Visit from Marstons CTAX

[jotty]

I had a visit from marstons on Tuesday giving me 7 days to contact them re o/s council tax liability order for £1300.

I have written to the council to verify the amount so didn't contact Marstons immediately. Today they have been again but this time saying they will remove goods if the bill isn't paid by 7pm.

Now surely they haven't given me enough time to respond, I haven't spoken to them nor do they have any kind of possesion order. I know not to let them in but my car is on the drive which they could levy without me knowing. Its on finance which I can prove, I seem to recall a standard letter someon kindly had done some time ago re levy on cars explaining that it wasn't actually theirs to take as it was bought on borowed money.

 

I am enclsosing a copy of their letter which seems to be a little unlawful in its wording.

[Nintendo Pü]

Can you enlarge the letter and show that you think is not legal?

 

Your car is OK because it belongs to the finance co until the final payment has been made.

 

Did you receive any notice the council was going to apply for a LO? if not then enforcement action is unlawful and must cease. The law requires the council to send you a "final Notice" at your current address or your last known address before instructing a bailiff. If the council fails to comply with the law you can ask the council to take the case back into town hall administration and no bailiffs fees are lawfully due.

 

Regulation 33(1) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992

 

 

33.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), before a billing authority applies for a liability order it shall serve on the person against whom the application is to be made a notice ("final notice"), which is to be in addition to any notice required to be served under Part V, and which is to state every amount in respect of which the authority is to make the application.

 

 

Regulation 34 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992

 

 

(2) The application is to be instituted by making complaint to a justice of the peace, and requesting the issue of a summons directed to that person to appear before the court to show why he has not paid the sum which is outstanding.

 

[jotty]

I received a summons from the court back in September re the LO application, I sent the council a reasonable offer of payment which they failed to respond to and then next thin we knew the order had been issued by the court.

 

I'm not sure how to enlarge the doc but it does say thay unless full payment is made they will remove goods after 7pm tonight. Is it worded this way to mislead me into paying without a possesion order ?

[Nintendo Pü]

Contact the Local Government Ombudsman, you made a reasonable offer of payment and the council should have adhered to this provided you kept to those repayments. Otherwise the council is perfectly within its rights to pass the case for enforcement.

 

Bailiffs need to gain entry to your property, if you dont give them entry, there is little a bailiff can do other than hand the case back to council nulla bona in 90 days. Bailiffs cannot commit breaking & entering.

 

Are you on benfefits?

 

Is your household a vulnerable household?

 

Is the bailiff overcharging you with his fees? Visit is £24.50, but none is payable for stuffing a letter through your door.

[jotty]

Had a visit again this morning from Marstons, caught me a little by surprise so wasn't immediately ready. Anyway I told him I had emailed his office with an offer and was still waiting a reply. He got very aggresive, or tried to, and said that they wouldn't accept any offer (I have not made one previously) and then started to spout bits of legal stuff at me.

My car was on the drive and he said he would have it towed away today, I eplained the car was on finance but he said they would take it anyway and I would have to prove that and that he would return with the police and a truck.

 

Now I have not signed anything nor has he left any paperwork. He did leave in a hurry when I pretended to ring the police to clarify.

 

Any idea on what he is likely to do next ?

[Nintendo Pü]

If he comes back with police or a truck then have a camcorder handy and say they are being recorded on video for crime prevention reasons. Say to the police officer and bailiff..

 

"the car is on finance and remains the property of the finance company until the final payment is made". Ask they both quietly leave the property.

 

Keep the camera rolling until they are both gone.

[jotty]

Thanks for the reply, as he has left me no paperwork is it still possible he has levied the car and could take it anyway.

 

Secondly are they obliged to accept an offer of payment.

[Nintendo Pü]

No, he cant levy on goods that arent yours.

 

Yes depending on the reasonableness of the offer.

[jotty]

Thanks for the advice, I will sit down and have a coffee now.

 

I would hate to have been a young mum struggling to feed my kids with this kind of idiot at my door.

[Nintendo Pü]

I dont suppose you can donate me a full size copy of the above Marston document?

[jotty]

Yes just not sure how to, if you can let me have your email by pm I will do it that way.

 

Is there something I need to worry about

[yummymummy82]

Hi Jotty,

my husbands van was clamped by marsdens this morning...

He had to pay them £315 to get it realeased otherwise he wouldnt have been able to go to work... of which only £60 was a fine for not wearing his seatbelt.. which was paid but they never received the payment!!

I am so angry we have 2 children and had to give £315 of our christmas money... we literally now can not buy the kids any more presents!! I so mad I rang marsdens and she said she wouldnt speak to me she needed to speak to my husband? We have never even received final notice like yours or anything? I am so mad and confused.. Dont pay them a penny they are just bullies

[Nintendo Pü]

Nothing to worry about, I keep a dossier of up to date bailiffs documents. Marstons MO is threatening locksmiths and A4's with big red FINAL NOTICE printed accross them.

 

Just scan the doc and save it as a JPG and stick it on photobucket.com and send me the link.

[jotty]

All done thanks, pm on its way.

