baliffs and charges

[kayleighd]

Hey, i was just looking for some advice.

 

I got into some trouble with paying my council tax last year, id just moved into my own home with my daughter and i didnt realise how expensive it would be. I have since sorted myself out so i can actually afford to pay this years council tax.

 

I have had the bailifs at my house 3 times for last years council tax and in total they have added 232.70 onto my bill. my original bill was 456.61. they are now telling me i have 1 month to pay 689.31.

 

Obviously i cant afford this and i dont no what to do about it, i have £250.00 in my bank which i could pay off but to be honest i dont want to pay it to the bailiffs, if i spoke to the council and offered them the money id only owe them just over 200.00. Is this worth doing or will they just leave it to the bailiffs??

 

Any adivce would be appreciated!!

[sequenci]

Did the bailiff gain entry to the property?

How many liability orders did they chase you for?

[Guest Herbie]

You need to be very careful with paying the local authority direct.

 

A Liability Order would have been obtained that gives the local authority the right to request bailiff enforcement.

 

Even if the local authority agree to accept payments direct, the bailiffs are still allowed to charge your for their fees and charges to date. Many times on this site advice is given to asking for the debt to be returned ....but remember UNLESS the local authority are going to agree to re-imburse the bailiff fees, you are still LIABLE. This is confirmed on another thread in response to a query to ACEA. This is the Association of Civil Enforcement Agents.

 

Do not let the bailiff into the home. That is most important as it gives them the right to return to remove your goods if you are late with any agreed payment. This gives them the right also to charge the dreaded "attending to remove fee", "van fee", broken arrangement fee" etc, etc.

 

Only certificated bailiffs are allowed by law to levy upon goods, so please PM me the name of the bailiff and I will search for you to see if he is or isnt certiifcated. No names on the public forum please. Private Messages only.

 

By law he must provide a breakdown of fees. Do you have that. If so post here and can advice further.

[Saffronflowers]

Herbie - I always bow to your greater knowledge however am I right in thinking that the charges are not subject to the Liability Order and they can only chase for fees under distraint.

 

SFx

 

PS lost your numbe rgive me a call tomorrow so I can tell you how I got on Tuesday

[kayleighd]

well you guys are quick!

 

Okay i already let them in my home around a month ago. I agreed to pay them a certain amount a month, i paid £20 and was going to pay some more, after the bailiff had been i rang him and asked why and he said i had broken the agreement, the payment was not enough and i had to pay it within a week and not a month.

 

He just put a letter through my door with the amount due and he had wrote on it "included vehicle"

[Guest Herbie]

Until the past few years, I saw no harm in Walking Pssessions. They were after all a simple way for the bailiff to effectively "hold" those goods listed on the "Walking Possesion" in case you defaulted on the agreed payment terms. They also gave you a "breathing space" to either raise the money or pay over time.

 

Now however, many bailiffs are using them as a way of extracting additional fees NOT IN STATUTORY REGULATIONS. The moment a payment is a day late, a cheque has bounced etc they try to charge fees for broken arrangements, late payments etc.

 

THESE FEES ARE NOT ALLOWED. I would recommend writing to the bailiff company and copying the local authourity to ask where these fees are permitted under the following act:

 

The Council Tax Administration & Enforcement 1993 ( as amended) .

 

I would also remind them that unless they can show where these fees are permitted, then you require the charge to be removed from your account immediately. Failing which, you will be considering making a formal complaint to the County Court that issued the bailiffs Certificate.

 

PS: I have PM'd you details of the bailiff. Is this the same company. Please dont mention the company just yes or no.

[kayleighd]

Okay i will get a letter written and sent off tomorrow. thanks.

 

Do you think its worth trying to get the money sorted and paying it straight to the council??

[kayleighd]

hey, i spoke to my local council and they basically said they wont take it back and if i dont pay the bailiffs i will go to prison, any advice on what to do next??

[seanamarts]

I get the feeling that the councils are just as bad as the bailiffs, either that or they just arnt trained fully to deal with the public, and if thats the case then councils should start getting the training as this is going to get worse

[The Watcher]

hey, i spoke to my local council and they basically said they wont take it back and if i dont pay the bailiffs i will go to prison, any advice on what to do next??

 

Pay the Council direct - either online or at their office.

 

They CANNOT refuse to take payments ... and you cannot be sent to prison if you are offering to pay !

 

If they refuse to accept a payment - contact your local Councillor and ask him / her to intervene.

 

Get things in writing !

[PizzaMaker]

hey, i spoke to my local council and they basically said they wont take it back and if i dont pay the bailiffs i will go to prison, any advice on what to do next??

 

That is bang out of order, the council can not just tell you that if you do not pay, you will go to prison.

 

I would wait until the case maybe returned to the council and then contact them and make an agreement, although some bailiff companies will regenerate the work time and time again to try and get payment as they know you are at the address.

 

Then again try to make arrangement with the company, but then if agreement is not met they will add on fees when it is with another bailiff

[kayleighd]

Hey, if i make a payment online will it not just go off this years council tax bill?

[Guest Herbie]

Read the response that I have given about this at the top of this thread. I am currently dealing with a case for a local authority in Wales where payments were made directly and bailiffs still arrived. The payments had been made online and were credited to the CURRENT year. This is correct.

 

The local authority have been granted a liability order and this allows them to pass the debt to bailiffs to collect. UNLESS the LA agree that they will credit it against the debt with the bailiff then you must act with CAUTION.

 

I would however write to the bailiff enclosing the payment and copying the letter to the LA.