chandlers and council tax = any advice appreciated!!

[jayjay75]

I owe £3500 in council tax, for a number of reasons..

.I have 5 accounts in arrears,

 

although i did make payments when i could.

however, the accounts have now been passed to chandlers bailiffs.

 

I spoke to the bailif just before christmas, who said the accounts had been passd back to the office..

.called the office, they said someone would be in touch.

 

quite a bit of toihg and froing

 

i spoke to bailif last week who said i could do payments...

..i said i could afford 250 a month.

he called back and said the council want £390 a month.

..i told hi i could not afford that and i would have to call back when i got paid.

 

I called him today, then had to call the office who said the opportunity to make payments had passed,

and they were going to come and take my stuff.

 

I said- i live in rented accommodation, own nothing bar a telly from 1992-would it not be easier to come to arrangement?

again - no, we are coming to get your stuff!!

 

I phoned the council, who were pleasant but unhelpful - nothing they can do.

phoned chandlers and made a £250 payment anyway, at east to show willing.

 

Have been reading a bit, and people suggest paying the council directly.

how is that more beneficial than paying the bailiffs? what should i do next????? Am frightened.

 

Was on my own for quite a while after ex moved out - now have a new flatmate and do not want her to know what is going on.

 

Apologies for essay - any advice appreciated.

Jenny

[dx100uk]

list your LO's please

ora tleast the YEARS that you know you owe for

 

 

dx

[jayjay75]

what are lo's? i owe for 07/08/09/10/11!

[nohope]

First of, dont let the bailiffs in no mata what they say to you, they have the powers of a teapot so long as you dont let them in.

Start to pay the council using there online payment system at an amount "you" can afford even if its only £10 a week. You just need to start showing you are willing to pay and not just refusing to pay.

 

There will be more along soon to help and advise you..

[nohope]

LO - liability orders, its what the council get through the courts. Ring the council tomorrow and ask them how many there are and how much you owe on each one of them.

[jayjay75]

thanks...yes i owe money on each year - 600, 700, 1200 etc etc- all adds up to 3500. feel totally out if my depth with deby, and just trying to prioritise this one.

[dx100uk]

follow the info in this thread

also remember the ctax from old years is NOT a priority debt

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?336216-Council-Tax-Issue-Bailiff-on-my-case-Help.(1-Viewing)-nbsp

 

dx

[jayjay75]

thanks for link! when you say old council tax bills are not a priority - does that mean it is my interestes to clear the most recent one first? i could clear it in 3 months.... (ie the 2011/12 one). what would happen then?? do you advise that the i call the council again and plead with them to tak the accounts back from chandlers? is the benefit of paying council directly rather than chandlers in order to stop more charges and fees?? thanks for help.

jx

[dx100uk]

you dont know at this tage what fees they have levied and what is correct or not.

 

that why you need to gather the info

follow the other thread

contact the council

ask all thoose questions and comeback

 

and also fire off that bailiff letter.

 

ALWAYS pay the council direct

 

sort the bailiff fees out later when you know WHAT you really do owe,

 

i.e THE TRUTH.

 

here is a msgs i collected on old ctax stuff:

 

As this debt is for outstanding council tax from 2007, it is no longer a priority debt as such and is now classified as "priority arrrears". So the bailiff can go swivel!!!!

I was in a similar situation but owing £1,200 for council tax from 6 yrs ago. (I was refused council tax benefit whilst I was unable to work through illness and on Income Support for 8 months but the council refused to apply CTB retrospectively - unknown to me because I had moved - my application for CTB had been incomplete.)

i refused to co-operate further with the bailiffs (Rossies) after their threat level had escalated to ridiculous heights and instead told the council how much I could afford to pay them after taking into consideration my priority household expenses and debts, then my priority debts and then my credit debt. (I worked out what I could afford with the National Debtline I&E form - I believe CAG has a good one as well) I would only correspond by e-mail to the Head of Revenues and I told him I would pay £12.50/month. I considered that to be a realistic and sustainable amount. It was accepted even though it will take 8 years to repay.

As suggested above, advise the council of your "vulnerable" status and dig your heels in! The council will eventually take back your debt and you can then repay them what is realistic and sustainable for you. Stress to them that it is in their benefit to help you by allowing you to repay at an amount you can afford - without defaulting - whilst still paying your current council liablility if you have one.

At the time I negotiated my repayment to the council, I was employed on a full-time basis and had no dependent children and was not considered vulnerable, so if I could do it, you can too!! If you're in receipt of the "appropriate" benefits, they will only deduct a small amount each week/month and then you will be fine.

Best of Luck and don't lose heart!

 

Impecunious!

