Council Tax Bailiff Fees 2014

techno_saver

Have just become aware of the change in fees Council Bailiffs are allowed to charge from April 2014.
A fee of £75 when the debt is handed over from the Council and a fee of £235 if there is a visit to the property.
The current fees allow for two visits capped at £42.50 (with no levy), the fees after April 2014 would be £310.
Am I understanding that correctly?

antonic

Under the new Taking Control of Goods Legislation the revised charges are :

£75 for an enforcement warning letter

£235 if an enforcement officer visits

and a further charge of 7.5% of the value of the debt, if the debt is greater than £1500 ( ie if you owe more than £1500, the 7.5% is charged on £1500 +)

techno_saver

That's how I read it.
A bailiff's visit would be a knock on the door?
Surely that is going to be very lucrative for the bailiff trade.

antonic

Possibly

But the change has been made by the Ministry of Justice because there were (are) some bailiffs who were adding extortionate fees to existing debts.

techno_saver

Yes, of course, that's a good move.
The Council bailiff charges were capped though and anybody not realising the fee structure had changed could be caught out.

rizla_king

So they can now rip you off officially rather than on the sly. Thanks government.

fatbelly

rizla_king wrote: »

So they can now rip you off officially rather than on the sly. Thanks government.

That's about the only real change I can see.

All this guff about not levying on cookers and being let into property by children was already covered by CIVEA/NSEA/LGO guidance anyway.

Training and certification likewise was already in place for:

Council Tax arrears & Business rates
Penalty Charge Notices
Child Support arrears

As you know, most bailiff action is on Council Tax.

So what I've got to do now is to see if I can dissuade my Council from routinely sending accounts to bailiffs given that the effective fee is now seven times greater than it was and will in the cases of IS/JSA/ESA clients (who now have to pay 25% of full council tax from their £71.70*) probably be double the actual amount of the liability order.

*Sorry, forgot the government have just given them a rise of 1%. :T

techno_saver

fatbelly wrote: »

All this guff about not levying on cookers and being let into property by children was already covered by CIVEA/NSEA/LGO guidance anyway.

Training and certification likewise was already in place for:

Council Tax arrears & Business rates
Penalty Charge Notices
Child Support arrears

As you know, most bailiff action is on Council Tax.

That is what I thought.
The Council would advertise that use of the bailiff is a last resort. It is more likely just part of their routine.

National_Debtline

Much of the changes simply codify what already exists. It is useful that it is all in one place. I like the need to send an enforcement notice as in certain circumstances people should be able to get applications in to stay/vary the judgments during the 7 day period before a visit can take place. The fees are certainly contentious - epspecially when it comes to High Court enforcement agents.

We've updated all of our bailiff-related fact sheets to reflect the changes, you can find them here.

There are a few ambiguities which I fear may be exploited by a bailiff - not least the general statement they have to provide that says that agents 'may enter premises for enforcement purporses'. How many individuals are going to think that bailiffs have an automatic right to get in based upon that statement? Bear in mind that a bailiff could well point out at the same time that it is now an offence to intentially obstruct an enforcement agent. It's a concern for sure.

David.

rizla_king

I'm sure they will exploit every loophole they can, and when they can't do that they'll carry on lying and bullying as they always have.

fatbelly

rizla_king wrote: »

I'm sure they will exploit every loophole they can, and when they can't do that they'll carry on lying and bullying as they always have.

We've already heard stories of bailiffs saying to people denying them access: 'Come April, I'll be able to break in'

So David's fears are probably justified.

All the bailiff experts agree that the fundamental points of bailiff law have not changed. But I'm sure there will be problems.

New ND factsheets look good. Still some typos to sort out there including a 6 April 2013 instead of 2014