Bailiff company wont accept offer to pay by instalments, threatened with prison and bailiff action!

[nikkikitch]

Hi

 

I have just found out i have a very old council tax bill from 2007 for £700! I had no idea there was still anything outstanding on the account.

 

I am currently not working as I'm self employed and my son has just had two lots of serious surgery meaning I've lost a months worth of income so far and looking like he'll be off school for another month.

 

I called the bailiff company yesterday to offer an upfront payment of £20 followed by monthly payments of £20 until my finances improved, hopefully by next month when my son is back at school.

 

They would not accept this and said i could be sent to prison and that the bailiff will be attending to remove goods.

 

I know i cant be sent to prison and that's ridiculous, but how am I meant to pay this if they wont accept the offer?

 

I will not be opening the door to bailiffs obviously, but do not want them banging on my door whilst my son is off ill and very ill at that!

 

Any advice on what to do? Its really stressful Should i contact the council directly with proof of my sons illness?

 

Thanks

[tomtubby]

In the first instance you will need to contact the council to see whether the debt is correct. You need to get clarification of the precise amount of the Liability Order and details of when it was obtained.

 

Next, ask the council what previous action has been taken to enforce this debt and if they say that no previous action...you need to ask them WHY it has taken them 7 years to seek enforcement action.

 

What notice have you received so far and from which company?

[nikkikitch]

Hi

 

I've moved house a few times in the last 7 years and in to a different council borough so it might be that they haven't been able to trace me? I've always been on electoral rolls though so it shouldn't have been to difficult!

 

The letter is from Newlyn. I challenged their original letter as it said they had attended and made a levy on goods, when I wasn't even at home! They then wrote to me to say it had been removed and to call the office to arrange payment. They pretty much laughed at my offer and said theres no way they would ever be able to set it at £20 per month.

I explained this would only be short term but again she scoffed at me!

 

Thanks

[renegadeimp]

The bailiff is lying his arse off plain and simple. He just wants his nice big cut of the money.

 

regarding prison, ignore the muppet. Prison for council tax only ever happens if you stand in front of a judge and tell him/her to their face that you have no intentions of paying and will never pay.

[dx100uk]

.

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 Certificated at.

e - the date of the Certification.

.

This is NOT a Subject Access Request

uest 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"

.

[nikkikitch]

Hi

 

That's great thank you!

 

I'll start by writing to the council. What happens in the meantime though? I know the regulations have changed haven't they? so they can legally add £230 if they attend my property? Can they do that even if I've offered to pay?

 

Thanks

[renegadeimp]

Tell the bailiff to bog off. You may have to pay him his fee's, but that depends entirely on the outcome of your letter and whether you are considered vulnerable or not.

 

Also, you need to find out the date of the Liability orders. Im not sure if the new regs come into force for your issue if the bailiff got the debt after the regs came in, or when the LO was made.

[Fair-Parking]

Council tax is not my forte, but I'm pretty sure that your account is now statute barred. Before you pay anybody anything, get some legal advice for if I am right you don't owe anybody anything.

 

Don't waste time asking the bailiff or the council. They just want your money.

[renegadeimp]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?156819-council-tax-statute-barred&p=1701949&viewfull=1#post1701949

 

No idea if the info has been changed.

[tomtubby]

Sorry, but in fact council tax is NOT actually statute barred (in the same way that unpaid court fines are also not 'statute barred')

 

Interestingly, the LGO have made a ruling against one particular local authority where they referred a debt from year 2000 to a bailiff. In that particular case the debt had been for a much smaller amount of around £150. The LGO were critical of the LA for its failure to seek recovery of the debt a lot sooner and they stated that given the time that had elapsed (13 years) the debtor should not be expected to either remember, or to recall whether there had been a balance remaining. The LGO also stated that the debtor would not be expected to have kept copies of their financial records from that period either.

 

Unfortunately in your case the LA would likely argue that they could not pursue the debt sooner given that you had moved address etc. The LGO would be unlikely to find fault with the LA in your case given that the debt of £700 is not a small amount.

[unclebulgaria67]

Unless I have missed it. What about vulnerability issues ?

 

" my son has just had two lots of serious surgery ". "whilst my son is off ill and very ill at that!"

 

The council concerned should take this back and accept what she can afford, after looking at current income/expenses.

 

Perhaps the OP may also qualify for benefits where she is currently living. If she has suffered reduced income, she may qualify for council tax benefit and also housing benefit. Also what about working tax credits ? This needs to be looked into, otherwise there is a risk of more debt problems.

[Fair-Parking]

My local council begs to differ.

[tomtubby]

I would suggest that you send a TEXT message to the enforcement agent to advise that you have vulnerability issues and that you will outline your circumstances in an email to the company and you will also put forward an affordable payment proposal.

 

New regulations took effect on 6th April and with it are specific requirements regarding the dating of letters and the period that must elapse to allow for payment. Can you post back with the date of notice and the time and date when payment is to be made.

[dx100uk]

if a liability order was not taken out within 6yrs

I thought CTAX debt could be statute barred?

 

also if a LO exists from before 6th april do the old fee rules apply?

 

dx