Council Tax Debt Recovery

ikati5

Rossendales are not very nice people to deal with but they have to abide by the law, They cannot break into your home but they can if they gain access via a garage!

They can only attend your property 3 times for any debt but if you owe £250 for one year and £250 for another that is 2 debts, 6 visits.

They will send all sorts of vile notices saying 24 hour til removal of goods, committal to prison summons etc etc. Ignore them all.

After 3 visits and no access or proposal they will send your debt back to the council and the whole process will start again, so you can make an arrangement to the council but if you don't it goes to Rossendales again...

I would contact an advisor as in http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/ who will advise you on the minimum payments you can mae and it will be a whole lot lower than £125

Ulysses1982

Ha ha, I would like to see a bailiff visit me in prison. We live in a second floor flat so a bailiff won't sneak in through a window or even get in to the building, it's all high security, so that's not an issue. We have a car, but it is technically my GF's and this council tax debt is technically mine, so I don't think they'll be taking the car, plus it isn't obvious which car parking space is for which flat.

I am happy to pay this debt, I just wondered how little I can pay at a time. If I offer too low will they just refuse it and instead take my belongings. I assume that a bailiff can break in if it is to pay a debt owed to the government.

ikati5

No they can't

ikati5

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=02_bailiffs_and_council_tax this tells you council tax bailiffs rights

RobertoMoir

ikati5 wrote: »

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=02_bailiffs_and_council_tax this tells you council tax bailiffs rights

It's also wrong, or at least poorly written and confusing.

"If the bailiffs have not been into your home before to collect this debt, they have no right to come in. They cannot break in. You can choose not to let them in."

It is not for the debtor to choose whether or not to let them in. It is for the bailiff to attempt to gain 'peaceful entry', regardless of the wishes of the debtor.

"Don't open the door to them as they may try to push past you. If they get inside, they may have the right to enter again and may break in to take your goods."

If the bailiff pushes past you then this would not be peaceable entry, rendering their presence in your house a trespass and any further action stemming from it, such as removal of goods, invalid and illegal.

I'd also suggest the OP reads this summary of bailiffs rights and likely behaviour. I admit I'm somewhat biased towards the author but I still think its a good summary.

RobertoMoir

Ulysses1982 wrote: »

Ha ha, I would like to see a bailiff visit me in prison.

I assume you meant put you in prison. It's not the bailiff's decision whether or not to arrest someone and its none of the bailiff's business what the court does once someone has been arrested and taken to court, but I can assure you that when I was a bailiff I arrested plenty of people for non-payment once their local council had got the appropriate paperwork. The average bailiff knows far more about collecting debt than the average 'normal person' does about dodging bailiffs.

We live in a second floor flat so a bailiff won't sneak in through a window or even get in to the building, it's all high security, so that's not an issue.

It's not that difficult to trick your way into a 'secure' block of flats, it really isn't. So you need to be careful when you go to open your door.

We have a car, but it is technically my GF's and this council tax debt is technically mine, so I don't think they'll be taking the car, plus it isn't obvious which car parking space is for which flat.

They may try to levy on a car if they can reasonably expect it to be yours. They obviously can't take it if it isn't yours, but the owner may need to demonstrate this fact.

I am happy to pay this debt, I just wondered how little I can pay at a time. If I offer too low will they just refuse it and instead take my belongings.

Well they will certainly try to levy on your goods, which will allow them to take those goods if they don't get a payment plan they like, and to charge more fees. Read the notes on peaceable entry I linked to in my other/last post here to get an idea of what they can and cannot do and how they're likely to behave.

I assume that a bailiff can break in if it is to pay a debt owed to the government.

Not a council tax debt. Your assumption would be correct if the debt we are talking about was a magistrates court fine though.

ikati5

A bailiff is a vampire and should be treated as such, Keep them out by never inviting a vampire into your home. Once a vampire has been invited into a home, it renders any and all protection powerless and gives the creature license to return. If the person turns out not to be a vampire, you can always apologize. Undoing a home invitation to a vampire is virtually impossible.

Read more: How to Safeguard a Home Against Vampires | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2126011_safeguard-home-against-vampires.html#ixzz1U8gdrp4y

dancingfairy

I'd pay what you can afford each week/month direct to the council - all you need to do is make sure it goes against last years reference number rather than this years.
Don't let the bailifs in but be aware that you will likely end up owing the council tax debt + liabaility order costs + bailiff costs (do check the bailiff charges as they are likely to try and overcharge you). The National Debtline factsheet tells you what they can and can't charge.
Best of Luck
df

fifilabouche

I have had to deal with council tax bailiffs and they are very unreasonable! I owed a measly £160 to the council even tho i was making regular online payments to clear the amount they sent it to the bailiffs as I hadnt agreed this amount with them!

The bailiff refused to take any money from me and constantly told me he couldnt take the money without coming inside my property and that if I didnt let him in he would be coming back with the police! needless to say I decided to ignore the calls and letters and they eventually stopped and went back to the council. My advice is to ignore ignore ignore! they are very sneaky and very underhand!

flossieflipflop

Hi,

About 5 years ago I got into trouble with the council tax and Rossendales were the baliffs appointed. At the time I didn't know anything about baliff law etc and so duly let the guy in when they came and they levied on our goods. But the guy was quite nice and polite (maybe our big dog helped in that area!) and they set up a payment plan there and then for me asking me what I could afford. So I paid monthly and after 4 months I had cleared the debt. I don't know what kind of charges they added as never really looked (and again didn't know anything about this site or baliff law) But I did find they would take monthly payments. But then again this was a long time ago so maybe they've changed since then? Sorry not a huge help but just thought i'd add my experience of Rossendales and monthly payments.