Thank you - I'm doing that today.

Ok - will do. Thanks for the advice. By the way - my car has been levied in connection with another council tax debt, (have raised a separate thread). What power does that give the bailiff? does it stay in place until the debt is paid - presuming I'm allowed to pay in installments?

Thanks - please see response further down.

Hi, and thank you. The most important ones where bailiffs are chasing or AOE is in place are are council tax debts. I've been going through the various bailiff notices to try and work out exact figures, and they seem to fluctuate for some reason (as in, decreasing in some instances). I'm even more confused now, but my best estimate right now is: Epping Council - £937.00 at Dec 12, now £711.00 at January Croydon Council - £1969.00 & £558 Total £4175.00 Thanks A

Thank you

It's a different one. I've had a number of these things all surface at the same time. Just when I've paid one off another arrives and now I'm swamped - with no funds left to pay them.

Thanks again, but I checked all the fees when I negotiated the monthly instalments. I want to know why Newlyn will no longer accept my instalments. They haven't written to me to advise of any reason, so in my original posting I was asking if this had happened to anyone else!

There is no mention of a van fee on this notice - they are now asking for the full amount oustanding - £558.00 but they agreed my installment plan 6 months ago. That is what I'm asking for help with. .. and I'm not joking when I say there is nowhere else for me to park my car. I don't live in a town. I wish I was brave enough to wave through the windows!

Hi again all, Can anyone help me with this please? I've been chased by bailiff from Ross & Roberts for outstanding council tax, and I wrote to explain my financial situation, and my that due to depression I asked them to stop visiting my house whilst I dealt with the council to get full details of what I owed. I believe I had paid the amount in full (with the last of my savings) so I (obviously) wanted to know what this was about. They did leave me alone, but I didn't get a response from the council, and now an AOE has been served without any further communication from bailiff or council. Are they allowed to do this without giving me the opportunity to defend myself? I don't have any more money to pay this, or the other debts which have all raised their heads at the same time. No-one seems to want to allow me to pay installments so I'm thinking I'll need to declare myself bankrupt as I can't see any other option.

Thanks IHB, I have nowhere to move my car to, which is why I am worried sick. When they first started chasing this debt, the bailiff hid behind a bush and jumped out when I went to work. I hate the idea of being a prisoner in my own home again. I guess if there's no advice to be had about Newlyn's apparent change of mind I'll have to fire off letters and hope for the best.

They posted a removal notice, stating they are retrieving monies on a magistrates liability order from 2005. No levy has been made. The amount they want is exactly the same as the amount currently outstanding on the agreement I made with them approx 6 months ago, which is why it seems they have changed their mind and no longer want installments. But neither Newlyn or the council have communicated that to me. .. and can they still chase a 7+ yr council tax debt so aggressively? No, they have never been inside my home, but they used the old 'goods may be removed in your absence' threat. As you'll see from my reply above, my query is why they are now trying to collect the full amount without any communication with me to tell me of their intentions, so I'm wondering if they're allowed to do that.

Hi all, Would be grateful for some help on this. I returned home from work last night to find a notice from Newlyns to say they had visited to collect @£500, and that a van had been booked. The notice wasn't in an envelope, and had notes like 'THE VAN HAS BEEN BOOKED' hand written on it in capitals. Nice and threatening. This visit seems to refer to an outstanding council tax debt which I have already agreed a repayment schedule with Newlyns and have been paying on time - apart from one payment which was 24 hours late because their website was faulty. At that time they didn't want to accept their website wss to blame, said I had broken the agreement and that bailiffs would return. They did, but after a while they stopped coming when they couldn't get hold of me so I presumed they had bigger fish to fry and left me alone because all other payments had been on time. On this occasion I have received no communication to explain why the bailiffs have returned. It has come totally out of the blue - it seems like Newlyn have simply changed their minds. Has anyone had experience of Newlyn seemingly changing their minds like this? I guess I should now write to the council and the bailiff, but would be grateful if anyone has some useful 'ammo' I could include in my letter! Many thanks.

No, I live in a rural area and the only parking space is outside my house. The only other place is too close by so a clever/nosy bailiff would find it if they've made a note of it before...

So if I've paid their charges, and have started to pay the council, how could they legally levy my car? and how long would I have to wait before they give up?

Neither..

I did read it, thanks for the advice. As per my post to IHB.. I just have a final worry about Newlyn trying to levy on my car once I've told them what I'm doing. Do you know if they can try to do that?

He he! there's just one potential spanner in the works.. would they still try and levy my car if I've paid them and written to tell them of my intention to pay the council? I have to park in front of my house and there's nowhere to hide my car.

