Advice needed please

[al860]

Hi,

 

I have just had a visit from Rossedales regarding council tax arrears for a previous address. The story is a bit complicated but here goes.

 

Moved to old address on getting a new job, wife didn't come with me for firts 3 months. Council sends bill for both myself and wife, I advise council this is not the case and they agree to send revised bill. This never arrives, I forget about said bill until bailiff turns up whilst i'm moving house again (to new permanent location) and I try to make arrangements to meet bailiff but as I work all week and he dissapears at 1200 on Fridays never actually meet.

 

I phone council and advise of new address and advise I wish to pay bill but will not entertain bailiffs because I have never been asked for the amount they are claiming and without a bill I cannot be expected to pay. They reply that they sent the bills and that is all they are required to do. I also request that council amend the amount due as I was moving out before the end of the period being billed.

 

At new address 6 months now and still waiting for any correspondence from the council regarding new bill. First I know 2 bailiffs turn up demanding £1800 immediately (they later agree to give me 7 days) or the seize my goods. I advise them that they are not getting into the house, I have already told the council I will pay as soon as they provide me with an accurate bill - he answers "Don't care, so your telling me you are going to stop me from doing my job?".

 

I then phone the council again and guess what, their computer had crashed when I provided my new address and the agent had written the address down (incorrectly) and therfore they could not send me any correspondence. Now I have around 6 days to find £1800 for a £1300 council tax bill with 20 days until pay day.

 

At no point has any bailiffs been in my home, and I have only been given 2 letters from them (1 left in a communal mailbox outside the old flats) and one handed to me yesterday.

 

On checking this website I find out that the Bailiff (from Rossendales) is registered at a different firm (or unregistered). Now for my questions:

 

1. Can he enforce anything bearing in mind he is registered at a different firm.

2. Can I get the warrant (or whatever it is) cancelled as I have never been issued an accurate bill, or advised of any court proceedings.

3. I am more than willing to pay the bill at as much as I can afford, probably around £100-200 a month, can they be forced to accept this, or the council made retrieve the account.

4. Can they remove my car (2 years old and owned by the hire purchase company). I've heard they can't but they normally clamp them - this would stop my wife getting to work and therefore royally screw us.

5. I have advised that they will not get into the house, what else can they do - if the council take the account back and it goes to a magistrate I have no hesitation in agreeing to pay (as I would have done originally).

 

Or if anyone has any other advice that is also greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Al

[al860]

Forgot to add, does the charges seem reasonable as they have not advised me what these are for?

 

I also heard that this is a requirement. They also gave no notice of an impending visit - do they not need to give me 14 days notice?

[hallowitch]

1. Can he enforce anything bearing in mind he is registered at a different firm NO unless he is self employed he can only work for 1 firm at a time

read this

If your search reveals that the bailiff is working for a different company it is important to be aware that statutory regulations laid down by Parliament state that if there are "any changes" to the certificate then the bailiff must “without delay” give notice to the Court and a new certificate will be issued to him reflecting the changes. This is vitally important because in almost all cases, the bailiff’s bond will be cancelled when he leaves his previous employer

Can I get the warrant (or whatever it is) cancelled as I have never been issued an accurate bill, or advised of any court proceedings

 

probably not

Can they remove my car (2 years old and owned by the hire purchase company). I've heard they can't but they normally clamp

 

legally they cant in your position i would send a copy of the H P agreement ( remove all accounts numbers ) to the council and the bailiff and put them on notice that the car is on H P and if it is clamped you will take the matter to the county court form 4 complaint

 

1800 for a £1300 council tax bill with 20 days until pay day.

1st visit fee 24.50

2nd visit fee £18

no other fees can be added unless he has a walking possession agreement and he would need to have been in your house or levied on your car to add these charges and even that would not come to £500

 

you can write to the council and make them an offer of x amount per month

[hallowitch]

Forgot to add, does the charges seem reasonable as they have not advised me what these are for?

 

I also heard that this is a requirement. They also gave no notice of an impending visit - do they not need to give me 14 days notice?

 

the council are supposed to give you 14 days notice before they send it to the bailiff

[angryandy]

Not an expert by any means but am i right in saying the bailiff is trying to charge you £500 for his services?

 

They can't do a thing unless you let them into your house, do not let them in. As for your car, you are probably best just parking it away from your house.

 

If you don't pay them a penny they will have no option but to hand it back to the council. If you go to a magistrates court and you offer to pay £100-200 you will be fine.

 

Hope this helps for now but someone will be along to help you out short

[al860]

Thanks for your advice everyone.

 

Only thing I need to do now is try to speed up the baliffs handing the account back to the council.

 

Anyone got any ideas on how long this normally takes, or any tactics they may try beforehand.

 

Al

[lets fight bailiffs]

I had a bailiff at my door yesterday he left a letter it states that i owe £3800 in council tax for my old address so i called him and i said dont come to my door call me and wait at the otherside of my gate, and he did.

 

he had a court order for three months of council tax and he asked would i like to pay or make a plan to pay and when i had stopped laughing i said what time do you want me back in court within 15mins i had a court date because i know in court this will get kicked out

and that has taken them 15mins once i said i was not going to pay.

they can take a few weeks though.

[Maggie_moo]

Get back onto the Council asap, I would be fuming if I were you, this is their cock-up so why should you have to deal with bailiffs! I would point out to them that you aren't refusing to pay, but you can't reasonably be expected to do so without a bill!

[lets fight bailiffs]

Get back onto the Council asap, I would be fuming if I were you, this is their cock-up so why should you have to deal with bailiffs! I would point out to them that you aren't refusing to pay, but you can't reasonably be expected to do so without a bill!

 

although in any case i have i let all go to magestrates for means testing and then the council cant make you pay a penny over but be clever with your means form and put down every penny you have to pay out and try leave it so you only pay half to what you can afford to pay so if you can pay more it looks good on you.