bailiffs knocking, whats my rights?

lizard821000

hi guys,

used this forum before lots and so much great info , hoping for some advise on my problem.
dont know toooo much about all this, been looking on some sites and have delt with debt collectors in the past, but not tryed the same tactics on bailifts.

i recieved a letter this morning regarding my outstanding council tax bill which has now been passed onto a company called Ross and Roberts ltd. i missed my last few payments due to lack of work as a self employed builder, they are now demanding the payment in full plus charges! this can not happen as i dont have it, i contacted the council (who the debt was with before)and told them i was not whilling to deal with a 3rd party regarding my financess.
they told me it was now out of their hands and to contact the said bailiff, i will not be contacting them how ever as i want to pay my debt with the council direct, i still have the payment details in place to pay them via on-line or automatic phone payments. im just worried about the said bailiff company that may keep knocking and adding further charges to my already over streching debt.
the council informed me if i wasnt willing to communicate with this other company, that my debt will eventually be handed back to them anyways, as they have no rights to send me to court for it etc.... and I AM WILLING to pay the debt, just not via a 3rd party with silly add-on charges.

whats the best thing for me to do now? just wait till it gets handed back to the council? can i call the police and tell them im being harrased by these people?

thanks for your time.

shaun

DVardysShadow

If it is with the bailiffs, there are only certain charges they can add, limited to something like £42.50 I think, if they do not get a walking possession order by entering your property.

chanz4

just dont park your car or van near your property

lizard821000

hi DVardysShadow, thanks for the reply.

im mainly conserned about them seizing my work van as a levy as its left on the road, if im home when they call i certainly wont be letting them in...

can i just ignore them like you would a debt collector?
on the letter i recieved this morning it states unless i pay the full amount that on the next visit there will be an additional £110 add on charges, split between levy fees,walking possession fees and van removal fees.
next to the levy fee it says " with arrangment" im guessing next time they come theyll be looking for me to sign something to wave this levy arrangement and walking possession in their favour!?

im unsure what to do next?? im happy to pay the debt but want to pay the council, not a 3rd party bailiff, no way will i hand over my account details to them!

should i have some letters ready for when they come calling? like the walking poss letter and levy letters i see in template form on these sorts of sites? or is it best just to ignore them all together and deny i know what they are talking about...

thanks so much for any replies, me and the mrs just had our first child 6 weeks ago and the thoughts that these guys are going to be lurking about like dogs makes her very uneasy.

DVardysShadow

I am not too much of a bailiff expert, but as I understand it, they must not remove a vehicle used for a trade or any tools of the trade. If they do not gain entry, then they cannot levy and if nothing is levied they cannot remove it, so no need for van fees.

Don't give them bank account details, but I suggest paying them the council tax plus the court fees plus their £42.50 puts an end to it.

sgtbush

the council have instructed the bailiffs for a reason, you failed to pay the council, so why should the council now accept you will pay them?
you need to negotiate with the bailiff company
if the van is for work, as your a self employed builder then they cannot levy against it s it is vital for you to work, but you need to talk to the bailiffs about a repayment plan

claireb467

I work for a council but under a different department. Once we send any debts off to Ross and Roberts we are unable to then talk about the debt to the person at all and any payments via our systems are disallowed. All we are allowed to say is to contact R and R.

lizard821000

thanks for the replies,

the debt was being payed but i missed some payments when worked dryed up just after christmas and i then had an accident which need an operation to fix, unabling me to work!

that was my argument with the council today as im willing to pay them but not a 3rd party.

the van comment makes me a little more settled as i was worried they would seize it....maybe they still will, but i will be careful were i start parking it .

the council told me that if the bailiff were not succesful collecting the debt that it would be passed back to them for them to start court proceeding to collect in court, but that would only happen if i agreed NOT to pay them, and im not! im offering too! just not this 3rd party.

laughable really, their paying these guys to collect a debt that im willing to pay them but not the 3rd party collector.

ill call them again in a week and see if they reconsider.

thanks for the advise guys. ill keep you up dated to whats happening.

also clair, this is crap surely, as iv read on many other forums today that payments can still be payed via automatic phone payment. are you working for R&R!?

claireb467

As I said I work for a council. Yes you could go via an automated phone but in my department as thedebt is set up for payment disallowed the money would go into a different place and not be allocated to your debt. But of course I only work for the council and deal with Ross and Roberts so I must be talking 'crap'

DVardysShadow

claireb467 wrote: »

As I said I work for a council. Yes you could go via an automated phone but in my department as thedebt is set up for payment disallowed the money would go into a different place and not be allocated to your debt. But of course I only work for the council and deal with Ross and Roberts so I must be talking 'crap'

You work for a different department, so unless you are talking about Council Tax debt, you may indeed be talking carp without intending to. Council Tax debt is different in Law to other debt.

If the debt you are talking about is ordinary civil debt, then your council may indeed be selling the debt to R&R, in which case they would be right to refuse any payments. Council Tax debt is not sold on as I understand it.

sgtbush

lizard821000 wrote: »

ill call them again in a week and see if they reconsider.

thanks for the advise guys. ill keep you up dated to whats happening.

if you pay any money to the council it will float round a surplus account as the computer will not know where to allocate the money.
the debt is not sold to a bailiff company for council tax
if you dont talk to the bailiffs you are running the risk of the debt being passed back to the council as non enforced and you will end up in court, facing the council and they will do SOA's etc and the judge will decide how much you will pay