[Johnmk]

Help, we have now had a number of visits from Marston Bailiff's, they say they have an order from the courts to remove goods for unpaid child maintenance of £2504.00, I have a debt management program in place with a Company called PDH but they say there is nothing they can do. Im on minimum wage and have three small children. Some advice would be grateful.

[jotty]

Hi John seems our friends at Marstons have been busy recently.

 

Not sure onthis subject so start your own thread and I am certain you will get the advice needed.

 

Good luck

[Nintendo Pü]

Help, we have now had a number of visits from Marston Bailiff's, they say they have an order from the courts to remove goods for unpaid child maintenance of £2504.00, I have a debt management program in place with a Company called PDH but they say there is nothing they can do. Im on minimum wage and have three small children. Some advice would be grateful.

 

You need your own thread.

 

You might be classed as vulnerable household, and if so then enforcement action must cease. http://www.dca.gov.uk/enforcement/agents02.htm#part10

 

Make your home and car safe and NEVER let a bailiff enter your home.

 

There is currently no legislation allowing bailiffs to charge you fees for collecting unpaid child maintenance so if he tried to charge fees then he commits an offence under section 2 of the Fraud Act.

 

Speak to the CSA and tell them you are already living on the poverty threshold and ask that enforcement action stops. You are already in a debt management program and you simply dont have what the CSA is trying to take.

 

If the get no positive action from the CSA then claim Jobseekers allowance, that stops the CSA adding further maintenance liability to the debt.

 

If you keep the bailiff out of your home for 90 days without paying him, he must then return the case back to the CSA.

 

The CSA will try other enforcement action, i) a charging order so make sure there is no land registered in your name at the Land Registry. ii) bank arrestment, you must zero the balance of all your bank accounts, otherwise they will seize your bank account even if its a joint account without needing to apply to a court.

 

If you receive a committal hearing then the court must determine the assessment is accurate before considering a committal. There is a Judge Munby case somewhere. The committal judge has a power to quash the assessment debt and liability if you can show it is wrong and you are out of time to file a claim at a tribunal.

[Johnmk]

Thank you for the reply, this is very encouraging, I will call the CSA on Monday, I dont dispute the debt I just simply cant afford to pay the amount in full. I did try to make arrangements with the Bailiff but as you can imagine this was to no avail. When you say start your own thread ? how do I do this.

[Nintendo Pü]

Never contact the bailiff, contact the CSA, but if the CSA palms you off with contact the bailiff, then ask the CSA to contact you to discuss a more reasonable repayment schedule when thair bailiff has returned the case back to them.

 

There is no legislation obligating you to trade with a bailiff, the law says you must discharge liability to the CSA.

 

You need to make it clear you do not have the physical money the CSA is demanding from you. If you can, try to record the call, it will be useful to play to a magistrate should the CSA try a committal proceeding. The pre-requisite for a committal to be granted is the debtor is refusing to pay. They do not jail debtors who cannot pay. This is a good way to get a CSA liability quashed.

[Johnmk]

Thank you, I intend to contact the CSA first thing on Monday morning.

[RaeUK]

... When you say start your own thread ? how do I do this.

 

Go to the start of the Bailiffs forum, close to the top of the page is a tab marked 'new thread', click that and fire away...

[jotty]

Just had a visit from Marstons again, they have now clamped my car and left a notice of distress asking for full payment before they release it.

 

What can be done ?

[scaff1]

get a petrol cutter and cut it off

[jotty]

One of the worst days of my life, started at 7 this morning with 2 of marstons finest hammering on my door and shouting through my letterbox which made the whole street aware of the problem. They then clamped the car and stuck a distress notice on the windscreen. I managed to borrow the money off a fantastic friend and they removed the clamp at 2pm

When I clear my head I will work out what they have charged me and ask fir advice.

Bully is to small a word for this lot, my wife is afraid to look theneighbours in the eye.

[jimbo45]

Hi there

While Rossendales was looking for my car (which he didn't find -- has Dutch plates on it which would confuse the pea size brains these guys have anyway) I clamped his :D - as I recognize the number from other people compaining about the tactics being used by these "so called enforcement officers"and now we might have a "Mexican Standoff".

 

He parked ON MY PROPERTY without my permission so I have 100% right AFAIK on this one.

 

If he had any right at all he would already have called the Police - but he threatened me with "His mates would do me".

 

That's all I needed to make a formal complaint against a Bailiff - especially I had just visited the Council Offices to arrange payment of back tax and also make a Formal complaint against undue charges.

 

 

It's taken me over 60 years to get really angry and start fighting back against these sort of people but it's game on with Rossendales at the moment -- and he's NOT getting HIS car back until he goes to court and he'll have to explain why he was looking to clamp my car first - and if he brings his thugs round I have more than enough collegaues to keep them at bay.

 

I've got a bit of cash to use here so I don't care if I have to pay eventually --great to see him having to call a Taxi / take the bus so he can't do any more damage to "other victims" today.

 

OK Marsons aren't the same but DON'T PAY ILLEGAL FEES.

 

Cheers

jimbo

Edited December 7, 2009 by jimbo45