Rossendales "Final Notice"- What To Do?

[IanRB]

Hi, I am new here.

 

 

This morning at 7am a Rossendales bailiff hammered on my door.

I was still in bed, didn't answer it.

He put a "final notice" through the door and left.

It demands balance in full in 24 hours.

 

It is for Council Tax.

I set up a payment arrangement about a year ago for £899.40 including costs,

when a Rossendales man came to my door.

This included a list of stuff they could take if I defaulted.

 

 

I kept up with the payments then was late with one in July, but they restarted the scheme when I rang them.

 

 

I was late again this month due to being skint and lost track of how late.

 

 

The total was down to £231 including the costs for the previous late payment,

and I was paying £78 per month.

 

The Final Notice demands £406.20 (more costs of some kind) which I simply don't have.

 

 

I rang Rossendales and offered the late payment but the (brusque) lady in the office

said I have to talk to the "enforcement agent" on his mobile since she could only take full payment.

 

 

I asked why on Earth I cannot talk to someone in the office but she just kept repeating

I have to either pay her or talk to the "enforcement agent".

 

 

I am loathe to do so until at least I know more about what to do.

I really don't know what to do.

I am beside myself.

 

The only money I have in the world is £83 until next Wednesday,

and not much more then,

so paying this month's payment would have wiped me out

and I was going to have to do some creative thinking just to buy some food.

 

The Final Notice says 24 hours

I presume he will be back tomorrow.

 

 

I have no idea what to do,

 

 

I hope somebody on this forum can help me.

 

 

The irony is that without costs I have paid the vast majority of the original debt,

not that that is any use I know.

 

 

Any advice will be gratefully received!

[Bailiff Advice]

When the previous visit was made a 'levy' appears to have been carried out. Can you post back to let us know what goods where 'levied' upon.

 

Secondly, what was the amount of the original debt and can you list the charges that have been applied to the account so far.

 

PS: The above is very important indeed to ascertain what steps (if any) can now be taken by the bailiff.

 

Also, you say that you were 'late' with the payment in July. Were you given exact dates to pay and how late were you.

[IanRB]

The goods were a sofa, coffee table, shelf unit desk, PC and monitor.

 

 

The desk, PC and monitor I need for my work, and they're worth hardly anything anyway;

the PC is several years old and has a dodgy graphics card and the montior is a big CRT I got off Ebay for £12(!)

and which itself has a fault (if I switch it off it goes blurry so I have to leave it on 24/7 lol).

The shelf unit is an ancient melamine thing that can't be worth 50p.

 

According to the "notice of distress" from Rossendales wth that list on the original debt was £838.40 +£61 charges for a total £899.40.

Until the latest charges it was down to £231.70 so it appears they've added £174.50 in charges.

 

In July my payment date was the 10th

 

 

I can't remember what day I sorted it out with them,

later in the month obviously but then they set up a new scheme on the 1st of the month,

 

 

the 1st payment on that was 1st September which I paid,

then I missed 1st October.

 

 

I've had so much money stress I foolishly put this to one side on the "sort it later" pile in my mind.

 

Thank you for replying!

 

*edit*

 

I made a mistake the missed payment was August 10th, not July 10th.

Edited October 22, 2014 by IanRB
Added month error

[Bailiff Advice]

Do you know whether any charges were applied for the visit yesterday?

[IanRB]

The visit was this morning. The Final Notice through the door just gives the full amount of £406.20 as "balance due within 24 hours... inclusive of all costs".

[IanRB]

One more question: if they do take my stuff, does that settle the debt, or just reduce it by whatever amount they sell the stuff for? Like, if they take the goods, auction them and get £50, does the remainder of the debt remain?

[fkofilee]

You will still be liable after the goods have been sold... So yes the debt would remain.

[lookinforinfo]

Whatever else he does tomorrow,

it's pretty sure that he won't be taking the goods you listed as they wouldn't cover his petrol costs to your home if sold at auction.

 

But the threat of him taking them is usually enough to get some one like you to find the money

from some where and of course to bump up his fees.

 

Even though he doesn't wnat your items it doesn't mean that he won't charge you for a van to come

and take away your goods thus adding another £150 plus to your bill.

 

Your next step is to complain to the CEO of your Council.

Explain that without all the bailiff fees you would have virtually paid off the C/T by now.

 

 

In addition they are not leaving you with an itemised breakdown of their fees as now required by Law

so you do not know what you are being charged for.

 

 

It may well be that you are now being charged the £235 under the new regulations

when the original levy was under the old rules,

but you cannot tell because he is not explaining his fees.

 

Carry on to say that the bailiff is supposedly coming tomorrow to take your sofa,

a very old computer and a clapped out desk all of which would do well if they raised £50 at auction

even assuming they were not exempt goods.

 

The bailiff has therefore levied on goods which nowhere near covered the original debt purely to increase his own fees.

You are thus asking the CEO to look into the fees charged and provide you with a breakdown

as you have no idea what you have been charged.

Explain how much you have already paid and how much the bailiff is trying to collect tomorrow

and you would be grateful if the bailiff visit could be postponed until the actual amount you owe could be verified.

 

It would be a help if you could provide the CEO with an income /expenditure account.

 

You would be best to send that off today by email and also contact your local Councillor today to help stop the bailiff just in case he does call tomorrow.

 

If goods sold at auction do not cover the debt, then the remaining debt woud still be outstanding and owed.

[IanRB]

Thanks, what do you mean by CEO?

 

Also, what can happen tomorrow? Can I refuse him entry? Can he break in?

 

Should I phone this "enforcement agent" on his mobile? I can't think of anything I would say except that I haven't got the money to pay the whole bill. I don't understand the whole thing with Rossendales saying he works for them, but then it was like he's a completely independent agent so they wouldn't talk about anything else with me.

