Bailiff attending for his fees only

[Pepsisam]

If i record the call, do I have to tell them I am recording it? Will deffo send by recorded delivery, one thing I have definately learnt is that they are good a lying and denying

[ploddertom]

If i record the call, do I have to tell them I am recording it? I don't think you do but am not sure, maybe someone else will confirm or try Google. Will deffo send by recorded delivery, one thing I have definately learnt is that they are good a lying and denying - really I would never have thought that.:madgrin:

 

PT

[hallowitch]

you will need to tweak it add correct dates ETC check grammar and spelling

 

name

address

council tax ref

bailiff ref By E-Mail and Recorded Delivery letter

date

 

FORMAL COMPLAINT

Dear Sir

Please regard this e-mail as a formal complaint against Rundle &co and Bailiff Mr xxx regarding the conduct of my account for the collection of council tax arrears

 

In February 09 Rundle&co were instructed to collect council tax arrears on behalf of xxx council Bailiff MRxx was instructed by Rundle &co to collect these debts

A telephone conversation took place between my self and Mr xxx and a payment agreement of £75 was arranged

 

 

Payments were maintained and In march 2010 i spoke to Mr xx to get an update of my account the outstanding amount quoted was considerably more than my own records when i queried this i was informed that a van fee and a levy fee had been added to my account on the 26th of march 09 I disputed these fees at the time

 

Further to my conversation with (Mrxxx) a Notice of Seizure of goods and inventory was sent by royal mail The goods levied were (amount) plant pots, a door bell and an external lamp.

 

On the 22/10/10 bailiff Mr xxx made a visit to my home and informed me that my September payment had not been received

I informed him that i had made my payment as usual and had not been informed by Rundle&co that this payment had not been received

Mrxxxx could not explain why he or rundle&co had not been in touch before now

The Amount now due was £ £279.38 Mr xxx could not give me an explanation as to why this was approx £190 more than my own records he left to phone his office returning 20 minutes later to inform me that he could not get in touch with the office and would call me on Monday

 

On Monday (date) Mr xxx called to inform me that a levy fee and van fee had added to my account i requested he send me a breakdown of my account

A breakdown of my account was received on the 28/10/10 the breakdown showed a levy fee of £42 had been added to my account on the 25/10/10 there was no van fee showing on this breakdown however when i had previously checked my account on-line on (date) it was showing there

I phoned Mrxxxx on the 29/10/10 and asked if he could levy twice against the same debt Mr xxx refused to comment and informed me that payment of £190 was due

 

Later that evening Mr xxx arrived and left a notice of seizure of goods and inventory Dated 22/10/10 listing our car as this car was not at my home on said date when Mr xxx called .I questioned this and he informed me that he had seen my husband driving out the street, when i ask how he knew who he was as he had never seen my husband he informed me he had seen him previously as he had been watching our house he then demanded £190 to be paid within 5 days or he would remove the car and it would be sold at auction thus incurring more fees

 

I have on several occasions phoned rundle &co who refuse to deal with this informing me each time i must deal with Mr xxx

xxx council refused speak to me regarding this informing me as the debt is now with rundle &co i must deal with them

 

As Rundle &co and xxxx council have refused to deal with this i have now taken advice

I have been informed that bailiff collecting council tax are regulated by legislation this being The council Tax (administration and Enforcement Regulations )1992 (amended ) and these regulations

Do not allow 2two levy fees to be charged for the same liability order

A van fee must follow a levy fee and cant be charged the same day and can only be charged when a payment agreement has been broken

 

A notice of seizure of goods and inventory must be handed to the debtor or left on the premises at the time of the levy

The reason for the levying distress ids to secure goods against the debt these goods being sold at auction if the debt is not paid therefore goods levied must satisfy bailiff fees .removal fees ,storage fees prior to auction.auctionfees.and a large portion of the principal debt

 

As a few plant pots a door bell and an outside light do not satisfy this requirement i can only conclude the levy was an exercise to increase fees

