Stirling Park Bailiffs at my dorr regarding unpaid Ctax - help

[mummysuzi]

Hi just found this and need advice asap as i have had no idea what to do.

 

Had 2 Men from Stirling Park approach me last week, i was just getting the kids into the car and one asked for my husband i said he is at work and they asked if i was his wife. Feeling a bit scared i said no and that i was the childminder and he asked where my husband worked i said i didnt know they name of his employer as i mostly deal with him wife. He then went and put a letter thru the letterbox. I waited for them to leave and went back in to get the letter which was a summary warrant for council tax (which until then i had no idea wasnt being paid as i sent direct debit form back to the council in march) on further investigation i realised they obviously didnt get this form as no direct debit has lefty our bank for this year so we owe £1600 (this includes stirling park's fee) from what ive seen on here i did the right thing no revealing who i was or my husbands employer i am writing a letter ( which will be sent by 1st class registered delivery) asking to pay in installments and sending the first installment of £100, im on maternity leave and do not have the funds available to pay in full at this time.

 

Few questions i have tho:

 

1. How do i send this £100 as i do not wish to disclose our bank details to them can i send postal order???

2. will they accept this ??? as i am worried sick to the point of actually being physically sick and shaking when thinking about it hence why i have no phoned them as im worried i'll disclose information i dont want them to know

 

My husband works away as a lorry driver so he cannot contact them i worried sick they will arrest our bank account or take our belongings we have 2 small children aged 2yrs and 4mths.

 

Please help x

[dx100uk]

ok calm down a bit .

 

no they cannot do those things so's don't worry

 

pay the council direct via internet banking what you can now, the details are on the back of your Ctax bills.

 

phone the council and see if they will make an arrangement to pay too and call the bailiffs off.

 

expain what you have here to them esp about he kids and on maternity etc etc.

 

keep us posted

 

dx

siteteam

[fork-it]

A few issues I see with your post.

 

You are on maternity leave and that means you are pregnant, you are therefore considered to be a vulnerable person for the purposes of civil enforcement and therefore, action must cease and a bailiff must withdraw from your property. Contact the council with a printout of this: http://www.dca.gov.uk/enforcement/agents02.htm#part10 and ask they take the case back into their control.

 

If you don’t have the money to pay the whole liability now then the council doesn’t have a choice but to accept £100 a month.

 

If you did not know bailiffs were going to visit you then that is probably because you did not receive a FINAL NOTICE beforehand. The law requires the council to send you one before applying for a liability order: The Law: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/613/regulation/33/made

 

The council is also required to issue a summons when it applies for a liability order. The Law: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/613/regulation/34/made Bailiffs cannot enforce payment without one.

 

If the council still refuses to comply with the law then say you will make a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman (http://www.lgo.org.uk/making-a-complaint/) and ask they pay you compensation for failure to comply with Regulation 33/34 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.

 

In the meantime, make your home safe and keep all doors locked until this matter is resolved. Never let a bailiff into your house, call police if anyone causes a disturbance or you feel threatened, and remember that door must remain locked shut until both the bailiff and police are a safe distance from your property, speak thru the letterbox if necessary. Capture everything on video using your mobile.

[hallowitch]

Stirling park are not bailiffs they are sheriff officers the op is in Scotland

 

I will send a PM to IdaInFife to look in

[IdaInFife]

Hiya,

 

Yes you can send a postal order. Can you confirm it was s uammry warrant or a charge for payment?

[mummysuzi]

Hi it said summary warrant on the letter they put through the door. They have an online payment system through netbanx so i paid them £100 through that on monday and i sent them a letter recorded delivery telling them we would pay them this on the 18th of each month until the debt is cleared. Didnt get any joy at the council at all they kept passing me to different people then was finally told i'd to deal with stirling park.

[IdaInFife]

you have done the right thing - just ensure you make the payments you have offered and on time.

[mummysuzi]

Havent had a response to the letter i sent them on monday do i take this as a good thing or a bad thing?? dont worry i will def be making the payments on time each month im too scared not to thanks for putting my mind at rest guys

[ray_gamba]

I would be very surprised if Stirling Park did not accept your offer. If, on the off chance, they didn't you could always go back to the Council and ask to speak to a team leader. Explain your circumstances and the offer that you had made. In the scheme of things that is a pretty reasonable offer and you shouldn't have a problem having it accepted. I'm surprised that Stirling Park sent Sheriff Officers out. They would normally send a standard letter out first as this is considerably cheaper than sending out a couple of officers.

[IdaInFife]

Unfortunate;y the court will not do anything as mummy did not request payment arrangement via court when the charge for payment was sent.

 

Stirling Park have their fees covered if SO's are sent or not as there is an automatic surchage of 10% applied to the balance when the summary warrant is granted.

[ray_gamba]

Their fees are only covered if they collect on the debt. If they are passed an account there is no guarantee that payments will be made and consequently they receive nothing in the way of commission. That's why they normally send out a letter first.

[IdaInFife]

Sorry but that's wrong. The 10% automatic charge is theirs and this is applied via the council at summary judgement before it is passed to the Sherriff Officers.

[ray_gamba]

The 10% charge may be theirs but 10% of nothing unfortunately is nothing. Once the summary warrant is signed by the Sheriff the10% charge is intitially the Council's. They will normally hold on to the debt for around six weeks and most will try to work the debt themselves. The debt will then be passed on to the likes of Stirling Park. The only income they derive is if they collect on the debt or do dilligence. If they fail to collect after a given period normally negotiated between the Council and the DCA/Sheriff Officers the debt is then often second placed with another debt collection firm.

 

If local authorities actually handed over 10% of the debt in monetary terms that passed to DCA/Sheriff Officers they would quickly become bankrupt.

[mummysuzi]

Finally had a response from stirling park yesterday. The letter i wrote said we would pay £100 on the 18th of each month, they are saying the minimum we can pay is £175 by the 3rd of each month the first being next week! and they stated the balance of the debt as £1633 i paid £100 on the 18th of oct and this hasnt been deducted. We cant afford £175 at that time of the month as our mortgage comes out 2 days later and im still on maternity pay should i try the council again £175 is more than the actual council tax was each month and when we start paying that again next april we cant afford both unless we get a lotto win

[dx100uk]

as in post 3 &

pay what you can afford diect to the council by internet banking.

 

dx

[IdaInFife]

Just pay what you can afford, the £100 you have proposed.

 

 

Did you send a budget sheet with your proposal?

[mummysuzi]

No i didnt send a budget sheet the letter said if i dont pay the £175 a month they will take further action against my husband

[mummysuzi]

Im supposed to make this £175 payment by wednesday could someone please help the letter said they wont refuse any payment but further action may be taken if we do not make the £175 payment which we cant afford we offered to pay £100 if my letter to them.

[ray_gamba]

Did you contact the Council? Stirling Park are collecting the debt on their behalf and can override level being asked for. Looking at the amount they are trying to make you pay suggests that the Local Authority you come under is keen to ingather as much of the debt as possible within the current financial year and have instructed Stirling Park to make arrangements on that basis.

 

Speak to someone within the Revenues section of the Council, preferably a Team Leader, and explain your situation and the fact that you have already made a payment (it sometimes takes a while for these payments to show on your Council Tax account). You will also probably have to show how you will be able to pay towards the arrears and maintain next year's Council Tax when it starts. If that fails speak to your local councillor. They are usually fairly influential in cases like this.