Council Threatening Me With A Liability Order In Relation To Council Tax

[Warrior_Walshy]

Hi,

 

I managed to locate their mobile numbers and I left voicemails on each as one didn't answer and the other went straight to voicemail. Half an hour later I received an email from the Leader of the Council advising me that both of them had received the email and my local councillor is looking into the matter. I shall let you know what he does.

 

Thanks again for your help with this matter, I really appreciate it.

 

Walshy

 

 

[dx100uk]

[London1971]

Excellent news. All of these councillors have an interest in their constituents not falling into poverty, unlike the collections and call centre staff. 

[London1971]

Hi there OP

 

Any Updates on this?

[Warrior_Walshy]

Hi Guys,

 

I received another email from my local councillor about 10 days ago saying he's waiting for information he's requested, I assume information he's requesting from the Council but since that I have heard nothing else. I will send another chaser email. 

 

In the meantime I have now received a very threatening letter from a debt collection agency stating a Liability Order has now been made against me and who are demanding I pay in full or complete their form and make them a payment offer. They say if I don't do this they are allowed to take control of my goods, is that true? I must admit the letter has got me quite worried.

 

Walshy

Edited March 21, 2021 by Warrior_Walshy

[dx100uk]

You mean enforcement agency bailiffs

[Warrior_Walshy]

Hi dx100uk,

 

Yes perhaps I do.

 

Walshy

[dx100uk]

well you are the one that has the letter not us

scan it to PDF please

 

dx

 

[dx100uk]

redact as JPG then upload

read our upload guide carefully please

 

 

[Warrior_Walshy]

Hi,

 

Yes I have checked online they are bailiffs. I have no scanner. I have sent another email to my local councillor and copied in the council leader, hopefully he will come back to me with some suitable arrangement otherwise it looks like I'm going to be dodging bailiffs for some time!

 

Walshy

Edited March 22, 2021 by Warrior_Walshy

[dx100uk]

use a phone then.

 

no harm in sending them a copy of your councillors reply etc.

i explained about then before so go read your thread. no right of forced entry in CTAX etc

 

 

[London1971]

Back up plan if Councillor does not come back to you in the next day or two.

 

Get a note from your GP explaining your condition, medications, side effects and how the stress of something like bailiffs chasing you is detrimental to your condition.

Send that to your council's collection department.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[unclebulgaria67]

Your council should have a council tax benefits review form, where you can provide all of your information such as ability to pay and health, which will require them to review your council tax.

[Warrior_Walshy]

Hi,

 

I have received an email from the councillor saying he is having trouble finding someone and obtaining the information he needs. I don't know if this guy is giving me the run around or not. Anyway I have sent a subsequent email asking him what information he's looking for and who he's looking for. Let's see if he responds with something more positive.

 

Walshy

[Warrior_Walshy]

Hi Guys,

 

If I end up simply having to contend with bailiffs for a while and making sure I don't give them access to my property I've read elsewhere on here that they usually give up after a certain amount of times and then hand it back to the Council. What happens then? What do the Council do?

 

Walshy

[dx100uk]

in short..not much.

 

its now been almost a month and no sign of bailiffs yet?
did you informed them of your actions as advised earlier?

[Warrior_Walshy]

Hi dx100uk,

 

When I first came onto this forum the Liability Order hadn't been issued so bailiffs weren't chasing me.

 

They have sent me a letter asking me to complete a very detailed form about tons of very personal stuff that I don't feel comfortable letting them know. In fact I think I would feel a whole lot worse if I sent it back to them.

 

I'm not sure what good it would do anyway, they will still want the money and won't accept a payment of £5 a month. I will ignore them and do my level best to keep them from getting access to my property. But I'm sure they will be calling at some stage.

 

Walshy

[dx100uk]

we need to know exactly what 'stage' you are at please

 

please scan up what the bailiffs have sent

read our upload guide carefully

one multipage PDF only please

 

so to date, you have NOT made contact with the bailiffs?

 

dx

 

[Warrior_Walshy]

Hi,

 

I have explained from the outset what stage I am at and then provided an update a few days ago. I mentioned before that I don't have a scanner. No I have not made any contact with the bailiffs, nor will I.

 

Walshy

[dx100uk]

read upload use a mobile phone or a digital camera

 

[London1971]

See post 37, 

 

Please Understand all of this stuff I am suggesting works because I have been in a far, far worse situation than yourself involving many, years of council tax, more liability orders than you can count on 2 hands, plus a couple of bailiff visits.

 

Likely it's difficult for your Councillor to reach the correct contact because they are working from home, or maybe they are even on Furlough. There is no way on earth they will pursue you with Bailiffs, as an ill person, living on benefits in the middle of a pandemic.  

 

Let me be clear though, it's pointless communicating directly with the bailiffs. Your best bet today, as an action is to find out the email of the collections department in your local council, and send them as suggested in post 37.  If you can't find those details on Google, then ring the Council call centre to ask.  Although do not get into any details of your story with them, as it's pointless, and none of their business.

[Warrior_Walshy]

Hi London1971,

 

Thanks for your latest response. I approached my local councillor based on your post and advice, it seemed like an excellent suggestion and from what you said I could get this sorted in a very quick period of time. However, over three weeks on and despite a number of emails to my local councillor and the head of my local council as well as phone calls to them both, neither of them have come back with anything of help to me. 

 

In fact I'm not sure what my local councillor is playing at. Even with staff working from home I would have expected some type of positive sign from him by now but nothing whatsoever has been forthcoming. 

 

As regards bailiffs I'm afraid you're wrong, the bailiff process is continuing and they have now written to me. They will very soon start to make their visits regardless of my health and irrespective of the pandemic, unless there is a current bailiff ban but I don't think there is at the moment, not in relation to unpaid Council Tax anyway.

 

In one of my subsequent emails to my local councillor I have informed him that bailiffs are about to knock on my door and would be very grateful of his help in buying me time to pay the debt off, but the only response is that he is still in the process of obtaining information. 

 

I agree with you and I will not be engaging with the bailiffs. I will just have to be very careful with them and do my best to stop them attempting to enter my home, and make sure I have everything closed and locked. 

 

Walshy

[London1971]

I’m going to shoot straight here. In the time it took you to write your post, you could have found the correct email and fired a few lines off to your council’s collection dept.Along the following lines. You really have nothing to lose here. Even if the bailiffs don’t come in they will still charge you an extra £370 ish for the privilege of turning up.

 

Dear xyz

 

c tax Account number 

 

I am behind on my Council Tax and Cllr Xyz is handling my case . I am unable to work because of XYZ condition and am taking XYZ medicine. As a result I am off work and on benefits. I would be grateful if you could take bailiff and co off my case and contact me to make an affordable arrangement.

 

kind Regards 

 

 

[dx100uk]

so you now have a Notice of Enforcement

 

dx

 

[Warrior_Walshy]

As far as I can tell the 'Collections Department' email address is the same one as the regular Council Tax email address. I have written to and phoned this department on several occasions and they are fully aware of my situation but insisted on pursuing the Liability Order. Hence the reason I went down the route you suggested. And now I have a Notice of Enforcement.

 

Walshy

Edited March 25, 2021 by Warrior_Walshy