council tax baliff arrived this eveing

[dillon21]

Can you please tell me how to deal with this situation

 

 

I made an arrangement to pay £87 a mth on £400 outstanding

 

 

i was waiting for a direct debit form but

 

 

the baliff turned up saying as i did not respond verbally by 3rd sept it was handed over to them

 

 

i told him i would speak to the council in the morning then get back to him firstly

 

 

what i shall do is tell the council i agreed to the £87 but heard nothing back im sure they will put the blame back on me do i have to deal with the baliff i must say he was pleasent enough he just said he will have to make another charge for returning i dont want him to return but the council say all payments have to be made to the baliff i just want to pay the £87 each mth my situation is on motability and working tax credits any advice before the morning gratefully received

[dillon21]

Anyone please

[MARTIN3030]

Hello dillon21

What are your personal/financial circumstances ?

Are you on benefits or suffer from medical conditions ?

When did the bailiffs begin to act originally ?

Have they previously had access to your (home-have they got a walking possession order)

Sorry I saw you are on mobility-can you give details of your complaint?

How many hours do you work ?

You do need to act quickly.

More help should be here so try not to worry.

Edited September 28, 2010 by MARTIN3030

[dillon21]

Hi Thanks cant sleep with worry thats why im on here now i have aletter dated 27th August saying thank you for your letter dated 19th Augusttogeather with you cheque for £60 i have left a message for you to ring me but have not heard anything (i got no message) it says you now owe £609.30 £163.55 for 2009/10 and 445.75 for 2010/11 covered by liabilty orders gained on the 7th and 28th july. I knew about the liabilty orders and sent the £60 with an offer to pay off the rest in installments. The letter then goes on to say to clear this debt i would be looking for a mthly sum of £87 from Sept to March which was ok with me iit then says to contact her by 3rd of sept if this was ok and would like to set up an arrangment this is were i have fallen down i forgot to ring her it then says if i do not get in touch it will be passed to baliff for collection which is now has i can pay the £87 no problem the letter the baliff left today is for the amout of £633.80 so hes added his £24.50 for his visit i said i wanted to speak to the council in the morning cause has far as i was aware i was waiting for the direct debit form to set up for the £87 a mth to be paid what shall i say to council in the morning i dont want the baliff back and i can pay £87 first thing tomorrow maybe £174 but i know they wont want me to pay them and to pay the baliff which means he will come back with more charges being added if someone could advise me on what to say to council that would be a great help My situation is im on DLA husband works i have severe arthritis

Sorry thats not such a quick reply

[seanamarts]

First thing is first, stop worrying. Bailiff may seem scary at first but they are all hot air and powerless at this stage. I am presuming from your post that you have not let them in to levy. You do not have to let them in at all, in fact you do not even have to deal with them. Eventually they go away and pass the debt back to the council any way. In the mean time this is what you can do. Pay your bill online on the councils website using the account numbers that you are behind with, write and email the benefits and revenues department that this is what you are doing. It shows that you are a willing payer not a non payer. Write and tell them that this has been an over sight on their part due to your waiting for a response from their department for a DD set up. Explain to them that you are potentially vulnerable under the National standards due to your disability and any bailiff involvement will undoubtedly aggravate your condition.

[dillon21]

Thank you foryoue reply so this morning i make a payment online and was going to ring the council tax department and tell them i will be making payments to them even thou they say i must now make all payments to baliffs i need the baliff to know this so he dosent make a second visit and i get a charge (what do i do about paying his £24.50 for the first visit yesterday) I need to know my legal rights and what i say is correct when speaking to him and the council like i say i can manage the £87 amth

 

Thanks guys all sorted i have to pay a fee of £24.50 to bailiff but that is correct for his visit yesterday council set up direct debit for outstanding THANKS FOR ALL YOU HELP

[MARTIN3030]

Good you have things sorted.

Just a note-if your user name is your real one its advisable to change to something which does not give your ID away.

If thats the case,click on the report icon and give an alternative user name.

[dillon21]

How do i do that which is the report icon sorry to be dumb

[MARTIN3030]

its the little triangle that appears in the line under your posts. -4th icon after Promote this item.

[MARTIN3030]

I saw your report but you have not given an alternative user name choice ???????

[seanamarts]

good news, well done.

