equita council tax bill

cooper555

i have just received a letter from equita ref unpaid council tax, im not denying i dont owe it or anything like that, however i cant afford to pay the £602 in one go, i have just sent them an email saying i can pay £100 pcm, with extra if and when more funds become available.What are the rules on council tax bailifs and payment plans, do they have to accept payment plans if they are an acceptable ammount?

dmg24

You would be best to post this on the Debtfree Wannabee board, as they have more experience in dealing with debts.

Kimitatsu

They will ask you for a breakdown of your income and expenditure and as long as you have put in a sensible amount and it will be cleared within a reasonable amount of time it is liable to be accepted.

In the main as long as you have kept in contact and adhere to the payment plan agreed then they dont tend to call the bailiffs in - that is usually a last resort.

Gemstar30

cooper555 wrote: »

i have just received a letter from equita ref unpaid council tax, im not denying i dont owe it or anything like that, however i cant afford to pay the £602 in one go, i have just sent them an email saying i can pay £100 pcm, with extra if and when more funds become available.What are the rules on council tax bailifs and payment plans, do they have to accept payment plans if they are an acceptable ammount?

This has me confused. Not difficult I know!

So your council tax liability has gone as far as bailiffs AND you don't dispute it.
I think you will find that the council will have little sympathy with you as at this stage you will have had countless letters, warnings and many months to put an offer to them.

Even at the last resort - why did you not go to court when they applied for a court order? The council rep would have been there looking to help those that are in financial difficulty.

Still you have pushed them into this course of action so the only option as I see it, is to ask the bailiffs to accept payments over a short time, probably a few weeks. Obviously their fees will have now been added to the debt as well.

They do have the right to seek your possessions to sell to pay the debt.

Probably a warning to others. NEVER let it get as far as this, always discuss your problems with the council well before they are even thinking of taking this action.

I do have sympathy with you as I know from bitter experience that they do remove your goods - it happened to me many many years ago (1970's). The landlord let them in with his set of keys!!! Yes I did owe some rent as well but only just over 2 months. No legal process - he changed the locks and we had to break in during the night to take out what was left. AND that is absolutely true!!!

Gemstar30

Kimitatsu wrote: »

They will ask you for a breakdown of your income and expenditure and as long as you have put in a sensible amount and it will be cleared within a reasonable amount of time it is liable to be accepted.

In the main as long as you have kept in contact and adhere to the payment plan agreed then they dont tend to call the bailiffs in - that is usually a last resort.

Yes I agree but the bailiffs are already involved and it is with them that the OP should now deal with!

ErisBadb

Even though the bailiffs have been instructed you can still negotiate with the local authority. It is them that have employed the bailiffs and it is ultimately up to them to instruct the bailiffs. ( It is common for people, even LA employees, to think that at this point it is only the bailiffs that can be negotiated with )
It would be in the LA's interest to agree a repayment plan even at this stage as it will save them money however thay may wish to have the bailiffs do a 'walk in possession' first so if you default on repayment your goods can be seized.
As Kimitatsu says sort out an income / expenditure to show the LA how much you can realistically afford to repay.
Please do this as if it goes to court again, because the bailiffs don't gain entry or the goods levied don't pay the bill,then you will benefit from showing that you tried to come to an arrangement.

Gemstar30

ErisBadb wrote: »

Even though the bailiffs have been instructed you can still negotiate with the local authority. It is them that have employed the bailiffs and it is ultimately up to them to instruct the bailiffs. ( It is common for people, even LA employees, to think that at this point it is only the bailiffs that can be negotiated with )

Yes you can try and negotiate with the LA but I wouldn't be holding my breath on that happening

It would be in the LA's interest to agree a repayment plan even at this stage as it will save them money

How? The Bailiffs will one way or another attempt to recover 100% of the debt and their own fees as well from the debtor. The LA certainly don't pay the bailiffs to do this work. They get paid on results only.

however thay may wish to have the bailiffs do a 'walk in possession' first so if you default on repayment your goods can be seized.

That is propbably the least that they will insist on after all this time and ignoring countless letters. Then if the arrangement isn't maintained, they can force entry to remove the goods.

As Kimitatsu says sort out an income / expenditure to show the LA how much you can realistically afford to repay.

I have never come across a bailiff that will accept a long repayment period. They work on the basis that the more pressure that is applied the debtor will 'find' the money from somewhere or someone!

Please do this as if it goes to court again, because the bailiffs don't gain entry or the goods levied don't pay the bill,then you will benefit from showing that you tried to come to an arrangement.

It won't go back to court again - why should it. The council have a Liability Order. The next time it will go to court is when the LA wish to enforce that order with an application for the debtor to be put in prison!

The debtor is in a very difficult position caused by the debtor themselves in ignoring repeated demands and letters.
Yes the LA can stop the bailiffs taking action, they can also let justice be seen to be done.

In my LA they have a policy that once it has got to that stage with no contact or offer of payment from the debtor, the bailiffs must be allowed to continue. Any discussion regarding how it is to be paid is between the debtor and the bailiffs.
People do manage to find the money if they have to - it's just a question of how much pressure is needed for them to find it.

ErisBadb

Hi Gemstar - the info I gave was based on first hand experience of debt advisers. I just wanted to show that it is not writen in stone what will happen. LA's do behave in different ways - ( the stand they take is not always the ultimate legal position - ). When it comes to going to prison you are more likely to go if you have wilfully refused to pay. Even at this late stage if you can show that you've tried to come to an agreement it may help avoid prison.
I would suggest that cooper555 goes to the local CAB who should know exactly how their LA behaves in these situations and also will have access to specialist support.

dizzybuff

Why do people bury their heads in the sand. I know the Op has let it go this far , but the council and other creditors are not mind readers , the only way you will get help is to ask for it !

PS I learnt the hard way

cooper555

I'v since contacted equita usint there online contact form and offered a payment plan , which should clear the debt by febuary, they have not yet replied, however i did make a payemnt to them online to show that im willing to clear the debt and make payments, waiting to see what there reply is.

RAS

cooper555 wrote: »

I'v since contacted equita usint there online contact form and offered a payment plan , which should clear the debt by febuary, they have not yet replied, however i did make a payemnt to them online to show that im willing to clear the debt and make payments, waiting to see what there reply is.

Ok, since I am a DFW hugger rather than a benefits basher and a lot of rubbish has been spouted here.......

Make sure the doors and windows are kept locked at all times. Do you have a car.

1. Have you checked that you are not entitled to any Council Tax benefit? If you are, claim it.

2. Ask the Council how much the liability order was made out for and how much the liability order cost (generally £45-75).

3. if the bailiff visited you (unfranked letter put throught the door), then the bailiff can charge for a maximum of two visits, at £42.50 in total.

So the maximum they should be charging is:

Value of Liability order+cost of liability order+ £42.50.

Unfortunately, bailiffs have a nasty habit of adding £150 enforcements fee (not recognised in law) and £150 van fee (only recognised if a WPO or levy is in place and has to be enforced) without ever setting foot in the door.