EMERGENCY!! bailiffs, c.tax, no idea! Scots law

RAS

moneymare wrote: »

For the record, my gripe was not with the OP, but with rog2 and plumduff's 'balanced' view of Bailiffs. I objected to the term 'legalised thugs' and 'legalised criminals'. I am expressing my opinion, and just because it does not fit in with certain members on this forum, they have what I can only describe as a 'hissy fit'.

Are you married to a bailiff by any chance?

The issue that Rog and plumduff was addressing was not your comments on bailiffs but your attack on the OP and others who find themselves owing CT and other debts.

moneymare wrote: »

They are a legitimate form of debt recovery, and often prove very successful in recovering monies for things like outstanding Council Tax. They generally will try and collect on balances outstanding within a timescale - in my experience, 3 months. They are not paid to be nice and friendly - that doesn't get results.

For Council Tax, you wouldn't believe how many people "never receive" things like, Bills, Reminders, Final Notices, Summonses and Liability Order Questionnaires, but are straight on the phone when they get a letter dropped through by a Bailiff :think: How convenient.......:whistle:

Wordfan has explained admirably how she got into debt and how she was chased for CT that she did not even owe.

moneymare

RAS wrote: »

Are you married to a bailiff by any chance?

The issue that Rog and plumduff was addressing was not your comments on bailiffs but your attack on the OP and others who find themselves owing CT and other debts.



Wordfan has explained admirably how she got into debt and how she was chased for CT that she did not even owe.

I did not attack the OP specifically - I was giving a general opinion on what happens in my line of work - and no, I am not married to a Bailiff.

I would also like to apologise to the OP for hijacking the thread, it was not my intention.

adouglasmhor

I would reiterate - do not let them past your door. Park your car a bit away and do not let them intimidate you. If they are acting as debt collectors they have no right of entry anyway.


Also can everyone please leave moneymare alone - it's not a crime to have a different viewpoint and we don't need this squabling.

inmypocketnottheirs

Tootsie_Roll wrote: »

Wow I was going to ask how you justify all your judgemental guess work that you spout in the majority of your posts and which you've demonstrated very well in this post !

Amazing the double standards you live to.

Ring ring ring ring.

Ring ring ring ring.

Warning warning warning

Warning warning warning

Watch out wan%er alert.

You have been warned.

Do not feed the T Rolls.

Morglin

If my local council are in any way respresentitive of the standard of admin in CT departments, I'm not surprised that people get into a muddle.:rolleyes:

Mine swore blind I still owed them £48 - I knew I didn't and wasn't going to pay but my husband got fed up with the letters etc., and paid them anyway.:rolleyes:

Six months later, we got a cheque from them for £48 because we'd overpaid...........aarrgghh!:mad:

Before they send in the baliffs, they might try to ensure that they always hire staff who can do the job.

Lin

Squirrel29

Wordsfan, I think you are one tough lady xx

I am a single mum too (planned baby, was married to an armed forces philanderer too!), I have also worked my backside off to get a good, stable job. This has meant working full time and doing 2 cleaning jobs as extra to pay my way in getting there, there have been times I have been on verge of breakdown with exhaustion but am too proud to claim benefits.

In my job, I come into contact with people who are harrassed by baliffs, the ones employed by my local council are horrendous and there are so many complaints about them.

Keep your chin up, at least your DD will be proud of you for what you have done for her and it will instil a good work ethic. Bet the slappers your ex went with haven't got half as much guts as you xxx

rog2

Herbie21 wrote: »

CERTIFICATED BAILIFFS.

Again using FOI we requested details of ALL Certificated Bailiffs in the entire UK. Shockingly there are just 1,600 !!!

In January this year in answer to questions raised in the House of Commons a Minister confirmed that just under HALF of all bailiff's are working ILLEGALLY AND WITHOUT CERTIFICATION...... the FACT should be known.

An EXCELLENT post, herbie - full of fact supported by evidence, unlike that of mm.

Unfortunately, herbie, this forum is 'trolled' by people like moneymare who likes to 'flex' his/her muscle everytime somebody falls victim to the 'sub-culture' of 'bailiffs and local authorities'.

In my opinion, it is a testament to his/her insecurity that he/she must try constantly to remind anyone who dares to criticise the often illegal actions of these criminals, that there 'is no place to hide'.

With people like that, who, incidentally, only post during office hours, it's, unfortunately 'water off of a duck's back.'

