Help....council tax bailiffs....returning in 48hrs

[cassiedaisy]

What should I do next?

I requested a breakdown of charges from the bailiff a month ago, emailed them directly, but had no reply.

I have complained to the Council & offered a payment plan which they refused.

I have got a letter via the post from the bailiff requesting payment in full within 5 days. It states failure to do so will result in enforcement action taking place, as directed by law. This will result in further costs being added to your bill.

It is a simple letter with no false threats, no capital letters & no highlighted areas. Therefore, I assume the Council have corresponded with them regarding previous letters they have sent!

I have started to take control of this debt and paid the Council directly every week £20 which I will continue to maintain.

In the absence of the Council formally accepting my payment plan what can I do? Would I get any further by visiting the Citizens advice and them calling the Council to try and obtain an agreement for installments or should I involve my MP? The bailiffs have been calling for over a year now with no signs of getting bored (admittedly most communications have just been letters via the post) but I really need an end to it all and I really can't pay in full.

Look forward to your suggestions.

xxx

[hallowitch]

get in touch with your MP

have you sent for /received a breakdown of fees from the bailiffs

[cassiedaisy]

Yes, I have requested a breakdown from bailiff via email on 6th Jan 2011 but had no breakdown nor acknowledgement of my email........just a letter requesting payment in full. I am sending another request today by recorded post.

I have informed the Council on several occasions that the bailiff ignores/doesn't reply to my communications.

Ok, I will now contact my MP and see what happens next.

Thanks

[hallowitch]

don't let the bailiffs grind you down stick to your guns you are doing well (may not look like it but you are) you have tried loads of times to resolve this and get an affordable payment plan in place

Always remember a bailiff without a levy has NO power over you

 

Make a freedom of information request to your council and ask for a copy of there service level agreement/contract with rossendales

I'm surprised the council have allowed rossendales to hold this for a year usually after 3/4 months bailiff firms send the debt back to the council if they cant levy or get payments from a debtor

[cassiedaisy]

I have emailed the council today requesting that information & I will email my MP today aswell.

Our cars are business cars so if they levy them I assume it will be invaild.

Not sure there is much more I can do but wait to see what happens next & continue my weekly payments.

Thanks again for the support.

[hallowitch]

Our cars are business cars so if they levy them I assume it will be invaild.

 

yes a levy on the cars would be invalid bailiffs can only levy goods belonging to the debtor

[cassiedaisy]

Sorry I was a little vague in my previous post, the business is my husbands as he is a sole trader and vehicles part of his business as such they are in our name.........does that still make a levy on then invalid? I should have made that more clear really.

[hallowitch]

Sorry I was a little vague in my previous post, the business is my husbands as he is a sole trader and vehicles part of his business as such they are in our name.........does that still make a levy on then invalid? I should have made that more clear really.

 

I assume the cars have business insurance and are insured by his business (if yes then no they cant levy against them) are any of the cars on HP (if yes again the cant levy against them) its still better to keep them away from your home

[cassiedaisy]

Thanks for finding the time to confirm that, they are covered by business insurance.

Email has now been sent to my MP.

Windows and doors still firmly locked whilst I await replies from everyone and/or a bailiff visit.

Hoping I can finally get this sorted as it's going to take the rest of this year to clear this debt unless business improves........another year of trying to keep these bailiffs out isn't the best thought of the day.

[cassiedaisy]

My MP has contacted our Councils CEO..............amazingly quick reply to my email, within an hour if not sooner!

He hasn't forwarded a copy to me so no idea what he has said, but will await the outcome.

[brassnecked]

My MP has contacted our Councils CEO..............amazingly quick reply to my email, within an hour if not sooner!

He hasn't forwarded a copy to me so no idea what he has said, but will await the outcome.

 

Your Mp will probably reply by letter when they have got some sense or details as to what has been going on out of the council.

[ploddertom]

To be on the safe side I wouldn't build your hopes up re your MP, he has contacted the Council CEO who in turn will probably request a report from Revenues. They will no doubt point out you have more than 1 Liability Order and have already broken a payment arrangement. In other words the Council will do you no favours. I appreciate this is not something you wish to hear but is a distinct possibility.

 

My understanding of things at present is that you have 2 Liability Orders against you - have the Council confirmed how much each one is for & how much is outstanding on each one? Have you also asked the Council if they have access to the Bailiffs account for you and if so can they tell you dates and times of visits and charges as the Bailiff refuses to?

 

I note you say you have asked for a breakdown of the charges applied, did you only do this by email and did you back it up with a copy in the post? I also note the charges you listed earlier and as you rightly say you have no dates so cannot work out whether they are actually valid & lawful. The Bailiff lists a levy but I assume you have no Notice of Seizure so therefore have no knowledge what this is about.

