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I was wondering if anybody could help me regarding council tax debt that has been handed over to Rossendales .

 

The original debt is for £216, which i despute as I moved out of the property a month early but cant prove where i moved to as I ended up staying in squatted property. I realise this is kind of my fault and Im going to have to pay.

 

I have not been able to pay due to having difficulty finding employment. I reached an agreement for the council to take money out of my benefit - but they failed to tell me that it would take them some months to process and by the time they had sorted out taking money from my benefit I had gone back into full time education in the hope of increasing my chances of getting a job.

 

The first thing I knew about the failed payments was when I got a letter from Rossendales demanding money from me. I have contacted the council I owe money to but they are unwilling to help what so ever, even though I have no savings, no income apart from my student loan and I don't even have a fixed address!

 

Rossendales have visited my fathers house once in person that I know about, and dropped off a liability letter asking me to pay in full in 24 hours, but they failed to write down how much I owe them. I phoned their head office and the bailiff in charge of my account and have written to the head office asking for a breakdown of all charges I have incurred through them, which they refuse to give me until I pay the account! All they will tell me is that I owe over £450!

 

Debtline has assured me that they can only charge me just over £44 for two visits so if thats true Rossendales are over charging me by around £190?? Can anybody tell me exactly how much they can legally charge me?

 

I have written a complaint to the council, Rossendales and the enforcement services association due to the fact that they refuse to give me a breakdown of my account.

 

Would the best option be just to pay the council direct? If i did this would I still be liable to these ridiculous charges from Rossendales?

 

They havnt been into my fathers house and never will get in, I own nothing of value apart from a laptop and speakers which are vital to my university course and I have never made a refusal to pay my debt, in fact I have been actively trying to pay the debt off. I can afford to pay the council the £216 next month (which will leave me short of money to live on but I just want this over with now)

 

Can anybody offer me some advice on what to do.

 

Thank you very much

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are rossendales aware that the address they are attending is your parents home (do you live there)

 

yes you can pay the council direct next month include £42.50 in bailiff fees if they have no levy on goods

 

unless the bailiff has levied on YOUR GOODS by leaving a notice of seizure/distress listing the goods levied the most you can ever incur in bailiffs fees are £24.50 1st visit and £18 2nd visit fee total £42.50

 

do you own a vehicle

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Yes Rossendales informed me yesterday via the phone that they are aware of the fact that it is my fathers home and I do not live there, I just have my mail sent there.

 

They have no notice of seizure and I do not own a car.

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Yes Rossendales informed me yesterday via the phone that they are aware of the fact that it is my fathers home and I do not live there, I just have my mail sent there.

 

They have no notice of seizure and I do not own a car.

 

The statutory regulations are clear in that a bailiff can charge £24.50 for "attending to levy" (where no levy was made. This fee would apply for instance, where a bailiff visited a property but nobody was in or that he was refused entry. If however, a bailiff was able to enter the house or "levy" upon a car or goods outside of the property, then INSTEAD of charging £24.50 he can charge a "levy fee" (according to a fixed scale).

 

If he is able to levy upon goods, and after doing so, you either refuse to pay or default on a payment arrangement, the bailiff can then, come to your property with the INTENTION of REMOVING the "previously" levied goods. It is only at this time that the bailiff can then apply an "attending to remove" fee.

 

As many people on here know, I have an advice service providing bailiff advice to the public and frankly, it is simply dreadful that so many bailiff companies are now found to charge an "attending to remove" fee (which most companies try to hide by calling it an "enforcement fee") without having a PRIOR levy in place.

 

From the fees being charged by the bailiff company I would suspect that you have also been a victim of this wrongful "attending to remove" fee.

 

In your case, the correct fee should be just £24.50 for "attending to levy"(where no levy was made).

 

Fortunately, with council tax, the local authority instructing the bailiff is WHOLLY RESPONSIBLE for a levy and fees charged by their agents and therefore, all enquiries need to be made to the council with the threat that you will not hesitate in taking the complaint to the Ombudsman.

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......Fortunately, with council tax, the local authority instructing the bailiff is WHOLLY RESPONSIBLE for a levy and fees charged by their agents and therefore, all enquiries need to be made to the council with the threat that you will not hesitate in taking the complaint to the Ombudsman.

 

I agree that local authorities should get as much flack for this as possible on account of them being the ones reckless enough to allow these opportunist bailiff firms the chance to fleece their most vulnerable residents. However, I'm interested to know what the councils have got to lose by having the complaint taken to the LGO. I am not suggesting that they should not be involved; only what is the likelihood of the local authorities being appropriately dealt with.

 

It seems that the councils arrogantly encourage and invite you to progress complaints to the LGO. Do they know they will get away with nothing more than a slapped wrist?

 

It may be that the councils have to pay a fixed penalty for each complaint that is made to the LGO; if this is the case then of course this will not bother the councils, it is only resident's council tax payer's money after all.

 

Does anyone know if there are financial penalties for councils relating to LGO complaints, or any other implications for example some kind of reputation scheme?

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So am I correct in thinking I should pay the council directly for the Council Tax debt, and refuse to pay anything apart for the attending to levy fee of £24.50 to Rossendales as I own nothing in my fathers home and currently live at no fixed abode (which they are aware of and have confirmed that they have that on record - yet still came to my fathers home)

 

Where to I stand legally if I refuse to pay the other fees? Can they try to enter to levy goods on their fees after the council has been paid? Could they take me to court for refusing to pay their ridiculous fees?

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The Council are obliged to pay the bailiff fees out of any money you give them. Having said that not all do and the only way to find out is to ask. If you then pay and the Council confirm that the Liability Order is discharged then the Bailiff can no longer use it to enforce for his fees alone. Instead he would have to claim through the Small Claims Court - not all do this as they then have to swear their fees are correct and proper.

