Advice needed please re Ross and Roberts

[worriedwoman]

My ex-husband unwittingly allowed the Bailiff to enter his home - she said she was there 'on behalf of the local council and at no time said she was from Ross and Roberts. It was only after she made a list of goods and asked him to sign a paper saying he would pay back the council tax debt at £65 per month, that he realised she was not actually from the local council.

 

I used to deal with all the financial problems when I was with him and I try to help him out now as much as I can because he not only doesnt really understand most of it, he suffers from anxiety and high blood pressure and gets very agitated when he tries to deal with these situations. He is a builder (63 years old) and has been in and out of work for the past couple of years, he has now transferred from JSA to Pension Credit so won't have alot of money to spare each month.

 

My question is, can he file a valid complaint for the Bailiff not stating who she was, and also is it a possibility to have the debt transferred back to the Council. It would just be so much easier to have a debt that could be paid into an account via his bank account (which I can access and set up a monthly payment for him) as all Ross and Roberts offer is cash, PO, bankers draft and online - they said it would not be possible to create a direct debit or standing order, and also every single transaction has an admin charge - each month if he pays the £65 online, he will incur a £5 admin charge even with a debit charge - is that legal?

 

I have asked him to go to his local council tomorrow and get a breakdown of the debt and find out exactly how much went across to R & R as I want to see how much they are charging on top of that. They have said in the agreement my ex signed that if he defaults by so much as a day on a monthly payment they can charge him £146 - is that possible? I hope this makes sense, and look forward to some positive advice if any is to be had. Many thanks.

Edited March 24, 2013 by Conniff

[unclebulgaria67]

Difficult. If the baliff said they were there on behalf of the council, they were technically correct. Yes ideally they would have said they were bailiffs and explained what would happen if they were let in. But I don't think there are any operational/regulatory rules that require this.

 

I think the only hope of getting the council to take this back, is for him to provide details of his medical issues which make him vulnerable and say that the bailiff caught him when he was suffering from ill health by misleading him to allow her into his home. The additional amounts that the bailiffs are adding are causing hardship, which mean that he cannot maintain food or heating at the level required to help with his health conditions.

 

If the council will not help, he should get his local councillors and MP to intervene on his behalf.

[unclebulgaria67]

The bailiffs needs to be asked to provide full details of all fees that they have applied to the account. Do you have details of the levy they applied and can you post the rough details of this. The levy should not include certain items and must be sufficient to cover substantial part of the debt and not just bailiff fees. The bailiff fees quoted may not be correct, but I would suggest getting the bailiff to confirm what they have applied to the account so far.

 

Your ex also needs to obtain full details of the liability orders.

 

He needs 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

8 - the dates & amounts of any payments

[matt v atos]

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.

[worriedwoman]

Thank you very much for the advice. It seems illogical to compound the debts of somebody that has less than nothing and I do worry that this will make his anxiety much worse, which in turn will cause a raise in BP! I will suggest he sees his GP tomorrow and also to see the local council (although to be honest they have not been too helpful in the past) to see what they say! Thanks again.

[worriedwoman]

The bailiffs needs to be asked to provide full details of all fees that they have applied to the account. Do you have details of the levy they applied and can you post the rough details of this. The levy should not include certain items and must be sufficient to cover substantial part of the debt and not just bailiff fees. The bailiff fees quoted may not be correct, but I would suggest getting the bailiff to confirm what they have applied to the account so far.

 

Your ex also needs to obtain full details of the liability orders.

 

He needs 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

8 - the dates & amounts of any payments

 

Yes I can scan in the details of the levy and hopefully post them tomorrow evening - I dont have the facility here at home. I'll copy and paste your list of questions for the Council and email them to my ex tonight. Many thanks.

[worriedwoman]

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.

 

My ex is not classified as disabled, but he does have a huge amount of anxiety about dealing with any issues like these, and becomes very stressed - I will show him what unclebulgaria67 has suggested re him being vulnerable and hope that the council will take back the debt. Thanks for your response

[brassnecked]

Does he have any medical evidence, or a health care professional who can confirm the issues?

[ploddertom]

The Bailiff has gained entry by false pretences & when he realised should have asked them to leave. Does he have the name of the Bailiff & if so has he checked the Bailiff Register to make sure their Certificate is current? If he claims vulnerabilty - even proof of Benefits should be enough then the case should be handed back to the Council and there are some Benefits where monies may be deducted at source to pay for this. Does he claim Council Tax Benefit? Does he claim Single Person Discount? For the new year looming Benefit entitlement may be different so he must be made aware of this. He could also ask his local Councillor(s) to intervene.

 

I note you say the Council are uncooperative. This could be because some Councils have outsourced their admin functions to private companies. It may be you have not spoken to an actual Council employee. One such private company is Capita who in turn own 2 Bailiff Co's one of which happens to be Ross & Roberts.

[matt v atos]

Please don't contact bailiff

 

Keep the bailiff out no right of entry no nothing

 

The bailiff can ask all they want bailiffs lie

 

bailiffs will say they have a court order,distress warrant in reality it is a liability order nothing else

 

There will be no locksmith police no one will enter the house by force

 

pay council using correct reference number

 

If you have a car garage it away leaving it on the drive is a invitation for a levy