Council Tax - Notice of Distress threat! ... PLEASE ADVISE

[papadak]

Council Tax - Notice of Distress threat! ... PLEASE ADVISE Council Tax - Notice of Distress threat! ... An unbelievable council (who shall remain nameless for the time being) have caused me & my family a lot of stress today. I want to share our experience with you ...

 

Brief history ... In the 10 years that I have owned a home I have never had an issue with paying Council Tax. We pay it at the end of each calendar month without fail and have never missed a payment.

 

However 4 months ago I was 2 1/2 weeks late! ... but it was payed. We pay by using a 'Council Tax Payment Book' So I received a call from the council and because of the 'late' payment they wanted us to pay by Direct Debit. They said they would send us a form, they didn't send it. So we continued, as we have done for the past 10 years to pay at the end of each month. - We are NOT in arrears and never have been.

 

Then today whilst we were out we had a visit from a bailiff. A letter was posted through our letterbox, 1 page with 'Notice of Distress' and another page with 'Take Formal Notice' ... It is effectively demanding total council tax outstanding + charges. We are not in arrears!, never have been and are totally up to date as I write this.

 

Is this harrassement, can I ask for some advice out there please. This is extremely annoying and stressful.

 

Thank you.

[letsmakeamark]

B4 you missed or were late with your payment did you goto court ?

[papadak]

B4 you missed or were late with your payment did you goto court ?

 

No, this Magistrates Liability Order via the Bailiff is the first I knew about this.

[FairPlay77]

Council Tax - Notice of Distress threat! ... PLEASE ADVISE Council Tax - Notice of Distress threat! ... An unbelievable council (who shall remain nameless for the time being) have caused me & my family a lot of stress today. I want to share our experience with you ...

 

Brief history ... In the 10 years that I have owned a home I have never had an issue with paying Council Tax. We pay it at the end of each calendar month without fail and have never missed a payment.

 

However 4 months ago I was 2 1/2 weeks late! ... but it was payed. We pay by using a 'Council Tax Payment Book' So I received a call from the council and because of the 'late' payment they wanted us to pay by Direct Debit. They said they would send us a form, they didn't send it. So we continued, as we have done for the past 10 years to pay at the end of each month. - We are NOT in arrears and never have been.

 

Then today whilst we were out we had a visit from a bailiff. A letter was posted through our letterbox, 1 page with 'Notice of Distress' and another page with 'Take Formal Notice' ... It is effectively demanding total council tax outstanding + charges. We are not in arrears!, never have been and are totally up to date as I write this.

 

Is this harrassement, can I ask for some advice out there please. This is extremely annoying and stressful.

 

Thank you.

 

Try this:

 

"Dear....

 

We wish to protest in the strongest possible terms against your unacceptable attempt to use bailiffs to extract from us a non-existent debt.

 

The facts are as follows:...... (add facts as outlined above)

 

We are not in arrears and will not deal with your bailiffs.

 

We can not allow this unlawful harassment to continue and hereby warn you that, unless you immediately recall your bailiffs and inform us in writing that you have done so, we shall have no option but to report you for maladministration to the Local Government Ombudsman.

 

We are sending this letter by ...(registered or recorded post)... and expect an early and postitive response to our complaint and an apology for the distress that your maladministration has caused to our family."

[papadak]

Try this:

 

"Dear....

 

We wish to protest in the strongest possible terms against your unacceptable attempt to use bailiffs to extract from us a non-existent debt.

 

The facts are as follows:...... (add facts as outlined above)

 

We are not in arrears and will not deal with your bailiffs.

 

We can not allow this unlawful harassment to continue and hereby warn you that, unless you immediately recall your bailiffs and inform us in writing that you have done so, we shall have no option but to report you for maladministration to the Local Government Ombudsman.

 

We are sending this letter by ...(registered or recorded post)... and expect an early and postitive response to our complaint and an apology for the distress that your maladministration has caused to our family."

 

Hi, Thank you for the advice, i'll draft a letter and post it by RD 1st thing in the morning.

[letsmakeamark]

No, this Magistrates Liability Order via the Bailiff is the first I knew about this.

 

This probably means the council have gone to court and obtained a liability order. however this still leaves you in the lurch. I would write a letter to the director of your council and complain strongly. Do not post or email just hand it over personallyat reception. Sit back and enjoy the action.

