Bailiff knocking this morning re council tax

[misstm]

I had a bailiff knocking this morning for council tax, however I did not answer and he left a Bailiff Removal letter saying he would be back within 24 hours to seize goods if I do not pay the full amount.

I called him on the mobile number and he says I owe him £446, however on my final demand, the amount is £256.50. I offered him £200 today and to pay the rest over the next 2 months, however he refused this and said I had to pay the full amount as it is the end of the financial year tomorrow so they need it all and that it was due in January. He said I had 24 hours to call round and to "use this time wisely" and he would be back tomorrow to seize goods if not paid.

What can I do? I asked him why the amount was so much more than the final demand amount and he said it must be added fees, however it seems like a huge amount of £190 for this.

When he comes back, can i pay him the £200 and refuse him entry into my home, with a written payment schedule for £150 next month and the rest the following month? Will he have to accept this?

I am a single parent with a four year old daughter and am really quite worried about the situation. I know I should have faced this earlier and not let it get to this stage but I obviously cannot turn the clock back and am now terrified.

Can anyone help me?

[impecunious]

First things first!! You did absolutely the right thing in not engaging in conversation with the bailiff or letting him in.

 

Second thing is make sure that any vehicles you own are moved away from the house and that you remove anything of value from outside the house: garden furniture, bikes, etc. and keep the garage/shed locked.

 

Use your time wisely and read through the advice given on here. There's lots of it. We've all been there, done that, so don't despair.

 

There is light at the end of the tunnel and you'll get all the advice you need to get through this.

 

DON'T answer the door when the bailiff comes calling again. You don't have to pay them! And they can't seize your goods unless YOU let them in - cos they haven't gained entry and don't have a walking possession order.

 

As a single parent your household comes under the "vulnerable" status. You'll see plenty of templates to advise the council of this fact and ask to have the account returned to them and arrange a payment plan. Use The National Debtline Income and Expenditure sheet to work out your disposable income from which you can then offer a payment plan - CT is a priority debt.

 

Pay the council direct online. Just ensure that any payments you make go directly to paying back your arrears not your current year's CT.

 

Someone will be along shortly to give you chapter and verse.

 

Don't panic .. just sit tight, make a cuppa and await lots of good advice

 

 

 

Impecunious!

[hallowitch]

I had a bailiff knocking this morning for council tax, however I did not answer and he left a Bailiff Removal letter saying he would be back within 24 hours to seize goods if I do not pay the full amount.

do not let him in under any circumstances if you have a car move it away from your home

I called him on the mobile number and he says I owe him £446, however on my final demand, the amount is £256.50.

There is a possibility that there will be Court cost added by the council to the £256.50 you must phone the council and ask for the amount of the liability order and the date it was passed to the bailiff company

 

I offered him £200 today and to pay the rest over the next 2 months, however he refused this and said I had to pay the full amount as it is the end of the financial year tomorrow so they need it all and that it was due in January.

 

He said I had 24 hours to call round and to "use this time wisely" and he would be back tomorrow to seize goods if not paid.

tell him thank you for you advice i have used the time wisely to find out my rights and i know know unless you have a levy you cannot seize goods

What can I do? I asked him why the amount was so much more than the final demand amount and he said it must be added fees, however it seems like a huge amount of £190 for this.

the only bailiffs fees that can be added at this stage of enforcement are visit fees of £42.50

 

When he comes back, can i pay him the £200 and refuse him entry into my home, with a written payment schedule for £150 next month and the rest the following month? Will he have to accept this?

I am a single parent with a four year old daughter and am really quite worried about the situation. I know I should have faced this earlier and not let it get to this stage but I obviously cannot turn the clock back and am now terrified.

Can anyone help me?

do you work are you on benefits you may be classed as vulnerable

 

phone the council and post back about the liability order amount

[misstm]

I work 30 hours a week but I get Working Tax and Child Tax credit. I don't own a car, and I live in a flat with no garden. The bailiff managed to get into the building as our door entry system allows service entry before 12pm.

