Thanks for helping everyone. The bailiffs office replied to my email yesterday, telling me if I didn't pay £600+ by 10AM Friday they would take my car. I emailed them back with copies of my car insurance cover, self assesment statement from HMRC and a picture of my car tax disk (in their email they stated that my tax disk expired 1/12/11 so I could not be using my car for work - it actually expired 31/1/12 so not sure where they got that from! (I'd already ordered the new one online which I have now). They've emailed me back this morning asking me to send them a copy of my V5 document. Is this normal, why would they want to see that as well? Thanks for your continuing help.

Hi Guys, thanks for all of your help. Tomtubby, am I right in saying that even if they did not need a 'clamping order' they fact they left no 'notice of seizure' still makes their actions illegal? I'd say it's wortjh less than £5000 at auction. Seanamarts, no they seem to have passed it on to a different collection agency. Thanks everyone, much appreciated, I email the council yesterday & am waiting to see if I hear anything from them.

Thanks for your help PT, it is much appreciated! No I wasn't left any 'notice of seizure' or anything about charges, only the 'URGENT' notice on my car window & a 'Bailiffs Execution Notice' letter that was similar. Yes the vehicle is insured for business use, I'm the sole driver & I'd say it's only worth £5/6 grand. Please find below the email I'm just about to send to the collections agency, I though better to get it 'on paper' so to speak & send it rather than to try & speak to their representative again. Any further advice PT would be great, or anyone else out there please feel welcome to help!

Thanks PT, if I phone the Bailiff in the morning & ask him to produce this am I within my rights to ask him to come & remove the clamp until he can produce this? Or will he just go & get a clamping order & bring it when he takes my car? From looking through some of the other threads it would seem that the bailiff should have left me a copy of the relevent legislation - section 5 is that right? If so then all I received was the paperwork mentioned in my initial thread. Also, has my car been lawfully 'levied against', whatever that means? Thanks very much in advance for your help.

Thanks Thorntondog but I don't want to do anything that could be deemed illegal. Apart from the Bailiffs own A4 letter asking for payment in full, with 'URGENT' in big black type on a red background stuck to my car & another similar notice posted through my door asking for £7, 841 immediately (that I've only just found) that's the only paperwork - nothing 'official'. Is it legal to turn up & on a first visit do this on a vehicle without giving any option to pay or with no official paperwork? Also there is no Liability Order for £7, 841, as stated on their letter, but different Liability Orders which I doubt even when added together comes to this sum, is that legal?

Hi, Thanks for your help in advance everyone. To cut a very long story short I've had problems being able to pay by my Council Tax for about 6 years now (since a divorce funnily enough!), I've explained my situation to the council, informed them of a low self-employed income of approximately £10 K, etc. but they've got liability orders & still sent Bailiffs to me each year (Rossendales). Each year I've had to write to Rossendales explaining my situation, write & visit the council, etc & tell them I just can't pay. To be positive about a Bailiff for a change, although they have been quite 'forceful' in asking for money they have listened to me & handed the debt back to the council to sort out (eventually). This afternoon I went out to my car to find it clamped with a notice from a different firm on my side window, asking me to pay nearly 8 K in full, in the next few hours, or my car will be "taken & sold at public auction". It was just an A4 piece of paper with a 5 digit reference number on, no other documentation, no court reference etc. I've phoned & spoken to their representative, informing him that I'm self employed & I need my car for work. He said as it's not a van I don't & I can use public transport - I told him I need to carry up to 6 PC's & tools etc & this would be impossible on public transport - "well hire a vehicle" was his reply. He then questioned whether or not I was self employed (I'm a sole trader) & wanted me to be able to produce company accounts. He told me the only way he would release the clamp was if I paid over £600, the amount of one of the liability orders and wasn't prepared to enter any sort of payment plan. I then phoned the council collections department who said they would speak to the bailiff & get back to me. He phoned back to say it was with the Bailiff & the council were not prepared to do anything & 'that was his last word on the matter'. If anyone could help with this at all I'd be incredibly grateful, I've got 2 young children, work I need to be able to transport large bulky machines to & from & I'm already on medication for a stress related illness, I need my car! Thanks.