[jayjay75]

many thanks, dx

Jay

[ploddertom]

You need to speak to someone at the Council and ask the following questions:

1 - how many Liability Orders they have against you

2 - the dates they were obtained

3 - the addresses they were for

4 - the period of time each covers

5 - how much each one was for

6 - how much is still outstanding

7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement

[ploddertom]

I would suggest you share this with your new flatmate. There may be a time she may inadvertently open the door to a caller and the Bailiff sees it as an opportunity to come in. If she has a car she may go out one day to find it seized. Better be truthful to avoid any awkwardness later.

 

PT

[tomtubby]

The figures that you have quoted for the Liability Orders appear to be very rough figures. Have you received confirmation of the amounts from the local authority?

 

If you are single, have you ensured that you have claimed single person discount?

[nohope]

i live with flatmates, but we arent liable for councl tax, the landlord is, something about house of multiple occupancy, and only wen u occupy the hole dwelling you pay CT. some law called iirc.. council tax liability to owners rules , do a search, then tell the council you o naff all and stick it were it shouldn b.

 

This would only apply if the LL stipulates it in the tenancy which would say something along the lines of -- The rent is to include council tax for the property, all other utility bills are the responsibility of the tennant.

[nohope]

But then it makes the landlord liable for it and that wont do the OP any good as it may get rid of one problem but start a new one with the LL.

Maybe speaking to the LL first about the above would be an idea rather than just throwing mud and hoping it will stick.

[jayjay75]

hi all,

Have spoken to council

2011-12 $1136,

2010-11 $1227.13 and

2009-10 $1034.63.

 

Chandlers have listed 5 accounts

$449.11,

$594.87,

$634.52,

$681.26 and

$1178.58.

 

My charges are 5 x visit fees (5 x $24.50).

 

I explained situation again to council and she said "we don't touch bailiffs, we have nothing to do with them, it is entirely out of our hands".

 

Spoke to chandlers again

- i did make a £200 payment to them yeterday,

and they reiterated that I could not make any payment arrangements.

 

Just repeated that they are coming to get me!!

I don't see how that is of any benefit to them.

I really just wat to pay it all off,

but it will take me 10 months.

Do not want to get landlord involved or anything like that.

 

I know that the debt will eventually be passed back to council,

but just wondering how often are they goping to visit and intimidate before that happens??!

 

Many thanks for alll your help.

 

feel like i am stuck in a loop!

Jay

[jayjay75]

oh just to add- am planning on making another 100 pound payment next week,. i have been reading and reading and rrading on here, but still unsure as to why it is better to pay the council rather than the bailiff firm?? can someone explain to me in simple terms for a simple person??! have already made a payment to chandlers....thanks is advance

jay

[nohope]

If you keep paying the bailiff then it will never go back to the council as there is no reason for them to pass it back. Plus, if you make an arrangement to pay the bailiffs then default on a payment by even a day it gives them a reason to visit you and try to charge you even more money.

 

Also if you pay the council direct then you can pay as little as £20 a month if you want and they can do nothing about it as you are willing to pay at what you can afford. Bailiff will not settle for a small amount, they want it as quick as possible plus what ever fees they can get away with charging.

[jayjay75]

thanks, no hope. I guess my main thing is just stopping them coming here, and i thought if i made payments to them directly it may stop them in their tracks for a bit. will pay council directly - have also emailed the council with my proposals. how many visits am i likely to have before they refer back to the council??

[nohope]

After there second visit so that they can charge you a second visit fee they tend to give up if theres no chance to take a car or get in to the house. You mite get one more visit if there passing but normally it will go quiet other than a letter, then it should go back to the council.

 

I'm in the middle of all this with the same bailiffs but due to a few mistakes they made with me i'm in the middle of the complaints procedure with the council to show them just how bad there agents are.

[dx100uk]

WHY HAVE YOU PAID THE BAILIFF!!

 

if you can pay - PAY THE COUNCIL ONLY .

 

dx

[jayjay75]

thanks nohope - that has kind of put my mind at rest!!! i was having visions of them turning up 768 times at 5 in the morning banging on the door!! I shall no longer have contact with them. Willmake a payment to the council next week. going to pay 350 a month. off sick at the moment so am spending the day dealing with debts! it is going to be one belt tightening, beans on toast eating, water drinking year!! x

[dx100uk]

only pay the LO's that the council have listed and pay DIRECT to them

 

as for the 5*£24.50 - DIDDLED!!

 

cant do that

 

charge multiple fees for multiple lo's at the same time

 

can only charge ONE £24.50

 

did you get a reply to the request for a breakdown from the bailiff co?

 

dx

[jayjay75]

dx - sorry!!! i just thought paying them was a good idea at the time! have learnt my lesson..... spoke to chandlers who told me my charges were 24.50 x 5, for 5 los....

[seanamarts]

One visit one fee, they cannot charge multiple fees for one visit regardless how many LO's you have.

 

They know this but hope you dont.

 

Please read this and pass it on to your council,

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/613/regulation/45/made