 

I am now requesting that all bailiff action be suspended until an investigation of my account is conducted

A full and final reply to this investigation be forwarded to me within 14 days

This letter should be added to my account to be used as and when necessary depending on the outcome of your investigation

A copy of this is also being sent to Rundle&co

 

 

 

 

yours

Edited November 2, 2010 by hallowitch

[seanamarts]

When trying to talk to the council do you ask to speak to some one in the benefits and revenues department? If not next time you call ask to speak to the MANAGER of the benefits and revenues, often when you call the council with regards to C/T etc you are put through to a call center who will tell you to speak to the bailiffs and they wont help you. You can also contact your local councillor and also your MP who will look into this for you.

[Pepsisam]

Hi Hallowitch, i have sent the email and lettes as recorded delivery. Thank you for your help and I will keep you updated with progress. You have helped me so much and put my mind at ease. THANK YOU:wink:

[hallowitch]

its not the worst levy we have seen on here but it comes a very close 2nd the worst being a levy on a doormat did you send a copy to Rundle & co

 

your bailiff would be a silly man to try and enforce the levy on the car now

[Pepsisam]

OMG a doormat! Must have been encrusted in gold to cover council tax. Yes i sent it to the email address that ploddertom gave me for Rundle along with the revenue services manager for the council tax department and the complaints email address at the council. Letters went to Rundle addressed to complains dept and the same letter sent to Director (his name) of Rundles. Same sort of thing with council. Fingers crossed the bailiff has a bit of sense, but I have printed copies of the letter to the council to have on hand, if he does come i will post him one out of the upstairs window!

[caledfwlch]

OMG a doormat! Must have been encrusted in gold to cover council tax. Yes i sent it to the email address that ploddertom gave me for Rundle along with the revenue services manager for the council tax department and the complaints email address at the council. Letters went to Rundle addressed to complains dept and the same letter sent to Director (his name) of Rundles. Same sort of thing with council. Fingers crossed the bailiff has a bit of sense, but I have printed copies of the letter to the council to have on hand, if he does come i will post him one out of the upstairs window!

 

I would despose of doormat if you know he didnt take a picture, then deny it ever existed, put the onus on the Bailiff to provide a dated photo or serial number for "alledged" doormat

[hallowitch]

can i ask if you have had a breakdown of fees and charges for your other liability order

bailiffs collecting more than one liability order cant charge multiple fees

[hallowitch]

I would despose of doormat if you know he didnt take a picture, then deny it ever existed, put the onus on the Bailiff to provide a dated photo or serial number for "alledged" doormat

 

 

I would have taken the doormat to the council along with a copy of the Notice of seizure put it on the counter said there you go debt paid job done and walk out

[Pepsisam]

I've just dragged out the paperwork for the other accounts the bailiff held (which are now paid in full)

REF A - breakdown already supplied - tax yr 2008/2009

REF B - tax yr 2009/2010

09/02/09 - Debt - £364.00

17/02/09 - Visit - £24.50

18/02/09 - Visit - £18.00

26/03/09 - Levy Fee - £36.00

26/03/09 - Attendance - £150.00

01/10/09 - Debit Card handling - £1.00

 

We were given a goodwill credit of about £190 by an employee (who no longer works at Rundle) as we questioned a duplicate fee on the same day between ref A & B

 

REF C - tax yr - 2009/2010

02/11/09 - Debt - £128.00

10/11/09 - Visit Fee - £24.50

11/11/09 - Visit Fee - £18.00

 

We got in to a right mess but we learnt that the council only send two reminders through the entire year, if you are late after that it is immediately sent for a liability order and passed to bailiffs for the full council year

[hallowitch]

something not right here

REF A - Breakdown already supplied - tax yr 2008/2009(is this this debt Jan 26, 2009 - Debt - £554.38

REF B - tax yr 2009/2010 REF B - tax yr 2009/2010

REF C - tax yr - 2009/2010 REF C - tax yr - 2009/2010

 

