can anyone advise me of what my rights are with marston group?

1111

Hi all
yesterday i had a letter post through my door stating i owe money and i needed to contact them about it.
the debt is from a 3 years ago and it for council tax. i contacted them this morning and asked to have some sort of payment card sent to me so i could make weekly payment and he said he wont send me one untill i pay 30% of the debt which is £1300 i cant afford to pay 30% all at once its too much, i havent been contacted about this in the past its just seems to have popped up out of no where, yes i knew i owed money but why not contact me and arrange to pay it insted of contacting the bailifts.
he said that was the only option i have if i didnt pay it they'd send someone round to take away all my stuff.
i dont know what to do we dont have much anyway we'd end up with nothing left.
im willing to pay weekly or monthly but they wont let me
can anyone advise me on what i can do about this?
thanks x

adi_clarke85

They probably have tried to contact you. The Council would have sent a demand notice, reminder, summons and liability order to your last known address. It is deemed served as long as it is not returned from royal mail as undelivered and if no contact it is usually passed to a bailiff company. They have no legal requirement to accept instalments from you, this is something you have to arrange with them.

1111

I never received any of this and i don't understand why as i would of arranged to pay it, i have tried to arrange to make weekly payment's but they said they want 30% of the debt paid then they'll let me pay weekly or monthly but i dont have that sort of money well no where near that amount, i really dont know what to do or what they will do. i want to pay it but they wont let me

adi_clarke85

Is it from a previous debt? The Council doesn't have to prove you received it, only that they were sent. If they aren't returned as undelivered, then they are considered served.

1111

I changed address 12month ago but thats it

1111

is there nothing else i can do now??

vax2002

Contact the Council and make them a firm offer in WRITING, Writing is not an e.mail, it is a letter.
If they refuse this.
If you dont have a car outside, lock all doors, dont let the bailiff in or talk you in to opening a door, they will visit 3 times and then if they can not gain entry by been invited and they do have to be invited for a civil debt in to the home then the debt will be passed back to the council who due to you making a written offer will not be able to apply for a committal to prison warrant.
Then you will be able to deal with the council and not some fat no neck thick thug.

fatbelly

The bailiff clearly isn't going to accept your offer of payment. He can't force entry to your property unless he got 'peaceable entry' (see later) on a previous visit. He's not interested in removing goods - this doesn't happen in 99% of cases - it's just about putting pressure on you.

You do need to be paying this as it's a priority debt so work out what you can pay and start paying it - to the council via their online payment facility.

Now the bailiff will be visiting you and can charge for 2 visits (£42.50) - if those fail then the debt gets returned to the council, and they will look at committal to prison if you are 'willfully refusing' to pay.

So make sure that he does not achieve a valid levy. As a summary, hide the car (if you own one) and keep doors/windows locked. If you need to talk to the bailiff do so through the letterbox or upstairs window.

If you're not sure what these terms mean you need to read this factsheet

Factsheet | Bailiffs and Council Tax

and this explains 'peaceable entry'

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=23640647#post23640647

1111

hi, thank you for your replies, i live in an upstairs apartment with my children.
i dont have a car so thats one thing less to worry about, i tryed as much as i could to get them to agree to set up a payment plan so i could afford it, i can't even borrow the money as i have no one to borrow from
i wont be letting him in but im so scared of him banging on my door demanding what i dont have, ive just got over depression due to other debts which i now have on track i just dont want all this again.
i wish i would have known about the debt in the first place i could of paid it by now.
i am going to go to citizens advice on monday morning to see if they'll help with writting the letters and i can hand deliver them to the council office at the same time.
its stupid asking for 30% and not taking any other payment till i pay that chunk of it off in full

1111

i have emailed the complaints bit at the council today and told them how i feel about them coming and that it's not like i am avoiding paying and also about not receiving anything till they came, i havent and wont let them in my home and ive not agreed anything either, i did try but he wouldn't listeen to a word i said and just kept speaking (well shouting) over me that i must pay this or they'll take all my stuff, i am having to keep the door locked and bolted at all times just incase, he has to get through the main door first but could just buzz someone elses to get through that

bailiff_advise

Thats ok just dont open your door, he is powerless and he knows he is thats why he shouts to scare you and intimidate you, if he threatens to call police dont worry stay calm and be polite at all times but do not let the bailiff into your home even if the police tell you to, as the police are their to prevent a breach of the peace so be polite and calm and dont let him in no matter what. Also get a friend over to film everything and i bet he wont shout then and will probably leave, video everything.