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Hi all,

 

I'm absolutely desperate, my wife is at this moment crying and suicidal. Why??

 

Rosendales debt collection agency or bailiffs have been trying to collect over a £1000.00 community charge. Although we dispute the amount owed, we have agreed to pay it back in instalments. Originally they said they'd only accept £100 per month, we said we can't afford that but said we will pay £40.00 per month. This was agreed over he phone between CAB and Rosendales themselves.

 

However, now, after making several monthly payments to Rosendales and on time, we had a Bailiff visit us yesterday to say he intended to remove goods. I said you can't because we're paying the agreed sum of £40 every month. He acknowledged this but said he was still intending to take goods. He left without taking anything but said he would return within 24 hours if we hadn't paid the remaining balance in full!!!

 

Today, we have been trying to talk to Rosendales to find out what the problem is. They said there was no problem. They said that dispite these payments and a gentlemans agreement that they weren't interested in any further installments of any amount and want the total remaining balance of a grand today!!!

 

The women at Rosendales was sharp, rude, and very agressive and told my wife "it's a tough hard life" and thet my wife only had herself to blame fo getting in debt in the first place.

 

PLEASE HELP!!!!! This company are nothing but thugs and charlatans. Surely there is something we can do.

 

Thanks

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Hi

 

Thank for the replies. To answer your questions...

 

Can you just clarify a couple of things:

 

Have they ever actually been inside your house?

Yes, twice. The first time was last year when the whole thing started. I was out but my wife was in. A so-called agent from Rossendales visited and told my wife he wanted to discuss a debt that had been passed onto the company. He sat down with my wife and completed a means test with her to decide on an acceptable offer of repayment. He left after an hour or so with an agreement with my wife to pay £40.00 per month. This was, weeks later, rejected by Rossendales who said that the agent was not allowed to decide on repayments.

 

The second visit was last night. The bailiff said he was not there to take anything even though he was ordered to do so. He merely thought it was strange that we had made regular £40 payments and acknowledged that Rossendales had discussed the debt with CAB. He left saying that the next time he returned would be to enforce the order.

 

 

Did you (or your partner) sign anything?

Yes. She signed a letter that explained to her that an agent had visited to discuss the debt and that an agreement to pay £40 per month was made. This was the initial visit last year.

 

Is the debt in yours/hers/joint names?

The debt is sloely in my wifes name.

 

The Council?

Stafford Borough Council. Employed Rossendales to retrieve Council Tax arrears in her name.

 

Going off-track abit...

Funny thing is, that the debt is phoney in the first place. The council tax is apparently by her owed for the year 2007/2008. I was living away at university at the time and only back at weekends. My wife was working part-time. We have two kids under 16. When she received the bill with the projected monthly payments in 2006 they took into account her financial status and zeroed the bill. Two years later they're demanding payment in full for the whole year, when she shouldn't have had to pay anything in the first place!

 

Unbelievable.

 

Thanks for any information or advice that you can provide. It is appreciated greatly.

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Hi

 

Thank for the replies. To answer your questions...

 

Can you just clarify a couple of things:

 

Have they ever actually been inside your house?

Yes, twice. The first time was last year when the whole thing started. I was out but my wife was in. A so-called agent from Rossendales visited and told my wife he wanted to discuss a debt that had been passed onto the company. He sat down with my wife and completed a means test with her to decide on an acceptable offer of repayment. He left after an hour or so with an agreement with my wife to pay £40.00 per month. This was, weeks later, rejected by Rossendales who said that the agent was not allowed to decide on repayments.

 

Thanks for any information or advice that you can provide. It is appreciated greatly.

 

You need to contact your local councilor asap, they are collecting on behalf of the council so if you try and talk to the council dept straight away they'll normally fob you off. If you get a councilor to ask questions they'll jump!

 

Read this about ballifs and council tax for info on what they can and cant do National Debtline England & Wales | Debt Advice | Factsheet 02 Bailiffs And Council Tax

 

The fact they have been in your house means they can break in and take goods but I would have thought the fact you agreed to a repayment schedule and signed a form (hope you have a copy) puts you in good stead as someone who is paying just not at the speed they like.

 

S.

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Oh another thing, councils dont like bad press so if you do speak to them direct, advise them you had an agreement and now their appointed ballifs are reneging on that deal and you'll advise the local press of the pressure they are putting your family through.