There cant be two liability orders for the same year there cant be 2 1st/ 2nd visits for 1 liability order

 

phone your council and ask how many liability orders they have the date/amount of liability orders the date they were passed to the bailiffs if there were any adjustments made to 09/10 tax year (if yes) why there was an adjustment what adjustment was made why you were not informed of this by the council and when was it sent to the bailiff firm to be added to your account

 

 

 

 

26/03/09 - levy Fee - £36.00

26/03/09 - Attendance - £150.00

I assume these fees were removed

Edited November 3, 2010 by hallowitch

[Pepsisam]

Spoke to the council and they said they couldnt provide any info because the accounts were settled with the bailiff. I am going to send an email to the revenue email address they gave me to see if that will find me someone more helpful to deal with it.

Ooops by the way, i gave the wrong information breakdown for REF B is for year 2008/2009..

 

Yes REF A is debt £554.38.

 

REF A is for 01/04/08 to 30/09/08 and REF B is for 01/10/08 to 31/03/09

 

REF C is for 01/04/09 to 30/04/09

 

I've got myself a bit confused with this, should they not have charged us these things????

 

Yes, my partner says that is what the goodwill was for

[ploddertom]

In that case I'd be tempted to SAR the Council to see exactly what they have on you. Most Councils do this free of charge others ask for the £10 fee.

 

PT

[hallowitch]

REF A is for 01/04/08 to 30/09/08 and REF B is for 01/10/08 to 31/03/09

 

this is wrong the council cant have 2 liability orders for the same year

 

by the looks of it you missed you first payment the council would have taken you to court for the Full years liability

 

Regardless of what month you miss a liability order is granted for the remainder of the financial tax year

 

I would put money on this being an adjustment that has been sent to rundle&co from the council

 

 

That was no Goodwill gesture you were charged 2 levy fees and 2 van fees on the same day for the levying of a few plant pots a door bell and an outside light on a notice of seizure that was given to you at the time they cant levy the same goods twice if the had got away with this it would have cost you £378 in unlawful bailiff fees + the £42.50 for the visits they should not have been charged and they still want £190 for another levy and a van fee

Nice work if they can get away with it £610.50

 

 

this was to keep you sweet in the hope that they would get away with the other one

[Pepsisam]

Hi there, quick update.....

 

council have advised that it is classed as two liabilty orders as it went from a joint council tax bill to a single council tax bill hence two separate liabilities....

 

Letter received back from Rundle stating charges are correct and therefore we have to pay within 7 days. Have spoke with the council & they have asked for a complete and detailed letter of all actions carried out by the bailiff and will hold the account for 21 days but at this present time they agree with the Rundle that charges are correct!

 

Where to go from here??? It seems that you can never win with these people, it is always stacked against you

[ploddertom]

Is there a reason why it went from a Joint account to a Single account? If this is what they are saying the following should have happened:

Period A 1/4/08 should initially have covered the full year to 31/3/09 - at what stage did they take this to Court? They should also have listed a credit for the period 1/10/08 - 31/3/09

Period B 1/10/08 this should show the amount due solely for 1/10/08 to the end of the year

Period C why is there only a Liabilty for 1 month

 

There is still something confusing here and find it hard to follow. Maybe you should go back to beginning again and see how we go. I would ring the Council again and ask:

1 - how many Liability Orders there are

2 - under whose name each one is in

3 - how much each Liability Order was for

4 - how much is till outstanding on each one

5 - for those that have been paid in full the date on which this occurred

6 - the date each Liability Order was obtained

7 - The date each one was passed to the Bailiff

8 - if there has been a name change the reason for this and the date it happened - need to know why it changes from Joint to Single

 

I appreciate you have listed the breakdown of charges etc but is this in a letter you obtained from the Bailiff Company or another source?

 

Sorry for all the questions but something does not appear to be quite right.

 

PT