Newlyns now rossendales for old liability order from Canterbury council

[biggeorge]

1: Don't use your rent money to pay these rats, You need somewhere to live. Your rent is more important than the bailiff.

2: Remove anything of value outside, Move your car a good 10 minutes away, Not ideal when you have kids but away from the rats who will just threaten to take it away

if its not worth enough to cover the amount.

3: Never let them in, no matter what they threaten, Bailiffs do lie and says things to scare you into getting what they want which is money off you

4: Letter of complaint to council regarding payment plan since bailiff co won't accept what you can afford and sounds like they may have ignored you for unjust enrichment for the company as you sent in what they requested which was ignored and allowed them to next stage fees when visiting you.

 

Chances are if bailiff can't levy on anything the account will be sent back to the council where you can make arrangements to pay or just pay them

what you can afford each week.

 

Priority Bills: Rent,CTax,Gas/Electric,Shopping, anything else is none priority and just £1 each

 

 

George

[BankFodder]

Please monitor this thread tomorrow as I may ask you to pass on some reference numbers to me by email.

[EveOwes]

Thanks all. I will log in again tomorrow.

[E Munch]

You should seek debt advice from one of the free advice agencies that the government promote on the forms used by the enforcement agencies. With all due respect to the forum members you need a thorough review of your finances rather than snapshot advice online. Go to your nearest CAB office and if they cannot help try Advice UK, National Debtline, Money Advice Service or Gov.uk. Contact details will be on some of the forms left and Google will help also.

Also more importantly if you are genuinely suicidal please contact the Samaritans as they are the best peoples to assist you. Do that now.

[Beanyboo2015]

I feel you pain. I am in similar position with parking fines. I have tried working with Rossendales but they refuse, despite me sending in documentation from Dr stating I have mental health needs. We have to keep fighting. I cry everyday and live in fear. its become the norm. the local authority nor rossendales will not help me.

 

 

I don't know where to turn

[EveOwes]

Rossendales have just emailed me saying that action will continue despite me pleading with the to stop. And from what I've seen on other posts it sounds like they are a nasty bunch. It's no good, I'm just going to have to find the money and pay them before the bailiff turns up.

[Bailiff Advice]

I have not been around for the past week so this is the first time I have seen this thread. Without knowing more information my first thought was that you should give serious consideration to applying for personal bankruptcy. THis would get rid of all the debts (including council tax) and allow you to start living again without all these old debts around your neck.

 

From what I see here the ONLY problem that you have with Rossendales is that they could take your car. How much is the car worth (roughly)?

 

The bailiff has charged the correct fees and the ONLY additional fee that he can charge now is a removal fee of £110. There is no provision that state that you have to allow a bailiff into your home so please do not worry on this point. Your household items would only ever be taken if you decided to invite the bailiff into your home.

 

The current position is that a payment proposal needs to be outlined to Rossendales today and given the level of your other debts it should be the case that the £235 enforcement fee should be reduced. You should NOT use the rent money to pay this debt.

[brassnecked]

Absolutely BA, but Rossers would willingly take the rent money and pursue the debtor to the B & B they end up in once evicted for non payment of rent. There must be a protection of rent income on an I & E that is absolute, if Rossers are asking for payments way beyond what can be afforded which seems to be their MO to ground the Enforcement Fee in as many cases as possible, they need a Formal Complaint to the council, and a note to MOJ.

 

Do NOT use the rent money to pay Rossers, do not let them into your home either.

[Bailiff Advice]

As far as I am concerned, a criminal court fine is a 'priority' debt but with all other debts (council tax and road traffic debts) these are CIVIL debts and accordingly, should rank as important as rent, gas, electricity and food. As I say, this is my personal opinion.

[brassnecked]

Rent should have a higher priority than Council Tax, after all it is a tax on property value, and if the payer is rendered homeless as they cannot afford rent and council tax, something is wrong somewhere. Ah yes, council tax takes no account of if an income is sufficient to pay it, and Council Tax relief is now a joke.