 

It would be even better if its a local election year in your location as councilors tend to work harder then (quelle surprise)

 

S.

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Am I wrong, or do you still need a CCJ for the baliffs to come in?, or at least an order/warrant from the Magistrates' Court?

 

Are these Court Bailiffs or a private firm?

 

I believe council tax is different, doesnt require a CCJ, as long as they are licensed/certified ballifs acting on behalf of the council and have been let in the house once then they have extra powers. Read the link I provided from national debt helpline for details.

 

That said, councils dont like adverse publicity or being seen to be unreasonable in these troubled times. If the OP can prove an arrangement to pay was setup with the ballifs and yet they have renaged on it then it should help.

 

S.

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Actually, I think the bailiffs need an enforceable Court Order issued by a Magistrates Court, do they not ?

 

My Council took me to Court a while back (they were right, I paid nothing one year) and possess a Court Order which enabled them to appoint a baliff should I renege on the payment agreement I had with them, post-hearing.

 

I didn't renege (although I haven't actually ever paid the £10 court costs they slapped on the bill), so it never came to it.

 

It may be worth checking what the legal position here is - I don't think they have the right to collect goods if there is no enforceable Court Order allowing them to do so.

 

I'll try to dig my Court order out...

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Actually, I think the bailiffs need an enforceable Court Order issued by a Magistrates Court, do they not ?

 

My Council took me to Court a while back (they were right, I paid nothing one year) and possess a Court Order which enabled them to appoint a baliff should I renege on the payment agreement I had with them, post-hearing.

 

I didn't renege (although I haven't actually ever paid the £10 court costs they slapped on the bill), so it never came to it.

 

It may be worth checking what the legal position here is - I don't think they have the right to collect goods if there is no enforceable Court Order allowing them to do so.

 

I'll try to dig my Court order out...

 

No I dont think they do... damn I work for an IT company that is currently doing work in revs&bens section in a council, just obviously cant get info until Monday now.

 

This threads explains more:-

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bailiffs-sheriff-officers/58550-council-tax-bailiffs.html

 

S.

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For council tax the bailiffs would need a liability order, this would have been issued by the counciol and would stipulate the amount owed etc, be aware though that when you are paying the bailiffs £40 a month, the bailiffs would use it to settle their own charges and fees before any of it is used to actually pay the council, as such the debt may not be actually reducing as fast as you believe.

 

Rossendales are persistent little ticks, they need to be vigorously defended against

 

I do think you need to look into the validity of the debt a little further,

You really need to take this up with the council, do you have any documentary evidence that the account was zeroed down? has eny explanation been offered how the amount is now due? (change of circumstances etc)

 

Just for example: My G/f who lived in council property had a nosey neighbour and because of the odd night I would stay at her house, the nosey neighbour reported her as co-habiting whilst getting CT benefit, the council never contacted her at all, simply applied a liability order against her and then set the bailiffs onto her.

 

We actually got rid of them because she moved in with me and there is nothing here in her name, so they couldn't lawfully levy,

 

is your current home in joint names? is the current CT bill in joint names?

 

On the basis that the inquiries with the Council come up with nothing, then you need to clarify with the bailiffs what charges have been applied to the debt

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Okay guys and gals...

 

firstly can I thank you all for replying to my OP. All the information and advice received has been top notch. I've checked out the links you provided and got a better understanding of what I can do to resolve this appaulling and truly undeserved treatment from these gangsters.

 

To date my home has not been revisited to carry out the order, probably because I took the opportunity to get in touch with my local tory MP. I sent him an e-mail along with a copy of my post on here. On Friday morning at 0901 I got a telephone reply from the conservative office saying they received the mail and would pass it on to my MP. Well, this morning, about 20 minutes ago, my wife got a personal call from the MP! He says he's dealing with the matter personally, and immediately. What's more...the tory office have contacted another office; something to do with community debt. Not sure if anyone's familiar with this one, but they say they are going to help too.

 

Things are looking a little more promising at the moment, but Rossendales being Rossendales will probably lie and bully there way into trying to enforce this order. What's so funny and rediculous about it all is that this bill for council tax is totally incorrect in the first place!

 

Anyway, I'm just waiting now and hoping for the best. Fingers crossed. I'll keep you all posted with updates as they arise.

