Council Tax And Bailiffs

loopyloo71

Hi

Desperately need advice.

Came home tonite to message on phone from bailff company saying they will be calling tommorow to take possessions

I rang them and they said they did send out 3 letters. i said i never got them or been informed by council that my arrears were passed to them.

she said tell that to the bailiffs when they call tommorow.

Back in may 08 i was signed off work due to severe panic disorder and anxiety

I got behind with my council tax and when work only paid me half wages i went to them to explain. They wanted 300 a month for 3 months.

i couldnt pay and wrote to offer a payment plan. this was rejected in november

they then sent me out an income and expenditure form which i filled and sent

off. i also sent a letter with my payslips showing i was now on ssp.

i dont receive any extra help and the council didnt get back to me.

They passed the debt to bailiffs, who didnt contact me for payment, just this phone call today to say they coming tommorow.

Wot can i do, im worried sick.

Iv written endless letters to council, they no situation with me not working.

I cant ask my parents, my dad has just come out of hospital after 6 months suffering from cancer.

Im scared, i have a 8 year old child and this is all effecting her to

can i go to prison?

can i offer something like £10 a week?

thanks

x

theunknownstuntman

Hi, I'm not too good with Bailiff stuff, but the great and the good on here will be along shortly to help out.

Keep your chin up, you're amongst friends. Make sure your doors and windows are shut and locked. Keep any car you may have away from the house.

Stunty.

hippy-chicy

I'm sorry i can't give you any advise regarding the baliffs but i am sure that someone who can will be along soon to help you.

With regards to the council tax arrears did they ever suggest that you should claim council tax benefit whilst you were only receving SSP? Especially as you advised them of your situation? They should have and it is something you should look at doing as soon as possible to prevent the arrears from getting any worse. Anything that can reduce the remaining balance for this year and next year will be a help.

loopyloo71

Hi

thanks for both replying

I have told them several times about only being on ssp and half pay so that should of reduced some of the bill from sep 08.

They just dont seem to take any notice of the letters i sent

How can i be expected to pay when im £300 pm worse off now

roughyed

First thing is to look round here for lots of good help (search for the bailif companies name will usually help).

You are not going to prison. You will not lose any possessions.

The letters are to scare you into paying. They will try to bully you on the phone.

Never open your door to them. Keep windows shut. They can only come in your house if you let them or a window/door is open. They can only ‘break in’ if they have been in your home before. So if you don’t let them in, they can’t get a locksmith or anything (despite what they might say). So the big thing is never let them in, I mean never.

Keep talking to the council. You want to pay the debt and aren’t refusing to pay (that’s in your favour).

The best plan is to conduct everything in writing, and then you have proof of what is said/offered.

You can pay the council direct online, they won’t stop you.

Others will be along soon with better advice I’m sure! But the main thing is not to let them panic you. Only pay what you can afford.

loopyloo71

Thank you so much Roughyed

I feel bit better after reading that.

Iv been sat here crying thinking all sorts.

Wol2

visit the website http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/

this is run by Herbie21 who is a regular on that forum and you can PM her on here if you need further help

DO NOT let them in and ensure that any car/other possessions outside your property are removed before they next visit......

Good luck
Wol2
xx

loopyloo71

Thank you Wol2

roughyed

loopyloo71 wrote: »

Thank you so much Roughyed

I feel bit better after reading that.

Iv been sat here crying thinking all sorts.

Thats what they want to be honest. The bailiff works on commission so he will want cash ASAP, then he will add lots of charges* to the bill (knowing that you don't know if they are legal or not).

Whats the bailiff company?

Herbie 21 is an expert on these matter so I'm sure she will be along at some point to help.

Main thing is not to panic, and post on here any questions, no matter how stupid you think they are.

*Thats in my experience, however I'm sure they are not all bad...well...!

theunknownstuntman

loopyloo71 wrote: »

Thank you so much Roughyed

I feel bit better after reading that.

Iv been sat here crying thinking all sorts.

Aw sweetie, don't cry, the folk on here are brilliant and will help you. Hugs are the only thing I can provide! You've already had some good advice.PM Herbie, she's fantastic. RAS is usually around here too.
Keep your chin up, you are not the only person to have ever been in this situation, nor will you be the last.

Again. Do NOT open a door or window to them IF they turn up, and make sure any car is parked well away from the property.

Stunty.

starsinmycrown

This happened to me about three years ago. This is jusat my experience of a bailiff coming round to collect my council tax. I know i'm verbose, but please do read this for your own benefit. and i hope that it will help the OP and others.

i moved out of my ex's and told the council tax that i had done so. when i got a bill, it was addressed to ME but with my partners address on it! i wrote letters to them tried to call during the day, was held 46th in a queue.. etc etc.. they still continued to send the bills to my ex in the wrong address.

one day, around lunchtime I got a phonecall from the council tax. Sorry, "the council tax", asking me to come home for an appointment I'd previously made. i didn't know anything about this, and wondered what it was.She was going to pop round for a bit of a chat about this issue of my outstanding council tax and work out what i owed. I told her i'd got no bills and didnt know what i owed "oh don't worry were aware of that, weve spoken to your ex-partner, we know there's been a mix up...i'll just pop round and show you the statements then we can talk about repayment arrangements."

When I arrived home, the lady, sorry, "lady" from the "council tax" was sitting in the armchair nearest the window, and as I entered the room, my mother was shaking her head mumbling " you have to pay it all..."

She wasn't from the council tax. She was a bailiff. I had to pay the f***** £596.

Now. let this be a lesson to you, as much as it was to me. It cost me £600, but i'll tell you this for free.