 

I'm absolutely cr*ppng myself.

[National Debtline]

Thanks, what do you mean by CEO?

 

Hi Ian

 

The reference to "CEO" stands for Chief Executive Officer, or however the top dog at your council is known.

 

Also, what can happen tomorrow? Can I refuse him entry? Can he break in?

 

You are entitled to refuse him entry. However, as he appears to have carried out a levy on your goods last year, he will argue that he is entitled to force entry if necessary - this could only be for the purpose of removing the listed goods. In practice, I expect this to be very unlikely - you have made it quite clear that the items are of only very nominal value and I wouldn't expect him to be the slightest bit interested in lugging them away. What the agent will want is cash, and he will hope that out of panic you do whatever it takes to pay him the full amount.

 

 

Should I phone this "enforcement agent" on his mobile? I can't think of anything I would say except that I haven't got the money to pay the whole bill. I don't understand the whole thing with Rossendales saying he works for them, but then it was like he's a completely independent agent so they wouldn't talk about anything else with me.

 

I'm absolutely cr*ppng myself.

 

Enforcement agents nowadays are typically self-employed individuals rather than employees, and firms like Rossendales contract work out to them. Either way, if you don't wish to speak to the agent directly, you can write to/email Rossendales directly. If you are in a position to pay something/anything, you should be able to do so via the Rossendales website.

 

Please be reassured that situations like this are very common; if you are unable to pay the amounts demanded, it is generally a case of "toughing it out" until the enforcement agent accepts or returns the account to the council.

 

Dennis

@natdebtline

[IanRB]

National Debtline-

 

Thanks. I have tried talking to Rossendales and they are not interested unless I pay the full amount,

insisting that otherwise I must talk to this Enforcement Agent.

 

 

The website's "pay online" facility also refuses me, again referring me to the EA.

 

 

I am currently considering ringing this man to ask him to give me more time to get the money together

, and explain the low nominal value of the goods (and that the PC, monitor and desk are not only low value but needed for my work).

 

 

I really don't want any more charges.

I've worked out that so far, without all the charges,

I would have virtually paid off the bill.

 

 

As it was I only had three payments to go until I foolishly ignored the Notice Of Enforcement because my mind was on other things.

 

I'm not sure I have the mental reserves left to tough things out.

 

 

If I can find a way to pay this, I will.

 

 

There is just no way I can do it today.

 

 

Should I phone him?

[lookinforinfo]

I would try to avoid phoning the bailiff unless you can tape the conversation.

You could deal with him by text him instead so that you have a record of the conversation that you can retain.

 

But you would be better calling your local Councillor to try and stop the bailiff from coming

until you have a clear picture of what is owed as

 

 

some bailiffs do add on extra costs that go into their pocket as well as getting that letter to the Council.

 

 

[best to write to the CEO so that it avoids the lower clerks who may not work for the Council

but for a Company such as Capita who have several bailiff companies within their group.

It prevents a conflict of interest shall we say,

plus the CEO will get to know what is happening at grass root level.]

[ploddertom]

If you do have to phone him then make sure you record the call.

 

 

In my view the sole purpose of your call would be to establish the fees they have added to the account,

and which Court granted his Certificate.

 

There is no way on earth the goods he has seized would have come anywhere paying fees

never mind a proportion of the debt.

 

 

I would thus argue that at the time the levy was made it was with the sole intention of gaining a financial gain both for himself & his company.

 

 

Therefore the levy fee & all associated costs should be removed and replaced with a Visit Fee if applicable & a reworking of fees for this visit.

[Bailiff Advice]

I am sorry to go back to the fees but it is so important to ascertain whether the bailiff has already charged the maximum or whether he is missing the 'old regs' with the new.

 

You say in your initial post that the debt had been £899.49 with COSTS'.

 

Could you let us know the following:

 

The amount of the Liability Order passed to Rossendales

 

The exact amount of how much you have paid

 

The amount of any fees that you can see on the documentation to hand.

 

The next questions are also important:

 

Are you single, etc and do you have any children?

 

Is there any 'vulnerability' in the family?

 

Are your working?

 

PS: Please try not to worry.

[IanRB]

Well this was probably the wrong thing to do, but I rang him and after some flannel agreed to pay him next Wednesday. How I don't know, but I'll have to think of something in the next week. Which is going to be interesting. I panicked basically. Still it is a week's breathing space of a kind.

 

I've kind of lost track of what the precise original figure was. I am confusing myself trying to work out what I paid and what the outstanding liability was at any moment, so I will post again later when I can make some sense of it. But the last NOE was £231.70, but now with costs I owe £406.20 so that's costs of £174.50.

 

Thank you everyone for the help so far.

[lookinforinfo]

Well yes it was the wrong thing to do but it has given you some breathing space. You cannot make arrangements with these

people and then fail to keep to it as all it does is give them an excuse to ratchet up their fees. As they are [or should be]

charging you under the old regulations, this can be a further £150 plus!

 

However it has given you have the time to write to the CEO with your complaint and ask him/her to confirm what fees have been charged to date and when and why they were incurred. Point out that the more fees that are charged, the longer it will take for you to repay their Council tax which is not what either of you want. Confirm that you do want to pay your Council tax but your finances are not strong enough to combine that with the fees charged by the bailiffs.

 

You should still contact your local councillor to help you. Ideally the Council could take back your case and cancel the bailiffs but that will require that you write to the CEO at the very least.

[IanRB]

Okay, I will write to the CEO then tomorrow. Is an email adequate?

[lookinforinfo]

It could be useful to back the email up with a letter in case the email goes astray.