not sure where to turn..

[xxcaz80xx]

Hi all, this is a bit of a long story so bear with me, i'll try and keep it as short as possible....

 

Last week I arrived home from picking up my children to find a bailiff letter through the door for non payment of council tax. i immediatly rang the council as we had no warning or reminders at all.... turns out we have had 4 letters sent to us that haven't arrived. Since then we have found out that mail from other places has not been delivered, such as rent statements and forms from the housing association, tax credit award letters, and forms from the inland revenue for my partner to caluculate his tax rebate. This has resulted in the bailiff action mentioned, rent arrears that we did not know we had and are now struggling to cover, and delay of tax rebate. It makes me wonder what else has not arrived.

 

Now in my opinion we would not be in the financial situation we are now in if these letters had arrived.

 

The council are refusing to take the debt back from the bailiff, and the post office has sent us out a claim form - we were told on the phone to expect a book of stamps as compensation - what use is that?!.

 

I don't know where to turn for help. Can anyone point me in the right direction please? We have been to the local CAB but they haven't been able to get any further than we already have.

 

Thanks, and I apologise in advance if i've posted this in the wrong part of the forum!

 

xcx

[dx100uk]

well surely you can tforget about rent that long!

anyhow, the bailliff can only charge you £24 1st visit + £18 2nd visi.

don't sign anything & don't let him in.

 

you really need to entice the council to take this back & setup a payment plan direct with them.

 

there is nothing to stop you paying direct into their rent A/C using internet bankin.

 

i would also advise not using the phone to the bailliffs do it all in writing.

 

dx

[xxcaz80xx]

My Partner was made redundant and We were getting full housing benefit, and didn't recieve letters telling us about an ammount that was going to start being deducted thank you, we wouldn't 'forget' about the rent. I came here looking for advice as i believe this is mainly the fault of the post office, not for digs from other people.

 

The council has point blank refused to take back the debt even under the circumstances. We are trying to go higher with this to try and get them to change their minds.

 

The rent i've just sorted, going to set up a direct deduction from jobseekers allowance.

 

I'd like to know if i can do anything about the post office, is this neglegence on their part?

[BlurredFX]

I came here looking for advice as i believe this is mainly the fault of the post office, not for digs from other people.

 

You're in the right place.

 

well surely you can tforget about rent that long!

anyhow, the bailliff can only charge you £24 1st visit + £18 2nd visi.

don't sign anything & don't let him in.

 

you really need to entice the council to take this back & setup a payment plan direct with them.

 

there is nothing to stop you paying direct into their rent A/C using internet bankin.

 

i would also advise not using the phone to the bailliffs do it all in writing.

 

Good advice.

 

I'd like to know if i can do anything about the post office, is this neglegence on their part?

 

Yes, but I doubt you will get anywhere going down this avenue.

 

The council has point blank refused to take back the debt even under the circumstances. We are trying to go higher with this to try and get them to change their minds.

 

True to form!

 

As long as the bailiffs do not get a levy, they will eventually send this back to the Council saying they could not get any money out of you. How long this takes I do not know; I am in a similar situation. I wish there was a way of making this happen, but I do not think there is one. If you find one, let me know...

 

I would say do not pay the Bailiffs, pay the Council if possible. Lock the doors, keep the windows shut, get the car out of the way, and wait until it is returned to the Council and deal with it from there. When you speak to the Council, remind the person you are speaking to that the Bailiffs are sub-contractors to the Council, and therefore the actions of the Bailiffs are the responsibility of the Council.

 

Eventually, you will probably need to detail your income and outgoings, so start on that in the mean time. Get a proper schedule drawn up. CCCS Debt Remedy is not a bad place to start, but it does have it's shortcomings...

[xxcaz80xx]

thanks blurredfx. Kinda thought any action against the post office would be pointless. Oh well maybe i'll get some free stamps eh? ha. Might need them to write to bailiffs etc! Am planning on trying to get an appointment at the council to discuss the situation with them. At the moment we can only afford small payments, and it would be so much better if we can get it passed back to them and sort out deductions from benefits until my partner is back at work. Think its a long shot but still worth a try.

 

Thanks for the advice, i've had a lot of advice about bailiffs, there's no way they are getting in!

[BlurredFX]

You could do worse than go through the CCCS Debt Remedy thing. It is a bit labourious, and doesn't yield immediate results, but not a bad place to start!

 

There will be established amounts they can take from your benefits I would have thought!

 

IMHO I would have thought that you stand little chance of getting a meeting with the Council. Try speaking to your elected representative - that will be your local Councillor and also your MP - that may get you somewhere, but I do not know.