Coucil tax advice needed urgently

[Anin]

My flatmates and I were on a payment plan which I didn't know about, the task of paying the council tax was then given to me, I was a few days late and we got a letter saying it had been moved over to Pheonix baliffs this was dated Monday November 9th. The letter from the baliff says:

Arrears due to authority: £199.94

fees to date: £42.50

total: £242.44

I tried desperatly to contact the baliff all day Tuesday but had no luck, finally Wednsday I did and he said our total was £362.44. I said we didn't have that and could we pay half now and half in 2 weeks, he said no we're coming to get your stuff. This was horribly upsetting as you can imagine. By this time CAB was closed and we were at a loss.

 

My urgent question is this: a good friend of mine who has issues with the council before suggests that we pay the council tax ONLINE for either the amount we were supposed to pay on our payment plan (£150.00) or the £199.94 which is on the letter. She says even just paying the £150.00 would look good and then explain to CAB the situation. Will this work? I absolutly cannot deal with the baliff he was horrible and unreasonable and also we simply do not have that amount!

[Anin]

sorry to have so many question but another: if you were to open the door to a baliff are they able to push past you?

[rebel11]

I'm not an expert, but the advice that I have seen is not to open the door to the baliff and don't sign anything. I think you need to contact the council and let them know how much money you can pay and work out a plan.

 

Hopefully someone with more experience will answer your question shortly.

[hallowitch]

yes you can pay the council online

Arrears due to authority: £199.94 i assume this is all you you owe the council in total

 

fees to date: £42.50

this is bailiffs fees for 2 visits if you have only had 1 visit then the fee should be £24.50

 

he said our total was £362.44. I said we didn't have that and could we pay have now and half in 2 weeks, he said no we're coming to get your stuff.

has the bailiff been in your home or levied on a car if not the fees are wrong

[Anin]

We definitely plan to not open the door to the bailiff I suppose I was just nervous they would say there were someone else and use that to get someone to open the door. We also have a houseguest staying with us so unless I’m actually in the house I’m a bit of a wreck thinking they’ll get in :/

Edited November 12, 2009 by Anin

[Anin]

yes you can pay the council online

Arrears due to authority: £199.94 i assume this is all you you owe the council in total

See now this is where I'm confused, we were on a payment plan because (I thought) we owed much more then this because as I said we had fallen quite far behund in the past when my husband was dealing with it.

 

fees to date: £42.50

this is bailiffs fees for 2 visits if you have only had 1 visit then the fee should be £24.50

 

Well this is the first letter we've gotten but perhaps the first visit was the first time we fell behind?

 

he said our total was £362.44. I said we didn't have that and could we pay have now and half in 2 weeks, he said no we're coming to get your stuff.

has the bailiff been in your home or levied on a car if not the fees are wrong

 

He has NOT been in our home and we have no cars. We have also recieved no more letters. I suppose I should call the baliff to find out why he's charging so much but he made me so upset and angry I would find it hard to speak to him to be totally honest.

 

 

If possible I would like to deal with only CAB and the council but the council said 'Theres nothing we can do it's already been moved over' it's unbelievale how unhelpful the bailiff and the council have been!

[hallowitch]

ok you are in a strong position regarding your bailiff because he has not been in your home and you don't own a car

 

if you keep him out you will be OK and the most he can ever charge you is £42.50

 

did the council take you to court for a liability order

get in touch with the council find out how much you still owe keep paying online

[hallowitch]

as a rule the council usually pass the whole debt to the bailiffs i cant see them asking the bailiff to collect part of it

[Anin]

ok you are in a strong position regarding your bailiff because he has not been in your home and you don't own a car

 

if you keep him out you will be OK and the most he can ever charge you is £42.50

 

did the council take you to court for a liability order

get in touch with the council find out how much you still owe keep paying online

 

I have no idea if the council took us to court for a liability order as literally all they told me was that they couldn't help me it had been moved over. I tried to get more information but the guy on the phone just kept saying he couldn't help me. And as for the bailiff where does he get off charging the extra £120??? At the time I was pretty much crying (that is extremely embarassing to admit) but I was just so upset and everyone was being so unhelpful! If I had had the money right then I would have paid it, do they just play on fear?

[rebel11]

Just a mini rant, the council chase folk for money, use nasty bailiff's, when they get this money they invest it in overseas banks which go bust, they should be using this money for local services. Rant over.

[hallowitch]

yes bailiffs play on fear

 

i would send the council an e-mail and ask

the date of the liability order

the amount of the liability order

the date and amount passed to the bailiff

 

i was always under the impression the council had to have a liability order to send it to the bailiffs

 

did you get the bailiffs name is he certificated

[hallowitch]

Just a mini rant, the council chase folk for money, use nasty bailiff's, when they get this money they invest it in overseas banks which go bust, they should be using this money for local services. Rant over.