 

Pending your MP's response I believe the way forward is twofold based on the both Bailiff & Council being evasive:

1 - issue a "Formal Complaint" to the CEO of the Council

2 - as you have no knowledge of the levy by the Bailiff you have enough to be aggrieved by its issue & are therefore justified in issuing a Regulation 46 Complaint to the local Magistrates Court naming the Council as defendant.

 

It also appears to me as if the Bailiff is solely trying to collect for only 1 Liability Order despite the Council saying there are 2, is this because they are trying to screw you for extra fees. Have you also contacted your local Councillor(s) over this, any refusal or reluctance and elevate to the Leader of the Council and/or his opposition colleague, this can be done in my opinion 7 days a week up until 9pm.

 

PT

[cassiedaisy]

Thank you PT for your input.

 

The bailiff didn't seem to realise the 2nd liability order had been passed to them, but they are now aware of this fact. The 2nd liability had been passed to Chandlers bailiff who I had the mis fortune to open the door to and was very friendly until I refused to sign his walking pocession on the door step......that he tried to make be believe was an installment agreement. He become even nastier when I then refused him entry and he walked away saying I had made matters worse and that I would regret it. Following an email to the Council they passed the 2nd account to the bailiff that was dealing with the 1st liability order.

 

I have all the paperwork for the liability orders and the Council have confirmed what is outstanding. However, I really need to sort everything into date order and cross check all payments/ figures, make sure I know exactly what has been sent and when & that I have every piece of correspondence accounted for.

 

I do not have a notice of seizure from the bailiff.

 

Is it a fairly simple procedure to apply for a Reg 46 Complaint to the Magistrates Court?

 

I have not contacted the local councillor, however, I believe my MP was a former councillor until 2009. I will contact the current councillor(s).

 

I will sort out doing a complaint to the CEO and send on Monday.

 

Thank you

[ploddertom]

Reg 46 is easy to do. Before that you need to revisit most of what you have already done and make sure you have given everything its due process first - otherwise you may be seen as vexatious.

 

PT

[cassiedaisy]

Email to my MP seems to have helped. It would appear the CEO passed it over to head of revenues (as you said PT) who then passed itto the person I had been trying to deal with anywaythe taxation manager, but this time he was more agreeable.

I had a call from the Council today. They said that the bailiff was replying to my letter regarding charges and the complaints procedure.

Council was also replying to my letter, however, he confirmed on the phone that they have not signed the citizens advice protocol.

The council told me the bailiff had done a walking pocession, I said I had no seizure notice and no one had been inside my property so it must be invaild. He went on to say it was on a car that did not belong to me and therefore the fees had been removed!

He said the only fees were for 1st and 2nd visits for the first liability and 1st visit on the 2nd liability total of £67. I didn't dawn on me until after the call that the bailiff has never called for the second liability and has only sent a letter via the post......so another invalid fee to sort out. I kept the envelope.

The Council told me the bailiff had agreed to £25 weekly to be paid by direct debit to the bailiff.

I said I was unwilling to pay the bailiff direct as I did not want to risk the payment plan failing and that I would continue to pay the Council directly via the online system. He said it was easier for them and the bailiff to pay the bailiff directly but if I wished to pay that way it was fine and they would notify the bailiff each week that it had been paid.

I said I was concerned that if it was still with bailiff they would still call if I paid directly to Council. The Council said if I wished to pay that way it was fine and no bailiff would call if the agreement was maintained. He said they needed to keep bailiff options open in case of default. Should I have this in writing? He did say that I have his direct number and any problems I could call him directly.

So other than being charged £24.50 too much it seems to be resolved................hopefully.....or am I being naive?!

Should I still continue with the complaints procedure or is it pointless now the fees have been removed?

Thanks for the continued support

xxx

[brassnecked]

 

Should I still continue with the complaints procedure or is it pointless now the fees have been removed?

 

Thanks for the continued support

xxx

 

 

I would be inclined to continue as otherwise the council and bailiffs will think they have won, and carry on in their own sweet (not) threatening way with you and others.

 

Make sure any agreement is agreed in writing. just my opinion

 

Others will know more though

[ploddertom]

I agree with Brassnecked above. You will also need to report back to your MP that you have so far gained a partial resolution and thank him for his/her help. As for the other set of fees, in my opinion you do not pay the fleecers 1p more than they are allowed. The Council also do not appear to have a clue what they are doing, they are blindly accepting whatever the Bailiff tells them. Would the fictitious levy have ever been removed if you had not fought your own corner. You should certainly congratulate yourself on what you have achieved so far. If forbid you ever end up in the same position again they may think twice about trying to stitch you up.

 

PT

[hallowitch]

a good result so far well done keep it up