Urgent Bristow & Sutor

[bluestwo]

Hi There,

 

We have a outstanding debt for council Tax that stands at £500 (was 800 to start with) which is with b&s which is only in my oh name. A arrangement was made to pay this by instalments of £150.00 per month by email with them. The last payment was not on time as we just didn't have the money, my oh has been on short hours since nov last year. We have emailed b&s to tell them and told them we will make the payment this friday and the following payment on the 22nd which will bring the account back upto date. this will them leave a final payment to be paid in august.

B&s have emailed back to say the arrangment has been canceled and that at baliff will be coming to our home soon to resolve this matter.

How can we stop them from calling? At a real push we could clear the full amount up on the 22nd which is only 14 days from now but how do we keep them away until then.

My 12 year old daughter comes home from school and has to be in the house for a hour while waiting for us to get home from work and I am scared they will call while she is on her own.

They have not been in the house before so no fees have been added at all. I know not to let them in but we live on a main road and when faced with a situation especaily my oh will end up letting them in ( he suffers from depression and can not cope with difficult situations).

Please help I have to go to work this afternoon and I am scared they will call.

[Guest Happy Contrails]

Hi There,

 

We have a outstanding debt for council Tax that stands at £500 (was 800 to start with) which is with b&s which is only in my oh name.

 

Your OH's name must be on correspondence otherwise B&S may disregard it.

 

A arrangement was made to pay this by instalments of £150.00 per month by email with them. The last payment was not on time as we just didn't have the money, my oh has been on short hours since nov last year. We have emailed b&s to tell them and told them we will make the payment this friday and the following payment on the 22nd which will bring the account back upto date. this will them leave a final payment to be paid in august.

B&s have emailed back to say the arrangment has been canceled and that at baliff will be coming to our home soon to resolve this matter.

 

The bailiff may be unreasonable, threatening you with a visit and charging a fee thereto, but not unlawful.

 

How can we stop them from calling? At a real push we could clear the full amount up on the 22nd which is only 14 days from now but how do we keep them away until then.

 

You cant, but you can stop them entering your property and having access to your goods which stops them charging van fees, levy fees and other B&S fees they make up. The only fee a bailiff can charge for his visit is £24.50.

 

 

My 12 year old daughter comes home from school and has to be in the house for a hour while waiting for us to get home from work and I am scared they will call while she is on her own.

 

If a bailiff enters a property answered by a home-alone child then you call police on 999. Rules are very strict on this and bailiffs must withdraw from the property when they find a property occupied by a child. Issue a Form 4 complaint if a bailiff levies on goods in a property occupied by a home-alone child. More: http://www.dca.gov.uk/enforcement/agents02.htm#part10http://www.dca.gov.uk/enforcement/agents02.htm#part10

 

They have not been in the house before so no fees have been added at all. I know not to let them in but we live on a main road and when faced with a situation especially my oh will end up letting them in ( he suffers from depression and can not cope with difficult situations).

 

Have another read of the above-link. You may be classed a vulnerable persons for the purposes of civil enforcement and enforcement must cease. Those are government guidelines.

 

Please help I have to go to work this afternoon and I am scared they will call.

 

In in doubt, keep the bailiffs out. Make your house safe and secure. Send this letter to the bailiff by post and by email and keep a copy to hand through a window to the bailiff if he decides to turn up. Do not use recorded delivery

 

The Omnipotent Bailiff Co, Plc

Their Address 1

Their Address 2

Their Address 3

Postcode

 

DATE

 

BY POST AND BY EMAIL AND BY HAND

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re: Your visit to [1st LINE OF ADDRESS]

 

I write further to your visit by your bailiff and confirm I am a vulnerable person for the purposes of civil enforcement in the meaning of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents directives.

 

Where a debtor falling into a vulnerable persons category is discovered by an enforcement agent, the matter shall be referred back to the court and no seizure of goods may proceed.

 

This document is also delivered by Royal Mail and I deem it good service upon you by the ordinary course of post under Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978. It is your responsibility and in your best interests this letter is handed to the relevant person within your organisation.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

 

YOUR NAME

 

And send this to the council and get the case back to town hall administration.

 

Council Tax (Enforcements) Department

Invincible Borough Council

Address 1

Address 2

Address 3

Postcode

 

[DATE]

 

BY POST AND BY EMAIL

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re: [YOUR NAME & ANY REF]: Visit by your bailiff

 

I write further to your visit by your bailiff and confirm I am a vulnerable person for the purposes of civil enforcement in the meaning of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents directives issued by HM Government.

