whats this that the baliffs of that fine org (sniggers). ..are now recording door step interviews with video cameras? had one this morning, despite the fact i had to point out to him that i now have a payment plan direct with the council (he was having none of it) which is paid every thursday at 7 am (the wake up coffee and smoke before i wake the kids) along with my other bills... ..he switched on this gizmo and said he was filming me.....there it was...me! just before i go off on one with them again... ..is this legal as i personally find it an infringement.. ...im just glad he got a screenful of what my t-shirt said

Received a letter from Rossendales this morning demanding payment of £400 ish for my council tax. Stupidly I thought I was paying the arrears on top of my normal monthly amount as it clearly says on the council tax bill "This includes arrears of £400(ish) which is subject to a liability order". I'm not. Anyhow, the letter I received says if I do not pay I will be committed to prison in big, scary red writing. I know I won't be, but it ticked me off that they do this. I called them (please don't shout, I had to phone them) to arrange a payment plan. They refused. Shocking, I know. If I make payments anyway they will proceed with enforcing this. Nice. As they refused to set one up they say they are going to send it back to the council to see if they will accept my offer....I do hope so. I called them as the council were adamant that Rossendales would enter in to a plan (which I knew they wouldn't). I have since called the council again who have said that if it is sent back to them then I can arrange to make payments direct to them. They also advised that I send an email to Rossendales stating everything that was said in the telephone call and to C.C the council in to the email. So I have. That way I will get a response. Apparently. The guy at the council was rather nice. So, what do I do? Should I make payments direct to the council and forget the bailiffs until I know what their next move is? I know not to let them in to my flat and although I have a car I can not park directly outside my house so they will have no idea which one is mine. Not that the car is here most days anyway.

I'm having an onbgoing battle with Rossendales over an old Council Tax bill. I've followed lots of advice from this forum and incredibly helpful it's been (always is!). I have had some advice from the CAB as well, and interestingly they say that in their experience it's very rare for bailiffs in a Council Tax scenario to touch cars. Not sure I quite buy that, as one visit from Rossers saw the Bailiff bloke looking to seize, impound, whatever the term is, 2 cars on my driveway. Fortunately, neither car was registered to me and he had to back down. My question really is whether anyone out there who has banged heads with Rossendales has had them take their car? I think I have everything else sorted (and indeed have persuaded the district council to take payments from me, with Rossers were most unhappy about), but am concerned that I need to keep the car. I know I can park it elsewhere and walk home, not a problem - but just trying to gauge the likelihood of the man trying to take the car. Grateful for any thoughts. Cheers!

Hand delivered letter through door this afternoon from this motley crew. Back ground; started small business back in '06 within 3 months it went under, NEVER registered it ANYHERE, Signed an agreement, covered by the CCA1974, I thought it was a HP agreement, turns out it was a HIRE agreement. They sued I got burnt, BUT they had the equipment back and sold it for the same amount they sold it to me for, the terms in the contract that favoured them have been cited in the court docs, and the ones that favour me have been omitted. They sued for £5K + a few hundred, plus interest at 2% per month. Gain a CCJ and then went for charging order ( got it) now I tried to argue this but the judge said he did not have any forms or paper work from me, when I went to the court to put them in the lady took them but didn't charge me any fee, this may have been my fault as I don't know how to speak the legal jargon. Now at the charging order hearing the creditors' Rep told the judge that all they wanted was to secure the debt and were happy to wait for house to be sold b4 payment. The judge spelt this out to me and the Rep, I thought 'happy days' now 4 yrs later the creditor has gained a high court writ. Is it too late to challenge this? In the original hearing the creditors claimed that the contract was NOT covered by the CCA 1974, yet it is clearly printed on it. Is there anything I can do???

Rossendales are pursuing me for a debt I owe to the Child support agency of approx £6,000. I am currently ill and receiving employment and support allowance. My wife works but does not earn enough for us to pay everything, leaving us with a defeceit each month. The children the CSA want money for are nothing to do with my wife anyway. I have had two visits from the bailiffs, each time just to deliver letters. I have made an offer to Rossendales of £10 per month, although I am going to struggle to meet that arrangement. They have turned down this offer as it is, in there eyes, too little and will take years to pay off. Can someone please tell me where and how I stand now legally in this? Will the bailiffs come and empty my house? The vast majority of things in the house are the possessions of my wife. What can I do? Please tell me what they are legally aloud to do and what I can do. Thank you.

