Council tax bailiff

[julie1961]

My husband has suffered 2 suspected heart attacks over the past 12 months so has had a bit of time off work. We fell behind with the council tax & the council took us to court.

I have today had a bailiff at the door from Jacobs certificated bailiffs( Paul Rollings ), I was in the middle of a family crisis so couldn't speak to him & he said he would call later, I asked him to call after 5pm when my husband would be in but he said because he lives out of town it would be too late so would call at 4pm. I couldn't get back home in time & he called this time leaving me a final demand, the letter says notice of further attendance to seize goods.

I am now frantically worried about this & don't know what to do. Do I let him in or not, do I sign anything, will they take my furniture?

I know whan my husband comes home it will upset him & I don't want him to be ill again. Could anyone advise me please?

[markt]

theres a whole section on this but ive been there!

 

read more for the legalities as to what you could and shoudld do but ....

 

dont let them in.

 

try calling them and the council tomorrow. only make an offer to pay that is realistic.

 

there was a programme about bailiffs on bbc website a while back. have a search on that as that gives a few clues.

 

also it may be worth calling the CAB now to hear their thoughts

 

i realise this may all bea little vague but good luck!

[paulson1985]

I understand how you feel believe me I have been there.

 

First of all do not let him in your house,

 

Secondly do not sighn anything.

 

If he has not been into your house there is nothing he can do and he will have to send it back to the council.

 

Dont be fooled by him saying he can make arrangements for you to pay it in weekly instalments as that is just a ruse to get in your house.

 

Once you have let them in and sighned his walking possesion he can then force his way in, but he needs to gain peacefull entry Keep your doors locked and watch your windows.

Try and negotiate by post try and do everything in writing.

 

But the main thing at the moment is not to let him into your home.

 

Zooman has put a good letter on here for you to send them to try and make an arrangement you can afford.

 

You need to send one to the council as well.

 

Good Luck

[julie1961]

Many thanks to both of you for your relies.On the letter it says they have a Liability Order issued byt the magistrates court, this is what has worried me. Does that give them rights to enter & take my stuff?

[paulson1985]

No Julie it does not give them the right at all.

 

They need to gain peacefull entry to take your goods, if they have never been inside your home there is absolutley nothing they can do.

 

Dont be intimidated by anything he says to the contrary and Please Please do not sighn anything at all.

[julie1961]

Oh Paul thank you, I have been frantic all day.

[paulson1985]

No problem Julie just remember dont let him in.

 

You dont even need to answer the door if you feel intimidated by him.

 

In fact if you are on your own it may be best not to answer the door because sometimes they will try and get passed you.

 

 

Good Luck

[blfuk1]

No problem Julie just remember dont let him in.

 

You dont even need to answer the door if you feel intimidated by him.

 

In fact if you are on your own it may be best not to answer the door because sometimes they will try and get passed you.

 

 

Good Luck

I can understand this sort of reaction but is it really the best way forward? To ignore the bailiff means he will keep attempting to do his job which of course will entail even more costs. If the money is owed then the council will not interfere as it has issued a 'warrant' to the bailiff to resolve. If the bailiff cannot gain entry he may well have to take goods which are not inside the house (i.e. car) and then cannot be accused of disproportionate distraint if that's all that is available. One way or another the bailiff is not going to rest until all avenues have been exhausted. Either you'll be lucky and avoid a very large bailiff bill or you won't and end up paying far more than if you had co-operated from the start. I know it's difficult to know what to do but you should be aware of all your options and potential outcomes. You won't necessarily beat the bailiff by keeping your doors closed and hiding behind the curtain!

[oscar21]

There are strict charges laid down in law for what the bailiff can charge. Something like £22 for the first visit and £16 for the second. If he cant get in then thats all he can charge. Obviously £38 wont pay for his time so he will try and extort money out of you illegally, just stand up to them, theyre nothing but criminals.

[moffie]

I hope this helps.

 

Forgive me if you have already tried this, but if your income fell below a certain level, then the council will send you forms for proof of income etc.

 

It may depend on your area but it is fair to assume that if your income was/is low, they won't be able to charge you so much council tax anyway if you just can't pay it?

 

Court costs can then be levied. Well you can't get blood out of a stone can you? (at least not after banks drank the last drop... )

 

Just keep paying £5 a week and agree this with them. If your income is found low, you may well get this back anyway.

