Council tax arrears £1800. Bailif called today to sieze goods. Suicidal. Please help

lancslass2008

Hi all

My sisters friend has gotten herself in a real mess. She has been a Student for 3 years, and graduated as a midwife in June. She is a single Mother of 4 kids. Today, her family found her in a right state. She's talking suicide etc. Basically, she owes £1,800 for unpaid council Tax, but has simply been burying her head in the sand and throwing the letters away. Of course, everybody knows these things just don't go away. We've only found this out because of the state she's in. Luckilly she wasn't in when the Bailiff called, but their letter said they will sieze goods etc wether she is home or not. It also says they won't accept part payment. Taking into account the contents of her house, I doubt the auction value of a TV, Video, Playstation etc would raise more than a couple of hundred pounds. The lady has agreed to let us try and help her now, so I could do with some advice in this field. Having never of dealt with Bailiffs before I would appreciate some advice on how to deal with this. I am prepared to write to them on her behalf and offer a cheque for £100 and an admission that she owes the debt and agrees to pay £10 per week until she gets back on her feet after Xmas. She can't really afford more than that because she's paying her present council tax along with everything else a normal single Mum has to pay. Advice on how to broach this please......

Thanks all

leveller2911

I'm sure someone will be along shortly with some advice.

In my area if your 1 month in arrears you get a court summons, did she receive them?? did she attend court? if so was there a payment plan ??..

CIS

I work in council tax recovery.

In my area if your 1 month in arrears you get a court summons, did she receive them?? did she attend court? if so was there a payment plan ??..

For the baiiff to have been instructed there needs to have been at least a Demand Notice, Reminder, a Summons and a Liability Order.


Firstly, as a single person is she receiving the 25% single person discout ?,its surprising how many people dont realise that they should have it until it gets to the bailiff stage and the case is looked through in a bit more detail.

Generally we dont intervene when the bailiff has got to the point of the visiting with the intention of lifting goods. Which bailiff if is it ?, if its Equita they're not too reasonable at this stage whereas Rossendales are usually reasonable.

She needs to speak to the bailiff and see if she can agree a payment arrangement. The default stand will be full payment however most local authorities will have arrangement procedures in place with the bailiff to accept payment ta this stage if they feel the situation warrants it.

mandi

Hope this helps http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/debt_basics/bailiff-guide.php#bg7

MrsTinks

Tell her to contact Herbie21 ASAP - http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/ or she can call 0906 802 0273 it's 60p per minute but right now she needs to get some professional help in handling the bailiff!

There are loads of questions that need asking like have they got a walking possession order? What contact if any has she had with them? But ideally she needs to speak to someone like Herbie because this is a pretty specialised area!

Nessynoo

Is your sister claiming IS? If so, make sure the Council knows. Councils generally have anti-poverty policies, and will call off the bailiffs in this situation. Is she currently getting CTB? Can she ask the Council for an attachement to her benefits (£3pw or something) and pay the extra as defined in the OP? I'd like to think that if the Council is informed of her situation, they will be helpful.

MrsTinks

Oh and accepting that she owes the money to the bailiff is of no consequence at this stage... not meaning to scare you or her but this is still THE one debt you can go to prison for - any other debts take a back seat till she has addressed this one!
Chances are that right now they will be unlikely to accept £10 a week or month - it would take far too long to repay it at that rate! As I said - get on the phone to Herbie21 - she needs professional help and she needs it before they come back at 5am tomorrow morning!

MarsdenCuckoo

Long shot but are you sure she's claiming everything she's entitled to? If she had an ex-partner, who was claiming benefit, it may have triggered this problem when they left....

With computerisation Council's do sometimes automatically generate bills that are not actually due. Hard to believe that this would continue through to bailiffs being involved but you never know - particularly if your sister's friend has been burying her head in the sand as you say.

Last year I had first-hand experience of the Council issuing a red reminder/Final Demand for Council Tax which demanded settlement in full within 14 days. Nothing new there you might say but it had been automatically generated because only one pensioner in a household applies for/is granted Pension Credit. When that person died, the Pension Credit was cancelled and it automatically generated the Final Demand. I was appalled when it arrived and no way could the widowed pensioner have been able to deal with it. It didn't take much to sort it; just a phone call and a couple of visits to the Benefits Office to apply for Pension Credit in the name of the remaining widowed pensioner. Once Pension Credit was reinstated the bill was cancelled.

I may be way off the mark but really hope I'm not and that there is some light at the end of the tunnel for your sister's friend.

Good luck

Ames

Did she inform them she was a student? If so she should have been exempt from council tax.

Most importantly now though is don't let the baillif in, don't sign anything, and if she's got a car park it away from the house.

Oldernotwiser

Ames wrote: »

Did she inform them she was a student? If so she should have been exempt from council tax.

Most importantly now though is don't let the baillif in, don't sign anything, and if she's got a car park it away from the house.

:T:T:T:T:T

Finally someone with a bit of common sense!

Herbie21

The amount of the debt would appear to be for a lot more that a entire years council tax for an average house. As you have said this lady is paying her current year so she needs to ENSURE that she has been receiving the correct amount of exemptions. She should be exempt as she was a student and secondly because of her being single.

Which company is this?

She will be OK if she ENSURES two things. She must NOT allow the bailiff to come into her home as this will incur her in additional charges that she will have great difficulty in ever repaying. She must also ensure that she does not have a vehicle outside (or close) to her home as the bailiff will almost certainly "levy distress" against the vehicle.

A LETTER must be sent to the bailiff to point out her circumstances and provide an offer of repayment. The council will be insisting that the debt is repaid within the current council tax year. If so, this will prove very difficult indeed. I am hoping that it is found that she has not been claiming her correct exemptions. If this is the case, then the council will be able to re-calculate her liability. This is why it is so important that she contacts the local authority.

I can provide a template letter for her and I have sent you a PM.