 

Just one more thing. These so called bailiffs and collection agencies seem to operate above the law and will use any threatening tactics possible and available to them to scare decent people into giving up their money and posessions. Everyone should have a right to protest and dispute these orders before these charlatans are authorised to process their so-called "orders".

 

The whole system is disgusting, out-of-date, and brutally unfair. I thought that stricter regulation on bailiffs were now in place. What happened to that? These yobs still parade themselves with total and utter contempt for moral codes and the law.

 

Don't give in to these morons.

 

I'm very grateful for you all taking the time to post and for providing me with insight, advice and support.

 

Thank you all.

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Okay guys and gals...

 

Don't give in to these morons.

 

I'm very grateful for you all taking the time to post and for providing me with insight, advice and support.

 

Thank you all.

 

Well done for standing up to these swines!

 

Its amazing what an MP will do for a bit of good PR these days :-)

 

Fingers crossed for you.

 

S.

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RESULT

 

Just received a phone call from Tory MP Mr Bill Cash. Sounds like he's vigorously upheld our complaint against these ruthless moronic thugs. The collection has now been withdrawn from Rosendales and placed back with the Council. However, Rossendales will still be holding details of the account - whatever that means.

 

I've never in all my time as a voter (20 years) felt the need to go as far as contacting an MP for assistance, but my, how much power and clout these guys have got is amazing.

 

MP Bill cash asked Rossendales why they were so intent on removing goods to pay the debt. Rossendales replied by saying that we had beautiful and expensive items that could easily be sold to clear much of the debt. Apparently, according to the bailiff my home had:

 

1. A large flat screen HD TV.

In fact I have an old square trinitron concave screen tv that came from the attic of an old person, following the sudden breakdown of a small flat screen tv about 6 months ago.

 

2. Fine pine and oak antique furniture.

This was actually, flat-packed pine mdf units from Argos in 2002.

 

3. Cream leather 3-piece suite.

It's really a 2- piece suite - sofa & chair - upholstered and worn out. Bought from Katherine House Hospice Charity Shop for £75.00.

 

4. Pioneer state of the art DVD player.

It's about ten years old and I even failed to sell it at a boot sale last year. I only wanted a tenner for it!

 

These people are not only liars but they're also blind ones.

 

It's easy for me to say don't be afraid of these people because I'm sorted out, but when you've got nothing to lose it's often worth going for it.

 

With the help and advice from folks who do know on CAG you've already doubled your chances of success.

 

Thank you so much everyone, and I sincerely hope anyone here who is suffering like my family and I have will get through it. My thoughts and best wishes are with you all.

 

Yours gratefully

 

Craig

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RESULT

 

 

Craig

 

Brilliant news, you should now be able to come to an agreement with your council for the re-payment at a better rate than rosendales would have given you.

 

If you were so minded you could consider putting a complaint into the council on the behaviour of the bailiffs. A formal complaint to the council has to be answered and its logged, this will go against the baliffs the next time the contract is up for renewal if the complaint is upheld but its up to you. If their agent wasnt authorised to discuss a repayment plan then its up to them to tell their agent this not for you to agree/sign and then have the agreement withdrawn due to their ineptness.

 

S.

Edited by the_shadow
grammar and spelling all over the place :-( back to school for me I think
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Complaints to MPs have never been so worthwhile - there's an election coming, doncha know!

 

I like that Donkey! So true.

I had problems about 6 years ago with this firm from Manchester, I had to pay an outstanding council tax amount to Nottingham City Council of £400. When you ring them up they won't except anything you say to them and normally they want the money there and then which for most people is impossible. At the time I borrowed £200 and went to the council offices and paid that amount, then spoke to someone there to arrange to pay the balance in the next month which they excepted.

 

I'm having trouble with HFO Services:-x at the minute but Rossendales I have to say are worse, purely because it's council tax.

 

In my experience if any debts get paid off first it's the council tax, parking fines or those bloody cameras catching you speeding! They don't hold back and are impossible to talk to.:x

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Complain loudly to your local council, very loudly, expressing disgust at the stress caused by their appointed collectors. Ask for a full explanation of all the issues listed above. And don't stop complaining till they offer a substantial refund as damages.

 

I did this years ago when my local council kept writing to someone who didn't live with me any more - they put me through the same mill but I proved their ineptness and incompetence (wasn't that hard!). I eventually got them to cough up £200 for a local charity.

 

So give it a shot.

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