Council Tax bailifs help

Blaz

Hi im writing this on behalf of my mum who is isnt the greatest when it comes to computers and Internet.

My mum lost her job a couple of years ago and has spent 2 years unemployed and battled and battled to save her house. She finally got some work and is working in a minimum wage job for an employment agency ( although she never works a full week its a day here or a day there).

Well now that shes working she wants to catch up and clear some debts, council tax being one of them. Shes just phoned me to say a debt collection called Rossendales is acting on behalf of the council to collect payment from her as shes fallen behind her payments. Shes offered them what she can afford and basically theyre bullying her into paying £400 by next tuesday "or esle". Shes just got back on her feet slightly and then this ...

I told her to go see citizens advice and make them an offer of whatever she can afford but shes convinced because theyre working on behalf of the government these bailifs are more ruthless and have more power than your average debt chasing moron.

So just wondered if someone had any advice i can pass on to my mum, the working class hero.

RAS

We need to know more.

if this was for the period when mum was not working, did she corerecftly claim council tax benefit?

If it is for this year, has she claimed anything?

Has she ever let the bailiffs in the house?

Does she have a car?

NorthernLas

The bailiffs collecting council tax do not have additional powers, they can only enter a property peacefully. She must not let them in, nor should she pay more than she can afford.

Links for you to read to re-assure Mum
http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/removalnotice-ct.htm
http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/counciltax_whathappensif.htm

Blaz

RAS wrote: »

We need to know more.

if this was for the period when mum was not working, did she corerecftly claim council tax benefit?

If it is for this year, has she claimed anything?

Has she ever let the bailiffs in the house?

Does she have a car?

She was on Incapacity benefit and she claimed council tax benefit for the 2 years she was unemployed. But they said she wasnt entitled to full council tax benefit so the money theyre chasing is from the past couple of years when she was unemployed.

She has never let any bailifs into her house and she doesnt own a car.

On a side note my mum mentions that she recieved a council tax bill for this year in April (while still unemployed and her circumstances never changed) claiming her entire bill for 2010 is only £48, she asked the council why this years bill is so small while the past 2 years while she was unemployed her bills were so high despite her being unemployed.

Blaz

NorthernLas wrote: »

The bailiffs collecting council tax do not have additional powers, they can only enter a property peacefully. She must not let them in, nor should she pay more than she can afford.

Links for you to read to re-assure Mum
http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/removalnotice-ct.htm
http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/counciltax_whathappensif.htm

Looking at that first link, my mum says she recieved a hand delivered letter from the first bailiff and this was the first contact made over this matter, she has never signed anything.

The second letter was also hand delivered and states bailiff removal.
My mum rang the lady and was told she owed £700 for the council tax arrears and that the bailiffs have added £300 chrages on top. My mum was shocked by this and said "£1000!?!?! it was only for £700??" the lady replied "We dont work for nothing".

RAS

OK

As long as your mother never lets them in the house they have no power whatsoever. They can enter through an unlocked door or open window, so she needs to make sure everything is locked.

I will try and post a letter for her later.

The next step is to get some proper advice re the bill for previous years. She needs to research who her local councillor(s) are and when they next run a surgery.

Blaz

My mum also mentioned to me that she tried to make an offer for repayments of what she could afford. She told me that the person she spoke to said they will only accept repayment offers AFTER they have recieved a £400 payment by next tuesday. DO they have the right to refuse an offer like that?

king100

Blaz wrote: »

Hi im writing this on behalf of my mum who is isnt the greatest when it comes to computers and Internet.

My mum lost her job a couple of years ago and has spent 2 years unemployed and battled and battled to save her house. She finally got some work and is working in a minimum wage job for an employment agency ( although she never works a full week its a day here or a day there).

Well now that shes working she wants to catch up and clear some debts, council tax being one of them. Shes just phoned me to say a debt collection called Rossendales is acting on behalf of the council to collect payment from her as shes fallen behind her payments. Shes offered them what she can afford and basically theyre bullying her into paying £400 by next tuesday "or esle". Shes just got back on her feet slightly and then this ...

