please help :( do I have a case against the bailiffs?!

Charmian

Good afternoon everyone!

Please bear with me as this is my first post and I'm not sure how to word this.

To put it simply..

I currently owe a sum of money to the bailiffs due to unpaid council tax. It is a joint debt, with an ex partner but I am the only one paying it now. The whole saga dates back to 2005, hence the figures below. I would like some advice on the charges that the bailiffs have made.

The total amount of unpaid council tax which has been passed to the bailiffs was £5276.19. The total amount of bailiff charges was £1389.27. So the total amount owed was £6665.46.

My ex partner and I paid a total of £2448.95 while we we together, and since we split, I have paid £2294.33. I still owe £1922.18. I currently pay £40 a month, so it is going to take me 4 years to pay it off .

Now, I've seen a few adverts about reclaiming unfair charges made by bailiffs, but how do I go about finding out whether I have a case or not? It seems like a lot of money just on charges.

I would be very grateful for any help or advice anyone feels they can offer.

Many thanks in advance,

Charmian

RAS

Ok

This sounds like more than one years Council Tax???

How many liability orders, for which years?

How much on each one?

How much is outstanding one each one? You may have to ring the Council.

Did the bailiffs ever get into the house or levy on a car?

You really need copies of the letters/levies including the list of charges and a list of the dates when the bailiffs visited you. Do you have that?

On the plus side, there is a decent chance they have visited and charged for more than one year on the same day - not allowed.

Also a decent chance they have charged things like levy and visit fees on the4 same day - not allowed.

Etc, etc.

Charmian

Thank you very much for your reply RAS.

Yes it was more than one years council tax. In total, there were 8 accounts...

1. 16/02/06 £333.38
2. 07/04/06 £553.13
3. 07/08/07 £149.79
4. 24/01/08 £1327.40
5. 01/02/08 £355.31
6. 21/03/08 £501.66
7. 11/09/08 £1563.16
8. 25/01/10 £492.36

The last two accounts are outstanding, I owe £1405.82 on number 7 and £516.36 on number 8.

Yes they got into my house and made a list of items they could take if we didn't pay, a car too, but since then we no longer have any of those items or the car.

I have a copy of each account, what charges were made, when and what for, when I made payments etc.

McKneff

So what happened to the things that the bailiffs listed including the car,

RAS

Ok

On what date did they do the levy?

Not having the items on which they levies is a bit unfortunate; by law they are the bailiffs not yours.

Charmian

Hi McKneff,

When I left my ex partner, I left those things behind in the house. The car too. From what I know, he no longer has them either. They were of little value, a lamp, a table etc and the car was worth £300.

RAS, the dates of the levies...

1.16/03/06
2. 01/05/06
3.no levy made (only just noticed this)
4. 20/05/08
5.20/05/08
6.20/05/08
7.01/12/08
8. 24/03/10

Charmian

hallowitch

what bailiff firm and council is this

can you tell us if all the Levy's were done on the same day with the same goods written on them all

hallowitch

http://www.lgo.org.uk/news/2012/jul/blaby-council-criticised-bailiff-charges/

have a good read of this you can download the full report
top of the page right hand side

Charmian

Hi Hallowitch,

The bailiffs are Jacobs Certificated Bailiffs and the council is South Ribble Borough Council.

The dates that the levies were made are as above. The levy that was made on the first date, those goods were used for the following levies too.

Charmian

hallowitch

In total, there were 8 accounts...

1. 16/02/06 £333.38
2. 07/04/06 £553.13
3. 07/08/07 £149.79
4. 24/01/08 £1327.40
5. 01/02/08 £355.31
6. 21/03/08 £501.66
7. 11/09/08 £1563.16
8. 25/01/10 £492.36

can you have a look on the notice of seizures the bailiff left you and tell me if all of the above accounts have different council tax ref numbers on them
you may have 8 accounts but how many liability orders do you have against you
where did the above amounts and dates come from the council or Jacobs

4. 24/01/08 £1327.40
5. 01/02/08 £355.31
6. 21/03/08 £501.66
11/09/08 £1563.16
I don't understand why you have 4 liability orders against you in 08 especially when 3of them are only weeks apart


the dates of the levies...

1.16/03/06
2. 01/05/06
3.no levy made (only just noticed this)
4. 20/05/08
5.20/05/08
6.20/05/08
7.01/12/08
8. 24/03/10
can you tell us if the bailiff entered your property on each of the above dates to levy good
did you or your ex sign each walking possession agreement (the notice of seizure )
can you tell us what fees are listed on each notice of seizure

you are going to have to do a lot of letter writing(recorded delivery ) and e-mails to get this sorted and you will have to fight your corner and if necessary take it to the ombudsman