Rundles 9 year old council tax bill

[Clizzle]

Hi

2 days ago i got my second letter addressed to myself and my ex girlfriend

from Rundles for unpaid council tax for a address i lived in back in 2005,

 

it was Attendance notice the clearance of goods, the amount owed is for 1,502.31.

 

I believe the reason its taken this long to get to me is because i split with the girlfriend in 2007

and then moved in with friends for a few years

then finally got my own place

and had to obviously put the council tax for my flat in my name

which must of flagged my name up.

 

I didnt know this debt exsisted until i got the first letter.

 

The problem i have is i dont know where my ex lives now days and i assume only my name has come up.

 

The bailiff has never gained entry and

i live on the third floor in a flat so they cant come through any windows etc.

I dont drive so there is no car for them to take.

 

I spoke to Rundles on the phone a few months ago

and made a payment of 30 pound

then they said ok

so your next payment will be for 247 and

 

i said i couldnt afford that much and

 

the lady said well you would have to speak to the actual bailiff and arrange a payment plan,

 

I didnt hear nothing until friday when i received this new letter.

 

Where do i stand with this?

 

Is it possible to get this debt back to the council as i don't fancy dealing with Rundles

or am i just gonna have to bite the bullet and deal with them?

 

Im gonna try and speak to the citizens advice

 

but thought id join here and see what your experts recommend

Thanks

[dx100uk]

don't pay the bailiff at all

 

pay the council directly

 

you need to do the following as a matter of urgency:

 

stay off that phone to the bailiff follow this:

.

if you can pay you should be paying the council

direct via your internet banking site

never ever pay a bailiff.

.

Here is something to be getting on with.

First of all establish from the Council how much was owing etc

You need 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

.

.

Next you need to send off for a breakdown of the charges the Bailiff applied.

Here's an example, use and ADAPT at will and best sent initially by email

backed up by a copy in the post.

..

"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 certificatedicon at.

e - the date of the Certification.

.

This is not a Subject access requesticon 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"

[Clizzle]

Oh also i forgot to add

 

after the first letter i got from them

 

i sent an email to the council for the dates of the debt

which were actually correct up to the date we moved out

 

15-jun-2004 to 31-mar-2005 712.68

01-apr-2005 to 13-oct-2005 495.43

Total 1,208.11

 

So there is charges of 294 pounds

 

liability order date 16 dec 2008

 

Sorry i have no pound sign on my keyboard

Edited March 3, 2014 by Clizzle

[dx100uk]

they must have a n lo for each year

 

hey cant lump them together

 

dx

[Clizzle]

they must have a n lo for each year

 

hey cant lump them together

 

dx

 

so what do i need to do now send the above letter to the bailiffs? and a phone call to council and ask these questions?

[dx100uk]

yes whichever way you go that info will be needed

[Clizzle]

ok so iv sent an email to council asking for all that info, do i send the email/letter to rundles now or shall i wait to hear back?

Sorrry im a bit of a newbie when it comes to this stuff

[dx100uk]

I would put the request in

 

dx

[tomtubby]

Clizzle,

 

It is important to be aware that council tax is payable by 'those in residence'. Therefore, if you had been living with your partner during the period in question then legally, both of you are jointly liable for paying the debt to the council. This is despite the fact that only your name may be on the council tax bill. This is a very common misconception.

 

As the debt is a 'joint' one, the council can seek recovery from either one of you.

 

Coming to the fees. The amount being charged is not correct. The bailiff can charge a fee of £24.50 for 'attending to levy' (where no levy was made) and a further 2nd visit may be charged at £18.00 making a total of £42.50. The only other fee that can be added would a 'levy' fee but of course this may ONLY be charged is a valid levy had been made upon goods (which in your case would be impossible given that the bailiff has not gained entry and you do not own a car).

 

Unfortunately, with council tax the current position is that from any payments made to the bailiff they are legally permitted to deduct their fees and may pay the balance to the council. Accordingly, if the amount of fees is disputed the bailiff will nonetheless deduct such fees from your payments!!!

 

I would suggest that you call the council immediately and advise them that you have serious concerns at the fees that have been charged by THEIR AGENTS and that you require confirmation from the council as to what the fees represent.

 

Do not let the council palm you off with the excuse that you have to speak with the bailiff. NOT TRUE !!!

 

As the fees that the bailiff may legally charge are at just £42.50 then as long as the baiiff company know that you are aware of this they are likely to want to return the accounts back to the council.

 

Another option for you is to pay the bailiff fees of £42.50 to the bailiff company and therefore there is nothing stopping you from making all future payments direct to the council.

