The Certificated Bailiffs name is not registered

[lancsgirl]

Hello, I have been visited twice by a bailiff and they have charged me £50 on each visit. Each visit was within 24hrs. I was out both times. I have looked at the name printed on the letters and then tried to find out whether they are registered. However, his name doesn't seem to be listed on the on-line court cerificated bailiff data base. Is this the normal trend? Or is this a con by the bailiff. The charges seem extreme £50 for a letter posted through the door X 2 in 24 hours. Banks cannot get away with their charges so why should they? They haven't been back since, and also the letter seems tricky as in BOLD print it states "Any arrangement to pay by instalments is made subject to our bailiff calling to your property and completing the relevant paperwork( this will incur a statutory fee) AND you making an immediate payment"

[lets fight bailiffs]

No what they mean is you sign a WPO dont let them in can you tell us more IE what ist for,When,and what is the company name,are they CC bailiffs or Madgistrates as they have six months to register

[lancsgirl]

Hello lets fight bailiffs, thanks for your reply. The debt is for council tax arrears from last year. They called last month. The company is Jacobs and the letter says NOTICE OF ATTENDANCE TO SEIZE GOODS. The letter says " TAKE NOTICE we are in possession of a Liability Order issued by the Magistrates Court and have today attended your property to seize goods for the above debt and costs."

There is no name of the court or evidence of court orders.

I have tried contacting the council however they say I have to deal with the bailiffs and not them. I have no intention of contacting the bailiffs. I want to pay but ther council will not deal with me directly and I don't have the total amount payable.

[eddieee]

I don't know how effective this is but if you have online banking you can set up a one off payment to the council or go into your bank and try and get them to set it up. That way the money gets credited to your Council Tax account and the council can't decline acceptance of it. You will need your council tax account number and the bank account number and sort code of the council account. This maybe found on the forms they provide with payment details or available on the council web site, or someone on here may know if they are from your area.

 

But if this is a court appointed baliff and there has been a court case, it is probably not a good idea to ignore them. You should be able to go to the court and pay the money there directly.

[lets fight bailiffs]

Who is your council,and have you received the court order direct from the court before the bailiffs got involved.

[lancsgirl]

No court order or papers delivered to my house. South ribble council thanks

[lets fight bailiffs]

then you need to talk to your council again and tell them you have never received a court order and ask them what court it was held at and what date was the order made against you and if you have never received a court order then you need to get in contact with the court and inform them you need to isue a statutory declaration to the court as you have never had any notice to attend or order of judgment and this will hand the whole thing back into the hands of the council and rid any fees or costs to date.

[Crapstone]

then you need to talk to your council again and tell them you have never received a court order and ask them what court it was held at and what date was the order made against you and if you have never received a court order then you need to get in contact with the court and inform them you need to isue a statutory declaration to the court as you have never had any notice to attend or order of judgment and this will hand the whole thing back into the hands of the council and rid any fees or costs to date.

 

There isn't much point in doing that if the CT is owed. Don't complicate it, just refer back to the council and refuse to pay the bailiffs. You don't owe them anything. The council is your creditor and has a duty to accept your payment proposal. You need to speak to a senior person instead of one of their muppets. Be polite but firm and they will call the bulldogs off.

Edited August 12, 2009 by Crapstone

[tomtubby]

There isn't much point in doing that if the CT is owed. Don't complicate it, just refer back to the council and refuse to pay the bailiffs. You don't owe them anything. The council is your creditor and has a duty to accept your payment proposal. You need to speak to a senior person instead of one of their muppets. Be polite but firm and they will call the bulldogs off.

 

I am sorry but this information is not right.

 

First the DEBTOR cannot refer back to the council. It is for the BAILIFF to do this !!

 

The council have obtained a Liability Order and Statutory regulations laid down by Parliament provide that this must be enforced by a Certificated Bailiff.

 

Crucially, and this is vitally important.............Any money paid under Laibility Order MUST first be applied to discharge the bailiff fees!! What this means is that if you do pay the council direct then the council is DUTY BOUND to send part of you bailiff to the bailiff co to repay their charges!!!

 

PS: On the matter of the charges applied by Jacobs of £50 for EACH VISIT. This is WRONG. A first visit fee can ONLY be £24.50 for "attending to levy where no levy was made" and a second such visit can be charged at £18.00.

[Crapstone]

I am sorry but this information is not right.

 

First the DEBTOR cannot refer back to the council. It is for the BAILIFF to do this !!

 

The council have obtained a Liability Order and Statutory regulations laid down by Parliament provide that this must be enforced by a Certificated Bailiff.

 

Crucially, and this is vitally important.............Any money paid under Laibility Order MUST first be applied to discharge the bailiff fees!! What this means is that if you do pay the council direct then the council is DUTY BOUND to send part of you bailiff to the bailiff co to repay their charges!!!

 

It must just be me that it works for then. I've never paid a penny in baliffs fees or for court costs. The council needs a push but they are quite capable of agreeing to take payments directly and they usually do if you agree to set up a DD.

[lets fight bailiffs]

the council can take a payment but the bailiff fee is still due and more often than not the bailiff will still levy on the fees as it is part of the ORDER so they are payable one way or another by the debter. the council can't rid any bailiff fees only the court can.

[Crapstone]

the council can take a payment but the bailiff fee is still due and more often than not the bailiff will still levy on the fees as it is part of the ORDER so they are payable one way or another by the debter. the council can't rid any bailiff fees only the court can.

 

The bailiffs I had were private and not court appointed ( Bristow & Sutor). Each case varies depending on your LA and how much you argue. I've found my own LA to be reasonable and they easily came to an agreement without the bailiffs being involved or paid. Their intentions are to get as much money as they can and they know what could be going towards council tax or business rates is wasted if it's to pay fees or costs. It also doesn't look too good on their overall recovery figures v expenditure.

 

The behaviour of the bailiffs can also be called into question and LA's are not fond of complaints or SAR's. In my region I've dealt with private bailiffs and LA's for years and I haven't had an outcome that went other than in favour of the debtor and an agreement made to pay or the case dropped ( business rates).

 

A bailiff can only levy on something they can touch and if you don't let them they have no option but to go away. When the bailiffs fail the LA has to use more costly and riskier enforcement tactics, so it's far better for them to agree and get something rather than nothing.

Edited August 14, 2009 by Crapstone

[honey**]

what if her bailliff isnt Certificated ??

 

what then ?

[lets fight bailiffs]

with council tax it is not the same as a debt from say a phone company and just because it is B&S they still collect on order of the couny court.

the law is also not the same as with council tax they can force entry if you refuse them and can also end up with a prison sentense fact because CT will end up as an arrest warent.

but there are councils that will help you i was talking to a manager for a council legal team on wednesday and they are the same he tells me all his staff are advised to take any money offered and also informed me that if i hear of any staff not accepting a payment he will deal with it.

 

and to answer the last question a magestrates bailiff has 6 months to registure so he could be quite new to the job.