please help bailiff called me this morning demanding full amount by thursday!!!!

[Guest Herbie]

Jenjuly,

 

PM me with your number in the morning and I will provide further assistance. Try not to worry.

[chezt]

Just wanted to wish you luck jenjuly .... I hope all this works out for you - it must be so scary xx

[jenjuly82]

thanks for your advise i will set up a standing order tomorrow if i can! i have got the bailiff due to my house some time tomorrow so i will have to see what the outcome is but once council agree for me to pay my last yrs bill by installments i will get it sorted!!

[maybelline]

so the bailiff hasnt been called off then??

[jenjuly82]

no not that i know!! he is still due tomorrow i got no where with LC or equita call centre>>>>

[Guest Herbie]

I did send you over a copy of the Statutory ruling on changes to the bailiffs certifcate.

 

The most important thing to ensure is that you ask to see a copy of the bailiif's certificate....NOT his ID, but his certificate. Remember that it MUST state the company that he works for, is only valid for 2 years, will have a court seal and finally........will have been personally signed by the judge. !!!

 

If the certificate is in the wrong name etc, then you can pursue an official complaint about the bailiff to the court where he was granted his certificate.

 

Before accusing the bailiff of any worongdoing about his certificate, ask him firmly for proof that he is certiifcated to work for his current employer. Remember that some courts can make mistakes, so you need to ask questions. Don't argue !!

[ettaariane]

I hope the following is of some assistance to anyone being faced with bailiff threats re;council tax.

Do not enter into any conversation other than letting the bailiff know you are not prepared to let him enter your premises, or come to any monetary agreement with him. Politely tell him to get on with his business and close your door. It is fatal to come to any agreement with the bailiff as he will then enter your home and list all of your goods. This action enables him to remove the goods legaly if you do not keep up the agreed payments.

Pay the council tax a fair amount that you can afford, each week, without making yourself or your family starve etc. Personaly, I did not ask the council to consider any payment scheme. I simply looked on the rear of the Council tax bill for the councils bank details and pay them £10 per week via the bank. Not direct debit. If you set up a direct debit with the council they will use it to collect any other council tax debt you owe. I experienced this when my council lightened my bank by £198 without informing me.

You will receive correspondence from the bailiff threatening removal of goods within the next 24hr. I have ten of these and just save them for the complaint I am making to the governing body. Under no circumstances can they remove any goods from your home unless you have previously let them in and made agreements with them. They will threaten to bring the police. This they can do but the police cannot legaly make you give entry to the bailiff. They are only legaly there to keep the peace. The bailiff knows this fact but will use any scare tactics to gain entry to your home.

Another point about Council Tax is the threat of imprisonment for non payment. Imprisonment only applies to people wilfully refusing to pay their tax, not to those who are paying as much as they can afford and want to clear the debt.

Another small known fact is the Court has the right to wipe out council tax debts if you can show it is causing real hardship to pay.

It makes me really angry that bully boy tactics of the bailiffs are frightening people into signing agreements ,to pay what they obviously can't afford and then returning to remove all of their goods. Stand up against them. They are legaly bound by the law. I hope I have been of some help. Best wishes. Etta

[nicolee2931]

Read very carefully, if you have a car move it away from your home. If anyone knocks your door check who it is from an upstairs window, if you live in a flat ask if they have ID and ask them to push it through the letterbox so you can confirm who they are, also do this if you can't confirm their identity from the bedroom window. If the bailiff arrives, DO NOT OPEN THE FRONT DOOR, if you must speak with the bailiff take your children with you, and leave via the BACK DOOR AND LOCK IT BEHIND YOU. Regardless of what they say you DO NOT HAVE TO LET THEM IN, tell them you are not refusing to pay the debt but you are refusing to deal with bailiffs. You must be strong and firm, remember bailiffs get paid on what they collect, if they can't collect they won't waste their time however they will return to add their fees but they can only do this twice after that unless they levy they tend to give up and return the liability to the council endorsed, this is when you must pay the council or it then becomes a very serious matter and someone could end up going to prison not exceeding 3 months. I was in the same situation as you 3 months ago, and now my liability has been returned to the council. Just by simply not opening the door, will keep you and your belongings safe.

[casbah]

Good advice I wasnt aware of that

 

 

AND they don't update the councils records often (according to my council I still have an outstanding balance from 05) but have letter from bailiffs to prove it.

[pfens]

Hi with regard to visa electron not everyone will accept them 'cos I think I'm right in saying that it costs them money to process the payment. The other reason that is given out is that you have to be there in person so therefore it can't be done on the phone or on-line. Seems a load of codswallop to me.

[smashedbobo]

Hi jen, how are you today, any update on your situation. Let us know what happened if anything.

[jenjuly82]

well i was in hiding all day with both doors locked all windows shut blinds down curtains drawn and the bloody bailiff didnt even turn up how frusted am i!!! so im not quit sure what to do now??? shell i call the bailiff direct to see why he didnt call because now im worried he will turn up when im not expecting him as i regulary have my back door open so my daughter can play in the garden

[casbah]

YEs JEN HOWS IT GOING?? DID YA KICK BUTT???

