Help!? Debt, CT, Bailiffs, Panic

RAS

guineverestar wrote: »

Hi,
I have had a letter through my door today saying that it has been hand delivered:

"I have attended today with the intention of removing your goods and chattels as are necessary to discharge the outstanding Council Tax Liability Order and and additional Enforcement Costs incurred.
PLEASE NOTE - No further arrange,ents are acceptable and pay,emt is now required in full by CLEAR FUNDS ONLY.
I will re-attend at your address with immediate effect and REMOVE goods even in your absence. Should you wish to avoid this distressing course of action, contact me immediately on the telephone number below to arrange prompt payment of your debt.
No Contact Will Be Taken As Your Refusal To Pay"

I'm in a fair bit of other debt too, and keep just ignoring calls.
I'm currently signed off work sick - with mental health issues - and this is making me panic. I have no money, I can't work, and I don't know what to do.
I came up with a basic payment stuff with other companies a while ago, but since I've not been working, there's been no money to pay them anything. I know there's lots of other posts about this, and I'm really sorry to re-iterate them, I just don't know what to do, and it's all making me feela lot worse.
I know it's stupid to let it get this far, I shoudl be contacting people, but I'm really struggling to even get out of bed most days, never mind deal with these terrifying things.
Any help woudl be so appreciated, I just need to know what to do, step by step, bit by bit.
Please help?

let's take this back to the beginning.

Please do not open your door to the bailiff. As long as you keep them out of the property they cannot levy and cannot take you belongings.

Since you advise you have mental health issues, I strongly advise that you speak to your CPN and ask for help, preferably before the weekend. Once the bailiff have been advised, they should back off.

Contrary to the advice earlier, if this is a CT debt, the council will obtained a liability order and it is very unusual for these to be sent to debtors; the next thing they know is the arrival of the bailiff.

If this debt relates to this year's account, you may be entitled to claim some council tax rebate. Your CPN should be able to refer you to a benefits advisor to help with this. If not, do you have a branch of MIND, or a local authority benefots advice office locally?

Well done for getting out and making the move to tackle it when you feel so rough.

Council tax is a priority debt and with respect to the other debts, you need to forget about them until the Council tax is sorted out.

Once that is dealt with, get advice about the other debts from one of the debt charities.

Do keep us posted as there are a lot of people here who have first hand experience of debt and of mental health issues.

pennyfrog

It's a huge thing just to be able to take that first step and post here when you're depressed and even the most basic so-called common sense deed can feel like climbing a mountain- so you should be feeling proud of yourself for having made an effort- no matter how big or small it seems. It's the first step in getting yourself sorted out. And you CAN do this- trust me. As one who's spent the last week in loopy- ville, sick with worry and panic and come through the other side with help here- I do understand and so do many others.

Don't let judgmental attitudes get you down, hun.

Merlin, please remember that this is someone asking for help and it's not about whether you feel they're grateful enough to you. There are many reasons someone may not leap to their keyboard to respond straight away- (they may have had to go and deal with something else- last night I had to go and sort out my child who was ill in between other things, for example; they could be in the middle of following advice in another tab- or may not be online. The green dot doesn't prove I'm here- I rarely log off, so it looks like I live here even when I've been away for days!) Please remember that sometimes it may even take a lot of courage for someone to actually come and look at the replies, through fear of finding unsympathetic responses or 'proof' that there's no hope. I'll put my hand up and admit to feeling butterflies when I've noticed that someone has replied to my post when I'm scared witless by something I'm facing (again- in the last few days). I seriously doubt that I'm the only one.
Their situation is, quite understandably, their main concern- not making sure some other poster feels appreciated enough every time they make a comment.

Anyhow- guineverestar- please DON'T PANIC! The best thing I can do is echo scaredy cat's advice. Do check out herbie's site. She is a star and knows what she's talking about. I'm going to campaign for her to become queen, 'cos she has seen me through a stinker of a bailiff problem this week and it's all got sorted.

I'm not an expert, so I won't claim to know the law in all cases- but please do not open your door to them. Am I right in assuming that there is a main front door to the building- and then each flat has it's own lockable 'front door'? Just trying to establish that if they did manage to gain access to the building then they couldn't get into your flat unless you opened the door to it.

