to the Student loans company for years but their letters seem to follow me every time I get a new address. Guess I had better get this one sorted.

Hello again, Today I am in a much better place. Far less stressed but still very angry. I thoughly agree that these councils and their bailiffs cannot get away with causing such distress. I am a fairly confident and articulate person but this kind of thing brought me to my knees in the past, and my panic attack last week really upset and angered me. I WILL be writing to the council, I will pay only them and as for Rossendales, they can have £1 a week.. that will give me great pleasure. I will also see if I can get some of their fees squashed. I fear for people who are on the brink of suicide for fear they have nowhere else to turn. Feeling you are a prisoner in your own home is awful. Being afraid to answer the door or leave the house empty for a moment. I am determined to follow through on my complaints. Well done CAG... I am your newest fan and more than happy to get involved in campaigning. Let me know what else I can do. Again, I can't thank you all enough.

How's it going?

Phew! I know exactly how you feel today after going through the same yesterday. Well done you. Im now going to complain to council about their treatment of me via their bailffs... they can't keep putting people under this distress all the while knowing they 'could' help from the start if they chose to.

Fascinating. Does this mean I can get back the £300 benefit payment they swiped from me last year? I had waited MONTHS for my benefit situation to be worked out by the DWP and when backpayment was paid into my account, they had gone. It totally messed up my other payment arrangements at that time too.

Thank you Im getting there!

Hi there, Just wondering what "SAR the OC" means? Im trying to learn fast

Hello Lucy, I want to say 'panic not'... please see my alarmingly similar thread about Rossendales. I too had 'late' payments on more than one occassion and just argued the case with the council that I HAD tried to pay on time. Didn't think the 15th was so crucial and had in fact paid early more often than not. They are now off my back and the council have recalled the bill back into their hands. I wish you lots of luck and cannont recommend enough that you read through a number of posts on the same subject. Knowledge IS power, and even though 'technically' you have defaulted, you HAVE tried your best to pay. Let us know how it goes x

Hello again and guess what!! I don't have to pay £602 to Rottendales By some miracle I found a human at the Council's recovery dept. He has cancelled bailiff and has reinstated my £40 per month payments. Phew! The person at East Cambs District Council I spoke to last week was adamant they could not help.."it's with the bailiff". Today was a totally different matter. After spending a weekend reading the info on this site, and carefully following the advice and guidance of members, I managed to hold a clear, concise (and civilised) conversation with the same dept today. I set out my questions, asked for specific information and discussed the fact that their actions felt unfair and was causing undue distress. Apparently Rossendales had walking posession of my car. I sold the car months ago to cover bills. No car, no possession. The council man wasn't particularly happy about this but as he said "what can we do, it's gone". I've double checked the fees Rossendales charged. £24.50 for 1st visit £18 for 2nd visit I understand this is proper and correct. THEN they added a 'Van fee' of £110.00 and a 'levy' fee of £59.00 - do these sound about right? I cannot tell you what a difference you have all made. I was able to speak their own language today and feel certain this is how I finally managed to get through to those in power. Thank you so much. xx Now onward and upwards to sort out my budgeting once and for all.

Thanks for the tip, I'll double check doors and windows before I do the school run and put the dog in the hallway for extra bark factor if needed. Looking forward to getting this lot sorted. Sleep well folks x

Thank you all once again! At last I have a really clear idea of what needs to happen next. You have all helped take a lot of pressure from me. In the morning I will do exactly as asked and will get back to this forum with their replies. Fingers crossed I find a few 'humans' Gnight all and seriously, can't thank you enough. I will return the favour one day x

Thank you so much! I have got nothing from anyone saying anything other than the shock of a 24 hour removal notice late last week. "Amongst friends" that is so nice of you to say. It's lovely not to be judged x

Can anyone suggest wording to council asking that they recall the debt as I want to get anything on email/letter from now on. I've just had a flashback... Last Jan when I originally had the battle with Rossendales and their visit..my payment agreed etc.. I remember asking the council recovery lot if they would get the bill back to them so I could pay them direct. They explained to me that as the bill was for over a certain figure, they couldn't.. cos the bailiff will have already applied their fees and the council will not be collecting that from them nor paying it on my behalf. Is that fair? x

Hi and thanks, During April and May, I had a significant family crisis followed by a bereavement and to be honest amazed I had even paid at all! I have been under my GP for anxiety and depression. This happens on and off. I am a lone parent of two boys and actively seeking a return to work. I am 'ok' just now but this is now making me feel overwhelmed once more. After speaking to R'dales and the Council last week I had a panic attack at home which was very frightened to me. A physical reaction... I just can't believe this is happening. I can't tell you how happy I am to know this online support is here. So much to do and so little time... x

Let us know how it goes. I might be copying you! Good luck x

Rossendale bailiff entered my house last Jan. Council tax arrears - I paid them a load of money and then agreed to pay £40 per month from then on. I have paid that religiously since and my bank statement shows every single month - from Feb-Aug £40 has been paid to R'dales. Last week the same firm returned and left a 24 hour notice for me to pay full amount. Not understanding why, I phoned bailiff and was told I had to pay in full as I had defaulted on my terms. I explained I had paid every month and the next one is not due for another week! He said I was 2 days late in APRIL, and 9 days late in May! It's now September!! He took no account of me having paid EARLY most months. The bill is due on the 15th I truly hadn't realised how important that number would be. I had been suffering poor mental health and in my 'crisis mode' all I cared about was making sure a payment was made each month. No matter what and so far I have. Unmoved, the bailiff stated that if I cannot find this sum of money by next friday, then he might as well 'turn his van around' and collect possessions immediately...He said "its inevitable you are not going to find any money to pay so I'll come now". I had to backtrack on explaining I had no chance of finding any more money and say I'd ask friends etc. so that I could get enough time to work out what I should do next. Bailiff has let me have a week... to this Friday (09/09/2011) or he empties my house. Still in early stages of learning about how to handle all of this and reading like a woman possessed! I phoned the council and asked what it was all about and they explained they couldn't help as it has been passed over to Rossendales. What do I do? This is a nightmare and I thought I had sorted all this once! What to do now folks? Send a CCA request, or get council to give me statements etc? I just don't understand xx

Fascinating thread. I am in just the same position. Rossendales entered my house last jan. I paid then a figure and agreed to pay £40 per month for arrears on council tax (from previous years). I have paid that religiously since and my bank statement shows that every single month - from Feb-Aug has £40 paid out to R'dales. Bailiff came last week and left a 24 hour notice for me to pay full amount. I phoned bailiff and was told I had to pay it as I had defaulted on my terms. I explained I had paid every month and the next one is not due for another week! He then said I was 2 days late in APRIL, and 9 days late in May. He took no account of me more often paying EARLY each month. To be honest, the bill is due on the 15th each month and I seriosly hadn't thought of how important that number would be. In my crisis mode, I simply think... pay monthly no matter what, and so ofar I have. Bailiff tells me unless I pay a significant figure, he will empty the house on Friday this week. Still in early stages of learning about how to handle all of this and reading like a woman possessed! I'll come back if I may and let you know what happens next. Sorry to hijack original post. Im just amazed others are suffering the same. I wish you luck in getting these arrogant little men sorted. x

I'm keen to know how to go about this too, everytime I call a debtor they persuade me I have to pay £60 per month minimum for late water rates and £15 pcm minimum for a credit card debt.. Im running out of money that can be skimmed from the food bill, or from clothing and other essentials