Ah, Rossendales...

[clemma]

Received a letter from Rossendales this morning demanding payment of £400 ish for my council tax. Stupidly I thought I was paying the arrears on top of my normal monthly amount as it clearly says on the council tax bill "This includes arrears of £400(ish) which is subject to a liability order". I'm not.

 

Anyhow, the letter I received says if I do not pay I will be committed to prison in big, scary red writing. I know I won't be, but it ticked me off that they do this. I called them (please don't shout, I had to phone them) to arrange a payment plan. They refused. Shocking, I know. If I make payments anyway they will proceed with enforcing this. Nice. As they refused to set one up they say they are going to send it back to the council to see if they will accept my offer....I do hope so.

 

I called them as the council were adamant that Rossendales would enter in to a plan (which I knew they wouldn't). I have since called the council again who have said that if it is sent back to them then I can arrange to make payments direct to them. They also advised that I send an email to Rossendales stating everything that was said in the telephone call and to C.C the council in to the email. So I have. That way I will get a response. Apparently. The guy at the council was rather nice.

 

So, what do I do? Should I make payments direct to the council and forget the bailiffs until I know what their next move is?

 

I know not to let them in to my flat and although I have a car I can not park directly outside my house so they will have no idea which one is mine. Not that the car is here most days anyway.

[i hate bailiffs]

yes payments direct to council otherwise bailiffs will fleece you with card processing fees ect

 

deny bailiffs a levy and fees should only be £42.50 in total

sounds to me that bailiffs are about to give up and hand it back to council and move on to there next victim

[clemma]

I was going to make direct payments BUT as the council have not agreed this then will any extra I pay on top of my normal amount come off last years arrears OR be taken off this years bill....? Not sure how to go about it. Hopefully they will give up as despite their best efforts I could not be intimidated. I think she knew I knew what I was talking about. I'm not an easy target. When I first spoke to the council they told me they cannot get it back from the bailiffs. I know they can, despite them saying this. They must think I'm an idiot....

[i hate bailiffs]

try it online to council with correct reference number

it took tossingdales around 7 visits till they gave up with me and handed it back to council,they will give them time!!

 

normal for council to use that line it is with the bailiffs and nothing we can do

 

how many visits have you had so far?

[clemma]

No visits as I only got the first letter today. The arrears were originally being paid through an attachment of benefits. When my other half started work we got a new council tax bill that stated the amount we owed for the year and said this includes £xxx which is subject to a liability order. I thought the payments I had made covered the arrears as well. So, they have now passed it on to the bailiffs. They said it's my own fault as I did not contact them when my partner started work. I explained the confusion with the bill but hey-ho.

 

Anyway, no visits and Rossendales said they would be returning it to the council to see if they agree with my payment plan as they could not accept it. The council have made a note on their system to let me know when it is returned so I can start a plan with them. That's if they return it. I would rather they did as I don't want to have to pay trumped up bailiff attendance fees too.

 

The only reference number I have for 2011/2012 council tax is identical to this years reference number. I will try and speak to the council again tomorrow as one of the guys I spoke to today was really nice and he might tell me how to do it.

[ploddertom]

For Council Tax you should have possibly 3 numbers on your bill

1 - Property No - never changes

2 - Account No - never chages

3 - Payment Ref No - changes year to year so any payments can then be allocated to the right year

You will have to look closely.

 

Alternatively you may pay in cash at the Council signifying which year it is for. If you met with refusal you politely ask for the name & position of the person refusing as this will form the basis of a complaint against the Council.

[clemma]

Rossendales really do think people are stupid. They have sent me an email stating that I have not returned the financial statement left by the bailiff when he called at my address.....I have asked them for details of this visit: Name, date, time and who gave them access to my building (you need a fob or be let in via intercom). As they only sent me their first letter on the 26th June I find it highly improbable that someone has been already. If they have then they haven't done their job correctly. No letter, no note....nothing.

 

Anyway, by the by. They have stated in the email that they are returning it to the council for "my committal". Nice.

[ploddertom]

The can recommend what they like - 7 days in Marakech would be my choice - but the decision on what happens next is down to the Council and if you have been making regular payments then they may find it very hard to do much more.

[clemma]

I only became aware of this on the 28th June. The council have said as soon as they get it back they will let me know so I can start paying them. I have checked my bills very carefully and can't find any of the other numbers on them....anyway, I'm sure the council will come up with a way for me to pay them.

[i hate bailiffs]

Rossendales really do think people are stupid. They have sent me an email stating that I have not returned the financial statement left by the bailiff when he called at my address.....I have asked them for details of this visit: Name, date, time and who gave them access to my building (you need a fob or be let in via intercom). As they only sent me their first letter on the 26th June I find it highly improbable that someone has been already. If they have then they haven't done their job correctly. No letter, no note....nothing.

 

Anyway, by the by. They have stated in the email that they are returning it to the council for "my committal". Nice.

 

Committal how original they are thinking that will scare you into paying them and there fees

 

good news they handing it back there will be no prison holiday all the time money is being payed off debt

[clemma]

Hmmm.....this is becoming a mystery. Hastings Council have ordered an attachment of earnings. Fair enough. It's now only for £350ish. They didn't let Rossendales know though (although they have now, after I called the council). Anyway, the mystery...

 

Rossendales have emailed me stating they attended on the 1st June and left a card and a form for me to fill in. They didn't. This surprises me as the case wasn't passed to them until the 21st June and their first letter to me is dated the 26th June. There are no bailiff charges mentioned in the letter I received. Just the outstanding amount. They said they spoke to a neighbour who confirmed residence (no one in my block knows me by name....). They also state my door is blue. This is rather clever of them, as it is. As is every other door in my street, with 6 blocks of flats. I am thinking they have attended elsewhere in my street in the past so this is just common knowledge. After all, these are council flats and it wouldn't surprise me if someone else has had problems with council tax too.

 

They are not very forthcoming with their information. They won't tell me who they spoke to (although I have spoke to everyone in my block and they can't remember anything).

 

It's just a mystery to me.

 

Ho-hum. No need to worry about it I guess as the council will have all their money soon enough. Just annoyed by the lies Rossendales tell (although not surprised).

[lookinforinfo]

These days telling you that they know the colour of your front door proves nothing. All you have to do is Google any street in the UK and see every house in that street.

[clemma]

These days telling you that they know the colour of your front door proves nothing. All you have to do is Google any street in the UK and see every house in that street.

 

I'm in a flat so they must have been to the area before. I just can't fathom why they say they attended 20 days before it was passed on to them. As far as I know there are no bailiff charges.....

[lookinforinfo]

Oh they will find a way of charging-they are very creative.