[papadak]

This probably means the council have gone to court and obtained a liability order. however this still leaves you in the lurch. I would write a letter to the director of your council and complain strongly. Do not post or email just hand it over personallyat reception. Sit back and enjoy the action.

 

Why does it leave us in the lurch? Should we be concerned. We are not and NEVER have been in arrears. Surely when they see the payment history they will see this. Yes I will of course write a letter. Is there a template format to follow along with my own wording of course

[tomtubby]

For the debt to be with a bailiff the council would have now taken the case to court and a Liability Order granted.

 

You are in the "lurch" because a LO means that the ENTIRE years council tax is now due and you have now lost your right to pay by direct debits or installments and must pay the bailiff the full amount and his charges.

 

It is for this reason that you MUST visit the council and complain in the strongest terms possible and inform them that unless this LO order is cancelled and the debt taken back to the council that you will be considering a formal complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.

 

Finally, depending on which council you are with, there would have been costs applied to your account by the council. The amount is between £65 and £125. You MUST ask for this to be refunded back as well.

[papadak]

Update .... Hi Guys,

 

An update on our situation.

 

I called the council first thing this morning to strongly protest at the way we have been treated. As you know having a bailiff letter hand delivered through our letterbox was extremely upsetting and stressful. So with my heart beating strongly I called them up....

 

I dealt with what i call a 'first level' caller recipient. They called us a defaulters and we can now only deal the bailiffs. I was taken aback by these words and then asked to speak with someone at manager. After waiting for 15 mins on the phone I then got to speak with someone with more than half a brain cell!. I then proceeded to calmly (but through gritted teeth) discuss the situation again.

 

This whole thing stemmed from the 2 1/2 lateness of CT payment 4 months ago, can you believe that. So they had us down as defaulters and issued a liability order (which we never got a copy of). At which point I then asked to speak to the head of Department. I was invited to their offices and I went immediately.

 

They then realised what they had done by issuing a court order on a non-existent debt. My accounts are and always have been 100% on time. The bailiff order was recalled, all charges reversed and I'm told a letter of apology will be forthcoming.

 

Thank you all so much for your words, advice & support - it helped a lot!

 

Kindest Regards

[Sugarbabe47]

Nice one!! It just goes to show that even the *authorities* can be wrong:rolleyes:

[papadak]

Nice one!! It just goes to show that even the *authorities* can be wrong:rolleyes:

 

Yes, thanks for that! ... these forums are just superb, gave me a real boost after screwing up our weekend. Should not have let it, but afraid to say the bailiff letter did.

[palomino]

Have they given you an explanation of how all this occurred? I suspect that they are too shame-faced to do so as it will imply that they were incompetent or lazy.

 

In situations like this they can sometime dig their heels in because to admit they were wrong is a loss of face/credibility and also might leave them open for some sort of claim.

 

Perhaps you could write to your local newspaper 'warning' others of council incompetence. I suspect that it won't be published because the paper will contact the council who will put the frighteners on them. Worth a try though.

[pompeyfaith]

Or better still make an appointment with you local MP, They all do workshop sessions and make it known to him how you have been treated.

 

Regards

 

Leon

[papadak]

Or better still make an appointment with you local MP, They all do workshop sessions and make it known to him how you have been treated.

 

Regards

 

Leon

 

Hi,

 

Thank for your words ... I have in fact set up a meeting with a local councillor. Let's see what happens there

[papadak]

Have they given you an explanation of how all this occurred? I suspect that they are too shame-faced to do so as it will imply that they were incompetent or lazy.

 

In situations like this they can sometime dig their heels in because to admit they were wrong is a loss of face/credibility and also might leave them open for some sort of claim.

 

Perhaps you could write to your local newspaper 'warning' others of council incompetence. I suspect that it won't be published because the paper will contact the council who will put the frighteners on them. Worth a try though.

 

Hi, thank you too for your posting. Interesting comments - I might well do that. It was not a nice experience and it is still hasn't quite left my system just yet ... I give your words some thought - Thanks again!

[pompeyfaith]

Pleasure to help and glad you got it sorted in the end.

 

Regards

 

Leon