council tax and phoenix bailiffs

[indyessex]

Please help.

 

I had a visit from a bailiff on 14 Sept. 

He informed me he was recording me and told me he was here to collect unpaid council tax. 

 

I've had no letters telling me that bailiffs were going to visit. 

The last letter I received was from the council on 7 January 2019 informing me of the amount outstanding.

 

It's for a previous address that I moved out of. 

I told him that no-one had told me about the amount outstanding and that it had been passed onto bailiffs. 

He said that was impossible and he said he was going to come back and remove my goods. 

He handed me a letter and left.

 

I checked all my letters in case I had missed something, but there is nothing from the council or the bailiffs.

( I did notice the date I moved out was wrong on the letter dated 7 January).

 

A bailiff visited on Monday while I was at the doctors and left a letter with my dad. 

He visited again yesterday and I spoke to him and asked him to give me a chance to sort this out as the citizens advice centre is only open part time and I can't get an appointment for another 2 weeks. 

 

I ended up closing the door on him, because he said I could be arrested for unpaid council tax.

He pushed a letter through the letterbox (without an envelope) and left.

 

I made a payment of £20 by bank transfer after he left, and emailed the company to say I was seeking advice and that the payment was to show I was willing to pay.

 

The same bailiff visited again this evening, this time I did not open the door. 

He knocked for ages and he pushed another letter through the letterbox, again without an envelope. 

This time the letter says that I have to pay £322.77 immediately. 

I don't have that kind of money.

 

I am on universal credit to top up my wages as I have an long term injury that limits the hours I can work,

I have been making payments to the council, not a lot but as much as I could manage. 

 

I also had to move back to my parents due to the injury. 

The visits have really stressed out my parents (.both over 70). 

 

I am worried that he is going to come back tomorrow and hassle my parents while I am at work.

My mum suffers from anxiety and is easily intimidated and her english is poor,

I'm worried she'll have another panic attack.

 

Can anyone please advice me what I can do.

 

Thank you.

 

[dx100uk]

everything to date would have been sent to your old address the council concerned had

which  I will assume is not your current council?

and the bailiff has traced you to where you are now. after they got a liability order.

 

do/did you have a notice of enforcement [£75 fee giving 7 days to make contact]

 

expand on your story and the letters you have now received. please

 

[London1971]

Email your local councillor, explaining everything.  Details should be available on Google. At least a 50% chance they can sort this out rapidly

[indyessex]

The council were aware of my new address, I received the letter dated 7 January at my new address.  The letter is asking for payment in full or to contact the department to set up a payment plan, or they would take further action without notice.  They also have my email address.

 

The letter handed to me on the first bailiff visit is a one page letter entitled Enforcement agent visit.  It's asking for the sum of £1861.35 inclusive of fees and costs.  It has the phone number of the agent on it.

 

The letter from the second visit (Monday) is a letter called enforcement notice. It says becaause I haven't made full payment the bailff has re-attended to take control of goods.

 

The letter from the third visit (Tuesday) is a removal notice saying that as I haven't paid he is going to take my goods away to sell at auction. He will return to take my goods away at a time convienient to him and I don't have to be at the property for him to take my goods away.

 

The letter from the forth visit (today) is entitled council tax- committal notice.  It says as I haven't paid dispite previous visits and communications they do not believe that further calls will establish any agreement and "we are therefore left with no alternative but to endorse our instruction that you have willfully refused to pay the sum outstanding inclusive of fees and costs.  The local authority will have a number of further sanctions that they can consider, including the option of applying to the Magistrates Court to seek you committal to prision".  There is a hand written note stating that £322.77 is due immediately under court order.

 

I do not have a notice of enforcement giving me 7 days to make contact.

 

I hope that clarifies the communication I have had.

 

[dx100uk]

well as you've probably spotted

unless you let them in.

not a lot they can do.

and ofcourse you don't have too either.

 

id try londons idea 1st

[Bailiff Advice]

You received a  letter from the council on 7th January  to request payment in full (you have not mentioned the actual amount). 

What have you done in the 9 month period since receiving the letter? 

Did you contact the council?

Did you make a payment arrangement with the council?

If so, how much have you paid towards clearing the debt?

[ss002d6252]

The fact that they have an email address is immaterial as it's not a contact method they are required to use.  In January you received a notice from the council - did you contact them to make an arrangement or have you simply left it from then to now without any action ?

 

Quote

had a visit from a bailiff on 14 Sept. 

Do you mean 14 August ?

You mention they handed you a notice - I would suspect that was possibly your 7 day notice - do you have a copy of it you can post (obscuring identifiable details).

 

 

[indyessex]

Unfortunately I don't think I did contact the council,  I was on some prety strong pain killers (pregabalin) around that time that left me confussed and exhausted.  I can't find anything to the council on my computer.  Thankfully I'm no longer on those pain killers.

 

I have made payments to the council, not a lot, but I only earn around £400 a month including universal credit.

 

I've paid £10 a month since March, apart from June when I paid £5 because I had some unpaid sick leave os I was paid a lot less.

 

Yes, sorry I meant the letter I was given on the visit 14 August, I've attached a copy.

bailiff visit 1.pdf

[dx100uk]

are you not entitled to council tax relief if you are on UC?

[indyessex]

This is for a former property, so I wasn't entitled to council tax relief while I lived there.  I probably would be now but I live with my parents so I don't pay council tax, just weekly board.

[indyessex]

On 04/09/2019 at 20:56, London1971 said:

Email your local councillor, explaining everything.  Details should be available on Google. At least a 50% chance they can sort this out rapidly

 

Would my local councillor help me as the debt is with a different local authority?

 

I've been doing some research this weekend and realised that the council are asking for a month extra in council tax, I don't know if the payments I have made have been taken into account, the bailifs have not sent me a notice of enforcement and the last two visits may have breached the data protection act by the bailiff posting my letters through the letterbox without an envelope, so that everyone in the house could see my details, which I haven't discussed in full with them.

 

I may also be classed as a vulnerable person because of my income (or rather lack of) and reliance on universal credit.  I need to check this with my local CAB when it re-opens tomorrow.

 

To address these issues should I write to the bailiffs or the council, or both?  And should I put all this in one letter or a different one for each issue?  There seems to be conflicting advice about this and not a lot of detail.

 

[dx100uk]

not sure where you got UC classes you as vulnerable??

CAB can be pretty useless too

so its now sunday ....

that email should have gone off to the councillor Thursday

use your local one, wont hurt...

[Will Goodfellow]

Ignore the bailiffs, they are sending the debt back to the council which is enforcing it. You can negotiate with the council when it contacts you. Try to gather evidence of the dates you are liable if an extra month has been added. 

 

Don't ignore it as deductions from UC can be a lot higher than a negotiated repayment plan and are difficult to reduce. 

 

[ss002d6252]

Council tax deductions from benefits are a set amount, they don't vary.

[ss002d6252]

13 hours ago, indyessex said:

I've been doing some research this weekend and realised that the council are asking for a month extra in council tax

On what grounds do you believe they are wrong ?

[London1971]

9 hours ago, dx100uk said:

not sure where you got UC classes you as vulnerable??

CAB can be pretty useless too

so its now sunday ....

that email should have gone off to the councillor Thursday

use your local one, wont hurt...

 

UC = not vulnerable, but worth a doctors / consultants note if a you are / were on any meds, outlining side effects etc.

 

Overall message to get over to local councillor is along the lines of ' I understand the importance of paying council tax, but due to XYZ I fell behind, now the demands being made by Bailiffs are impossible.  I would be able to afford XYZ per month (to be reviewed in 6 months),