 

 

my council did that

[Anin]

yes bailiffs play on fear

 

i would send the council an e-mail and ask

the date of the liability order

the amount of the liability order

the date and amount passed to the bailiff

 

i was always under the impression the council had to have a liability order to send it to the bailiffs

 

did you get the bailiffs name is he certificated

 

 

I have the bailiffs name yes, I did the search and it came up as he works for Newlyn plc?

Edited November 12, 2009 by Anin

[hallowitch]

I have the bailiffs name yes, I did the search and it came up as he works for Newlyn plc?

 

a bailiff certificated to Newlyn plc cant collect council tax debt for Pheonix bailiffs

[Anin]

I have the bailiffs name yes, I did the search and it came up as he works for Newlyn plc?

 

a bailiff certificated to Newlyn plc cant collect council tax debt for Pheonix bailiffs

 

 

Really?! Should I take this information to CAB? Or to the council?

[FairPlay77]

Really?! Should I take this information to CAB? Or to the council?

 

I would suggest you report this to the council. Do it first personally or on the phone so that they know about this as soon as possible and then repeat what you have said in writing, and make sure you keep a copy.

 

As for your question of where did the bailiff get his extra charges, the answer is almost certainly that he concocted them out of the blue because he was hoping you would be ignorant of the law! And, as others have said, don't open the door if he pays a visit or if you suspect any visitor is a bailiff.

 

Finally, treat the bailiffs with the contempt they deserve. In other words 'sack' them and deal only with the council.

[Anin]

The bailiff is at the door right now my flatmates have just told me! We're very nervous he will push his way in! I can't get through to the Citizens Advice Bureau and my flatmate has to go out to a job interview :/

[hallowitch]

dont open the door to him

[Anin]

I've given them strict instructions not to, my flatmate may have to sneak out the back door. I'm wondering if we should do as my friend suggested and pay online? This guy is certified with a different company as well doesn't that make a difference?!

[hallowitch]

This guy is certified with a different company as well doesn't that make a difference?!

 

yes it does

 

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!!

 

As I have said many times here on the forums, it is always the case that if you have a complaint about a certificated bailiff then this should first be sent to the bailiff company to address and a Form 4 Complaint to the County Court should wait until the company have had an opportunity to sort out the complaint.

 

As a Form 4 Complaint can have serious repercusssions for the individual bailiff, the County Courts also expect that the debtor should at least allow the company to have the opportunity to sort out the complaint. By doing this you will avoid being criticised by the Court.

 

There is a seperate thread in the STICKY section here entitled: "How to Complain to the Court about a Certificiated Bailiff" which should be read first if you are considering a Complaint.

 

PS: As the bailiff is working as an "agent" for the local authority, a copy of your complaint should be sent to the council as well and you need to ensure that you request that it is recorded as a formal complaint.

County Court guidebook by Judge Patricia Pearl Follow this link to read the review of this excellent Small Claims Guidebook.

This comprehensive and very accessible guide will take you through the process of suing or defending a claim.

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Applies to England and Wales

[hallowitch]

Ministry of Justice Public Register of Bailiffs on 020 3334 6355

 

phone them or the court he was certificated at to confirm who he is certificated to now

[Anin]

We tried to pay online but I get this error: Details of the account could not be found within the system.

 

I spoke to CAB and have an in person appointment with them on November 24, they said the council is not allowed to refuse a payment which they did with me, they also said that the bailiffs had to back off while we seek advice. I called the bailiffs to let them know we were seeking advice and were allowed the time and they told me they didn't care and would continue to come to our house! This is so infuriating! CAB also said what I already knew which was that we need to make a formal complaint about this bailiff not being registered correctly which thanks to this forum I can do. So thank you so much everyone especially Hallowitch! I'm still quite upset that Pheonix refuses to back off!!! Also I have made a payment of £150.00 (which was our orginal payment plan deal) through the automated service and have a reference number so until the 24th I wait and work on my complaint.

Edited November 13, 2009 by Anin

[Anin]

I would suggest you report this to the council. Do it first personally or on the phone so that they know about this as soon as possible and then repeat what you have said in writing, and make sure you keep a copy.

 

As for your question of where did the bailiff get his extra charges, the answer is almost certainly that he concocted them out of the blue because he was hoping you would be ignorant of the law! And, as others have said, don't open the door if he pays a visit or if you suspect any visitor is a bailiff.

 

Finally, treat the bailiffs with the contempt they deserve. In other words 'sack' them and deal only with the council.

 

This is exactly what I told the Citizens Advice Bureau! Given that they had been, rude, added on fees and the bailiff is not properly registered I believe I stand a good ground!