Morning People, A friend has contacted me recently regarding rossendales. She has received a hand delivered letter stating that she owes the CT liability of £666 plus costs. (the costs have not been listed/itemised/declared yet !!) This is the first correspondence she has received NO letter through the post statiung that thecase has been passed to them asking for income and expenditure analysis etc On the letter it states "its not too late to pay by installments if a payment of £60 is received" Obviously i have told her to Ignore rossendales for now. She is going to the council today to arrange a DD to pay the current years liability but the £666 is for the previous year. She is a single parent with 2 children 8 and 13. Low income etc etc etc. Now i have dealt with rossendales with success in the past but i havent had to deal with them for the last 2 or 3 years. Can anyone bring me up to speed in terms of what they can charge, what she can expect, letter templates to send to rossendales etc etc. I have instructed her not to let them into the property under any circumstances not to make any payments to Rossendales. I have instructed her to issue a payment of £60 to the council and state that it is for the arrears not for the current year. Thanks in advance

On Friday 13th received first notice of attendance of bailiff for 3 LOs, 1 for £57 one for £1000 and current year£900. was in a arrangement with council but missed payment in november, received letter from bailiffs on 16th December rang up to make installemt arrangement agreed to pay £100 (first 50 on 23rd December), didn't do it till 28th decemeber, thought it was ok as i had the month to pay, received first visit by bailiff on January 13th for breaking the agreement. I contacted the council they refused to help, went to CAB they coundn't get the council to take it back, bailiff was threatening me with 'worse to come' if i didn't sign walking agreement, after much distress and anxiety have 3 small children, and was worried that they could come at anytime, paid £460 out of tax credits and wages with not much left and family offered to lend us the rest. I mistakenly called him to tell him was paying the rest on Monday 23rd (this was thurday 19th) he said ok u won't be seeing me again and hung up. the next day i rang rossendales office to make a payment and said the rest was being sent in a cheque will arrive monday, the woman said have u included the fees, i said i haven't been told of any fees, she then told me that the bailiff had been out that day friday 20th and had put a levy on the car so there was now a £50.00 levy fee plus a first visit added to each LO, i said he couldn't have done that i was only home for a bit between school runs, and no paperwork had been put on the door and no one knocked. the woman said well he has done it because it is on the computer system. Can a bailiff make a levy/ walking possession and not give me the paperwork? I complained on phone to rossendales and emailed a second letter to the council that evening. Called the bailff, he said u are not playing ball and hung up when i asked what time did he attend to levy, after saying the paperwork might have gone in your neighbours door!! Today he has posted the levy on the car walking possession, car was not here today. it is dated for friday 20th , can he do that? Husband so mad rang him he said i went to your house today and i found the paperwork on the floor outside your house, (not in neighbours door anymore!) I am paying remainder LOs tomorrow, but so angry about the fees don't want to pay this not right, all lies., but if we don't pay can they hound us and take car, my husband is so mad i'm worried, bailiff has said he is coming to get car tomorrow morning. If anyone can advise would much appreciate it, feel really trapped shocked at how low these people can go.

Hi, I have had a few suspicious telephone calls to my parents house asking for me by my first name only, making out that they were friends. Thankfully my parents are savvy enough to not pass on any information, other than to say they will pass on a message, and that I did not in fact live there, and had not done so for several years. I called the number to find out who was calling only to fiind it was this dreaded company. I informed them there and then that I had no link with that number and had not lived at that address, it was then they dropped a clanger. The chap on the phone said the surname of the person they wanted, which was not mine. I told them to stop bothering me, and my parents. Naturally they were not at liberty to actually tell me what their problem was. I thought that was the end of it..... Today at my home address, I recieved a snotty letter, riddled with spelling mistakes, a letter, addressed to the person they said they wanted to speak to on my parents telephone number. They claimed when I rang to speak to them that they had been given 'intelligence' which was my home address. I pointed out that no one of that name lived at this address, and no one of that name has lived at this address for at least 13 years of our occupancy and the 10 years of the previous inhabitant, who's name was nothing like the name they are trying to find. The girl on the phone was surly as you would expect, she refused to listen to what I had to say. I am retiscent to give them my name for fear they try to cobble some debt against me personally. The letter they sent refers to a debt of £304.70 to Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council. I have no contacts or links with this area apart from a weeks holiday near Hunstanton 6 years ago. The letter makes no attempt to ensure that it has reached the correct person, it implies that they are going to call at my address to obtain payment. I am in the process of making a formal complaint to the CSA. I intend to speak to the Council involved tomorrow. Can anyone suggest anything else I should do. This debt has nothing to do with me, I am concerned that they are trying to put a slander againd my name, I am also worried now that this will impact on my credit rating as these pond dwellers, have my address. Thanks Nig

