Enforcement notice advice please!

Rail_Staff

On Tuesday my girlfriend received a hand delivered letter from Ross & Roberts Civil Enforcement Agents in respect of a debt owed on council tax for £553.40. This is the text:

"Your files are now with our removal bailiffs. The sum of £553.40 is now required. Unless contact is made with the bailiff today your goods will be at risk of being removed and the balance will become due in full.

The bailiff has the right to peaceably enter your premises and remove goods-even in your absence."


She contacted the number given and was told she could set up a payment plan but only if she first paid the legal fees up front (approx £300 she was told). There is no way that she can afford to pay that much in one go (she is on incapacity benefit) and after taking details of her income and outgoings the bailiff agreed that she couldn't pay and that she should contact her council tax office to agree a payment plan with them directly.

The letter consisted of three identical pages, two for one account and one for the other however the debt is not broken down in any way there has never been an invoice or anything which details how much is owed to the council and how much are the legal fees nor is there any breakdown of what the fees are. In all probability I could pay the legal fees up front on her behalf but having heard some real horror stories of bullying and intimidation in order to extract money from vulnerable and naive people by this company I have no intention of simply handing over £300 to a company I have never heard of before without even knowing exactly what I am paying for.

She has to call the bailiffs again later today and I want to have as much information as possible beforehand in case she gets bullied over the phone.

Many thanks.

dancingfairy

Hi- there is a set amount of charges bailiffs cancharge.
you need to know a) the actual amount of council tax still owed - check with the council, b) the liability order cost - this would be approx 80 pounds - check with the council. These costs would have been incurred before it went to the bailiffs.
The bailiffs can then charge for a maximum of 2 visits as long as a) they have not levied on a vehicle or b) ever been in the property.
Has your girlfriend madesure that any discounts she is entitledto have been correctly applied - ie single person discount (it's not clear if you live together or not), student exemption, any council tax benefit applied for etc.
Have a look at the National Debtline website for bailiff charges etc and more info.
Reply back here with whether they have levied (or think they have on a vehicle) and whether they have ever been let in.
df

dancingfairy

p.s the charge for 2 visits is something like 24.50 I think - it's certainly not anywhere near 300 pounds.
df

Rail_Staff

We are not currently living together and she gets all available allowances and benefits. She does not have a car so there is no levy involved.

There has been one visit to the door but perhaps they have charged an admin fee or something?

Thanks for the input so far.

RAS

Lying barstewards.

Will put up a link in a mo, to a thread that has all the information.

RAS

She starts by finding out what the liability order is.

Demands the breakdown of fees (legal entitlement at the mo is £24.50)

Please read this thread and follow the links and advice. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3025590

Any problems,. speak to her councillor and show him that his bailiffs are charging illegal fees over £250 from someone on benefits.

The Council can deduct from her benefits £3.30 per week arrears.

Rail_Staff

Evidently they can't deduct from incapacity benefit as she tried that this morning with the council.

RAS

Read the link I gave you.

Could she set up a £3 per week standing order?

OH, and one visit allows them to make one charge, not one charge for each account.

Does you GF get Council Tax Benefit?

Rail_Staff

Yes she does get CT benefit.

Just phoned the council and the debt is £472.45 owing on CT, total bill on the letter was £553.45 yet guy she spoke to on tuesday evening insisted that the money required upfront (Ross & Roberts costs) were 'around £300'.

They have made 2 visits so £472.45 CT owed plus two visits should be no more than £514.95 which leaves £38.40 unaccounted for.

We can raise the legal costs if they are under £100 but I have no idea why the bailiff is telling her the costs are £300 unless it was just intimidation.

RAS

The cost for the second visit is £19.50 ish.

Does she own good that would fetch £470 at auction (assume current value £4700)? If not the case needs to be returned to the Council.

Rail_Staff

No she doesn't, the bailiff knows that she can't pay it in one go and that is why she was advised to contact the council but they have said that she can't make payments directly to the council because the debt has already passed to Ross & Roberts.

Having read the thread that was posted I think the next step is to email Ross & Roberts office directly and tell them that their agent has clearly lied and that we want a detailed breakdown of the costs before making a payment.