Right. If you have outstanding debts, one would imagine that it goes to court, then you get a ccj, then you pay it off bit by bit. I asked her if i had a ccj- she said NO!

The sods are wise to this now. Let me tell you what that dirty midget told me, as she sat there drinking tea from my mug, stroking my dog, with my visa card in her hand.

Myth #1: bailiffs are big strong blokes with a van who come barging into your house.

They aren't. She was a petite, loquacious, smartly dressed, well spoken woman with a nice green hatchback, holding a clipboard. She says she gets the most commision because people don't suspect her as looking like a bailiff. She came round for the money. She makes sure she gets it. and after she had my money was quite pleased to sit there and chat with me about how she'd got it and gained access to my mother's property where i was staying.

When i told her i was a student, she said she knew i had a loan payment going in and i could pay her that! i was so stunned and it was so unreal that i didn't know what else to do except pay it! now i hear lots about unethical bailiffs and i know more, i wish id stood my ground a bit more and i wish i could remember the name of the company!


Myth #2: things have to go quite far before a bailiff is involved.

Not true. She told me with the current trend (i.e the world and his wife being in considerable debt) creditors can't be arsed with taking things step by step- least of all council tax. She said even bills that people think arent priorities- like water bills or phone bills- those creditors now call in bailiffs because they know that they will get it same day. They want what they owe, and they want it now. Apparently, I owed the council tax 300. I had no idea what i owed or to whom, as they were sending the bills to my ex, who wasnt allowing me access to the property or my mail. He was sending me my mail as and when he could be arsed. i told the council tax I'd moved. they changed no such address and continued sending bills to my ex's house. all the time said bills were mounting up, as well as additional costs. council tax handed it over to bailiffs in jan 2005- just 3 months after i hadn't paid my bill. It took them until now to find me. Fortunately, my ex lied and told them he had no idea of my whereabouts.

Myth #3-

If you don't let them in, they can't get you.

!!!!!!!!. She said that she was under NO obligation to tell them that she was a bailiff . They can gain entry to your house by any means. They cant force entry, but they can lie their way in. Hence the 'i've come to have a talk to you about your council tax, lets see what we can sort out, you won't have to pay it in one go, don't worry, we'll have a bit of a chat about it." once the f***** is in, they can take your stuff away if you dont pay. She says she can come round the back- its not a forced entry if your door is open. She says she may tell people shes a bailiff if they ask, she might not. She can do what she wants. All she has to do is get the money from you. She boasted of there being "3 visits in the same street because people are in so much debt..." The !!!!! even asked if she could take my late father's car!

"People tell creditors they can't pay..." she sighs "but its funny, when i arrive, they soon find the money...one woman today was on the phone ringing up her friends and family asking for money... i normally don't have to take stuff away, that's the cliche.... they normally give me the money because they know i CAN take anything i like away..."

She also told me that if you turn them away, or refuse to let them in- it simply adds more to your final bill. they have a callout charge and they work on commission and any expenses they incur from looking for you they charge back. I had to pay 150 quid because theyd spent so long looking for me at the address where my partner and i lived. Oh my heart bleeds.....


My tip here would be do NOT engage with anybody you don't know- no matter what they look like, what car they drive, whether they call or knock on your door- GOD knows where they got my mobile from, i really don't know. i wouldn't answer the phone to anybody suspicious or engage in any way, as this woman, i probably would have let in, even if i'd known bailiffs were coming she looked so normal!

Myth #4- "it's not my fault...they told me..."

It doesn't matter if its YOUR debt. or your partners debt. or your housemate's debt. Or if they told you you could pay in installments, or even in my case, if its the council tax's fault for not changing addresses. It doesn't matter what story you have, or its validity. If its YOUR name on a bill, they will find you, and you will pay THAT amount. I told her that i'd told the council tax id moved and that they never billed me. I said i hadn't even seen any liability order, and she said that the council aren't obliged to send them out!!

She said that i must have known that i owed money to the council tax, ergo: all my responsibility and my fault.

She told me off the record, that the council tax depatment are rushed, lazy and run by people who have all the power.

She says they can and will make your life difficult. she says she liases with them and any decisions are up to the individual with whom you are currently dealing. She said i could retrospectively get a council tax reduction- if the person dealing with me liked me. She said if they are busy, not interested or whatever, or don't believe you , you'll pay the full whack. She said that any judge will tell you- if you pay nothing else- pay council tax, because thats one bill that can lead to loss of liberty. She said the person to whom i reported my change of address probably was busy, or not interested, or it got forgotten. She advised me that if i am to send ANYTHING to the council in future, it should be written correspondence, with a copy taken and sent by recorded delivery as the council gets 1000s of items of correspondence a day. She doubts that half of it even gets read. And the staff have no time for stories like "it wasn't my fault!" or "this is partners debt!" or " I wasn't even eligible!"


They really seem to be very smart now, and i didn't even know any action was being taken against me. i don't think its as simple as "don't let them in and they can't get you" i was also really disgusted that it seems to be ok to gain access to a property via deception. disgraceful. i can't give you the answers but thats my story and thats what she said to me.

yeah what is the bailiff company? ive heard bad things about one or two companies and it might help to do some research on the net. if worst comes to worst, i'd start shipping valuables out of your house to store elsewhere, and fast- especially stuff like psps and pcs and laptops. thats what this woman seemed to be particularly interested in. Even things that weren't mine she started trying to imply that they were, saying "laptop? pretty useful for a student.. it is yours isn't it? i know it is.." even though it wasn't and i stood my ground. Yeah like people say, make sure cars are away from the property!