Council Tax Enforcement

DonutUK

Just had a letter arrive from Bristow Sutor stating that enforcement action has commenced over a £670 CT debt that i owe.

£75 has already been added to the debt presumably for them sending the letter?

They want over £300 a month in payments to clear the debt in 11 weeks......totally unaffordable for us.

I'm married but the debt is solely in my name as it was for a period where we were separated and i was living elsewhere.

I don't own any goods as such as the car is in my wife's name, and the house we rent is solely in her name but I am the main wage earner so I pay the rent etc.

Obviously I need to contact them to arrange a more affordable payment schedule....but am I going to have problems when i tell them i can only afford a maximum of £50 a month?

Really stressed about this......especially leading up to Xmas.....looks like my son is going without this year.

sourcrates

Hi,
Bailiffs can be notoriously difficult in setting up payment plans, they tend to want the full amount upfront, or a big portion of it at least.

You can write to them with your offer, never phone them, it won't be productive, see if they will accept your offer.

If not, Your best bet would be to deny them access to your property, that means keeping all doors and Windows locked, keep them out, they cannot force entry to your home.
If they fail to collect on the debt after a few attempts, the account will be handed back to the council, and you can then deal with them.

You would still be liable for there fees though.

DonutUK

Would i better off writing to the council offering a payment plan?

ARe there any template letters that i can use?

National_Debtline

It is unlikely that the council will negotiate with you at this stage (you can write to them and ask them to take the debt back, but unless there is a good reason for them to do this they probably won't). Sourcrates is right, negotiate with the bailiffs in writing, send them a budget plan and do not let them into your home.

You also mentioned that the car is in your wife's name and she is not named on the debt. The bailiffs should only take the liable persons goods for the debt but they may want to see proof of ownership of the car - which would mean a receipt as well as the log book. You must have the receipt otherwise the bailiffs may argue the car is yours and they may try and take it. If there is no proof of purchase your wife should hide her car as an added precaution to keep it safe.


Laura
@natdebtline

daygecko

hi sorry to jump in on this persons post but i am new and struggling to find where to start a new thread . i have been paying my debt for outstanding council tax through bristow and sutor, i pay online as as when i can as atm am current residing in a women refuge, and only in reciept of disabillity benefit. bristow and sutor have never been given this adress for me ( not allowed to give adress of refuge) and i have never recieved any correspondance from them i just access the bristow and sutor website to pay and check my balance, today i recieved a phonecall from them (no idea where they got my number) saying they have added around £400 enforcement fees that were issued to an address i have never lived at, can they infact charge me this fee as they are saying they can as they believed at the time i actually lived there , ( i have never lived there) and have not ever given them a up to date address for my whereabouts, surely these added on enforcement fees are illegal , can anyone help .

sourcrates

daygecko wrote: »

hi sorry to jump in on this persons post but i am new and struggling to find where to start a new thread . i have been paying my debt for outstanding council tax through bristow and sutor, i pay online as as when i can as atm am current residing in a women refuge, and only in reciept of disabillity benefit. bristow and sutor have never been given this adress for me ( not allowed to give adress of refuge) and i have never recieved any correspondance from them i just access the bristow and sutor website to pay and check my balance, today i recieved a phonecall from them (no idea where they got my number) saying they have added around £400 enforcement fees that were issued to an address i have never lived at, can they infact charge me this fee as they are saying they can as they believed at the time i actually lived there , ( i have never lived there) and have not ever given them a up to date address for my whereabouts, surely these added on enforcement fees are illegal , can anyone help .

Hi,

You need to give National Debtline a call.

They can charge certain fees, unsure how you not living there would effect that.

Best give them a quick call, they will tell you all you need to know, phone number is in my signiture.