Bailiffs and Council Tax

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Im not sure if this is the corerct approach.

 

I need some advice / help

I recently recieved a 7 day warning that the bailiffs are coming to take possession of my goods.

The same day I was informed at my work that the council have got an attachment of earnings order.

the attachment is for 2005 council tax and the bailiff is for this 2006 and 2007 years council tax. once you miss two payments of the year the council want to know nothing regarding catchup or continue with payments they start with procedings to claim the full amount in one payment.

 

The bailiff is wanting £400 per month untill all is paid and the council £300. total in one go per month = £700.

This years council tax starts in April so in effect i am only 4 months in arrears. after the second month the council sent a letter refusing any ferther payment and i am now liable for a one off payment for the full years council tax.

If i go down to the council office and pay the arrears 4months and they refuse to accept, i then go to the post office and pay with the new council tax card or pay online. will that put me back in the clear for this years tax and thus getting the bailiff off my back.

Throughout this week I have been contacting the council regarding this issue only to be told they will contact me. I am still waiting.

 

If i can avoid the Bailiff i will, I can pay the Council the arrears of this year and double tax each month untill all is up to date but cannot pay £700 for the next 6 - 12 months.

I have not made any arrangements with the bailiff office Rundle & co to pay them. I have 3 days left.

[tezviper]

Have they gained entry to your house and has there been a walking possesion order?

I am assuming not!

 

TezViper

[tezviper]

Also if you dont mind me asking, how much do you owe in total?

 

TezViper

[standingupformyself]

my counci is the same. They stipulate what date you have to pay the monthly amount by, and if you miss that date twice you have to pay the whole amount or they take you to court. I am up to date with mine now, but May and Junes payment were about a week late and they served me a liability order!

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According to them when i spoke to them the last payment they recieved was at the end of jan 06 for 2005 council tax yet the attachment plus baliff adds up to approx £4500 they seem to have been shuffeling through papers and the lady i spoke to was just a customer service person doing the bidding for some senior council tax person

[tiglet]

If no WPA - bailiffs can go foxtrot oscar. DON'T LET THEM IN AND KEEP ALL WINDOWS AND DOORS CLOSED.

 

Ask the bailffs for a breakdown of costs - bet there are some fees there that shouldn't be. You tell them what you can pay and send them a cheque for that amount. Once they have cashed it, they have accepted your payment proposal. if they don't, the most they can do is continue to send you letters and then hand it back to the council for another AOE. If you have a car, don't park it anywhere near your house.

 

Make an appointment with the recovery section of your local council. Show willing and ask if they will pass it back in house as you will struggle finanvcially if you have bailiffs fees added to what you already owe.

 

If they won't, take it higher - speak to the council's CEO's secretary - they hate that. Ask him/her about their complaints procedure. they hate that too.

 

If all fails, make an appointment to speak to your local councillor.

 

If to no avail, come back here or PM and I'll help you take it further.

[zigster]

your aim is to get the council to accept payment. You do not want to pay the bailiff anything. You need to try and call the shots by writing to the council with a payment plan including your first payment. Inform them that you are unwiliing to deal with a bailiff. Inform them that if they are unwilling to accept your payment then you will put it aside each month until they accept it.

Inform them that you will never allow a bailiff entry into your home and that you wish them to recall the debt from them.

 

Also add that you have never disputed your liability to pay but that you have difficulty in paying the full amount in one go.

 

Remember to add any details of relevance eg. low income, children etc...

 

Try and keep everything in writing.

 

If the bailiff turns up then do not let him/her in. THey cannot force their way in if you have not signed a walking possessions order.

 

Good luck.

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if after visiting the council office and they refuse to take payment can i pay them through the post office or online, Im sure once the computers accept payment it cannot be reversed as it is a clear indication of them rejecting any form of acceptance of payment.

[tezviper]

You can make payments online although it is not always clear what they will allocate the payment to. In your case they may allocate it to the oldest debt as they do at my council and so it woulg go to the 2005 debt and it wouldnt touch the part thats with the bailiffs ( if that makes any sense )

Its just a thought and I may be wrong so I would speak to the council before attempting this.

 

TezViper

[royzor]

Hi

I was paying my C.Tax religiously every week but when i fell £8 behind the Council took me to court and added £65 court cost onto my bill. This infuriated me so i stopped paying out of my stubbornness. That was in 2004.

Anyway I started getting bailiffs knocking on my door but at no point did i answer the door to them. I then received a letter through my door with my car registration on saying if i did not contact the bailiffs within 7 days they would remove my car.

My car is still under Hp and i knew they could not take it if i proved this but i worried incase they took it without my knowledge. I firstly made 2 payments of £50 online then phoned my council to arrange to pay them, They refused stating i had to arrange payment with the bailiffs. i explained that they had already accepted 2 payments from me but i got no joy, So i wrote to the council offering the full payment of £2700 and that under no circumstances will i be paying the bailiffs. I also informed them that as they had already accepted the 2 payments i believed that the debt was now removed from the bailiffs and back in their hands. I also put in the letter that i would be interested to hear the reason why they preferred the debt to be paid to them through the bailiffs rather than from myself. I received a letter back accepting my offer and i have heard nothing from the bailiffs regarding any of their fees they claim i owed.

