Council Tax Debt

Smart_Mart

Hi there,

I've been poor with money for many years and being self-employed and partly on benefits too, it hasn't always been easy keeping an even keel. I manager much better these days but one thing I've slipped badly on is council tax arrears.

Currently, I owe about £1,758 on two liability orders. It's £802 on last years and £956 on this year's and that includes a £75 compliance stage fee on both orders. I've now received a letter from Rundles which prompted me to ring them and offer them £100 a month to clear it.

Of course you can guess what they've said; they won't take any less than a settlement in six months meaning I have to find £293 a month which clearly I can't afford.

What is my best form of action now? The council said they won't take my case back now as it is in the hands of enforcement agents and no doubt if I speak to Rundles, they will stick by their story that it's £293 a month or nothing. Should I pay the £100 a month to Rundles to at least reduce the bill or should I just wait for them to come, refuse to deal with them and wait for the three visits to come and go?

I really have screwed up here. Non priority debt has been dealt with while this one has not been. But my two boys aged 15 are left at home on their own now and again and I don't want them bothered by bailiffs who will use any which way they can to get in.

Please help me.

sourcrates

Hi,

See the phone number for National Debtline in my signature ?

Give them a ring, they will be able to answer all your questions !!

National_Debtline

Hi there,


First of all the bailiffs should leave the property if it is clear that the only people in the house are under the aged of 18. Second of all, these bailiffs can only come inside through open or unlocked access or if you invite them. So from now on, keep your home locked and secure and do not invite them in under any circumstances. As long as you do this, they cannot force entry. Also if you have anything of value outside of your home, such as a car, you will also need to hide that from now on to keep it safe from the bailiffs.


When it comes to dealing with the debt there are a few things to bear in mind. Firstly, keep all communication in writing, send the bailiffs office a letter and a budget plan to clearly outline your offer. Don’t be discouraged if they continue to say no – be firm and save the money you can afford to one side at home, until you have enough to pay the debt and their fees.


Secondly, make sure that when the new council tax year starts in April 2016 that you maintain the new years payments above all else – that might mean you can only send the bailiffs £5 per week instead of £100 per month but you have to break the debt cycle otherwise you may always have bailiffs. Hope that helps.


Laura
@natdebtline

Smart_Mart

Thanks to both of you, that's very helpful!

The letter from Rundles only came yesterday so I've got till the 3rd December to reply in writing. Think I'll get it over with sooner than later.

Smart_Mart

Have taken the advice on here and also had a chat online with an adviser from the National Debt Helpline. Wrote to Rundles using a template letter I found and adding in my personal references etc and now awaiting their first visit which should be some time after Wednesday.

I'm up for moving the car out of sight but I also noticed that they won't take a car if it's needed for your business which mine is.

Smart_Mart

Rundles are ramping up the pressure now, that's for sure. Wednesday was the deadline to contact them by (which I'd already done last week) and since then...

Wednesday - letter arrives confirming my letter to them, won't accept £100 a month but I can keep paying them in the meantime. 2 text messages follow.

Thursday - two voicemails on home phone.

Friday - one text, two voicemails.

I can see how people get worn down by them. :eek:

HappyMJ

Smart_Mart wrote: »

Rundles are ramping up the pressure now, that's for sure. Wednesday was the deadline to contact them by (which I'd already done last week) and since then...

Wednesday - letter arrives confirming my letter to them, won't accept £100 a month but I can keep paying them in the meantime. 2 text messages follow.

Thursday - two voicemails on home phone.

Friday - one text, two voicemails.

I can see how people get worn down by them. :eek:

They'll keep trying.

It'll take a few more ignored attempts for them to give up to keep ignoring and they'll stop.

Pay your rent and essential bills first and think about what's left over before committing to any amount. If all you have left over is £10 per month then stick to it. If paying £100 a month leaves you £90 short on your rent you will lose the roof over your head. Not paying your council tax will not lead to that and the court will not put you in prison for not having the ability to pay.

Smart_Mart

Had a visit from the renowned Mr Cohen last week with his little recording camera thingy on his lapel. Agreed to £100 a month to start with but I emphasised three times that this would be lowered when the new council tax bill comes out in April 2016.

He said they'd review it in June (after six months) but I said "No, it will be dropping down to £100 a month including my 16/17 bill (which will probably be around £70 a month)." Don't think he liked it and at one point, he asked if I had taken some professional advice....:o

HappyMJ

Smart_Mart wrote: »

Had a visit from the renowned Mr Cohen last week with his little recording camera thingy on his lapel. Agreed to £100 a month to start with but I emphasised three times that this would be lowered when the new council tax bill comes out in April 2016.

He said they'd review it in June (after six months) but I said "No, it will be dropping down to £100 a month including my 16/17 bill (which will probably be around £70 a month)." Don't think he liked it and at one point, he asked if I had taken some professional advice....:o

He's probably figured out you have nothing and getting something is a lot better than getting nothing. You know you can film them as well. That usually scares them off as they don't want to see their face on YouTube. You have every right to film anything you want on your property and they have the right to either talk to you or walk away. They usually choose to walk away.

Smart_Mart

Mr Cohen * was back again today. I've managed to keep up with the 16/17 instalments but fallen behind with the liability order and he paid me a visit this morning with what appeared to be a young trainee girl.

He's said he has a positive ID on my car (which he probably has) and that they will clamp it and take it away if I don't make an arrangement that I can stick to. Have already told them several times that I cannot keep up to date with the 16/17 council tax AND maintain £100 a month off the old one but he just ignored it and insisted I pay it or the car will go.

I thought the rules stated that they can't take control of a vehicle if you need it for work. I am self employed as a courier, website administrator and commrcial manager for a football club and more than half of my income is earned by the courier work.

He's just come back a second time and left me a form filled out that says "Taking control of goods (on a highway) and inventory of goods taken into control". He also expressed surprise that my two youngest children live with me and asked me rather abruptly whether the council knew they lived with me. Stopped short of me lying but the insinuation was there for sure.


* - I say it is Mr Cohen but I swear to God that this is a different bloke than before. The previous Mr Cohen was a dark skinned (think Turkish possibly) bloke with a beard but this guy is a black guy, no beard and looks much different.

** - have also noticed he has written the wrong registration plate down, he's missed off a letter. Is that going to help or am I clutching at straws?

sourcrates

Where things of a legal nature are concerned, the devil is in the detail.

A wrongly recorded registration number is just that, wrong, so that is not your vehicle number, hide it somewere quickly.

It's like recording a persons address as 14 high street, and they live at 12.

Bayliff will go to no 14 every time.