BTW - a MOST INFORMATIVE WEBSITE. :beer:

Morglin

Herbie21 wrote: »

Sadly I missed this thread when it started but having now read through the comments, I am staggered at the views of Moneymare. I say this from good experience.

As Debt Counsellors we have seen first hand the many complaints that people have about bailiffs. Yes, many are thugs and the matter of phantom visits is well known and the reason why they attempt to charge fees not permitted by law should be known. So here goes.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO BLAME:

Moneymare as you have only been in your position for 10 years you may be unaware that ALL councils paid in the past a commission to bailiff companies. Typically between 10-15%. As the average Council Tax debt sent to bailiffs is £610 and the average Business Rates is £2,960 the fees the bailiff company earned were good and they were therefore not motivated by GREED. For reasons that I know very well, ALL councils in the country DO NOT allow commissions any longer. Instead the government introduced Statutory Fees that bailiffs can charge for a 1st visit of £24.50 and second visit of £18.00. This means that the councils are getting a completely FREE collection service but the bailiff must look at ways of increasing his fees, which is .....phantom visits. I would not do the job for this amount and nor would anyone in their right minds.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES MAKING MONEY FROM BAILIFF ACTION.

Another little know fact is that there were over 4 MILLION Liability Orders granted last year. The cost of a LO has risen recently from 70p to £3. EVERY local authority I know charges at fee of between £65 rising to £95...for something that costs just £3 !!!. Please do not try to tell me that this additional amount of £62 covers your admin fees. The banks are currently fighting this same argument in court....and their fees are much less !!!

However it is clear that at £65 per Liability Order there is a huge incentive for councils to pursue these LO's On the average debt this represents "additional revenue of approx: 10% to all councils !!!

BAILIFF COMPLAINTS

Moneymare: Somebody is telling porkies. In researching our website ate www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk we wrote to 115 Local Authorities for copies of their Bailiff Contrats under Freedom of Information. Nearly a third of these contratcs are either out of date, unsigned, in draft form or worse........nothing exists in writing !!!. Considering the huge sums of money involved...this is a scandle.

I have corresponded with IRRV and the Audit Commission on this matter.

On the point of complaints, we requested details of the number of complaints received over a period of time from each council. Your assertion that there are no complaints is not right...but if it were......your local authority is rare !!

CERTIFICATED BAILIFFS.

Again using FOI we requested details of ALL Certificated Bailiffs in the entire UK. Shockingly there are just 1,600 !!!

In January this year in answer to questions raised in the House of Commons a Minister confirmed that just under HALF of all bailiff's are working ILLEGALLY AND WITHOUT CERTIFICATION.

I am sorry for the long post.....but the FACT should be known.

I've been skint many times, and have taken a wide variety of jobs to bring home the bacon, but I have never, ever considered being a baliff.

As far as I'm concerned, they are parasites earning off the back of other people's misfortunes.

Some are better than others, bit many are bullying thugs who rely on the fact that people are stressed and frightened.

Lin :mad:

kristianwilliams

is it wrong to say I know alot of baliffs? the company I know quite well fired 4 bailiffs last year for intimidating clients. these were brought to light because the plantiff phoned the company .

Yes, alot of baliffs are thugs, there nasty nasty peices of work.

Some companies are building there entire reputation on not being those thugs. It all depends on the company unfortunately. And the good ones (as few as they are) get bad raps from the bigger bullies.

Basicly your both right.

rog2

kristianwilliams wrote: »

is it wrong to say I know alot of baliffs? the company I know quite well fired 4 bailiffs last year for intimidating clients. these were brought to light because the plantiff phoned the company .

No kw - you're NOT wrong - unfortunately it is companies just like JBW and ROSSENDALE who give the 'industry' the name it has, in exactly the same way that companies like Capquest, Mackenzie Hall and Moorcroft have done absolutely nothing to enhance the 'image' of the equally distatsteful Debt Collection Industry.
I would, however, point out that the experiences as related on this forum with regard to bailiffs, would very definitely indicate that companies such as the one you describe are very much in the minority.
For this reason alone, the intimidating behaviour of the 4 'bailiffs' that were sacked will be seen as 'qualities' by the likes of JBW. It really is a pity that a person who has been dismissed from one company for 'flouting the rules' can still be employed by another.
I have a neighbour who is a 'certified bailiff' - his services are so much in demand that he can afford to 'choose' his clients. He specialises in business recovery and refuses to have anything to do with Council Tax collection.