 

It says, where a debtor falling into a vulnerable persons category is discovered by an enforcement agent, the matter shall be referred back to the court and no seizure of goods may proceed. I therefore ask this case be taken back into council administration within seven (7) days of the date of this letter and confirm in writing to me at the above address.

 

This document is delivered by Royal Mail and I deem it good service upon you by the ordinary course of post under Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978. It is your responsibility and in your best interests this letter is handed to the relevant person within your organisation.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

 

YOUR NAME

 

 

If a bailiff enters your property while its occupied only by your daughter then revert back here and I'll show you how to put the bailiff in front of the judge. Its very irresponsible for a bailiff to use a child in this way to effect a levy while there are no adults present.

[bluestwo]

Thanks for your reply

 

All the correspondence does have my oh name on them and depression doesn't class as vunerable we looked in to it before. also i forgot to mention his grandma died last friday so is dad is here quite a lot at the min so this makes me more nervous of them calling.

 

do you no how quick they will call or will we get time to make the full payment on the 22nd? we can not make it before then. would it worth while emailing them again and telling them we are going to clear it up on the 22nd and ask if they could wait until after that date or will they call just to add charges?

[Guest Happy Contrails]

The depression must be medically diagnosed by a doctor, but bereavement is mentioned in the govermnment guidelines.

 

I expect the bailiff will call before the 22nd, but if you dont have the money there's not a lot a bailiff can do if he has no access to your goods. Get the council on your side, but is the council is vexatious then contact the Local Government Ombudsman.

 

Did you receive by post:

 

1. A Final Notice?

2. A Notice of application of a liability Order?

 

If either is false then the council failed to comply with Regs 33/34 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 and you have plenty of recourse to get the case back to council administration.

[bluestwo]

yes we recieved both. I'm going to post your letter today and hopefully it will keep them of our backs for 2 weeks do i have to mention why he is vunerable our just copy it to the letter? I will also try to email it them but they only allow you 250 words so don't think it will fit. I will also send a copy to the council shall i mention this on the letter?

 

Thanks for your help

[Guest Happy Contrails]

Yes it helps describing the nature of the vulnerability.

 

When sending a copy-letter by email to a bailiff , you send it as an attached document, not c&p in an email. NEVER use a contact webform on a bailiffs website.

[bluestwo]

thanks again but the only way to contact them is on their contact page you can't reply by their email it tells you it doesn't accept incoming mail and will not be dealt with.

sorry to be a pain

[Guest Happy Contrails]

Send it by post, be a pain and send 2 copies separately, one ordinary post (ask for a Certificate of posting at the post office counter) and the other by recorded delivery, if the recorded delivery letter bounces because bailiffs do not accept recorded delivery items then you are laughing because S7 of the Interpretation Act pretty-much legislates a letter correctly posted is received, and you have proven the bailiff is vexatious by trying to deliberately exclude receipt of a letter.

[bluestwo]

Right letters printed and ready to send,

 

Thankyou so much for all your help I'll let you no how we get on.

 

I also was able so send by their contact page by writing it out on a word document and copy and paste if over but it worked even though it was longer than they allow.

 

Thanks again x

[bluestwo]

hi,

 

Just to let you know i sent the letter and have today received a reply saying they have noted what what said and have made a new payment plan for 3 months. I did ask them to send it back to the council but they have ignored this completly, but as I can afford the instalments shall I just accept this?. They haven't added any charges.

 

Thanks for your help Happy cantrails.

[kazzymac79]

..

Edited July 30, 2009 by kazzymac79
got told to start my own thread

[hallowitch]

I WILL ADD YOU CANNOT TAKE A BAILIFF TO COURT WHILE THERE'S STILL MONEY OUTSTANDING

 

who told you that i asume this is not for council tax

 

kazzymac79 could you please start your own own thread

 

Bailiffs and Sheriff Officers click link it will take you to a new page

bottom of page on left new thread

welcome to C A G

[kazzymac79]

fair enough, thought i would try to add my own experience of them as good as admitting their charges for a council tax debt were wrong plus their landline no to help save bluestwo some money. Wont bother starting my own thread. GL all.

[hallowitch]

Kazzamac 79 the reason for starting your own thread is to help everyone not get confused with different cases we would all be happy to help if you needed it but you would have to started your own thread