Ross and Roberts - Not one you will hear very often..

[gibbo1969]

We rent a house, and as part of the tenancy agreement the landlady agreed to pay the council tax for the property. Well for one reason or another she didn't pay it, and the council obtained a liability order for over £2500 dating back to the date we moved in.

 

We had received letters from the council, which we forwarded onto the Landlady in the expectation she would pay the outstanding amount, but due to financial problems she never paid the bills, and as you would expect the council in the end obtained a liability order.

 

We received notificaton from Ross and Roberts that they would be attending ( as you would expect ) to get the money paid. I got straight on the phone to them and explained what had occured. How the Landlady should have paid it, but didn't.

 

I have to say the woman on the phone was absolutely wonderful. remarkably helpful. Whilst she accepted it wasn't our fault, as she rightly pointed out, the bailliff could only deal with the liability order in our name and we were responsible to get it paid.

 

She gave us two weeks grace so we could get in touch with the landlady and see what arrangement we could come up with, but as stated, we had to ensure that money got paid.

 

I immediately made a couple of payments to show good will, then got in touch with the landlady and made arrangements whereby should Ross and Roberts agree, we would pay it over a set period. The same woman agreed instantly to our proposal, and as long as payments were forthcoming she would suspend bailliff action. I explained our financial situation basically over hte phone, and she actually suggested I reduce what I proposed by £30 a week, so as to ensure that we didn't leave ourselves short over the winter period. I was sat open mouthed at how helpful she was.

 

We made the payments on time, barring one week when the day we were supposed to pay, happened to fall on Christmas day, and I just got a very polite phone call from their office saying they understood that due to Christmas the payment would most probably be late, and to remind me to pay it as soon as I could, so I would stay within the terms of the agreement.

 

Once we got to the last 2 payments, they rang us again, telling us how much was left, and telling us to ensure that we didn't pay too much as the final payment was less than all the others would have been.

 

I've dealt with bailliff companies in the past and found them to be downright obstinate and refuse point blank to listen, but in this case, Ross and Roberts were absolutely fantastic and helpful.

 

So for a change, heres a thumbs up to a bailliff firm for being considerate and downright helpful.

[AndyOrch]

There are good and bad I suppose...but delighted that this has been resolved for you gibbo.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Peterbard]

Excellent and well done for contacting the bailiff in the first place and thanks for reporting back your experiences here.

 

It can be a bit daunting given the reputation they have built up over the last few hundred years, but if all that is to change there has to be a change of perception on both sides.

 

I take it you just incurred the £75 fee ?

[Bailiff Advice]

Because of my work and the part that I played (and continue to play) in the consultation on bailiff reform, I have never hidden the fact that that I have a good relationship with all enforcement agencies and this has been of vital importance when assisting vulnerable debtors. However, if there is any wrongdoing, I will be their fiercest critic. Of that there is no doubt. Likewise, I do believe that if an enforcement agent/agency has acted fairly, I will not hesitate in saying so.

 

In the case of Ross and Roberts Ltd, I have received a lot of enquiries where the Notice of Enforcement from this company is accompanied by another letter (which appears in front of the NoE) which states that ignoring the attached Notice of Enforcement will lead to additional costs of £235. The letter then goes on to explain that a payment arrangement can be set up and highlights the importance of observing the date on the Notice of Enforcement.

 

The letter makes very clear indeed that the enforcement fee of £235 can be avoided by setting up a payment arrangement before the deadline on the letter.

 

One other good point is that the Notice of Enforcements that I have come across provide a compliance period of 14 days.

[brassnecked]

Excellent stuff.