I'm paying the bailiff because the council wouldn't take the debt back. I called them when it first started and they said they couldn't help and that I had to deal with the bailiff. That's why I'm unsure about trying to pay the council directly again. They worry of Newlyn's bailiff turning up is ruining my life a bit now, so I'm nervous about stirring things up if I stop paying them...

They do.. it's an extra £1.00 each payment. So are you suggesting I pay Newlyns seperately their charges, and then just tell them and the council I'll continue the £20 p/m payments on line to the council direct?

Ok thanks, but surely Newlyns will just keep harrassing me by text and visits? I can hear them now saying, 'you have made a payment agreement with us', etc etc.

I don't believe they have a levy - they would have to post a list through my door, wouldn't they? They've made several visits to my house, I do have a breakdown of charges and I think (unusually) they have charged me correctly. So how would you suggest I go about changing to paying the council? Sorry if I'm being a bit slow IHB! The Newlyn bailiff I dealt with was actually quite reasonable (after a rude start) and after I sent him my list of outgoings he agreed a low repayment of £20 p/m.So, to confirm , they haven't been inside my house but have attended several times and as mentioned to Plodderton I don't think they've levied as I don't have a list.

Hi IHB.. this was an agreed repayment plan with Newlyns for o/s council tax. They are being bullys because I paid one month's installment late due to their online payment system's fault.

Hi, I couldn't get a screen dump, but did write down the error code so I can quote that. The debt is for unpaid council tax..

Hi all, I made a payment arrangement with Newlyn a few months ago, and on one occasion their website wouldn't accept my payment. I tried several times and kept getting an error message. The next day I called Newlyn. I explained that there might be a fault with their online payment system and asked if I could pay over the phone. I got the usual rude response from them and they refused to accept they might be at fault - they just reminded me that I had now broken the payent arrangement (as I was late paying due to the problems) and would now have to pay in full. I tried to discuss it with them, but they just repeated their script so I gave up. I tried to pay again and it still didn't work, but then tried another card which was sucessful. I've continued to pay - on time - using the card that works. I texted the bailiff to explain it was a fault on their website, but he doesn't care either. Newlyn now regularly call me (I don't answer) and are texting me with removal notices. Can anyone help with the best response I can send them to get them to understand the fault was theirs and to stop harrassing me? .. and are they allowed to text me with removal notices? Appreciate your help with this. Thanks.

WellI've been reading a fact sheet from National Debtline, and it states that thecouncil can go straight to the employer if they have those details, but thecourt must still send the debtor the N56 form " If thecreditor makes an application for an attachment of earnings order, the courtwill send you a form to fill in called an N56. This asks you to fill in:name, address and number of dependants; your employer’s details; your incomeand outgoings; any other debts and court orders that you have. There is a sectionasking you to make an offer of payment that you can afford. You should fillthis in and make sure you have included details of all your other debts and howmuch you are paying to other creditors. You can also ask the court to agree tomake a suspended attachment of earnings order by ticking the box and filling inthe reason why you want a suspended order. This could be that you may lose yourjob or promotion prospects if your employer finds out you are in debt. “ So I'mconfused now.. how come I didn't get this form and get the opportunity to fightmy corner? If I have topay the order, I will probably end up bankrupt because I'm already paying alarge monthly repayment to keep on top of the current year's council tax. Why have I received an Attachment of Earnings order? The Council has issued an attachment of earnings order because you have not paid your council tax by the date shown on your bill and the Magistrates Court have granted a Liability Order against you. This allows the Council to issue an attachment of earnings order which we has been done because an arrangement for payment has not been made, or maintained as agreed. No mention of any form they need to send you anywhere. How is a Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Order made? When a council tax bill is unpaid, we follow a process to allow us to recover the debt. We can apply to the magistrates court for a summons to be issued regarding the non payment of council tax. If we can prove to the magistrates that the council tax bill is correct and outstanding, the court will issue a liability order. We can also apply costs to the account to pay the money we have spent to recover the debt. Once we have a liability order against an account holder, we have a number of options which we can use to recover the debt. This includes applying an attachment of earnings. If we decide to recover through an attachment of earnings, we will write to the customers employer with an attachment of earnings order. We also send a copy of this order to the debtor. The order is a standard form which sets out the amount of council tax outstanding and the employers responsibility to comply with this order. Are you a council employee? I'm not sure if you are quoting a document in your posts, or are a council employee quoting rules - sorry. I'm not querying why the order has been made... I'm painfully aware of why it was. I want to know why I haven't been sent this N56 form (as I mentioned above). Not at all. It was just a copy and paste from a couple of site from a quick google search. Looking up the form your on about it states that council tax arrears are dealt with differently so I think that's why you didn't receive a N56. In all my searches non of them have said anything other than after a liability order is granted the council can send an employer an attachment of earnings and all they need to do is send you the same paperwork to let you no what there doing.