[EveOwes]

Hi

 

I had to pay it in the end. I cannot allow my family to have a bailiff come in a take all we have. I will somehow get the money back in time for the rent due date. I have no choice. It will be hard but I'm trying to remain optimistic.

 

Despite my begging Rossendales and the council whose debt it was, nothing was done to stop this. The amount owed was £487 and then went to £650 when it went to Rossendales and this spiralled into £902 very quickly. It would have just kept building up. I will be making a complaint to both the council and to the body responsible for dealing with bailiffs. It won't do me any good now but I need to vent my anger somewhere.

 

This is disgusting as far as I'm concerned and the actions of the local councils are beyond belief in my opinion. Money grabbing *********

 

I know it looks like I ignored everyone's advice not to use my rent money but believe me I wouldn't have if I wasn't reasonably sure I could borrow any shortfall this month. Just puts me in a position of having to get the begging bowl out which isn't good as people get fed up with it. I'm sorry if anyone thinks I just disregarded advice, I just didn't have a choice.

 

thanks

[Bailiff Advice]

Hi

 

I will be making a complaint to both the council and to the body responsible for dealing with bailiffs. It won't do me any good now but I need to vent my anger somewhere.

 

 

Almost certainly your complaint needs to be made to the council regarding THEIR actions.

[EveOwes]

This is what I've sent to the council.

 

"Hello

 

I wish to lodge an official complaint about your actions and that of your organisation's policies with regard to this type of debt. I know you will write back and say you did everything by the book but that doesn't excuse your actions and the fact you have outsourced debt collection to a firm who have no qualms about bullying people into paying what is owed.

 

I had no choice but to pay Rossendales before the bailiff came round again this morning to take what little we have. BUT, and you need to understand this, I had to pay them from our rent money. That means we may not be able to pay our rent later this month.

 

If you take a look at the consumer action group forum you will see a lot of information about Rossendales and their mode of operation. They are not a nice firm. And before you start sticking your noses in the air and making comments about people paying their bills, please remember that most of us are more than willing to pay the monies we owe but sometimes life kicks you in the backside and it's not always possible to pay on time.

 

Rossendales take no notice of people suffering from depression, mental health, pure and simple poverty or anything else. When you have nothing and a bailiff then wants to take your furniture as well, what does that say about our society. This is a society that council's like yourself have helped create and someone in authority there should stop and consider this and whether it's now worth considering using another collection firm.

 

I am appalled also at the fact I wrote to you asking for your help to intervene and instruct Rossendales to make a reasonable payment arrangement with me but you just ignored my email marked 'urgent'.

 

So although I expect your response to be a simple cut and paste from your 'policy document' that doesn't excuse your role in all of this. Let's hope I can recover that rent money somehow!

 

I want this message flagged up to your Chief Executive as that person should be aware of what Rossendales are doing to people."

 

 

Doubt this will make any difference but it's what I needed to say to them.

[Bailiff Advice]

Eve,

 

You may wish to 'remind' the local authority of the following Guidance that was issued to all local authorities in mid 2013 by the Rt Hon Eric Pickles. Although new bailiff regulations have been introduced since that time this document continues to be valid. Section 4 is the part that you need to focus on.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210478/Guidance_on_enforcement_of_CT_arrears.pdf

[EveOwes]

Hi BA

 

Having read that guidance I would say the LA has no idea how Rossendales operate. If it does then it's condoning bully boy tactics. I will cut and paste and send them another email for attention of the Chief Exec. Rossendales cannot carry on the way they have without answering to someone and maybe it should affect their contracts.

 

thanks

[EveOwes]

I've sent another email to them. They clearly violated sections 4.5 and 4.8.... plus. They lied to me about not being able to take control of the debt again. I'm really furious with them and will pursue it. They owe me the difference between £487 and £902 because of their lies, in my opinion.

[Bailiff Advice]

Eve,

 

Unfortunately, as good as that guidance is...it is being ignored by more and more local authorities.