I wonder if someone can advise me. I had debt with the council tax for £360 because of defaulted payments. And a debt for £325 from previous years. Manchester city council set up an attachment of earning certificates and took £662 out of my salary last month in one fell swoop they were able to do this due to the fact that I had earned some overtime for the first time in months. I thought to myself ah well its paid now lets get on with things........ So I thought then today while I was at work my son called me to tell me that the bailiffs had been and that they were coming to seize my goods if I had not paid the amount owing in 24 hours. I called them back and told them that there was some mistake as I had an attachment of earnings on last months salary but they were having none of it and said 24 hours or they will take goods. They said that they can enter my home even if I am not there and take goods. I asked for a breakdown of cost which work out at £375 of the previous debt, £200 for the van to come out and £100 for the court costs. working out at £670 that has to be paid in 24 hours I can do this. I dont have the money what can I do???? 2me2u2

Hi I have recently moved back into my parents house after 3 years with my partner. We're waiting on getting a new flat. Bailiffs (Rossendales) have turned up at my parents house today with a letter saying Bailiff Removal. They say i have 24 hrs to pay £2422.78 in council tax (which i thought was already being paid the an Attachment of Earnings, apparently not) Now i wasnt in, i was at work. My dad says they did enter the property, but he didnt sign anything, and they didnt make a list of goods they were going to take when they come back in less than 24hrs. This is an impossible amount of money to try and find. They say they are going to turn up at my partners house too. They havent been there yet. I phoned the Debt Helpline and they gave me alot of information, just a couple of things i have forgot to ask. 1. Can they force re-entry and take stuff even though there is no levvy and nothing has been signed? He only dropped the letter off, but was in the house. 2. Should i phone them in the morning and let them no that they cant take anything cos he doesnt have a levvy? and therefore no to bother coming back and i will make arrangements to pay and 3. What happens if no-one is in tomorrow. Im at work and so is my mam, but my dad is off. We were all going to stay home, but were wondering what would happen if we werent in. Thank you for any help

Hi I have recently moved back into my parents house after 3 years with my partner. We're waiting on getting a new flat. Bailiffs (Rossendales) have turned up at my parents house today with a letter saying Bailiff Removal. They say i have 24 hrs to pay £2422.78 in council tax (which i thought was already being paid the an Attachment of Earnings, apparently not) Now i wasnt in, i was at work. My dad says they did enter the property, but he didnt sign anything, and they didnt make a list of goods they were going to take when they come back in less than 24hrs. This is an impossible amount of money to try and find. They say they are going to turn up at my partners house too. They havent been there yet. I phoned the Debt Helpline and they gave me alot of information, just a couple of things i have forgot to ask. 1. Can they force re-entry and take stuff even though there is no levvy and nothing has been signed? He only dropped the letter off, but was in the house. 2. Should i phone them in the morning and let them no that they cant take anything cos he doesnt have a levvy? and therefore no to bother coming back and i will make arrangements to pay and 3. What happens if no-one is in tomorrow. Im at work and so is my mam, but my dad is off. We were all going to stay home, but were wondering what would happen if we werent in. Thank you for any help

