Council Tax Bailiff Advice Needed ASAP

KirstyOO

Hi,
I just wondered if someone could offer me some advice regarding my brother. He got into debt with his council tax bill, was taken to court and the bill was passed onto the bailiffs. They visited his house, made a list of goods and he made an agreement to pay them 50 pound a week. He made these payments until he became unemployed.

When he became unemployed I rang the bailiffs on his behalf, explained his situation (that he is a single unemployed father of two children, claiming only child benefit and child tax credit until his application for job seekers allowance has gone through) and asked to make a new agreement. The person i spoke to on the telephone stated he could make a new agreement but that she couldn't advice me as to the amount, she said he was to write them a letter making an offer and include prove of his unemployment status and if this wasn't high enough they would let him know. He wrote the letter offering 10 pound a week until his job seekers came through and said he would increase this when he was actually receiving job seekers. He didn't here anything back from them so he made two payments of 10 pound to them.

A week later, still having not heard from them, three bailiffs turned up at his house with a van stating that they were taking goods. They took a van that he had been using for self-employment until he had to stop work and make a claim for job seekers. He had to remove two advertising signs from the side of his van for them to take it. They stated that the van would be sold for auction on the 23rd of March and they they would be back then to collect in full the remainder of the amount owed what ever that would be after the van sale.

We have tried seeking advice from the CAB but they have not really helped and said he needed to fill in forms for an adviser to visit his home, he did this but has not heard back from them.

Since they have took the van I have been researching about this and found this site. I now realise he should never have let them in his house in the first place but obviously it is too late for that now. I just wanted some advice as to what he can do now. He doesn't have the money to pay the remainder of the amount in full and the charges they have added onto his bill for removal of, storage and auction of the van have almost double his bill, which was originally about 700 pounds (now 1,300 ish pounds). I doubt that the sale of his van will even cover the charges for them to take it away.

Does he have to let them in when they come? Can they enter of their own accord and take goods because they have already been in the house and made a list of goods (states on list though that it stands for 5 days, that time has now passed)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we don't know what we can do or where else to turn.

Thanks in advance
Kirsty

KirstyOO

P.S. Sorry the post is so long but I didn't know how to explain things in any less words

scaredy_cat

you need to call the helpline on www.bailiffadviceonline asap.

KirstyOO

I did call that number and spoke to the same lady twice. She said she would call me back and took my number but as yet I haven't heard from her. She was excellent on the telephone and seemed really keen to help (she even rang me at home at 8pm) so I couldn't imagine her just not ringing back, so I'm wondering if she has lost my number. I have tried ringing her loads since then but have got no answer. Is there any other way to get in touch with her???

scaredy_cat

the only other thing to suggest is to send a pm to Herbie21, bailiffadviceonline is her website. Her inbox does get full so keep trying.

KirstyOO

Hi,
Thanks, didn't realise that Herbie21 was the same person as the lady who runs the website. I have sent her a private message on here and I'll keep trying to ring. In the meantime though any other advice is greatly welcomed.
Thanks again
Kirsty

RobertoMoir

KirstyOO wrote: »

Hi,
I just wondered if someone could offer me some advice regarding my brother. He got into debt with his council tax bill, was taken to court and the bill was passed onto the bailiffs. They visited his house, made a list of goods and he made an agreement to pay them 50 pound a week. He made these payments until he became unemployed.

When he became unemployed I rang the bailiffs on his behalf, explained his situation (that he is a single unemployed father of two children, claiming only child benefit and child tax credit until his application for job seekers allowance has gone through) and asked to make a new agreement. The person i spoke to on the telephone stated he could make a new agreement but that she couldn't advice me as to the amount, she said he was to write them a letter making an offer and include prove of his unemployment status and if this wasn't high enough they would let him know. He wrote the letter offering 10 pound a week until his job seekers came through and said he would increase this when he was actually receiving job seekers. He didn't here anything back from them so he made two payments of 10 pound to them.

A week later, still having not heard from them, three bailiffs turned up at his house with a van stating that they were taking goods. They took a van that he had been using for self-employment until he had to stop work and make a claim for job seekers. He had to remove two advertising signs from the side of his van for them to take it. They stated that the van would be sold for auction on the 23rd of March and they they would be back then to collect in full the remainder of the amount owed what ever that would be after the van sale.

We have tried seeking advice from the CAB but they have not really helped and said he needed to fill in forms for an adviser to visit his home, he did this but has not heard back from them.

Since they have took the van I have been researching about this and found this site. I now realise he should never have let them in his house in the first place but obviously it is too late for that now. I just wanted some advice as to what he can do now. He doesn't have the money to pay the remainder of the amount in full and the charges they have added onto his bill for removal of, storage and auction of the van have almost double his bill, which was originally about 700 pounds (now 1,300 ish pounds). I doubt that the sale of his van will even cover the charges for them to take it away.

Does he have to let them in when they come? Can they enter of their own accord and take goods because they have already been in the house and made a list of goods (states on list though that it stands for 5 days, that time has now passed)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we don't know what we can do or where else to turn.

Thanks in advance
Kirsty

Was the van on the list?

KirstyOO

No it wasn't, why does that make a difference??

RAS

Absolutely, they can only take the items that are listed on the WPO.

In this situstion it is gging to be worth paying the high cost of a telephone call to the bailiff advice tel number.

Click this link http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/

"As we are not publicly funded, we do have to make a charge for this additional service. The cost is £1 per minute. There are no hidden costs, but we would advise that you use a BT landline if possible as other providers such as Virgin and Talk Talk etc can cost much more than this. Please do try to avoid using a mobile telephone to call us as the charges are much more expensive.
Our telephone number is: 0906 550 0145 and is available between 8.30 and 7pm. "

KirstyOO

I've double checked the paper work and the van isn't mentioned anywhere, other than on the receipt form they gave him when they took the van. It [FONT=&quot]definitely [/FONT]wasn't listed on the WPO. I have been trying that telephone number but as yet I have not managed to get through, I'll give it another try now. Thank you.

RAS

Also Pm Herbie 21.
Do you have an e-mail, address for the bailiffs?

Or a phnone number. Ring and tell them they are breaking the law.