Bristow & Sutor Bailiffs-C.Tax Debt-Vunerable People

Elsie1975

Hi,

Wonder if anyone can help?

We got a little behind with our c.tax for last year and the case was sent to Bristow & Sutor by court order. We contacted B&S and made arrangements to pay. We made a couple of agreed payments then in# Dec my OH lost his job. I contacted B&S and they agreed to 3 months reduced payments ( 40 quid per month, temp. ). We could only afford one lot of these payments which we made in Jan.

We have since applied for c.tax benefit & have been sucessful. Some of 2010-11 tax was reduced accordingly. We have heard nothing for B&S since Jan. I checked on their website this weeked to find we owed approx. 600 quid, with reduction and what we had already paid off through B&S.
Today a B&S bailiff calls and says he is here to work put a repayment plan. I asked him to come back tomorrow as I was cooking tea and wanted some time to get some advice.
We initially planned to pay him some cash tomorrow and then agree a 12mth repayment plan that he offered. But-I have since discovered that we are classed as vunerable, for 2 reasons:

A) I am 38wks pregnant
My partner and myself are jointly claiming Income Based Job Seekers allowance.

I understand that I can now write to both B&S and my local council and ask that the bailiffs are called off and the case be referred back to the council, I am happy to do this but my question is-As I have already paid some of the debt via B&S, is this still an option? Is so, what do I do when this bailiff calls back tomorrow?

Any advice or help would be fab!

From a stessed mum-to-be....with a 2yr old in tow too!!:D

Elsie1975

Anyone? Please?

Culex

Elsie1975 wrote: »

Anyone? Please?

Do NOT let him in!

Elsie1975

Culex wrote: »

Do NOT let him in!

Hi, thanks for your reply. Don't worry, there is NO way he will be coming in!

I'm just wondering if I should just ignore the door when he knocks, or if I should inform him that I will be writing to the council & B&S to ask them to pass the debt back to council as we are vunerable due to my pregnancy and our Job Seekers claim.

Urgent advice needed please.

RAS

E-mail them today, and cc in the Council or your local councillor.

Then follow up with letters.

Then ask for a full break-down of all charges.

Elsie1975

RAS wrote: »

E-mail them today, and cc in the Council or your local councillor.

Then follow up with letters.

Then ask for a full break-down of all charges.

Morning and thanks for your help. I will email them now. Should I answer the door to him when he comes at 2pm today?

Elsie1975

Please, please, please help! He is due here at 2pm-do I answer the door or ignore it??:(

kerrypn

Elsie,
Have you tried contacting the council direct by phone to recall the debt?
If I were you I would go out-then you are genuinely not in when he calls, less stress for you, because bailiffs can be VERY persistant at the door.

Where are you up to re emailing council/bailiffs?

Elsie1975

kerrypn wrote: »

Elsie,
Have you tried contacting the council direct by phone to recall the debt?
If I were you I would go out-then you are genuinely not in when he calls, less stress for you, because bailiffs can be VERY persistant at the door.

Where are you up to re emailing council/bailiffs?

I have emailed the council for their advice. I have also contacted the Bailiff personally by text and asked for a breakdown of what is owed, charges included.
He is coming back today to arrange a repayment plan, spead over 12mths. Would it be better for me to answer and see what the offer is? Obviously I won't let him in or sign anything.

kaya

i believe there are different rules for bailiffs if the debt is for council tax, bailiffadviceonline.co.uk should have the answers, if the debt is referred back to the courts then the bailiffs charges are removed and they dont get paid, however under the bailiff codes of conduct as you are on benefits(poor) then they shouldnt bother you anyway, sorry i cant be more help, i would check out the website i mentioned, if you are that concerned then go for a nice stroll in the park about the same time they are due round

kerrypn

Elsie1975 wrote: »

I have emailed the council for their advice. I have also contacted the Bailiff personally by text and asked for a breakdown of what is owed, charges included.
He is coming back today to arrange a repayment plan, spead over 12mths. Would it be better for me to answer and see what the offer is? Obviously I won't let him in or sign anything.

Phone the council for advice. They should have your email but may not have had chance to read it yet. If you think that you have good reason to have the debt recalled to the council, it would be preferable to deal with them. As to answering to the bailiffs, that is your decision. However, bear in mind that bailiffs want to extract the maximum possible money in the shortest possible time, and can at times be very persuasive and intimidating. If you think you are likely to pressured into agreeing to a plan you cannot afford, it is probably not a good idea to go down this route.

You metioned your OH, can he not deal with this for you as you are heavily pregnant?

Also, you could try contacting one of the debt charities National Debtline CCCS or CAB-they can give you instant advice on this.

As you say, golden rule number one is DO NOT LET A BAILIFF IN. However, be aware that ***some*** bailiffs may try to push past you to gain entry or use underhand tactics "can I use your toilet?" to gain entry, so when answering the door you are always taking a chance they may do this, regardless of how nice they may seem.