should i pay the bailiff??

cathyw87

Hi

I managed to default on my water bill and have been paying the debt collectors monthly for this. i missed the christmas payment for obvious reasons and they didn't make their usual call to me asking for payment!! i've had a postcard from a missed visit from a bailiff telling me he's coming back for the monies on a certain date. can i pay the water co. direct or shall i call the bailiff on his mob no. and pay him on the due date? i'll be at work but my son may answer the door to him.

Horseunderwater

What do you usally do? If you pay the bailiff in the normal way, ring and ask them to come at a time when you will be there. If you have a young person in the house on own and they answer the door to a baififf there could be a problem. Am far from an expert on this. If you'd pay the water company, then that is what you should do. Stick to the correct arrangement. But contact the number on the card to tell them what you are doing and stick to it. IT is when you do not pay them that charges for bailiff involvement get added and they can be steep and put you into even more debt. It may now have got to that point.
You also need to set your budget correctly with your income. Rent, Council tax, TV licence first, followed by Utilities for heat/elect/water. Content insurance, then food. Shop around and get better deals for them. If you are on benefits or very low income, then ask for help with stuff from the consumer debt help line. They helped me out when I had some trouble in 2004. If you get the budget right so that those are covered before you buy anything else, then you will know how much you can pay for any debts. With the water company, find out what you have paid so far and still owe for back payment and agree the actual total with water company and get it in writing. Using that figure work out your budget incl that debt. You need to take firm control. You also need to tell any children that there can be no luxuries for now as you have to get this all sorted out. Explain facts to them and show them how to budget as it can be helpful to learn this sort of thing early on in life. I have done so with my Daughter. Good luck.

immoral_angeluk

Is it actually a bailiff or a debt collector? You refer to both in your post.
And how do you mean you missed the christmas payment for obvious reasons? You really shouldn't be missing payments to bailiffs, regardless of the time of year and without wishing to sound harsh you should be budgetting for christmas, and not missing payments on priorities for the sake of a few christmas presents!
Toys, gadgets and the like won't mean anything when they've been siezed by a bailiff and sold to repay the debt..

HappyMJ

Horseunderwater wrote: »

You also need to set your budget correctly with your income. Rent, Council tax, TV licence first, followed by Utilities for heat/elect/water. Content insurance, then food.

I have different priorities with these.

Rent or Mortgage (interest only at a minimum) first.
Electric/Gas ongoing charges (with everything turned off and thermostats at a minimum)
Food next.
Then whatever order you want for the rest. If you have no spare money then no one gets anything. Council tax is a priority debt as you can be sent to prison for non payment when you have money, if you have no money then they will not send you to prison but they do send bailiffs which can be annoying. Water doesn't matter they cannot cut you off but it does accrue quite quickly. Gas and electric arrears are important as they may put a prepayment meter in and you can't save money by switching as you have an outstanding debt. TV licence is unimportant...just don't watch live telly. Use Iplayer and 4OD. For me the telephone and broadband is very important as I make more money from having it so I prioritize it above anything else. Court fines are important but they can be negotiated down to £5 a week and if you don't pay that you can be sent to prison.

Lastly the unsecured creditors can have some.

fatbelly

cathyw87 wrote: »

Hi

I managed to default on my water bill and have been paying the debt collectors monthly for this. i missed the christmas payment for obvious reasons and they didn't make their usual call to me asking for payment!! i've had a postcard from a missed visit from a bailiff telling me he's coming back for the monies on a certain date. can i pay the water co. direct or shall i call the bailiff on his mob no. and pay him on the due date? i'll be at work but my son may answer the door to him.

This sounds odd. At least it's very different from how my water authority operates.

Which water authority is it? Which company does this 'bailiff' work for? Have you had a County Court Judgement for water arrears?