Council Tax Liability Order after I paid

[baldasacoot]

I pay my Council Tax by Standing Order. As it is for 10 months, it stops in February and March and I re-activate it in April.

I have been quite ill for several months and forgot to re-activate the Standing Order in April. I never got a reminder about it but the Council wrote and said they were taking me to court.

So I paid the missing two payments for April and May and carried on paying monthly in June and July on the 1st of the month.

I got a Magistrate's Summons when it was too late to attend and I was too ill anyway.

Then I got a letter from the Council telling me a Liability Order had been granted at the Magistrate's Court on 15/06/2012, at least two weeks after I had paid for April, May and June.

Now that July's payment has gone through, I got a Bailiff's letter today from a commercial collection service saying they will come back and charge further costs and may remove my goods to pay the arrears.

As far as I can see there is no debt or arrears as my payments are up to date, but apparently I have lost the right to pay in installments.

 

I have no idea what to do or where to go. I live alone and this stress is making me ill again.

 

Any advice?

 

Thank You very much.

 

~.~

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Have you contacted the council or the bailiff??

[brassnecked]

Contact the council, and ask them

How many liability orders they have (in your case there should be only one)

How much are they for ( this may be important as it will be likely for more than you owe, your latest payments not being deducted from the LO amount

When were they passed to the bailiff for collection

 

E mail explaining you were in hospital. are you still ill and under a doctor? if so you may well be vulnerable under the national guidelines:

 

Department for Constitutional Affairs - Enforcement - National Standards for Enforcement Agents

.

Vulnerable situations

•

Enforcement agents/agencies and creditors must recognise that they each have a role in ensuring that the vulnerable and socially excluded are protected and that the recovery process includes procedures agreed between the agent/agency and creditor about how such situations should be dealt with. The appropriate use of discretion is essential in every case and no amount of guidance could cover every situation, therefore the agent has a duty to contact the creditor and report the circumstances in situations where there is evidence of a potential cause for concern. If necessary, the enforcement agent will advise the creditor if further action is appropriate. The exercise of appropriate discretion is needed, not only to protect the debtor, but also the enforcement agent who should avoid taking action which could lead to accusations of inappropriate behaviour.

•

Enforcement agents must withdraw from domestic premises if the only person present is, or appears to be, under the age of 18; they can ask when the debtor will be home - if appropriate.

•

Enforcement agents must withdraw without making enquiries if the only persons present are children who appear to be under the age of 12.

•

Wherever possible, enforcement agents should have arrangements in place for rapidly accessing translation services when these are needed, and provide on request information in large print or in Braille for debtors with impaired sight.

•

Those who might be potentially vulnerable include:

'

the elderly;

'

people with a disability;

'

the seriously ill;

'

the recently bereaved;

'

single parent families;

'

pregnant women;

'

unemployed people; and,

'

those who have obvious difficulty in understanding, speaking or reading English.

 

 

Ask the council to take this back, and copy the council leader and CEO into the email/letter, also forward it to your MP.

 

Be prepared to initiate a formal complaint with the council when they say nothing they cahn do, speak to bailiff etc. Remind them that the Standing Order has been reinstated, and you have no intention of dealing with a bailiff as no law compels you to do so, but that they cannot refuse your payments or they are breaking the law.

[baldasacoot]

Have you contacted the council or the bailiff??

 

No, not yet.

[baldasacoot]

Contact the council, and ask them

How many liability orders they have (in your case there should be only one)

How much are they for ( this may be important as it will be likely for more than you owe, your latest payments not being deducted from the LO amount

When were they passed to the bailiff for collection

 

E mail explaining you were in hospital. are you still ill and under a doctor? if so you may well be vulnerable under the national guidelines:

 

Ask the council to take this back, and copy the council leader and CEO into the email/letter, also forward it to your MP.

 

Be prepared to initiate a formal complaint with the council when they say nothing they cahn do, speak to bailiff etc. Remind them that the Standing Order has been reinstated, and you have no intention of dealing with a bailiff as no law compels you to do so, but that they cannot refuse your payments or they are breaking the law.

 

OK, thanks very much, I'll copy that advice and I'll try e-mailing the department the liability order came from.

 

I don't think I'll qualify under "seriously ill", but I haven't worked since March and I'm seeing doctors regularly. I wasn't hospitalised, but my health has been failing for a long time.

 

 

When you say "Ask the council to take this back", you mean set aside the Liability Order and call off the bailiffs?

 

 

Thank you so much for the help.

[brassnecked]

OK, thanks very much, I'll copy that advice and I'll try e-mailing the department the liability order came from.

 

I don't think I'll qualify under "seriously ill", but I haven't worked since March and I'm seeing doctors regularly. I wasn't hospitalised, but my health has been failing for a long time.

 

 

When you say "Ask the council to take this back", you mean set aside the Liability Order and call off the bailiffs?

 

 

Thank you so much for the help.

 

I mean take the account back off the bailiff as you have paid up to date and are prepared to pay them, just not a scummy bailiff and a whole load of possibly ficticious fees.

 

As you are off work, are you claiming benefits,? you may be eligible for Council Tax benefit.

[baldasacoot]

Thanks very much. I have been on full pay but recently half-pay/SSP. I hope to be back at work before that falls to zero and I lose my job completely.

 

Thanks again.

[tomtubby]

Baldasacoot

 

I am sorry if I appear to be critical but my advice may help others in the same position.

 

Many people on here are aware that we have a commercial business advising the public with bailiff queries. With the vast majority of enquiries that we receive it is apparent that people DO NOT WRITE LETTERS ANY LONGER. Instead, people will use twitter, text messages and FORUMS such as this one to discuss their problems but they will NOT write a simple letter.

 

In your case, after missing the payment in April you received a letter to say that you would be taken to court.

 

Some time after July you then received a summons.

 

Then, after this another letter from the council was sent to advise that they had been to court and that the court had granted a Liability Order.

 

Yesterday another letter arrived and this time it is from a bailiff.

 

Again, instead of contacting the council.....you came onto the forum to ask a query.

 

I appreciate that you have been ill but as you can see from above, you really should have at least written to the council.

 

Obtaining a Liability Order is an automated process done almost electronically. The problem that you now have is that approx £100 has already been added to your account by way of summons fee etc and, once a LO had been granted, you lose your right to pay by direct debit and the entire years council tax becomes due.

 

As long as you do not have a car outside of your home and refuse to let the bailiff into your home then the only fees that can be added to your account are just £42.50.

 

PLEASE contact the council this morning...preferably by phone and follow up with a letter.

[baldasacoot]

OK, I realise that contacting them sooner may have helped but I have difficulty with phone calls.

 

Thanks

[brassnecked]

OK, I realise that contacting them sooner may have helped but I have difficulty with phone calls.

 

Thanks

 

Email backed by letter handed in and signed for in the council office is good also.