Bailiffs rely on intimidation-they reason that if you're scared enough and believe the guff some (most) of them feed you, you'll pay up. Don't fall for it. Implying that they have more rights than they do is par for the course with some of these charmers. I know it's tough- but stay strong, hun. As far as I'm aware, they can't just show up and remove anything in your absence- not without having first entered peacably into your home. If you don't answer- they can't do that.
Please, please don't be afraid to visit herbie's site and have a nose around. There is a ton of excellent information and advice there. You could pm her too- but be aware that at the moment she has a relative who isn't well and is busy on the home front, so bear with her.
RobertoMoir is a good guy to contact. He has good practical thinking and information.

Please let us know how you are.
Good luck. You CAN do this.

RAS

Lovely post PF

pennyfrog

Quick bump-
Are you ok, guineverestar? How's it going?

fairydiamond

Hope you are OK! Bailifs were at my partner's mother's house last year while we were staying there while she was on holiday. It was a scary day, they were there for hours and tried to get it through a window. Scary stuff! Don't open the door to them and make sure all your windows are locked and curtains shut.

Hope you have got some help. Please come back and let us know how everything is. Chin up.

diamondgal007

Guineverestar: I do hope all is well with you and you will post on the site soon, to let us all know u are ok.

Both Pennyfrog and RAS have given solid advise, which I think you can use. I like you felt very intimidated by the thought of bailiffs visiting my property and I too live in a conveted house - so I do know how you feel about someone else letting them through the "main" flat door.

I am now in the mood of: "Come on then, bring it on", with the bailiffs, i know my rights and they will not get into my property, of that I can be sure. This is all down to the great advise I have had off the site from specific people.

Please check back on this thread and let us know how you are getting on, even if it is to say "Hello". YOU are NOT alone in this, we are here to help as much as we can on this site.

xxx

debttornado

Best of luck - remember you are not alone. Please take the advice on here, it will be hard at first but things will get better.

Herbie21

In the first place I would just like to clear up a query that I hear about all of the time.

A bailiff derives his powers and rights to collect a debt by way a certain LEGAL documents which vary from debt to debt.

For an outstanding Magisrates Court FINE ( ie: criminal cases such as driving without insurance, or tax or using a TV without a Licence) the bailiff's authority will be a WARRANT OF DISTRESS.

For an outstanding PCN ( parking charge notice) it will be a WARRANT OF EXECUTION).

For Council Tax it will be a LIABILITY ORDER.

With ALL of the above you will NOT be sent a copy.

In the case there is unpaid council tax and a Liability Order has been passed to the bailiff to enforce.

In the first place it is VITAL that you immediately send a letter to the bailiff co to advise them of your circumstances as it would appear that your health problems point to you being "vulnerable" and in this case the bailiff should return the debt back to the council. PLEASE send a letter right away. I have sent you a private message with a password to access template letters from our website and will post the relevant letter on here later on today.


Here it is...please adapt to suit.

To: Bailiff Company
Date:


Dear Sirs,

Re: Account reference.

I refer to your letter dated (enter date) informing me that your company have been instructed by (enter local authority) to enforce a liability order etc against me, in respect of outstanding council tax.

In your letter you state that you will be visiting/returning to my home to seize my goods unless full payment of (enter amount) is made by return.

The purpose of this letter is to advise your company that I believe that (my/our) circumstances fall within the category as contained within the National Standards for Enforcement Agents of “vulnerable situations”. The reason for this is that (explain your circumstances, and provide some evidence, if possible) see note below).

Accordingly, I would like to request that you do not visit my property as this would cause undue stress and anxiety. Instead, I would like to request that you (return this case back to the local authority/or accept payment terms as outlined etc)

I would be grateful if you could confirm safe receipt of this letter, and confirmation that (payment terms have been agreed/or case returned to the council)

I am copying this letter to my Local Authority. (ensure that you keep a copy)


Yours faithfully.


Bailiffadviceonline.co.uk

pennyfrog

Hope you're ok, guineverestar.
Lots of fab advice here.