 

If you have verbally asked for a breakdown of their charges and they have so far refused, you should now put that request into writing.

 

PT

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I have put the request for a breakdown in writing more than once to them and they outright refuse to give me one until I pay the account off.

 

If that is the case make a complaint to the Council about the obstructive behaviour of their contractor, copy any correspondence you have with Rottendales to the Council and ask they leave it on your file for reference only. Your father can also complete a Statutory Declaration which he can both send and give to the Bailiff stating you no longer live at the premises and that all goods within the premises are his. This can be done at any solicitor cost £5/£10 and he will need 2 or 3 notarised copies. If you need a last attempt at a breakdown here's a sample that appears to work, adapt as you see fit and send initially by email followed by a copy in the post:

 

"From:

My Name

My Address

 

To:

Acme Bailiff Co

Bailiff House

 

Ref: Account No: 123456

 

Dear Sir

 

With reference to the above account, Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges.

 

This includes:

a - the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee.

b - the reason for the fee.

c - the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged.

d - the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were Certificated at.

e - the date of the Certification.

 

This is not a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. You are obliged to provide this information.

 

I require this information within 14 days.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Ripped off customer"

 

email: [email protected]

post:

Rossendales

Wavell House,

Holcombe Road,

Helmshore

Rossendale

BB4 4NB

 

PT

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, i need a bit more advice. I sent that letter outlined above to Rossendales with no response and I am about to email it to them with the email address supplied by the council. Rossendales still have not given me a list of the fees I have incured, but the council claim that the fees I have incured are as follows,

 

First visit - £24.00

Second visit - £18.50

A van bailiff - £110

Levy Fee - £31.00

 

I dont dispute the first two fees - but I made no agreement for a Bailiff to visit any address (as I do not have one) and further more they have not entered any property or made any levy what so ever (I own nothing to Levy and have no address to Levy from)

 

So am I legally obliged to pay the Levy and Van fee?

 

This situation is really starting to get me down and is having a negative effect on my university studies. I have tried hard to come to a fair agreement with both the council and Rossendales and it feels like neither of them are willing to help me in any way what so ever

 

Im sorry if it has been covered in previous posts I just want to make sure im 100% correct before I complain to the council again and I want to make sure that I approach this in a professional manor

Edited by Elliot2011
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First off you will not get an instant response from the Bailiffs so you will have to give them time to respond, their steam powered abacus has probably not been loaded with coal so could be running slow. You could ask the Council if they know what dates the fees were applied on and what they levied on.

 

PT

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Thanks PT - do you know if Im liable to pay the fees of

 

A van bailiff - £110

levy Fee - £31.00 (no Levy was made and they have not entered any property of mine)

 

Also do you know how to delete posts? I accidentally posted a second comment today when it was meant to be put into the first post of mine today

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Thanks PT - do you know if Im liable to pay the fees of

 

A van bailiff - £110

levy Fee - £31.00 (no Levy was made and they have not entered any property of mine)

 

This is why you have to wait and see what they have done. Usual trick is just to levy on a car in the vicinity, argue the toss when you find out and hope you don't know how to deal with it. It is easy to deal with once you know what it is.

 

Also do you know how to delete posts? I accidentally posted a second comment today when it was meant to be put into the first post of mine today

 

See you've done that

 

PT

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So, Elliot, have I got this straight? You are currently of no fixed abode, have nothing of value, are currently unemployed ergo on benefits and the debt is still with the bailiffs? How vulnerable do you have to be these days ...

Rae

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Im not even in receipt of benefits due to the fact that im in full time education - the only income I have at all is my student loan, which is a struggle to live on. The one item I have that is worth money is my laptop (which was a gift from my father) and it is an essential tool in my studies.

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Im not even in receipt of benefits due to the fact that im in full time education - the only income I have at all is my student loan, which is a struggle to live on. The one item I have that is worth money is my laptop (which was a gift from my father) and it is an essential tool in my studies.

 

The one thing you have of any value is likely exempt from seizure as it is needed for the furtherance of your education.

 

Your lack of any real income, as you are living off borrowed cash, means you should complain to CEO of council Council Leader, Councillor and MP, to highlight the inflexibility of the council in dealing with people in a difficult situation, also ask the MP to justify a system that adds debt to debt for people on low incomes, in a manner comparable to loan sharks, trapping people in insoluble situations.

We could do with some help from you.

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The bailiff: A 12th Century solution re-branded as Enforcement Agents for the 21st Century to seize and sell debtors goods as before Oh so Dickensian!

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To that council and MP and copied to your own MP as it is the MP for where you are resident who should help imho others will have further pointers

We could do with some help from you.

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The bailiff: A 12th Century solution re-branded as Enforcement Agents for the 21st Century to seize and sell debtors goods as before Oh so Dickensian!

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Thank you very much brassnecked - this situation would seem a considerable amount worse if I had not got the advice from the people on this forum, who are kind enough to use their spare time to help others. It is very much appreciated

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Thank you very much brassnecked - this situation would seem a considerable amount worse if I had not got the advice from the people on this forum, who are kind enough to use their spare time to help others. It is very much appreciated

 

There are several approaches and the more knowledgeable regulars, usually come up trumps, because the bailiff cannot resist a bit of spivvery with his fees, a little here and a little there in breach of the regulations.

 

There should be more along who will have a take on your situation to help you move forward.

We could do with some help from you.

PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP THIS SITE RUNNING EVERY POUND DONATED WILL HELP US TO KEEP HELPING OTHERS

Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

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The bailiff: A 12th Century solution re-branded as Enforcement Agents for the 21st Century to seize and sell debtors goods as before Oh so Dickensian!

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