dealings with Rundles

widgey9488

Hi guys looking for some advice here before i move forward.

My partner owed some money in council tax which was passed onto Rundles.
she agreed a payment plan with them paying 2 lots of £48.09 and a final one of £47.91 she missed the final one as she did not have the money. 2 weeks later she got a hand delivered letter from an enforcement agent for attendance notice to remove goods. It was delivered on the 9th of June am

This letter states that an agent called by the house today to take control of goods. and an added fee of 235.
she rang the guy that day and explained that she could not pay this in one go and offered him the 47.91. he declined stating that she would need to pay either two halves the full amount.
after explaining that she could not afford to do this. He told her she would have to borrow some money from somewhere to pay him back.

on the 10th of June she received a letter from Rundles that they intended to send an agent out if she did not pay the 47.91 immediately the letter is dated the 8th of June.

She rang Rundles on receipt of this letter. explaining they had come to her in the wrong order they put her straight back to the agent saying that he is the one dealing with the case.

Now to me it doesn't sound right that they can charge you this fee before even warning you its going to happen with the best will in the worold a letter is not going to reach you by the morning the next day especially as the postman doesn't even deliever there untill the afternoon. Theres no problem paying the 47.91 but i Don't feel like paying a £235 fee is justified. Rundles did tell her to pay the full amount and then dispute it but I'm thinking if this happens we will never get that money back

thanks very much for your time

sourcrates

Hi,
See here for bailiff fees :


https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/bailiffs-fees-and-charges/fees-bailiffs-can-charge/


I know things can be difficult at times financially, but the one debt you should treat as a priority is council tax, as the hassle and expense can get way out of control very quickly.


When you were aware you could not pay the £47.91, it would of been wise to phone the council/bailiff and tell them so, then further action could of been avoided


They should of given you seven days notice, did they ? I know it sounds unfair, but the enforcement fee may be payable as well.

widgey9488

hi sourcrates thanks for the reply
the first thing she got was the hand delivered letter from the agent no other contact had been made until she got the letter saying they would be sending an agent unless she called the day after he had already been.

sourcrates

widgey9488 wrote: »

hi sourcrates thanks for the reply
the first thing she got was the hand delivered letter from the agent no other contact had been made until she got the letter saying they would be sending an agent unless she called the day after he had already been.

I would give National Debtline a quick call, they will be able to advise you better than I can.


They do post on here on a regular basis, and may see your post later.


These are there contact details :


Call us for free
debt advice on
0808 808 4000

Monday to Friday
9am to 9pm
Saturday 9.30am to 1pm

widgey9488

thanks very much

National_Debtline

Hi Widgey

As Sourcrates said, bailiffs need to give seven clear days notice before attending to remove goods. This notice should be given in a ‘notice of enforcement’ letter.

If your partner has never received the notice of enforcement the £235 can be contested. It’s worth checking whether Rundles sent a notice of enforcement in the very first place, before the payment plan was arranged.

The notice or enforcement should contain the information outlined here:

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/wales/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/bailiff-has-issued-you-with-a-notice/bailiffs-notices/notice-of-enforcement-text-only/

Your partner can complain to the bailiff firm, the council and to the bailiff trade association called CIVEA if the notice wasn’t received:

www.civea.co.uk

In any case, it does sound like Rundles intended to give your partner a chance to pay before they sent the bailiff so it’s worth making a written complaint to them regardless.


James
@natdebtline

widgey9488

hi James what has happened is that the agent delivered an attendance notice to take control of goods on the 9th and she received a letter saying take formal notice on the 10th this is the bit thats getting me. so she got the letters back to front one day after each other. but rundles are not willing to accept this fact. so while they did give her a chance to pay it was 1 day and really she never ghad a chance to address this as the letter had never arrived. i have some pictures of the letters if anyone would like to look at them. there is no time frame on either of the letters either

widgey9488

just a little update spoke to the enforcement agent and because she broke the agreement he doesnt need to give us any notice is what he said because its at the compliance stage.

National_Debtline

They need to have issued the notice of enforcement at some stage at least seven clear days prior to attending your property. If they did then they can attend now and add the £235 enforcement fee. If they didn’t your partner can complain.

There is a better version of what a notice of enforcement should look like here.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/wales/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/bailiff-has-issued-you-with-a-notice/bailiffs-notices/notice-of-enforcement-bailiffs/

It’s worth calling our helpline on 0808 808 4000 if you would like to discuss this further with an adviser.

James
@natdebtline

widgey9488

thanks very much