my ex owes ME money but is threatening me with bailiffs... Can anybody offer advice?

Not_Much_Luck_Here

Im sorry this is a long one but If anybody can help me or offer any advice it would be so appreciated as I really dont know what to do and its getting me down.

In April 2010 my ex boyfriend dumped me. He wanted me to stop going out with my friends of a weekend and I said no so he ended it. I have since found out that he was calling my bluff but i did not take him back and he told everybody that the reason he dumped me was because I was cheating on him with one of our mates.

Between November 2009 and March 2010 I had a standing order set up to go from my business account to his personal account of £150 on the 25th of every month. This was because he got paid cash in hand and kept missing his direct debits. He was supposed to be paying me back by giving me the cash. Which he never did. Through out the year we lived together we never received a council tax bill and then a month after he moved out it came through. I tried calling him, left him voicemails, sent him texts and messages on facebook asking him for the money he owed me andfor his half of the council tax but he ignored every single one of them. After a month or so we received a court summons so I text him to say that because we had not paid council tax we had been isssued a court summons. He immediatly replied saying I had to prove this to him and he would come round to see the letter. He never did come round and it went to court. I had the bailiffs on my door another month down the line but i ignored the door. I text my ex again to tell him and he replied "I dont live there so its for you to deal with" within this time I had also been screwed over in business and my company had been liquidated so I made the decision to move back in with family while I got myself sorted.

I am currently not working and my family are supporting me while I get things back on track but this morning I have received a letter through the post from my ex boyfriends dad saying that the bailiffs have been to their family home and as my ex lives there they had to pay the bill in full or the family cars were going to be taken in place. The letter states that his parents have paid the bill up until april 2010 and that I owe them £550 for my half. They also go on to threaten that the bailiffs are looking for my new address as i need to pay a further £600 to them directly.

I am happy to pay the money I owe for when I was there alone but I dont think his family are aware of everything that has gone on in the meantime and I do not think it is fair for me to have to pay them £550 when their son owes me £900.

As my company was liquidated I no longer have the bank statements to prove that I transfered the money to him, they would show on his statements but it is whether he is going to be honest about this and going from previous problems I cant imagine this will happen!

I really really really dont know what to do, can anybody offer me any advice at all? He has given me 10 days to respond or his letter statess his solicitor will be atking further action?

Lara44

Hi NMLH

Just to clarify - you paid your own half of the rent and bills directly to the companies involved, and the £150 you paid to him per months was a kind of insurance in case he went overdrawn / gave him a bit of flexibility? So before you broke up and moved out, he had stopped paying you back the cash?

Firstly, I think you should have realised that you would be liable to pay council tax.

Secondly I think it will be difficult to prove this arrangement with your ex partner. Even if you did still have the proof that you paid him this money it will be difficult to explain it was a loan. Also it will bring up issues about him working cash in hand. Don't you need to keep all your company paperwork for 7 years, even if it has been closed down?

If they have paid the bill in full then I guess it is a moral issue.

Not_Much_Luck_Here

Hi Lara, no sorry I paid all of the bills while we lived there and everything was up to date. I have money put aside for the council tax between april and when i moved out but I dont have it for when we lived together as he never paid me back.

The money I used to transfer to him was to cover his car ins etc and nothing to do with myself or the house bills.

I can pay the money owed for council tax but I dont have money to pay his dad unless he pays me back. Does he have a legal case though to get this money off me?

Sorry if this all sounds confusing

RAS

Hi

let's start with a short lesson on the law.

Council tax is a joint debt. That means that both you and your ex for the whole of the outstanding CT, not half. So his dad does not have a leg to stand on.

You need to ring the Council and ask them for the value of the liability order, for a start. There will be fees to add to this.

Apricot

His parents can't send bailiffs to you so if they have paid the entire bill I would just ignore them tbh. He owes you £900 tell them to take that off what is outstanding.

adouglasmhor

Apricot wrote: »

His parents can't send bailiffs to you so if they have paid the entire bill I would just ignore them tbh. He owes you £900 tell them to take that off what is outstanding.

This ▲ and also tell them any further attempts to recover monies from you by threats like this will be reported to the police as harassment.

JoJoB

To clarify - his parents paid the FULL council tax bill up till April 2010 and they want half of that amount back from you?

And the bailiffs are going to be pursuing you for £600? Is that for your council tax AFTER April 2010?

If so then this CT bill you are being pursued for by the bailiffs is what has to take priority. I suggest you send the parents a polite letter detailing exactly how much money their son owed you (and why), and that ends your financial obligation to him and them.

If you are feeling kind you may like to inform them that the bailiffs were not entitled to take cars against the sum owed if they did not belong to the person with the debt! This is clearly illegal pressure and harrassment and they should make an official complaint to the OFT about this company. Whether this would mean they got their money back eventually I don't know but this sort of "frightener" technique should always be reported.

His parents may use a solicitor to send a letter to you threatening legal action to recover what they perceive to be your half of the debt, but as their son is also wholly liable for the debt they might as well be suing him for the full amount too! They would not get very far in court I suspect. It was their choice to pay the bill - you didn't ask them to.

Not_Much_Luck_Here

Thank you for your advice, it really has helped me, I was a bit of a wreck this morning! Finally think I can see a little glimmer at the end of the tunnel now!


OK, Ive called my local council and explained the situation to them in brief and they have allowed me a couple of weeks to pay them the outstanding from April-nov 2010.

I have also drafted a, polite yet informative letter to my ex's parents advising them that I have paid the outstanding monies owed to the council and then mention the money their son owes me and requesting that they get the money they are looking for directly from him and any further harassment for money I receive from them will be reported to the police.

Do you think this is OK to say? x

RAS

You might want to add that the bailiffs were not acting legally as the family's car were not at risk; the bailiff could only levy on property owned by your ex. And that you had asked your ex to pay his share of the CT bill some time ago, but he ignored that request, as he had previous requests that he refund the money you loaned him.