I was wondering if anybody could help me regarding council tax debt that has been handed over to Rossendales . The original debt is for £216, which i despute as I moved out of the property a month early but cant prove where i moved to as I ended up staying in squatted property. I realise this is kind of my fault and Im going to have to pay. I have not been able to pay due to having difficulty finding employment. I reached an agreement for the council to take money out of my benefit - but they failed to tell me that it would take them some months to process and by the time they had sorted out taking money from my benefit I had gone back into full time education in the hope of increasing my chances of getting a job. The first thing I knew about the failed payments was when I got a letter from Rossendales demanding money from me. I have contacted the council I owe money to but they are unwilling to help what so ever, even though I have no savings, no income apart from my student loan and I don't even have a fixed address! Rossendales have visited my fathers house once in person that I know about, and dropped off a liability letter asking me to pay in full in 24 hours, but they failed to write down how much I owe them. I phoned their head office and the bailiff in charge of my account and have written to the head office asking for a breakdown of all charges I have incurred through them, which they refuse to give me until I pay the account! All they will tell me is that I owe over £450! Debtline has assured me that they can only charge me just over £44 for two visits so if thats true Rossendales are over charging me by around £190?? Can anybody tell me exactly how much they can legally charge me? I have written a complaint to the council, Rossendales and the enforcement services association due to the fact that they refuse to give me a breakdown of my account. Would the best option be just to pay the council direct? If i did this would I still be liable to these ridiculous charges from Rossendales? They havnt been into my fathers house and never will get in, I own nothing of value apart from a laptop and speakers which are vital to my university course and I have never made a refusal to pay my debt, in fact I have been actively trying to pay the debt off. I can afford to pay the council the £216 next month (which will leave me short of money to live on but I just want this over with now) Can anybody offer me some advice on what to do. Thank you very much

If a bailiff knocks and says are mr.x and you reply yes.....is that enough proof for them to continue or would they need to see a valid form of photographic id..ie passport to issue documents. Surely a law must state that they need to verify the person/debtor legally, been reading threads on here for last 48hrs not my debt, but gf's she said she was who he asked for and asked to see a letter or bill at our home address with her name on. at which point i told him to jog-on as he never crossed the door....then closed it on him surly a letter with a name on does not confirm your identity she could have been a burglar answering the door hoping to receive a parcel or cash prize off rossendale's customer support team is this a whole in the law please advise...with the emphasis on obtaining the debtor correct identity firstly.....

On Monday I had a hand delivered letter through my door from a Rossendales Bailiff re a Council Tax debt to Breckland District Council dating back to 2004 that I have always denied. The letter said he would be back at his own convinience. He had left the amount owing blank and indeed had not even knocked on the door as my wife, myself and our 2 year old son were in the house. I decided to act on this and my wife was on the phone to BDC I was on to the CAB who gave me some advice and an apointment on 30th July.On their advice I rung the bailiff in question and asked him for 2 things firstly could we come to some arrangement for paying? No was the answer he wanted £330 or he would be back to seize goods. 2nd I asked for a 28 day hold on the case while I took advice (this was what CAB told me to say)? No he wanted it all by next Monday when he would be next in the area. Neither BDC or Rossendales will listen to our arguments and both say we should contact the other to discuss the matter. I decided to have a check on the internet after we panicked about how we would get that kind of money together. I am disabled and we are on benefit! As I looked round I found the CCCS site. They were very helpful and gave me good advice of which I have taken. I have written to both BDC and Rossendales detailing what I will do and that I will pay £10 a month as a good will gesture till matter is resolved, I have still not admited liablity. I also stated that I believed this to be a fair offer of payment. As I had this letter to go today (Wednesday) Tuesday was spent writing letters and getting things right. I also found that I could complain about the lack of a figure of what I owed on the hand delivered letter. This I did to both BDC and Rossendales detailing the facts and also attatching the letter and informing them that a hard copy was to follow. These were sent very late Tuesday night, hard copys and £10 postal order sent today (Wednesday). Wednesday afternoon I received an email from Rossendales appologising for this and saying I only owe £173.69. I do wonder what Mr Bailiff does with the extra cash that some people would pay him. Through my findings on the internet I have found that I do not have to let him in and indeed can wilfully refuse. Which I intend to do and have told both parties this. I have also told them I come under their vunerable category and that their bailiff when spoken to did not offer a payment plan as it said he would on Rossendales own website under their FAQ's. I have no plans to let said company in my house and will be happy if it goes back to the council and indeed to court when they will not receive as much as I am currently offering. What I am really asking after my long tale is in the email Rossendales are asking for proof of my disablilty, what do that want a photo (I only have 1 leg)? They also want my financial situation and proof that the car I have told them not to touch is a Motability Car. Do I send them this? Any advice would be much appriciated. I appologise for both going on and the bad spelling.