I am a bit worried about contacting the council as they recently sent me another court summons for a further £446.00 which I am assuming has now also been passed to bailiffs.

Feels like I'm at the bottom of a big pit and can't get out of it! I'm so ashamed it's got to this stage with two court summons and stuff, but I just don't know what to do.

[thewakers7]

He said I had 24 hours to call round and to "use this time wisely" and he would be back tomorrow to seize goods if not paid.

 

yet more bluff and bluster, im afraid! youv been given good advice already to get a head start, if you really wanted to pay anyone id suggest using the councils online payment facility less likely to refuse, but as said earlier first things first get the liabilty amount

[thewakers7]

like impecunious has said weve all been there done that buried our heads in the sand but weve all come out the other side,

[impecunious]

I work 30 hours a week but I get Working Tax and Child Tax credit. I don't own a car, and I live in a flat with no garden. The bailiff managed to get into the building as our door entry system allows service entry before 12pm.

I am a bit worried about contacting the council as they recently sent me another court summons for a further £446.00 which I am assuming has now also been passed to bailiffs.

Feels like I'm at the bottom of a big pit and can't get out of it! I'm so ashamed it's got to this stage with two court summons and stuff, but I just don't know what to do.

 

 

Please stop beating yourself up! It might seem like a big pit but you can slowly dig your way out of it! One step at a time! No need to feel ashamed, by posting on here you've already done the hardest bit - admitting to your debt. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! Now it's time to sort it out. By empowering yourself with knowledge and good advice, you can start to make in-roads into the problem.

 

Trust me - you will get through this. Look at all the postive things you're already achieving. Bringing up a child single-handed and working 30 hours a week is an achievement in itself.

 

I've brought up 4 children by myself for the last 25 yrs and I know how difficult it is to juggle all the balls in the air. Sometimes, inevitably, it's easy to take your eye off the ball. You're not super-human, so be kind to yourself please and take one step at a time.

 

You'll get all the advice you need on here.

 

Impecunious!

[hallowitch]

as there may be 2 liability orders its very important to phone the council to confirm the dates of the liability orders and the amounts also the date both were passed on to the bailiffs

 

believe it or not as you don't own a car ,you live in a flat, and you haven't let the bailiff into your home you are in a strong position as there is very little the bailiff can do

 

get the information from the council and we will try and move this forward with a reasonable payment plan that you wont default on

 

PS There is no shame in debt in this day and age

 

 

you should be proud of the fact that you are a single working mother working 30 hours a week and I'm sure overtime when available

[crockie]

I can't offer any fresh advice, but just wanted to re-iterate that this is not the end of the world. Yep I am well aware that it feels like it, we have been paying our council tax via bailiffs for years but last December we decided to fight back. We owed over £2600, we now owe £600 and that will be paid off in the next few weeks.

 

Do as you have been advised, contact the council and see how much you owe and see check if both amounts have been passed to bailiffs. I would also advise them of your "vunerable status", it all needs to be confirmed in writing aswell but I cant see that it will hurt to make them take note of it now.

 

We did as advised by the great people on here:

 

We wrote to Bailiffs and said - not paying you, but we will pay council direct.

Wrote to council and said not entertaining Bailifs but we will pay you X amount per week.

We then started making the payments via their on line system.

We received a no you will have to deal with Bailiffs from the normal recovery staff, a no letter from senior recovery officer, a second no from senior recovery officer and then a yes from a top dog. By the time our letter was received by the person at the top we had allready made 6 or 7 payments so they could see we were serious.

 

If you decide to pay the council then be prepared for the Bailiff to be a little unhappy, but at the end of the day Hallowitch is right, you live in a flat, you dont have a garden or a car, so the only thing he can do is bluff and bluster at you in the hope you will give in.

 

There will be plenty of people along to tell you that there is no law to say you have to deal with the bailiff, with a little courage and the support you will receive here you will get through this

 

Just out of interest, have you applied for council tax benefit?

