OMG a BALIFF came round!!!

us,thecat&thedebt

although we weve had alot of debt weve never been actually visited by a baliff..

oh arrived home at 2pm yesterday and a guy approched him showed him an id and said are you mr x xxxx oh confirmed he was and bloke said he was a balif collecting council tax arrears, he had a removal van around the corner (which my oh saw) ready to remove goods.

baliff handed him a letter and asked him if he had the cash or did they need to take goods!!

oh told them he is dyslexic and unable to read letter would have to wait till i got home after 7pm from work.

baliff backed of and said we have till monday to sort out!

bill is for £400 and is for an adress we lived in from feb 05 to july 05.

i want aware i owed this money and am prepared to pay it but...

do i have to pay it all at once...

can they really take my stuff...

i get the impression that if oh had let them in they would have taken stuff...

we are moving in 6 days and want to sort it prior..

phoned the number (mobile) for the balif no answerso left message leaving my mobile and landline. tried to call today number is off...

says on letter not to contact the office as baliffs decison is final...

im concerned that they are going to turn up on mon when im at work

thanks in advance for any help...

savvykaz

Hi and try not to panic!

In my opinion this all sounds a bit strange - firstly how the bailiff backed off when your OH mentioned his dyslexia and even more so when you say that the letter says not to contact the office!!! Also, why is his phone switched off and why has he not returned your call?
I am no expert but we once had a visit from a bailiff chasing a debt owed by a previous tenant when we were renting. My DH challenged the bailiff who refused to leave empty handed even though I could prove I wasn't Mrs X. We phoned his office, they listened to our explanation and the bailiff left.
My message to you is, do not let him into your house, phone the office to confirm he is genuine and most of all, DON'T let them bully you!!!!

GOOD LUCK

Snaggles

Hi us, god that must have been awful, not sure what to suggest, but I'm sure there will be people around who know what to do. I think people normally suggest keeping all doors/windows locked so they can't get in. Hope you manage to get it sorted. Take care.

chevalier

Lucky he was dyslexic, and the bailiff understanding. From what I have read on bailiffs on this site, that usually wouldn't have deterred him.

You say that the debt is from another property are you sure you owe it?

Do you have the paperwork? Unless it was a court order I don't think they have right of entry.

chev

us,thecat&thedebt

letter say a court order was granted november 05!

i do remember the debt but i thought id paid it although looking back maybe not..

is it right that they cannot enter your home unless you let them in? or can they force entry?#

all my stuff is in boxes as we are moving in 6 days

prudryden

Did he give you any papers? Were there any other telephone numbers other than a mobile number? I am always suspicious when someone only has a mobile number. Did you actually take the ID and look at it closely?

Call the council tax office immediately and confirm that it is legit and not yet again another scam.

us,thecat&thedebt

the letter is from cer limited whom ive dealt with in the past regarding council tax arrears...

cer number is on the top of the letter but they are only open mon-fri 9-5pm (while im at work!)


if it has already been to court can they accept payments?

ideally i would like to pay it at the end of the month when i get paid..

thesaint

If it has gone to court the Bailiffs do not have to accept payments.

They can not enter your house, do not let them in under any circumstances.

If you have your Council tax details from your old address and have the money, pay it to the council directly.
Even if you can't pay it all, pay some.
If the Bailiffs call back tell them that you have paid the Council, so the amount they are asking for is incorrect.

fatbelly

I think this factsheet wil be helpful

bailiffs and council tax

I'm surprised they were deterred so easily. They will probably try harder next time, then return the debt to the council. If that happens you should not assume it has gone away but make an arrangement with the council to pay.

us,thecat&thedebt

thanks the saint

i still have the council tax bill from the address concerned

i can pay them £100 on monday

and the rest at the end of the month


what proof do i need to show baliff?

lil_me

Get a receipt from the council office when you pay.