Council tax arrears and Baliffs....

Hugh_Jaleak

Here on behalf of my partner, (she is currently in hospital). (Hope this is the right section for this query, if not Mods please feel free to move it.)

Had a visit today (I was out) from Equita Baliffs regarding outstanding council tax from my partners previous address. She was a council tenant, in receipt of housing benefit and council tax benefit, but gave up her flat at the beginning of the year to reside with me.

The arrears arose after her daughter (who was staying at the flat temporarily last year) informed the council her mum didnt live there any more! (This is the same daughter currently being investigated for using her mum's identity to obtain credit...) At that time we were seeing each other my partner sometimes stayed overnight at weekends but remained at the flat during the week.

Council are now trying to reclaim 'overpaid housing benefit'. We have written on several occasions to the council and both ward councillors, none has bothered to reply. (They have given at least 3 figures for the amount they claim is owed....) We are happy to pay any outstanding debt in instalments, (my partner is on benefit pending return of her health, I work full time), but unless the council will speak to us we can do very little!

My partner moved in with basically her clothes, a few personal items. a stereo and TV set, everything else in the property is mine. Therefore I am wondering where we stand at present, now the council have involved Baliffs with no prior notification to ourselves. Any advice would be much appreciated, thankyou.

MamaMoo_2

Firstly, try to set up a payment arrangement with the bailiffs, but refuse if they want to levy goods in order to make the arrangement. Don't be intimidated by any bully tactics. Bailiffs can't force access. Do not let them in, do not even answer the door to them. Don't leave doors and windows unlocked though, as they can gain "peaceful entry" via those routes.
Also, I believe that if your partner is in hospital, she may fall under the category of "vulnerable persons" who shouldn't be harassed by bailiffs. Perhaps make them aware of this (from a distance)
Eventually the account will be passed back to the council, when you can make a payment arrangement with them.
Pay any instalments you can afford to pay via the council's online payment system (this way they cannot refuse payments)

Hugh_Jaleak

Thankyou. I have telephoned the Baliff tonight (witheld my number!) to inform him of her situation and tell him there is very little here that is actually hers. (Soon changed his tone!) He has suspended the matter until the end of the month. Meanwhile I will write to the Chief Exec at the council asking why his officers do not reply to any letters and see if he/she replies.....

Matter will go to Ombudsman if we dont get a satisfactory response from CEO.

MamaMoo_2

Hugh_Jaleak wrote: »

Thankyou. I have telephoned the Baliff tonight (witheld my number!) to inform him of her situation and tell him there is very little here that is actually hers. (Soon changed his tone!) He has suspended the matter until the end of the month. Meanwhile I will write to the Chief Exec at the council asking why his officers do not reply to any letters and see if he/she replies.....

Matter will go to Ombudsman if we dont get a satisfactory response from CEO.

I doubt the ombudsman will deal with it, if I'm being honest.
The council will not have passed this to the bailiffs until they have been to court etc. and so the council will view this as reasonable opportunity to pay up. Now that it has gone to the bailiffs, it's out of the council's hands.
The council, as far as I can tell, have done nothing wrong. It sounds to me as if your partner was claiming HB and CTB fraudulently, so it's unlikely that any authority etc will really side with you.

Hugh_Jaleak

We are both concerned we may have unintentionally committed fraud, and are anxious to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. My partner is not unwilling to pay, she would just like to council to talk to her to sort out the outstanding debts. (They cant seem to settle on a figure that is owed), and now she is unsure who she should be paying and how much. Her health is not great, and at present she is in hospital for surgery, hence I am trying to sort this whole mess out.... My partner contacted the council with regard to her daughter staying with her, (daughter was in Germany, her husband serving in HM Forces). Daughter came for a visit then announced to her mum she wasn't going back and needed to stay a bit longer.

My partner was in receipt of benefits as she was/is unemployed/sick, having given up her flat to reside with me then obviously her benefit entitlement ceased. She came to stay here at weekends as I didnt have to go to work, maybe in hindsight she shouldnt have done that, but we saw it as an opportunity to spend time together, without her daughter.

She has already written to one debt recovery agency in response to their letter making an offer (letter dated 25th May 2011), but has had no response.

MamaMoo_2

When the council applied for the liability order, did she attend the court to try and sort it out?
This would have been her last real opportunity to come to an arrangement. Once a liability order has been acquired and the debt passed to the bailiffs, the council will not deal with the issue, so I'd suggest you stop wasting your time there.
If you need to work out what you owe the council, you need to request a statement from the bailiffs to find out how much you owe the council (which will be the amount the liability order us for) any extra on top of that will usually be bailiffs fees, which you will now also be liable for (as long as the fees don't exceed reasonable costs incurred)

MamaMoo_2

Also, send all letters to debt agencies recited delivery, and keep a copy.
Do not speak to anyone on the phone, ensure all communication is in writing.
Also, write to any debt collectors asking for proof that the debt has been assigned to them, as you will often find if you have a CCJ, some chancres will try and get you to pay them, without the debt actually having been assigned to them to collect.

Hugh_Jaleak

She informs me she has never recieved any communications from the council or court about a liability order. Last communication from the council was an invoice for an amount owing, this differed from an earlier amount (was actually lower!) so she wrote back asking them to clarify the situation. As far as she is aware there is also a deduction made every fortnight from her JSA for benefit repayment, this doesnt seem to have been taken into account.

I will write her a letter to the Bailiffs making an offer of monthly payments. I assume they would be unable to remove goods as the majority of the property in the house is mine?

MamaMoo_2

Bailiffs will take first, ask questions later, regardless of ownership.
Your best bet would be to telephone the court and ask if you can make a "Statutory Declaration"
This means that your partner would have to stand up in court and swear under oath that she had no idea about the court case, and that she received no contact from the council about when it was etc. This will then mean the current judgement will be set aside.