[Thegreenpimpernel]

1) Getting into your building is NOT the same as getting into your home. He has not been into your home so cannot force entry, return with the police blah blah blah.....

 

2) Act quickly on the other liability order. Most councils accept payment plans at any point prior to passing the account to bailiffs. This can be some time after getting the LO, but call them quick!!!

 

3)Ashamed of your debt??? the people you owe get jobs for life with no commercial pressure, flexi time, a pension so generous that Santa Clause himself must have thought it up (that you pay for!) and... they can't be trusted to empty a bin! - they have to 'sub it out' to people who live in the real world.

 

Don't worry about their opinion.

[misstm]

Ok, so he's coming back at 4pm. I've told him he isn't coming in and that I will be requesting a breakdown of the fees added from Equita. He said we'll discuss things when he gets here but he must take full payment today.

What do I say to him when he gets here? I have no intention of letting him in or signing anything but how do I make him leave?

[thewakers7]

easy u live in a flat and unless he tries some very sneaky way to get in through door entry system he cant get in if he does talk through closed doors and tell him to push whatever paperwork he has under the door, play some music or turn the tv up and ignore, hel go away eventually, u are the one with the upper hand here not him

[Thegreenpimpernel]

Wearing a set of head phones while reading a book and sipping some coco - all within sight of the letter box usually gets the message across!

 

Be sure to wear a smug smile at all times, an occasional chuckle at the Oh so funny! book you are reading...

[thewakers7]

TGP thats funny lol maybe singing along to britney "hit me baby one more time" haha

[thewakers7]

hope Ops ok its gone past the witching hour

[seanamarts]

did he turn up..

All he can charge at this stage is £42.50. no more..

[RaeUK]

misstm, you're a single parent to begin with. Is there anything else in your circumstances of interest? Just curious...

Best wishes

Rae

[misstm]

He didn't turn up at 4, in fact he didn't turn up at all!

Getting letter printed today to send off to Equita and the council (don't have a printer at home, going to borrow the one from work)

 

I don't think I have any other circumstances of interest.

[hallowitch]

stick to your guns and DON'T let the bailiff in and you will be OK

 

write e-mail the council and find out how many liability orders have been passed to the bailiff the date amount of each and the date they were passed to the bailiffs tell the council you offered to pay the bailiff a payment of £200 it was refused as the bailiff will only accept full payment

 

also mention that you have sent for a breakdown of your accounts make an offer of payment of xxxx per month/ week tell them that is all you can reasonably afford without defaulting on this debt and your new council tax bill (they may accept your offer but say you have to pay this to the bailiffs )

even if you have to pay the bailiff there should not be a problem you set up a standing order if the bailiffs refuse a standing order payment then you go back to the council with another complaint

 

keep reminding yourself that there is nothing the bailiff can do except send it back to the council ) you have control of the situation

 

 

 

 

send this to bailiff company recorded delivery

"From:

My Name

My Address

 

To:

Acme Bailiff Co

Bailiff House

 

Ref: Account No: 123456

 

Dear Sir

 

With reference to the above account. Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges including Computer Screenshot. This is not a Subject access request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. I also require the name of the attending Bailiff and the name of the Court he was Certificated at. You are obliged to provide this information.

 

I require this information within 14 days.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Ripped off customer"

[RaeUK]

Well, it's a little something:

 

Department for Constitutional Affairs - Enforcement - National Standards for Enforcement Agents

 

Those who might be considered vulnerable include the following:

the elderly;

people with a disability;

the seriously ill;

the recently bereaved;

single parent families;

pregnant women;

unemployed people; and,

those who have obvious difficulty in understanding, speaking or reading English.

 

 

A little bit of a long shot in some minds perhaps. I don't know what your income is but if you're on minimum wage than funds will be tight, especially with a four year old to look after. Likewise, bailiffs visiting will have a negative and disturbing affect on your child. As will your own levels of concern and stress.

Might be worth thinking about a letter outlining your circumstances to the bailiffs and a formal complaint to the council...

 

 

Best wishes

Rae.