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I have now recieved a letter in the postbox HAND DELIVERED in it was a note that they have recorded my car.

My wife was up all night last night and at no time heard a knock at the door.

these hand delivered letters- do they have to be personally delivered to a person or simply pushing in the door is sufficient for delivery.

and my car was bought from Welcome car finance and still being paid for.

does my car fall under a HP car and if so can they take it,

I have sent them the letter offering to pay £100 for 24 months.

waiting for reply.

[tomtubby]

I missed this thread when it first appeared but would like to comment.

 

Firstly, is it correct that the attachment of earnings order is for £4,500 to include bailiff fees?

 

If so do you have a breakdown of the fees and charges.? If not I would suggest that a Subject Access Request is sent to the bailiff co as soon as possible.

 

Nearly all local authorities seem to wait just 2 months and then apply for a liability order. The cost of this has risen recently form 70p to £3 and yet the council then charge you approx: £65 !!! It is easy to see therefore that by doing this the council are getting a hugh sum of additional revenue into their tills. Sad but true.

 

The bailiff will do everything possible to ensure that he gains a walking possession. This will be a disaster in your particular case. You must refuse to allow him to levy.

 

The vehicle is on HP and therefore is exempt from seizure.

 

I would be very surprised indeed if the bailiff accepted £100 per month over 24 months. If he does that is great....but please beware. If you sign a walking possession then the bailiff WILL return within just 2 days of a payment being late and you will then incur "attendance to remove fees" and much more.

 

Do you have the name of the bailiff so that I can search the register and see whether or not he is certificated. Please provide the name by PM only not on the public forum.

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Do you have the name of the bailiff so that I can search the register and see whether or not he is certificated. Please provide the name by PM only not on the public forum.

 

Did you get the pm i sent. since my car is still under HP and they have listed it on a letter dropped in my postbox. do i still need to find another place to park it or just make the HP aggreement available, for when they plan to seize it

[tomtubby]

The problem with vehicles is that although a bailiff cannot seize a car that is subject to Hire Purchas..... most do so. They use the removal of your care(which is a main asset) as a threat to gain full payment.

 

We had a client just yesterday who's car has been in the vehicle pound for 5 months. The pound contacted her as they wanted the car removed.

 

The bailiff company have stated to her that the car cannot be sold......( so why take it then !!!!!) and that the stroage fees are £4,100.

 

I would take no chances.

[Oh Boy!]

Yes in deed they will seize the car. makes me

 

The problems is as long as you are paying for the vehicle then they will seize it, the only time they really are reluctant is if you have failed to pay your finance and the account is in arrears or account terminated.

 

Of course if the account is terminated the vehicle ownership reverts back to the finance company and they will not touch the vehicle.

 

But all of this is just ignored by these FERAL BAILIFFS.

 

By all means hide the vehicle.

 

More importantly contact the council offer payment and send your first payment with the offer and stick to it, IGNORE THE BAILIFF.

 

I have written an article in the BAILIFFS section, entitled

 

MEMBERS WITH COUNCIL TAX/BAILIFF PROBS PLEASE READ THIS.

 

This article should help resolve your problems.

 

As far as attachment of earnings are concerned, how the hell did they get that past the judge, because they can only go for what you owe the council, it sounds to me that they have added a third partys debts to the AE order. Thats wrong get it resolved.

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earlier i explained the total being about £4500 the council are seeking £2300 through bailiffs and the remaining £2200 through attachment of earning. If i paid the council direct they would just add it to the AOE claim leaving the bailiff with the original amount to claim for. How can i get the council to consolidate all the debt into one lump sum whch i would then pay off. can I specify which year of council tax i want to pay off first eg 2007 first then 2006 as this is the years council tax the bailiff are seeking.

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I would be very surprised indeed if the bailiff accepted £100 per month over 24 months. .

 

i recieved a letter whereby they refuse to accept the £100 (although they cashed it) instead they say i must now contact one of their agents, to discuss payment (as they are no longer dealing with it) . As the council are using them as collectors and my dealings are with them, why do i now have to start the whole process over and deal with an agent.

They have also devided the total amount in two and thus charging me double. one payment per year

 

where to from here.

 

Oh the council say they will not pursue the attachment order until the bailif issue is sorted. with this being said can i now pay the council direct and will it go off the amount passed to the bailiff

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can someone please advise me if i can send this letter to Rundle.

I recieved a letter in the door from one of their bailiffs after i was told the account was handed to their agent. and they did cash the check

 

Dear mr barrett

in a letter dated 23 Sept 2007 I made an offer of £100 to your office. This offer was turned down and the in the reply letter I was informed that Rundle & co were no longer dealing with this matter, I have since sent this letter along with payment proposals to the RBW&M, payments which would have gone to your office will now be going straight to the RBW&M, As your office have decided not to handle this case any longer can you please inform your employees to return this case to the RBW&M and cease contacting me

 

Yours Faithfully

[VANILLA175]

You need to check with the council as to which case is with the Bailiffs. Sometimes cases are sent back to the council but they may then send others or even the same one again if they think the Bailiffs can obtain a better result than their own recovery methods.