So... Last July (2009) I began having visits from a Rossendales Bailiff over a Magistrates Liability Order/Distress warrant for unpaid council tax. I immediately called them and asked what the balance I owed was. The reply was a disheartening £875.91. I stated that I was out of work and could afford to pay £50 a month from my jobseekers allowance, but was told this wouldn't fly, they said I had two accounts outstanding(??), the first charge was £473.11 and the second was £402.80. I was told that if I paid the £473.11 by the end of the month they would accept installments on the lower amount. I borrowed money from my partner and her father (which I am still paying off) and applied for a Budgeting Loan from the DWP. I promptly paid the £473.11 (plus a hidden admin charge for paying with a debit card) on 28/7/09. I received a receipt from this. The folllowing month I paid £202.80 and received a receipt saying that my balance was now £200. It was only then that I discovered some earlier correspondence from Rossendales (my partner would often leave unopened mail on the table and it simply got buried with other paperwork). The previous letters from Rossendales stated that the balances owed were £402.80 & £204.11 (including first visit & second visit charges) totalling £606.91 NOT the £875.91 they were claiming in July. Since I had already paid a total of £677.51 (proven in my bank statement) I had already paid £70 more than I needed to. I called them to ask where their figures came from and requested a breakdown of their charges before I paid them any more cash, they said that my account details were still with the bailiff in charge. I called him and he said that I had to call head office. This went back and forth several times until I said that I refuse to pay any more money until I had the paperwork I was legally entitled to. In November (two months after the phone calls) I received another letter stating that they agreed to accept installments and I did not adhere to them. I now owed £389.00 plus a further £110.00 should a van be sent to my address. Again, I called them and was given the same old spin. I didn't pay and didn't hear from them again until May this year, when the same notices were posted through the communal door of my block (not even in sealed envelopes) and left in the foyer for any Tom, Dick and Harry to see. I ignored these, because, as far as I'm concerned, I didn't receive them. More recently I've had handwritten notices posted through the door for me to "contact the bailiff in charge and discuss the o/s court warrant". I should also add that one of these pieces of paper had somebody elses credit card details written on the back!!! For the last month I have been receiving phone calls from the bailiff, but I'm still reluctant to pay until I receive a breakdown of charges. Rossendales slogan states that they are "Proud to be Professional". What an absolute joke they are!

I have just had a letter from Rossendales (Bailiff Removal) re outstanding council tax. I had to close my shop in May of this year and I owe the council non-domestic rate for the last year on the shops premises. I have unfortunately put everything I had into the shop and subsequently applied for a DRO. I informed Rossendales of the DRO but it seems they did not take note. When the letter came today my husband phoned the Bailiff on the number given and told him that the debt was related to premises on the other side of town, that the house did not even belong to me and that we are at the moment still dealing with the council to get the amounts sorted I owe (they charged me for a whole year when it should have been 2 months, but that is being dealt with). On the form from the bailiff it actually said council tax which is wrong in the first place - they are non-domestic rates and they want to seize goods at an address that is not the shop premises. Sure I live here but I do not own anything in or even the house, it is all in my husbands name who was never responsible for the shop since that was my venture and everything to do with this is in my name at the shop address. We have now decided not to let anyone in, a letter (e-mail) of complaint was sent to the council since Rossendales are supposed to act on their behalf and I have told the council that the response my husband had from the bailiff was not only rude, unprofessional and threatening ("I can take whatever I want whenever I want") but also not too brilliant for my health (I am on tranquilizers since I was forced to close the shop). I myself work as supply for a nursery which is not guaranteed work (last month I had two days work @ £6 p.h.!!) and I also told the council that I would be willing to pay if I had the resources....... Can Rossendales just walk into my husbands property and seize goods that do not even belong to me?? I still have some items from the shop which they could take away but they are mainly perishable goods (Health Food) and I think most of them are out of date and some items of furniture which were 2nd hand when I bought them so of no real value to Rossendales at all and some of them have now ended up at the local YMCA because I have no storage facilities and they are happy with tables & chairs they can re-paint and sell on. So...I think I need help!!