I told her to go see citizens advice and make them an offer of whatever she can afford but shes convinced because theyre working on behalf of the government these bailifs are more ruthless and have more power than your average debt chasing moron.

So just wondered if someone had any advice i can pass on to my mum, the working class hero.

For starters

Dont let them into the house. Keep all doors locked and windows shut.

Do not telephone the bailiff.

Write a letter to the bailiff asking for a breakdown of charges? They will say they need £10 but its not a SAR request.

Write a letter to the council asking what the amount of the liability order was?

What they can charge is as follows

£11.50 for a letter if received before 1st visit

1st visit £24.50
2md Visit £18

these figures I remember but not too sure.

As they have got you to sign anything or come into your house they cannot add a levy or walking possesion. As you have no car they cannot levy on that.

Communicate with the bailiff company in writing from now on.

Can your mum pay anything if she can she can pay the council online and thus not deal with the bailiff.

Is you mum on any benefits as such and could be be classed as vunerbale as you can get the account back to the council if she is.

(This is what I have leanrt from CAG head over there as a rep from bailiffadviceonline is always there to help.)

RAS

The expert on bailiffs is Herbie21. She provided a letter for a previous poster regarding illegal fees that they were trying to charge. This halted further action until they had sent the response.



Send an e-mail to Rossendales. Put a read receipt on if possible. if you canotm find an e-mail address, use a postal address.

You need to say something along the following lines.

I refer to the above account in relation to unpaid council tax due to xxxx

As you will be aware from your files this account has been assed to your bailiff Mr xxx to enforce.

Please can you provide a full breakdown of the fees charged on the account. I have taken advice and these do not seem to comply with the information I have been provided on permitted fees.

Please also note that I am contacting the Council again to query the value of the laibility orfder as I was unemployed during the period to which the iorder refers.

As a matter of urgency can you please can you confirm that you have received this message.

Miss_Bolan

Hi

I have experience of working in a Council Tax department (don't shoot me - got to pay the bills!) and I'll give you the best advice I can.

As others have said never, EVER let the bailiffs in - quite simply if they never gain access to your property, and never levy your goods, then they can send all the letters they like, and knock on the door as often as they want, but they can do nothing, and will eventually go away. If they can prove or believe that a car is yours though, they can levy on this without coming in, then you will have to communicate with them. I realise they can seem threatening, and as someone who is supposed to work 'with' them I have to say I find their attitude frequently arrogant, however they are a last resort in most cases.

My advice would be to call the council - firstly ask the Council Tax benefit staff why you have not received full benefit for the period you are being charged - it could possibly be due to 'excess' income , or due to a non dependent in the property - there could be a million reasons and they will be able to tell you why. If there is no mistake, and the charges are correct, contact the Council Tax collection department and check that the whole debt is with the bailiffs - different years can be at different recovery stages and you may be able to make an arrangement with the council for any amounts not being collected by the bailiffs.

If all amounts are with the bailiffs I would suggest playing a waiting game, and normally the bailiffs will pass the case back to the council when they get nowhere, you should then be able to make an arrangement with the council directly. I realise 'ignoring' the bailiffs may be difficult, especially as their fees will increase with each letter - but if it is passed back by them you will not pay these fees. *THIS IS ONLY APPLICABLE WHERE THEY HAVE NOT LEVIED ON YOUR GOODS - IF THEY HAVE LEVIED YOU MUST COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AS THEY HAVE A LEGAL RIGHT TO YOUR BELONGINGS AND CAN INSTRUCT A LOCKSMITH TO COLLECT THESE GOODS.

If the case is passed back to council they should, wherever possible, take personal circumstances into account when making an arrangement, in some situations the council is restiricted in the arrangement it can make (i.e. bills for the current year must be collected within that year) but previous years debts are flexible (we allow 24 months to pay back previous year debts in most cases).

I hope this helps, if I can give any more advice as an 'insider' let me know.

Blaz

Thankyou all so much youve all been very helpful and my mums mind has been has been put to rest. Ill help her with some letters, thanx again!