[The Watcher]

well i was in hiding all day with both doors locked all windows shut blinds down curtains drawn and the bloody bailiff didnt even turn up how frusted am i!!! so im not quit sure what to do now??? shell i call the bailiff direct to see why he didnt call because now im worried he will turn up when im not expecting him as i regulary have my back door open so my daughter can play in the garden

 

That's their main weapon - the element of surprise .... I doubt they ever turn-up when they say.

[jenjuly82]

what on earth shell i do then i cant keep my kids under lock and key every day until the bailiff decides to show his face because as far as he was concerned i had the money for him. (which i dont and dont intend to)

[casbah]

Hello again Jen

I'd go back to groovychicks letter and I'd add in that they didn't show today, send a copy to the council, hand deliver it and get receipt, record deliver the bailiffs one. then carry on paying as you have said you could.

while you are in make sure you have a camera to hand then if they do turn up and are underhand and take things out of the garden snap away

[The Watcher]

That's how they work - if they get into your garden (and they are allowed to climb over a fence) then your "open" back door is a method of "peaceful entry".

 

They are hardly likely to let you know in advance when they plan to call - otherwise you would just keep your doors etc locked for that hour or so?

[smashedbobo]

Dont ring them and ask when they are coming. Dont invite them. If you do ring to see if he is coming you may get more charges from them. Write the letter as advised above. And if you have some money then pay the council direct. Do you have a friend with a normal debit card you could use to do it. You can give them the money to pay online for you. This is going to end up making you ill hun if you carry on like this.

[casbah]

Maybe its time to go for the big guns, If I was you I wouldn't ring the council nor the bailliffs, I'd find out who the cheif executive, it will say who they are on any letter you recieve from your council, and direct all correspondense with them. They have the power to override anyone who works in the office/bailiffs. Photocopy any letters etc and send them to him, now to be honest he will delegate, but at least he is in the know. I know this is a bit like "putting out your dirty washing" but show him all your problems;mortgage etc, if he can see you have struggled he SHOULD be more sympathetic.

And although this grates...............but I have just noticed on my bill there is an outstanding balance of £835.00............guess whose got that money???? my "dependant"local bailiff so until they tell the council when people have paid, the council assume you are a bad payer

[maybelline]

when the bailiff did not arrive 'to break in with a locksmith and police' as I had been told AND I made a complaint to the council, I was never informed by them or the council they had been called off but clearly the result was they decided or were told not to come.

 

the fact they have not may be a positive BUT do not assume it is all over, you are well advised to continue to LOCK UP until you get some clear written info stating the council has taken back the debt, do not stress, carry on with your complaint and keep up the pressue with letters and so on, best wishes:)

[seanamarts]

surely there should be a time limit for bailiffs to cough up the money when they have received it from the debtor, my boyfriend paid the bailiff a hundred pounds in June last year and the council still havnt received it, thats over a year ago,

[The Watcher]

surely there should be a time limit for bailiffs to cough up the money when they have received it from the debtor, my boyfriend paid the bailiff a hundred pounds in June last year and the council still havnt received it, thats over a year ago,

 

So, HOW can Councils claim that using bailiffs is the quickest route?

 

Just shows that if you REFUSE to deal with bailiffs and ONLY speak to the Council direct, then you are actually working in the best interests of the Council too !

[twitter]

If a bailiff begins work for a new company he MUST reapply for a certificate in the name of the new company. Report him to the Bailiff's Officer of your local County Court. He has committed an offence.

[Guest Herbie]

The Act of Parliament that covers certification of Bailiffs is the Distress for Rent Act 1999.

 

Under section 7A it states:

 

" Change of bailiff's name, address, etc

7A. - (1) In this rule "relevant details" means a bailiff's name, address or other written information appearing on the certificate.

 

(2) If there is any change in the relevant details, the bailiff shall without delay give written notice of the change to the issuing county court and produce his certificate ("the old certificate") to the court officer of the issuing county court.

 

In the same way that some bailiff's "forget" that their certificates have run out..others "forget" that they have a legal requirement to notify the court of the change in the details of their certificate.

 

Another very important point is that a requirment of a bailiff being granted a certificate is that he provides a £10,000 bailiff bond. Typically this is provided by Zurich Insurance and arranged by ACEA or ESA. When a person leaves their employment, their previous employer cancels their bailiff bond, leaving them without any form of cover.

[jenjuly82]

well 3 months later and the bailiff has demanded full payment within 24 hours or he intends to come back and remove my goods. after reading up on this i know the in's and outs of the whole thing now i am nearly 3 months pregnant i really dont need this stress!!

any advice on what i shell do i dont have the £649 he is asking for thats without the bailiff fee's on top of that. he has only called once so i think he can only add a further £24.50 on so far.!!!