 

Hopefully after issuing the forms to you, and you aggreeing (even over the phone) for you to repay a little a week, the council will withdraw the baliff immediatly.

 

Good luck,

Moff

[paulson1985]

blfuk1

 

I understand everything you are saying and I know that you yourself are a bailiff it is very unfortunate that more were not like you, but unfortunatly this is not the case.

 

I gave the advice on personal experience and what I have learned over the last few months.

 

I do not believe that Julie would be given any help at all from the firm involved, and I stand by my advice do not let them in your home at all and write to the bailiff firm and the council using the letter on here from zooman.

 

Unfortunatly far too many people are not aware of there rights.

 

And I say again DO NOT ALLOW THEM INTO YOUR HOME

 

DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING.

[dragonlord002]

Do Not Let A Ballif In Your House!

[julie1961]

Thanks everyone, I am not letting him in, I will send the letters off today & see what happens. I have even closed my back curtains as I don't have nets or blinds up at the back & I don't want him looking through the window.

He can't touch the car as its my fathers & its a motability car.

I will put an update on here.

[Guest Battleaxe]

Julie 1961,

 

Do not let him the door, do not sign anything..

 

Also send an email to [email protected], outline the problem and I guarantee you will get help straight away.

 

The people there will help you resolve this problem.

[julie1961]

He came yesterday but I didn't open the door. He wrote down the details of the car outside which is a motablity car & posted a notice of seizure through the door. My daughter rang him & told him the car didn't belong to me & he had no right to do that. She told him I had sent a letter to them with an offer of payment which was the full amount divided by 24 months as says on the template letter, he said they would not accept it as they expect the amount to be paid within 20 weeks which would be around £160 per month. I am on carer's allowance & my husband is on a very low wage, there is no way we could pay that. My daughter told him they had no right to refuse as I am not refusing to pay. Anyway the letter has been posted to them & we will just have to see what happens now. He said he will not be calling to my door again.

[blfuk1]

He came yesterday but I didn't open the door. He wrote down the details of the car outside which is a motablity car & posted a notice of seizure through the door. My daughter rang him & told him the car didn't belong to me & he had no right to do that. She told him I had sent a letter to them with an offer of payment which was the full amount divided by 24 months as says on the template letter, he said they would not accept it as they expect the amount to be paid within 20 weeks which would be around £160 per month. I am on carer's allowance & my husband is on a very low wage, there is no way we could pay that. My daughter told him they had no right to refuse as I am not refusing to pay. Anyway the letter has been posted to them & we will just have to see what happens now. He said he will not be calling to my door again.

 

Clarification: Minor point but I see this claim all too often that bailiffs have to accept any offer a debtor makes as they are not refusing to pay. Bailiffs are acting on an order of the court; they are not debt collectors. They are not attending to collect a debt but to execute a court order. They are under no obligation to accept any part payment at all and only do so to suit their own or their clients' policies. Their prime objective is to seize goods under the terms of the order in respect of an amount previously demanded and not paid. Offers and acceptance of arrangements to pay usually take place before the court authorises the use of bailiffs to take alternative action - seizure of goods.

[dragonlord002]

I see you advice getting worse. adviseing pepole to let ballif in now now.

[blfuk1]

I see you advice getting worse. adviseing pepole to let ballif in now now.

 

I presume you are referring to this:

 

I can understand this sort of reaction but is it really the best way forward? To ignore the bailiff means he will keep attempting to do his job which of course will entail even more costs. If the money is owed then the council will not interfere as it has issued a 'warrant' to the bailiff to resolve. If the bailiff cannot gain entry he may well have to take goods which are not inside the house (i.e. car) and then cannot be accused of disproportionate distraint if that's all that is available. One way or another the bailiff is not going to rest until all avenues have been exhausted. Either you'll be lucky and avoid a very large bailiff bill or you won't and end up paying far more than if you had co-operated from the start. I know it's difficult to know what to do but you should be aware of all your options and potential outcomes. You won't necessarily beat the bailiff by keeping your doors closed and hiding behind the curtain!

 

It should be taken in context and read properly. It is not advising anyone to permit entry or deny it. It simply suggests a possible outcome of avoiding the bailiff - from a bailiff's point of view. You can obviously take it or leave it.

 

The fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion. Arnold H. Glasow