Urgent bailiff advice please

[backofthenet]

I wondered if anyone could help please.

I have 2 payments to 2 different bailiff firms to go out in the next 3 days(both council tax arrears) . I have never defaulted on the agreement before, however due to lack of work over the summer i am short for cash to make these payments.

We haven't paid all of the rent this month at the moment. so finding that must come first

I was going to ask the firms by phone whether they would give me an extra week to make this payment ,as i am sure i will have the funds available by the end of the week. Has anyone ever asked this of bailiff firms before and were you successful ?

[hallowitch]

have any of the bailiff firms levied on your goods

[backofthenet]

Only one. I would'nt let them in, so I took an old mobile phone out to the car where i made the agreement with them.btw this agreement is in my wifes name before we were married, although they were prepared to make an agreement with me...hence I signed it not my wife.

 

The other firm is a bailiff firm which is actually part of the council, I have never let them in

[mellymoo74]

have you spoken to the council to find out what is owed under the LO?

[brassnecked]

ask the council

How many liability orders they hold for you

How much on each

When were they obtained

When were they passed to bailiffs for enforcement

 

Also which bailiff company has each one

 

 

Which bailiff firms are you dealing with now, and what council is this?

[backofthenet]

The one which is in my wifes name is ross and roberts for arun district council. not sure about the liability orders, but I think the amount owed is about £600.

The second one is obis for brighton council. I think that is for 3 or 4 separate council tax bills.

[ploddertom]

Only one. I would'nt let them in, so I took an old mobile phone out to the car where i made the agreement with them.btw this agreement is in my wifes name before we were married, although they were prepared to make an agreement with me...hence I signed it not my wife.

 

Do you know what charges they are claiming? Can you list the goods seized exactly as described on the Notice of Seizure?

 

The other firm is a bailiff firm which is actually part of the council, I have never let them in - again do you know what charges they have made?

 

PT

[brassnecked]

The one which is in my wifes name is ross and roberts for arun district council. not sure about the liability orders, but I think the amount owed is about £600.

The second one is obis for brighton council. I think that is for 3 or 4 separate council tax bills.

 

You need to get exact figures off both councils

 

Are you both working, and do you claim any in work benefits, are there any children? If not working are you on JSA. or is their any long term illness or disability in the family?

 

These questions will help target the best advice for your particular circumstances, as depending what your situation is, the advice will differ accordingly.

[backofthenet]

I'm not disputing any charges they have made...I;m just wondering if they will give me a few more days on this months payments

[brassnecked]

I'm not disputing any charges they have made...I;m just wondering if they will give me a few more days on this months payments

 

Are you sure all charges are kosher? And to answer the question, NO it is highly unlikely based on the experiences of Caggers that the bailiffs will let you have a few more days. they will most likely turn up and add a new attendance fee with a van as you have defaulted in their eyes, and you will get more visits, and ever increasing fees. You couls ask them but only phone them if you can record the call, as they have a habit of forgetting anything said in a phone conversation.

 

When you made the arrangment with the bailiff as per PT what did he levy on?

[backofthenet]

thanks brassnecked. god know what im going to do if they don;t give me a few more days. as regards levy....on my wifes bailiff i refused to let them in...so i took an old mobile phone out to the car and he levied on that. They have never been in my house.

As regards my council bailiffs..I set up a payment deal with them however there was no levy. again I refused to let them in.

btw what does PT mean ?

[brassnecked]

thanks brassnecked. god know what im going to do if they don;t give me a few more days. as regards levy....on my wifes bailiff i refused to let them in...so i took an old mobile phone out to the car and he levied on that. They have never been in my house.

As regards my council bailiffs..I set up a payment deal with them however there was no levy. again I refused to let them in.

btw what does PT mean ?

 

Sorry you have been had by the bailiff, he levied the phone, so in his eyes he has a levy, what he doesn't know is that you know the goods are of insufficient value, so you are aggrieved by it, as it was merely to garner fees for himself, it is Formal complaint time for an invalid or irregular levy imho PT is ploddertom ,a most experienced Cagger who gives extremely pertinent and good advice, you would be wise to follow what he says.

Edited September 23, 2012 by brassnecked

[ploddertom]

You should as soon as possible send R&R a letter asking for a breakdown of the fees they are allegedly charging. From what you say we can already see that the levy is going to be challengeable, I also wonder what else they have tried to charge, it may be you have paid them in full otherwise. Here's an example of what to send them. Use and adapt as you see fit and send - TONIGHT - by email followed by a copy in the post - TOMORROW.

 

"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"

[ploddertom]

As regards my council bailiffs..I set up a payment deal with them however there was no levy. again I refused to let them in.

 

If you are short of funds temporarily then the one to avoid paying is this one, they have no levy so cannot charge any more that the 2 Visit Fees allowed. When they do come round making a noise about it then again do not let them in. I would also suggest you send them the same request for a breakdown of fees. Just because they are in-house with the Council does not mean they will do things any fairer.

[ploddertom]

How long have you been paying both sets of Bailiffs?

[backofthenet]

about 8 months now. ross and roberts were from my wifes council tax arrears with arun district council. And the ibis one is from my arrears with brighton council.

 

The total we pay out each month is £188.

i am seriously considering in the future applying for a debt relief order as I believe debts included in this are council tax arrears

[wonkeydonkey]

Pplease follow what PT advises...it is more than a slight chance the bailiff has added fees you do not know about and you in fact owe next to nothing if anything at all ...Ross and Robbers are well known on this site for picking up on people who simply don't have a clue to the way things should be done..and they fleece them rotten. Think positive...wouldn't it be nice to find you are due a refund just in time for Xmas? Just to give you an example ...the levy on that phone is invalid but it could have cost you £100 by accepting they were in the right to make that levy

 

Wd.

[brassnecked]

With the levy he has the Ross 'N robbers bailiff is on a sticky wicket as it can be challenged, do as PT advises, and ask for the information, Also ask the councils exactly what is owing, to see how little of your debt Ross 'n Robbers have paid over to Arun council for your wife's debt.