phoenix bailiffs

[lochnettie80]

received a letter today from phoenix bailiffs saying i had to pay 1300 in seven days for previous years council tax not sure what i should do can any one help

[lochnettie80]

just wanted to add this debt is for 2000 and before

[lets fight bailiffs]

Tomtubby will answer this best But i am sure they are out of time, but its council tax so i'm not sure, i'm sure she will be about soon.

 

Sorry but i don't want to tell you what i don't know.

[tomtubby]

just wanted to add this debt is for 2000 and before

 

In the morning can you make contact with the local authority and ask them for the date when they obtained the Liability order. This is very important !!

[angryandy]

LFB is right. Tomtubby will know the ins and outs of this sort of thing.

 

Don't like to disagree with you LFB but i don't think a council tax debt can ever go statute barred.

 

Lets see what Tomtubby thinks

[tomtubby]

This could help......

 

 

Under Regulation 34(3) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 it states the following:

 

 

The council should not go to the magistrate’s court and ask for a liability order for council tax if the application is made more than six years after the council tax became due. This is under Regulation 34(3) Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992"

[lets fight bailiffs]

Thought so, but if this had been in court before six years its already in the hands of the court but if the council had handed it to the court lets say last year it can be statute barred.(out of time).

[angryandy]

Lochnetti80 do you know when the liability order was made to the court?

[lochnettie80]

right im about to email them coz i cant get answer on phone. what is it i need to ask them

 

can i ask them to send me the actual amounts that were reffered to the bailiffs

[lets fight bailiffs]

Firsley you need to know when this was passed to the court.

[lochnettie80]

Firsley you need to know when this was passed to the court.

 

 

so do i just ask them for conformation of when these debts were refered to the courts

 

the only thing is we have paid some of them but these c/tax bills range from 1992 upto 1999 will this affect anything or should i try anyway

 

dont know if this will help

 

the first time we heard about this debt was 2004 which is when a bailiff knocked on our doorwe arranged to pay themwhich we were doing. Then for some reason the council took all the debt back from the bailiff and then we started to pay the council again until february this year when we missed paymentd through not having enough money to pay them.the nextthis bailiff letter came. we have had no contact from the council at all since we set up the arrangement to pay

Edited August 4, 2009 by lochnettie80
adding

[lets fight bailiffs]

did you pay late or miss as late is not the same.and are you paying now?

[lochnettie80]

did you pay late or miss as late is not the same.and are you paying now?

 

 

miseed a payment and not paying now as we cant afford to

[lets fight bailiffs]

This is a hard one as it goes back so long and it all depends on what year the bills relate as some of them could well be out of time.

I would get all your paper work together and take it to CAB and they will direct you the best way as they can see the paper work.

[lochnettie80]

This is a hard one as it goes back so long and it all depends on what year the bills relate as some of them could well be out of time.

I would get all your paper work together and take it to CAB and they will direct you the best way as they can see the paper work.

 

 

thanks anyway but do i have to deal with the bailiffs and do i have to let them in only got 3 days till thier 7 days are up and there has been no walking possesion

 

i know ther isnt a bill past 2000 as my partner moved in with me then and all the bills are in my name only as i am the tenant of the property

Edited August 4, 2009 by lochnettie80

[lets fight bailiffs]

It is not against the law not to let them in.

what i would do is get everything of any value out of the house and move any car you have away from the house so they can't levy on it and once you have nothing in the house worth taking or the things you have you need to live, then i would call them and say look i want to pay but i do not have the means at this moment in time so if you want to come and take my goods then do so and if it is found that you dont have enough in goods to pay then they will hand it back to the court.

and start again.

[lochnettie80]

just an update

 

phoned phoenix today and finnally got an answer after phoning alll week

and recieving another letter stating they had sent previous letters both posted and hand delivered.

Asked about making payments but would not be able to pay anythnig till the end of the month and was told phone back at the end of the month and pay what we can when we can

 

Didnt think this sounded right so phoned back again only to be told that if we hadn't paid this outstanding balance by the 21st of august they will send bailiffs out.

I then asked about setting up a payment plan the lady then said she cant do that until the end of the month when we phone back.

does anyone have any advice about this because i get the feeling that they are wanting to send the bailiffs to my door so they can put charges on the bill

[Guest janensteve]

ig you habea name and a verbal agreement over the phone to pay at end of month, make a note of the call and time, send them a letter confirming that you understand that they have agreed to accept payment at end of month and if your understanding is incorrect, to respond in writing. That way, if they turn up in the meantime, they shouldn't add van charges as they will have estopped themselves from doing so. its just a shame that they are unlikely to onfirm anytrhing in writing other than from the hand of the baillif wanting to pile on his fees.

[lochnettie80]

i got the second persons first name however she rufused piont blank to give me her surname

 

i thought if u phoned them that they would have to give u the option to pay in installments as paying in full would make us miss evry other bill we have which would include rent this years council tax aswell i am getting a bit worried now i really dont want them to come knocking

 

it also states on the bottom of the letter that should we fail to pay in 7 days or make contact ot make arrangements to pay by installments .they will continue action to recover the outstanding amount

[lets fight bailiffs]

no matter what they say if you offer a payment plan they have to at very least think about it so i would send a payment plan to them in writing and if they refuse to accept the plan tell them you want the court to take it back if they say no ask the court yourself and tell them you have offered to pay but the bailiff refused and you require a means hearing.

[lochnettie80]

does anyone know whether this would help me

 

or do yiu think it is to later

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: Your Reference

 

I understand xxxxCouncil has appointed you to recover my Council Tax Liability arrears for 200x of £xxxx.

 

Firstly I would like to make you aware that I am fully aware of my rights and you will not gain entry to my home under any circumstances to levy goods and I know the fees allowed under statute and when these fees can be applied.

 

Due to my circumstances I am unable to pay this in one payment. I advocate a payment schedule of 24 months with 23 months payments at £xx.xx and the balance of £xx.xx to be paid on the 24th month to cover the principle. I understand this may seem a long time but this is a realistic offer that is affordable to me and will allow me to pay future bills issued for Council Tax without them falling into arrears. A greater amount would cause me real and actual hardship.

 

I am able to pay the above amount on the xx of each month, as an act of good faith I have enclosed the first payment chq number xxxxxx. Please advise how you would like future payments made. My personal preference is payment by Standing Order.

 

It should be noted that I am not at any point refusing to pay this debt but only asking for a fair payment period considering my circumstances. And if you are unable to accept my offer I will place the money aside each month until such a time the council take the account back into their management, when I will make payment of the set aside money to the council.

 

Please also send an itemised statement of account that clearly shows what charges have been added and what for, you are required in statute to supply this information and I look forward to this within 14 days.

 

I am sending the council a copy of this letter and requesting that it be filled with my account for further reference.

 

I hope the above meets your approval and I look forward to your timely reply by letter.

 

Yours faithfully,