[Clizzle]

Thanks guys iv sent emails to both parties with all the info you suggested,I now wait for their response to see what they say, I will come back with the reply to see what i can do next

[Clizzle]

i got a reply from rundles already

 

this is the breakdown payment 1.00?

Levy fee?

 

iv never even seen the guy as all the times he has come iv not been in

 

there is no way he has levy'd my stuff

as the flat is on third floor and

we have security door as well as my front door

thats alway double locked when im not there.

 

Debt Oct 21, 2013 - £1,279.81

Visit fee 1 Oct 25, 2013 - £24.50

Payment by D/C Oct 28, 2013 - £1.00

Visit fee 2 Nov 4, 2013 - £18.00

Levy fee - Feb 28, 2014 - £60.00

Attendance / Van -Feb 28, 2014 - £150.00

 

Total £1,502.31

[tomtubby]

This forum is extremely popular and bailiff companies frequently view posts (that is why it is important to make sure that no personal information is posted that can identify a debtor).

 

An immediate response needs to be sent back to Rundles and I hope that nobody minds but I will draft a template for Clizzle and provide her with a copy by PM.

 

Clizzle, once you receive a response from Rundles would you be sure to update the thread.

[Clizzle]

ok thanks mate oh by the way im a he lol

[tomtubby]

Just typing away. Will be a few moments

 

PS: As most people on here know...I am a 'she'.

[AndyOrch]

PM sent.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Clizzle]

Thanks for your help, I have sent them the email that was messaged to me i will let you know when they respond

Thanks again you've been a great help so far

[Clizzle]

right ok i got a reply back from the council and this is what it said, im still waiting on a reply back from rundles

 

 

1 - how many Liability Orders they I have against me. - 1 Liability Order.

2 - the dates they were obtained - 16/12/2008

3 - the addresses they were for - ################

4 - the period of time each covers - 15/06/2004 to 03/10/2005

5 - how much each one was for - £1,279.81

6 - how much is still outstanding - £1,264.31

7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement - 25/03/2009 sent to Pheonix Bailiffs

24/01/2012 sent to Bristow and Sutor Bailiffs

12/09/2012 sent to Rossendales Bailiffs

18/10/2013 sent to Rundles Bailiffs

 

8 - the dates & amounts of any payments - £15.50 paid from Rundles Bailiffs to us on 08/11/2013

[dx100uk]

unsure on this....

 

can the council 'lump' 2yrs of unpaid ctax together under ONE LO?

 

I thought they would need to have an LO for EACH year?

 

dx

[Clizzle]

unsure on this....

 

can the council 'lump' 2yrs of unpaid ctax together under ONE LO?

 

I thought they would need to have an LO for EACH year?

 

dx

 

as far as im aware its only 1 year the 2 you see there is the original of £1,279.81 then the second is the same debt minus the 15.50 which rundles bought it for

[tomtubby]

The important response that you need is the one from Rundles regarding the 'levy'. Once you get this can you update us.

 

Given that the council have already passed this debt to 3 previous companies I would suggest that you make an 'affordable' payment arrangement with the council.

 

Also, the local authority are wholly responsible for the levy and fees charged by their agents. I would suggest that you ask the council what goods have their agents levied upon.

[dx100uk]

as far as im aware its only 1 year the 2 you see there is the original of £1,279.81 then the second is the same debt minus the 15.50 which rundles bought it for

 

CTAX debts are not sold

 

dx

[Clizzle]

ok got home from work to find a card left in my letterbox saying:

 

I have called today to seize your goods for sale at public auction.

 

Whilst the law entitles me to remove goods in your absence,

I would prefer to do so when you are present

 

Please call me ..........

..... to arrange an appointment for me to return and remove goods or collect the debt in full

 

If i do not hear from you,

 

I will have no alternative but to return without notice

and seize goods whether you are present or not.

 

I still haven't had a reply from my email so do i just hold on until i get a reply?

 

Thanks again

Edited March 14, 2014 by Clizzle
too big

[dx100uk]

as he has no levy

 

that's a load of...

 

dx

[Clizzle]

i still haven't heard anything back from Rundles via email or letter,

 

I have however got the council to add the account to my online account where i pay my council tax now,

 

It has the option to make payments for it.

 

Should i start paying them 50 pound a month or carry on waiting to hear back from the bailiffs and see where that goes?

 

If so what do i do about the so called money owing to them?

 

Thanks

[dx100uk]

yes start paying the council

 

sooner the better.

 

you really need to write a formal letter now to the bailiff company repeating your request for a list of charges./ dates/reason

 

theres is also the outstanding action on post 20 to resolve

 

dx