Council tax bayliff help.

Odette

Oh dear, my darling OH does get himself into some messes!

My bf was in arrears with council tax payments and this has been passed to the bayliff. He just rung the council and they refuse to take any money for the money owed and to call the bayliff.

So my question is really, how to deal with him or what to expect? Will they do a payplan?

Excuse my ignorance, this has never happened to me before, I'm just trying to sort out OH.

carol01

hiya
does he owe a lot i phone the bailiff and they set up a payment plan for 6 months
and as long as it is paid by the 30th of every month i have had no problems
hope this helps

Odette

he owes just over a grand he just decided not to pay it one year he was living on his own

ok might give them a call

carol01

can you afford to pay it over the next 6 months? not sure if they will give you longer to pay they only offered me 6 months but mine was £444.00
if not it may be worth getting back intouch with the council and see if they will take the debt back and
pay them direct

lincroft1710

If he should call again, do not let the bailiff enter the property. Deal with him (in a civil manner) outside the property. Every time he calls an amount will be added to the debt for his journey time. If a payment plan is agreed with bailiff, stick to it, otherwise more charges to increase the debt.

UnderPressure

Hello

OK as far as I am aware the local authority CANNOT refusse to accept any payment of a council tax bill wether it is with bailiff's or not, I would ring them back and ask to speak to a supervisor in the collections department and question them on this.

Bailiff's can be and generally are unreasonable when it comes to payment arrangements you would be much better focusing your efforts in sorting this mess with the council rather than the bailiff.

THe most important thing to remember is keep all of your windows and doors locked and do not under any circumstances let the bailiff into your home, do not sign anything the bailiff asks you to sign especially a walking posession order.

Either way he is going to have to rectify this situation 1 way or another, if he has the money I suggest just paying it to the council and getting it out of the way if not he is going to have to persuade them to come to an arrangement with him.

You are under no legal obligation to even speak to the bailiff so if he does show up dont even answer the door, but please tell your BF to get on the phone to someone in charge at the collection department and plead his case the worst thing he could do is ignore it.

When the bailiff realises he is not going to get anywhere it will be passed back to the council anyhow this is the ideal time to come to an arrangement but try everything you can to do it sooner, if the debt is passed back to the council although rare they can apply for him to attend court regarding this matter and in "theory" he could end up in prison, as said especially nowadays this is very very rare.

Tell him to get it sorted quickly....................

Tixy

Hi odette.

Key thing is not to let them into your home (even if they say they want to come round to set up a repayment plan with you- if they do arrange to go to their offices or even stand outside with the house locked).

It sounds like it may be too late to get the council to take back the debt so you can pay them (doesn't sound like he has any good reasons not to have paid it he can explain to them).

A website you might find useful is baliffadviceonline but as carol says if you can agree a reasonable repayment plan then this is the best option (it is a priority debt of course so he should be paying that in preference to unsecured creditors (cards & loans etc).

Odette

Ok, so, plan of attack, re ring council? If they defiantly don't bite, we'll get on to the bayliff. We have money, i'm trying to work out now if i can put it all on my credit card rather than him pay this dofus every month. Is that a good idea? I would be a little worried about giving this shady type my details... We could afford it cash wise but we have to move in the next month so, I need to keep my money for that.

TBH he has no reason, he moved from Scotland to just North of London and I think it was a bit of a shock and he got a bit depressed. He has a good job and wage so if there is a pay plan there is gonna be no real problems paying it off.

NorthernLas

This link is to a national debtline factsheet on bailiffs and council tax: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=02_bailiffs_and_council_tax

If a bailiff comes to the property you or BF must NOT let him in. Keep windows shut. You can speak to them outside but it is essential that they do not enter the property. Be warned, if he has a car, they can take that. If BF was living on his own, did he claim 25% single person discount?

Ideally you want the council to take back this debt - they may do this if you have reason, like he is jobless and cannot pay (the factsheet gives examples). If not he needs to agree what he can afford wth the bailiffs (this is a priority debt).

Also there are standard charges for bailiffs. So any charges should be explained. Do NOT sign anything you don't understand and get a receipt for any money that is handed to bailiffs.

UnderPressure

Hello

If you can out it on your credit card then this is what I would do, but pay it to the council as said I am 99% sure they CANNOT refuse a payment could do with a bit of clarification on that I will do a bit of googling and see what I can come up with but I am sure that is right........

NorthernLas

Odette - I think it is a bad idea to put this debt on your credit card. He needs to pay. Rather than you pay or use cash, get the details of the bank account for the bailiff.