Can CTAX bailiffs take my car?

[Sartoris-3C]

First of all I just want to say that I believe I'm reasonably well clued up on my rights with council tax bailiffs, I know what they generally can and can't do, not to let them in etc. so I don't want to clog up the post with irrelevant answers.

However, there are a couple of things I need to clarify for now. First of all, we have received 3 new Notice of enforcements for old (household) council tax arrears from the years 2018-2020. The council have previously gone through the same process a couple of years ago. 

These new Notices, for amounts between £500 and £1900, are from a different company but mention the previous bailiffs name as an abbreviation after the Borough Council name in the "Who you owe money to" section, which I thought was a bit odd but I don't want to give too many details out on a public forum. 

My question is this:

I own a car outright, but it is registered in my name but at a different address, my business name and address. I'm self-employed, not a limited company.

With this in mind, can the bailiff take it from outside my home (given the different registration address) if they can't get in?

That's all I need to know at this stage, simple as that.

I know I can move it, park it on someone else's driveway etc, not looking for advice, just an answer to this question.

Thanks. James.

[BazzaS]

Yes.

[Sartoris-3C]

Thanks, that's all I need to know at this stage.

[dx100uk]

check the council did get liability orders on all these debts.

 

[Sartoris-3C]

Thank you, yes that's something I'm going to look into as they have previously issued liability orders, or at least Notices of enforcement,

given that these debts are now several years old I assume these must be new orders as my understanding is that a liability order is only valid for 12 months. Or is it the Notice that's only valid for 12 months?

I'm still getting all the current details together. 

Same enforcement agents as last time around, but with a new name as far as I can tell. 

[dx100uk]

the lo's dont expire AFAIK however the NOE do yes.

i would expect this is their new historic debt dept the councils now have, i remember reading something about it.

just remember there is no right of forced entry on CTAX debts, and that other than adding £310 (the max sum of bailiff fees allowed) there is little they can do and they hand the debt back to the council if you simply ignore them. 

pers i csnt see any harm in putting the council to work by sending them an sar to make them prove they have the data to backup their claim.

why was this not resolved before ,

you could have got rid of this rather than running away for all these years, with the bottom knowledge you do owe it?

or is there some kind of historic dispute behind it?

dx

 

[Sartoris-3C]

Thank you, I now know the NoE expires after 12 months so these must be new ones, I wasn't sure about the LO but assumed that was permanent. I am researching the issue again as it's been a while, I just hadn't got that far. Another question that springs to mind is can they keep charging the £235 enforcement fee each time they reissue an NoE. I assume they can. 

As I said at the top, other than what I've asked and what I'm trying to confirm, mostly to be sure I'm up to date, I'm OK with what they can and can't do so I'm not looking for any other information at this point. I DO NOT "run away" from anything, there are other historical issues but as I asked, if we could just keep to to the information I have asked for I would appreciate it, and I'll ask if I need anything else. Thank you. 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Sartoris-3C

[honeybee13]

If you don't mind my saying, it sounds as if there are issues with this that you aren't addressing if you only want answers to questions that you decide on.

HB

[Sartoris-3C]

No, there are issues that I would rather not discuss but am dealing with and am fully capable of dealing with, hence the reason I requested that we could just stick to dealing with the information I asked for at the top. I don't need anything else at the moment, I actually shouldn't have added anything else on hindsight because I knew that this is exactly what would happen. 

I do have a plan of action, I just wanted to clarify a couple of points. I appreciate that people are trying to help but please do not judge. 

[BazzaS]

Is why I answered, above, with a single word.

Let the OP get on with it, if that’s their express desire.

 

If they drop a clanger as a result : no need to feel obliged to dig them out of a morass of their own making

[honeybee13]

I expect we'll see, Bazza. In my experience it never works to dictate the narrative.

HB

[Sartoris-3C]

Look guys. just to be clear, I appreciate the help but I am used to dealing with this sort of thing, I just need to bring myself up to speed with a couple of things and make sure I get it right.

There are complexities, for want of a better word, with this case but nothing I have a problem dealing with (it's more their problem than mine to be honest). I don't agree with the amount claimed for one thing, so I've already sent an objection on that basis, but I don't want the basic points to get lost in a sea of well meaning but unnecessary advice.

I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, just trying to be clear and keep things as simple as possible so I don't get people wading in saying you need to do this, you need to do that etc. 

Hope this makes sense. 

[BazzaS]

“There is a rule, there is almost certainly an exception to the rule. There is usually an exception to the exception”.

The potential problem with your “only ask simple questions, feed them the info bit by bit” approach is that sometimes the answers turn on the details.

So, you think you are doing yourself a favour, but the risk is that later, when all the details come out when it starts to go wrong; it has already gone wrong.

Still: your call.

[Sartoris-3C]

This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. I came here because I know you guys have many years' experience, rather than try to sift through all the dross on the internet to try to find some information I could trust. 

To confirm, I'm not "feeding info bit by bit", I am simply trying to verify what I need to know to fill in the gaps. I have the rest of it covered and apart from one other point I'm not sure on but probably isn't relevant anyway, I doubt I'll need any further information to be honest. 

[BazzaS]

“Probably isn’t relevant” -> might be the piece of info that makes all the difference.

 

Ahh well, as above : your choice. Just don’t expect lots of sympathy / people willing to go “the extra yard” if it turns into “well, you were warned at the outset”.

[dx100uk]

your past actions or inactions because you are overtly over confident you are correct, are most probably the reason this has hit the fan again.

sorry dont like the attitude, makes us look like fools.

 

dx

 

[Sartoris-3C]

I have now done my absolute best to try to make it clear to you all that I DID NOT WANT TO GET INTO A PROTRACTED DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS. 

All you had to do was respect my request and simply give me the information I requested, if you wished to do so. You were under no obligation whatsoever to answer at all. 

I said it probably isn't relevant because it isn't. I shouldn't have even mentioned it in hindsight. 

My "past actions" are something you know absolutely nothing about and are assuming that I have got into financial difficulties because I didn't know what I was doing, or because I did something wrong last time. Basically what you are doing is badgering me to tell all, or if I don't, taking it personally and assuming I'm some sort of idiot for not doing so. 

I have my reasons for discussing as little as possible for reasons you could not possibly imagine, and I am not in any financial difficulty.

As I have attempted to make clear on a number of occasions on this relatively short thread, I do not need the help and you should not be chastising me or insulting me for not taking it. you are making yourselves look like fools, by ignoring my wishes.

Why you have this attitude I do not know, it's unnecessary and it's unpleasant. 

That is all I have to say on the matter, I will now close this thread and cancel my account to save you any further hassle or embarrassment.

You can then think of me  whatever you want, but by jumping to conclusions you are simply making the same mistake all over again. 

[honeybee13]

You can't close your own thread, I'm afraid. If you want to cancel your account you need to contact site admin.

HB

[BazzaS]

It’s a website, not an airport : you don’t have to announce your departure!

You don’t have to read replies. You get to choose if you listen to / act on the advice, and the warnings of the limits of the advice / info you’ve been given.

Additionally: it isn’t “all about you”. Other people will read this thread, (& by now it is clear where things are headed), so the replies are more for them than you!

You can unsubscribe from the thread too, though, if you don’t want to get email notifications.

(Oh, no!! I’ve given advice where it may not have been wanted.The shame, the shame of it!)