 

Most worrying is that only a few months ago Eric Pickles gave an industry speech warning local authorities that they are failing to pursue debtors who fall into arrears and that they need to ensure that council tax arrears are paid at a far quicker rate than at present !!!

[brassnecked]

The old double standards then from Pickles BA Certainly a Formal Complaint marked as such should go in copied to Elected Leader, Local Member and MP after all the MP should be able to tell MOJ their shiny new system is being banjaxed by bully bailiffs already.

[ploddertom]

Eve,

 

Unfortunately, as good as that guidance is...it is being ignored by more and more local authorities.

 

 

That is what the Council will hide behind - it is only guidance and not law.

 

Again I must reiterate you to contact your local Councillor(s) and also you should have a good cross party selection of Candidates you can approach - an election is a good time to play them off against each other.

[Beanyboo2015]

You need to contact the local authority. Contact your local mp. There are very good people on this forum that can help you too.

 

I'm so sorry Rossendales are doing this to you. It's just awful. Why are they allowed to get away with it?

[outlawla]

....Most worrying is that only a few months ago Eric Pickles gave an industry speech warning local authorities that they are failing to pursue debtors who fall into arrears and that they need to ensure that council tax arrears are paid at a far quicker rate than at present !!!

 

This is the way Eric Pickles works. If he is personally aggrieved – like for example receiving a parking ticket – he will abuse his ministerial position to influence how laws are passed in parliament. If this man had the misfortune of personally being fleeced by a private bailiff for being late with his Council Tax you could put money on it that he would again abuse his ministerial position to influence laws that would outlaw these opportunists.

[EveOwes]

I will kick up a fuss as i've nothing to lose now the bailiff fee has been paid. But I hate injustice and unfair treatment of people who aren't in a position to fight back. MPs, well, don't get me started on what I think of them. I doubt i'm alone in thinking they're all self-serving hypocrites. I will find out the names of the councillors on this council and write to them, and perhaps send a copy to Pickles. I want the council to think twice about this in future, but more than that I want Rossendales to be at risk of losing contracts and that can only happen if enough people complain about them. I know there are some good MPs but I'm sure they are hard to find.

 

My eyes have been well and truly opened over the last few years with dealing with debt and with renting our home. People are very vulnerable and it's only going to get worse as more and more people are forced to rent properties that are way overpriced rent-wise and with zero or low pay rises.

[EWHC1362]

This is the way Eric Pickles works. If he is personally aggrieved – like for example receiving a parking ticket – he will abuse his ministerial position to influence how laws are passed in parliament. If this man had the misfortune of personally being fleeced by a private bailiff for being late with his Council Tax you could put money on it that he would again abuse his ministerial position to influence laws that would outlaw these opportunists.

 

You would expect Edwardo Milibando and the Labour Campaign would not miss out on the opportunity to capitalise on the obvious corruption demonstrated by the Tory Communities and Local Government Secretary of State for selfishly influencing laws that affect the whole Country with justification being because he was personally hit with a bill to pay because of a jobsworth parking attendant.

 

Perhaps the reason he would reserve judgement might be because he was mindful of the fact that a Labour MP who raised concerns in the House of Commons in 2007 about the questionable fairness of the apparent government sanctioned theft by private bailiffs was motivated because of his own personal interests. Those being because his daughter had been sca sca hamed by an opportunist bailiff who had added several £hundreds unlawfully to a parking ticket.

 

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2007-03-27d.1471.0

[Bailiff Advice]

 

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2007-03-27d.1471.0

 

How refreshing to once again read Austin Mitchell's superb speech which is commonly known as his 'witching hour' speech as it commenced at 1am in the morning !!! I remember his daughter's complaint about her Southwark parking ticket very well.

 

I would have thought that following my research about the local authority's contracts mentioned by Austin Mitchell in paragraphs 10 and 12 of his speech that improvements may have been made in that area but sadly complaints about LA contracts continues. My research about the samll number of bailiffs being certificated at that time has at least changed ( there are now approx 2,000 bailiffs).