[dillon21]

Please can someone give me a quick reply

 

i have to speak to Baliff at 10.00 am

 

he visited my house on Friday when i was out

 

i am going to offer to pay £70 a mth on a outstanding amount of £492.73 this includes his £24.50

 

my question is

 

will he need to come back to make a list of item to secure the debt i am unwell

and really cant cope with that at the moment

 

what should i say to him when i phone

 

i can pay it but not in one hit

 

I am in receipt of DLA so am registered disabled

 

please can some one give me my legat rights sorry short notice

[hallowitch]

please don't let this bailiff into your home legally you do not have to let the bailiff into your home

keep your doors locked and your windows closed

[dx100uk]

never pay a bailiff!!

 

pay the council via internet banking!!

 

tell him you are vunerable too

 

which you are.

 

are the council aware if your issues?

 

are you not getting CTAX benefit?

 

dx

[dillon21]

Yes I am getting council tax benefit

 

i need to know what to say to stop him coming back this morning

 

should i ring the council now and tell them i have made a £70 payment

 

what if they say i must now deal with baliff what should i reply

[dx100uk]

you are vunerable

 

should not have been passed to the bailiffs

 

END of

 

ring the council

ignore the bailiff

 

dx

[dillon21]

Just spokt to council told here im disabled and shouldnt have been handed over to baliff HOPE THIS IS CORRECT told her i would pay council 70 a mth direct she as gone to speak to someone as not shore abouth the legal issues so talking to someone who will know ringing back in a bit please keep advice coming so i know what im talking about when they ring

[dillon21]

OK council replied as husband not disabled can use baliffs to collect debt she said they had done everything possible to collect debt sent all relevent paper work baliff last resort wouldnt take back off the baliff for £70 a mth so have to deal with them

[dx100uk]

diagree with that

 

The National Standards for Enforcement Agents are quite clear on this:

 

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.

 

 

however

 

the council will say pay the bailiff

 

just pay them the £70 by your internet banking site

they cannot refuse it that way

 

 

tell the baillif you are paying the council

 

dx

[dillon21]

They say because its a joint bill they can send a baliff for my husband

 

that aside council said they will not take it back

 

but will make a £70 payment online now but i know when i speak to the baliff hes going to say the council have told him that i must make payments directly to him

 

what do i say to stop him coming back and if he does come back thats another charge

 

this seems a very odd situation when the council say i must deal with him

 

but your advice is dont

 

whats the legal situation

 

can i tell him something that say i can legally

 

pay the council so he knows im aware of my rights

Thanks

[dx100uk]

he can only charge another £18 no matter how many times he returns.

 

is this your current ctax they have the LO on?

 

somethings not sitting correct here

 

esp the comment about 'joint' and can send a bailiff for your husband only

 

dx

[dillon21]

Yes its for currant year and is in both our names thats the reaso she gave for being legally aloowed to send baliff because its joint names

[hallowitch]

the person from the council you spoke will always say pay the bailiff there is no law saying you have to deal with the bailiff

you simply ignore the bailiff (if you have a car not on HP or mobility keep it away from the house) the bailiff will charge you £18 for his 2nd visit there can be no more fee unless they get a levy on your goods (thats why its important not to let them into your home and to hide your car)

 

your council probably outsource the enforcement and collection of council tax this will probably be a firm called capita who just happen to own ross&Roberts bailiffs so its not in there interest to return the debt from the bailiffs

you put in in writing that according the nation standards for enforcement agents January 2012 you are a vulnerable debtor

send by e-mail to to your council and ross&Roberts asking for the debt to be returned to council control offer payment of x amount per week month to be paid by standing order only

 

don't offer what you cant afford offer less you can always go up you cant go down

so if you can afford £30 a month offer £20 then if they refuse the £20 you increase it to £30

[hallowitch]

page 9 of the new updated nation standards

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/guidance/courts-and-tribunals/courts/enforcement-officers/national-standards-enforcement-agents.pdf

 

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.

 

as this is this years council tax you can pay the council direct using there on-line payment facility

 

PS

if it was a child who was ill/disabled or you had cancer do you think the vulnerable debtor would not apply because the parents / hubby doesn't fall under the category of vulnerable debtor

NO i think not you are a vulnerable household

[dx100uk]

god these councils are crap sometimes.

 

as pointed out

the vunerability status goes with the HOUSEHOLD

 

dx