help needed please

[claire29]

hiya could anyone give me someone advice on bailiffs please

i had a knock at the door earlier today from equita bailiffs saying i need to pay 643 by the end of the week or they will be sending a van round on monday to collect my things

 

i am a mum of 4 and there is no way i can get that kind of money in 3 days now i am really scared thet they will come back on monday and take my things

i asked if i could pay in instalments and he said no

 

is there anything at all i can do

[hallowitch]

Hi claire29 welcom to cag

can you confirm what the debt is please

[claire29]

hiya it is for council tax

[seanamarts]

Have they been in your house before?

Are you working?

Are you a single parent.

If you have not let them in before then they cannot force their way into your home. Keep all doors shut and dont answer the door to him/her.

Move your car to a safe place where they cannot levy on it.

[claire29]

hiya i am not working but my partner does they have not been to my house before i also do not have a car by partner does but its on finance

[seanamarts]

hiya i am not working but my partner does they have not been to my house before i also do not have a car by partner does but its on finance

You are not obligated to deal with the bailiff, you can ignore them until it gets passed back to the council, I suggest you start making payments to the council via their online payment system, write to both the council and the bailiffs that you are making payments straight to the council and that you are refusing to deal with the bailiff due to his failure to accept reasonable payments over a period of time that you can afford. Regardless whether the car is on finance he will levy if he has not already done so. Of course it wont be valid, but no doubt he will of added fees for this. Have you a breakdown on what you owe so far.

[hallowitch]

do not let the bailiff into your house do not leave your car on the drive or in the street where you live keep all garages, garden sheds greenhouses locked

 

you are under no legal obligation to allow a bailiff into your home he cant remove goods without first levying them first so keep him out

 

get in touch with your council and find out the date of the liability order the period it relates to the date it was passed to the bailiff firm and the amount of the liability order

 

work out how much you can afford to pay and send a letter to your council offering this amount you may have to do a income expenditure

 

inform them that the bailiff wont except instalments that you understand that council tax is a priority debt you are not refusing to pay the debt but you cant pay it all at once

 

try adjusting this letter for your own circumstances

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: Your Reference

 

I understand XXX Council has appointed you to recover my Council Tax Liability arrears for 200x of £xxxx.

 

Firstly I would like to make you aware that I am fully aware of my rights and you will not gain entry to my home under any circumstances to levy goods and I know the fees allowed under statute and when these fees can be applied.

 

Due to my circumstances I am unable to pay this in one payment. I advocate a payment schedule of 24 months with 23 months payments at £xx.xx and the balance of £xx.xx to be paid on the 24th month to cover the principle. I understand this may seem a long time but this is a realistic offer that is affordable to me and will allow me to pay future bills issued for Council Tax without them falling into arrears. A greater amount would cause me real and actual hardship.

 

I am able to pay the above amount on the xx of each month, as an act of good faith I have enclosed the first payment chq number xxxxxx. Please advise how you would like future payments made. My personal preference is payment by Standing Order.

 

It should be noted that I am not at any point refusing to pay this debt but only asking for a fair payment period considering my circumstances. And if you are unable to accept my offer I will place the money aside each month until such a time the council take the account back into their management, when I will make payment of the set aside money to the council.

 

Please also send an itemised statement of account that clearly shows what charges have been added and what for, you are required in statute to supply this information and I look forward to this within 14 days.

 

I am sending the council a copy of this letter and requesting that it be filled with my account for further reference.

 

I hope the above meets your approval and I look forward to your timely reply by letter.

 

Yours faithfully,

Understand the letter and stick to it, if you need 3 years replace 24 with 36 and so on, basically what I am saying is if you can only afford £10 and owe £1,000 you are going to need 100 months to pay it, but this is not a normal debt so keep it no longer then 4 years and 2 years is better.

 

The bailiff may attempt to get into your home again, just keep him out, he will give up and move onto more profitable calls.

 

Never again talk to anyone about his debt but keep everything in writing (you may need this). You may get threats of imprisonment for refusing to make payment,

 

 

Quote:

It should be noted that I am not at any point refusing to pay this debt but only asking for a fair payment period considering my circumstances. And if you are unable to accept my offer I will place the money aside each month until such a time the council take the account back into their management, when I will make payment of the set aside money to the council.

covers this nicely as you are not refusing to pay and the courts can ONLY send anyone to prison when they refuse to pay which you are not.

[tomtubby]

hiya i am not working but my partner does they have not been to my house before i also do not have a car by partner does but its on finance

 

Have you checked with the council to confirm the amount of the Liability Order. This is VERY important and it incredible the number of people that have no idea how much they owe.

 

It is important to know the amount so that you know whether or not the bailiff has overcharged you with his fees. As the bailiff has been unable to levy upon goods the ONLY charge can be £24.50 for "attending to levy (where no levy was made).

[claire29]

i have emailed the bailiff company and the countil the letter in the previous post i have also asked them for a break down of charges

 

i have been looking online and it states about people being classed a vunarable im not sure if i come under that catagory

i suffer from depression and am on antidpressiant tablets i am also due to go into hospital on the 9th aug for a thyroid operation

 

would the company have to accept a payment arrangment due to this causing more stress

many thanks to you all for your help

[tomtubby]

i have emailed the bailiff company and the countil the letter in the previous post i have also asked them for a break down of charges

 

i have been looking online and it states about people being classed a vunarable im not sure if i come under that catagory

i suffer from depression and am on antidpressiant tablets i am also due to go into hospital on the 9th aug for a thyroid operation

 

would the company have to accept a payment arrangment due to this causing more stress

many thanks to you all for your help

 

As long as you REFUSE to allow the bailiff into your home (and you do not have a car on which they can levy) then they will have little option but other than to accept a sensible payment proposal on the basis that your payments will clear the Liability Order and the bailiff fees of £24.50 BEFORE the end of the council tax year (end of March 2011).

[claire29]

help please the bailiff turned up at my home on friday as i wasnt expecting him i stupidly open the door . as soon as he said who he was i tried to push the door shut but as i did he pushed it open knocking me over ( ended up with a bruise to my leg ) he started writing items of my furiture down i was in a bit of a mess at this time the kids were crying i refused to sign anything and he left he did say he will be calling back he never said when , i sent the letter from the previous post and paid 30.00 online last week i dont have the money to pay all in 1 go now i am scared to open my doors in case its the bailifft i just dont no what to do

[seanamarts]

help please the bailiff turned up at my home on friday as i wasnt expecting him i stupidly open the door . as soon as he said who he was i tried to push the door shut but as i did he pushed it open knocking me over ( ended up with a bruise to my leg ) he started writing items of my furiture down i was in a bit of a mess at this time the kids were crying i refused to sign anything and he left he did say he will be calling back he never said when , i sent the letter from the previous post and paid 30.00 online last week i dont have the money to pay all in 1 go now i am scared to open my doors in case its the bailifft i just dont no what to do

Get these bruises documented by your GP.

Write a Formal complaint to the Chief executive of the council outlining what has happened, Also write a complaint to the bailiff company.

Bailiffs are NOT allowed to force their way past you AT ALL !!

I would also have this logged at the police station as an assault. they will um and ahh about it but push it as the bailiff have over stepped his authority.

Do you know what he has levied on, and has he left you a copy.