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Hi There,

 

I have been reading up about what to do about my situation with my council tax that is owed.

 

I have two accounts with the council one is my current year which is fully up to date and the second is arrears from 08-09 (when i was on maternity leave with my son and could not afford to pay a few times).

 

The arrears one i have been paying £20 a month for and in May i forgot to pay both accounts and remembered on the 28th May and phone and paid them by the altermated services and then i had a second thought about my agreement for the arrears and phoned them to make them aware that i had made my payment via the altermated line,i was told that my £20 a month agreement one was been passed to Debt collectors and they cannot continue the agreement. and not to pay them anymore money for that account only for the one for the current year.

 

So i set up a standing order (so i would not forget again) just for the current years one and then waited to hear from the Debt collectors.

 

So the begiining of June my payment went over for the current year and still no letter from debt collectors.

 

Then on the 21st June i recieved a letter from the council saying that both my accounts are in arrears and that i have until the 5th July to contact them to arrange payment.

 

On 30th June i had a pesky little bailiff turn up, now i live in a block of flats with a secure entry and luckily i am on the ground floor and all i have to do is peek out and i can see who is at the main door buzzing, and there he stood with his clipboard and that immediatly rung alarm bells, i was just about to go out with my son so i stayed in the house until he went away, then as i was going out with my son i saw a letter he had left sticking through the main doors and i opened it to find it was to do with the council tax.

 

So i rang the council and said that i have been paying the current year by Standing order so that should be up to date and that i was advised not to pay anything further on the arrears account and to wait to hear from the debt collectors, after a lot of discussion and a manager calling me back etc, i discovered that they had allocated the entire payment i made on their altermated service to my arrears account instead of allocating the two payments to their retrospective accounts.

 

Summary is that the council refuse to take the arrears account back because they say it dates back to 2009 and they will not negotiate about it.

 

I contacted the bailiff company (not the actual bailiff) and asked them about a payment arrangement they said i would have to phone the bailiff on his mobile and arrange for him to come round and set up the arrangement and i would have to sign papers, i told them hell would freeze over before that would happen.

 

That is as it stands today, i have read the national debt fact sheet on bailiffs and council tax, and just want to clarify what i should be doing now, just to note i am quite happy to continue paying £20 a month along with my usual monthly amount but cannot pay the arrears of in full they amount to just over £400.

 

so steps i have read to take:

 

1. write to bailiffs to tell them that i will be making payments directly to the council (is there a template for this?)

 

2. start paying direct to council - My concern with this is that they will just take this payment and allocate it to my current year as they have the same ref number. I thought about creating a seperate standing order for this one but that will not stop them for allocating it to the current year (what should i do?)

 

3. wait for debt to be handed back to council and then hope that they will then agree for me to continue payments with them rather than take court action.

 

I would really appreciate any advice anyone has on the steps above, i will not do anything until i am confident i am taking the correct course of action and i certainly won't be welcoming bailiffs into my home.

 

Thanks

 

Naomi

Edited by claimer1979
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what bailiff company is this

 

did you receive anything in writing from the council when you missed payments from this years council tax liability apart from this

 

Then on the 21st June i received a letter saying that both my accounts are in arrears and that i have until the 5th July to contact them to arrange payment

 

 

I don't understand why they took payments from arrears and not this years liability

 

 

You can write to to the bailiff but they wont take a blind bit of notice of it

 

as long as you can garantee the bailiffs wont get a levy (do you have a car)i would pay the council

 

What date should your council tax be paid every month

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Thank you for your reply :)

 

The baliffs are called Chandlers Limited

 

The council say they sent me a letter about the missed payments on the 14th May i don't recall that letter but i will be having a look today to check.

 

I asked them the same thing ''well why did you accept that whole amount for the arrears and allocate it to that account if you had already sent it to the bailiffs why was it not allocated to the currents years'' in response i got profuse apologies that they had accidently done this accidently done that.

 

I asked them why they had sent my account to the bailiffs before the date of 5th of July stated on their letter, They said that i should not have recieved the letters sent on the 21st of june saying that i had until 5th of July to sort it out, that the letters were sent automatically.

 

I do not have a car, and i will not answer the door to them.

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Get a complaint written asap to the chief executive out lining what the council have done.

Are you per chance on any benefits? Are you a single parent?

Have a chat with your local councillor, you should find out who this is on your council website, they can often be a valuable asset when talking to the council on your behalf.

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I am a single parent working part time.

 

thank you for your reply :)

Under the national standards of enforcement agents you are classed as vulnerable and this debt should be passed back to the council.

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

 

Vulnerable situations

 

 

  • Enforcement agents/agencies and creditors must recognise that they each have a role in ensuring that the vulnerable and socially excluded are protected and that the recovery process includes procedures agreed between the agent/agency and creditor about how such situations should be dealt with. The appropriate use of discretion is essential in every case and no amount of guidance could cover every situation, therefore the agent has a duty to contact the creditor and report the circumstances in situations where there is potential cause for concern. If necessary, the enforcement agent will advise the creditor iffurther action is appropriate. The exercise of appropriate discretion is needed, not only to protect the debtor, but also the enforcement agent who should avoid taking action which could lead to accusations of inappropriate behaviour.
  • Those who might be potentially vulnerable include:
     
    • 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.

Are you entitled to any council tax benefits

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i recieve single person discount now i used to get council tax benfit when i was on maternity leave.

Have you looked into whether you are entitled to any council tax benefits.

If you are working 16 hours or less a week you should be entitled to some benefits

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Get a complaint written asap to the chief executive out lining what the council have done.

Are you per chance on any benefits? Are you a single parent?

Have a chat with your local councillor, you should find out who this is on your council website, they can often be a valuable asset when talking to the council on your behalf.

 

 

100% agree with that once again its down to maladministration by the council

 

I would subject access request your council this will show up all action taken on council tax account including all phone calls

Most councils don't charge for this but some do

if they do this would cost you £10

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100% agree with that once again its down to maladministration by the council

 

I would subject access request your council this will show up all action taken on council tax account including all phone calls

Most councils don't charge for this but some do

if they do this would cost you £10

 

 

Thats a good idea actually! i will do that and in the mean time set up a seperate standing order to continue paying the council for the arrears.

 

So i do not need to write to the bailiffs then?

 

how long does it usually take for them to hand back the case to the council?

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Have you looked into whether you are entitled to any council tax benefits.

If you are working 16 hours or less a week you should be entitled to some benefits

 

I work more than 16 hours that is why i no longer get it.

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Thats a good idea actually! i will do that and in the mean time set up a separate standing order to continue paying the council for the arrears.

 

So i do not need to write to the bailiffs then?

I'M of the opinion your damed if you do and damed if you don't

If you do write and tell them you are paying the council direct they may pursue you more in hope of of getting a levy

If you don't they will still pursue you using the usual threats locksmiths police refer back to the court and you will go to jail (none of it true )

how long does it usually take for them to hand back the case to the council?

 

How longs a piece of string but i would say approx 3/4 months

I would apply for council tax rebate things have change (cant remember exactly when ) but child benefit is no longer taken into account

try posting in the benefits forum and see you never know

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