HIllingdon Council instructed Bailiff for wrong addresses

rm_1981

Hello Members
On 3rd Feb 2016, I recieved two seprate Notice "Enforcement Process Commenced" from Bristow & Sutor which siad I owe London Borough of Hillingdon over 5000 pounds. The account or cusotmer reference on that Notice did not belong to me as I have been paying my Council Tax regulary to thr council from past 7 years since I monved to this borough.
On 4th Feb 2016 I went to Hillingdon Borough office in Uxb to find out why this Notice was send to my address as I do not owe any money to the council. The Council Tax councelor did a check on these two notices only to find that they refer to two addresses which I am unaware and I never had anything to do with those two addresses.
I also informed the councelor that I never recieved anything before from either council or the bailiff comapny.
I believe the Council Tax councelor also did a address search ( using equifax) to find out my previous addresses. She could not find how my current home address got linked to those two addresses in the notice .
I was told my the councelor that they need to investigate why this had happened and it will take about 2 weeks for investigation to complete. Also the lady rang the bailiff office of Bristow&Sutor to confirm how my address got linked with those addresses in the Notice. Not sure what the bailiff company replied but from the gesture of the councilor it looked that someone within the council did this. The councelor also informed the bailif company over the phone to put recovery on these two notices on hold for 2 weeks until the Hillingdon Council complete their investigation. The councelor aslo mailed the concerend team/councelor to find out how these two addresses which are part of notices got linked with my address
In order to safeguard myself I got the councelor to sign and put a note on those 2 Notices that these are on hold until investigation completes.
I was told my the councelor that I will hear from the Hillingdon Council on what happened and notice on my address has been cancelled. I was also told that worse case I have to get it rectified with the credit and fraud agencies if they find any link of my address with the two addresses in the Notice.

From the MSE members I am hoping to get suggestion and advice
- If I need to do anything until I hear back from the Council
- Do I need to further safeguard myself and my address from bailiff company using any legal processs
- Should I put this case in front of financial ombudsman
If there any other legal advice or suggestion which any member wants to make on my case I will be grateful

Thanks

National_Debtline

HI RM_1981,


I would suggest that you make sure your home is safe from the bailiffs as a precaution. If the council has said it is on hold so it is less likely that you would receive a bailiff visit but I would ensure that the doors are locked and secure and that you do not let any bailiffs inside. The bailiffs can only come inside if you let them in or if they find open/unlocked access. Also, if you have anything valuable outside (like a car) then I would suggest you hide that too. There is no court application you can make to suspend a council tax bailiff, only the council can withdraw the matter from the bailiffs.


I would suggest that you put your complaint in writing to the council and send a copy of the documents you have (the notice of enforcement and the note stating the matter is on hold). Ask them to confirm (in writing) what is happening with this matter and whether the case can be recalled from the bailiffs long term. Complaints regarding the council are normally escalated to the Local Government Ombudsman.


Laura
@natdebtline

rm_1981

Hi Laura
Thanks for your reply.
Is there any letter wording I can use to make a formal complaint to the council.

tealady

Hi
On you Council website there may be a complaints form you can fill in.
Otherwise I would just head your letter OFFICIAL COMPLAINT. Keep to the facts, use bullet points if you can as it will make the letter easier to read. Remember the person who opens your letter may need to pass it to the correct person so make it clear what the complaint is about
You may also wish to speak to your local Councillor(s) about this so they can speak to the head of the department to ensure that any errors on the Councils side are rectified.
HTH

National_Debtline

Hello again, sorry for the delayed response.

I am afraid we don't have a sample letter for this but I think TeaLady has outlined the basic format well. A complaint should be clear and concise. Remember the person reading it will have very little or no background so you will have to give them a clear story from start to finish.


You should also highlight: -
- what the problem is
- why that is a problem for you, and
- how you want them to resolve the problem.


Always offer a resolution at the end. That way, when the creditor responds to you that must address this idea and either agree or disagree with it. That gives you a clear way forward. Good luck


Laura
@natdebtline

redux

I would ask the council to elaborate on how they have cancelled the instructions with the bailiff.

In my mind just a phone call isn't quite enough. In a case I had years ago, the council sent cancellation notices by fax. Despite this the head of the bailiff company threatened me on the phone they could still enforce the notice.

This was about some business premises I was renting, paying the current year business rate instalments in full, and paying the previous few months arrears (the starting delay was their fault not mine) on a agreed arrangement, thus the instruction to the bailiff was a complete mistake.

After the bailiff boss said he could refuse to comply with the faxed cancellation instruction, I asked the head of the council finance office that if the bailiff still acted on the original instruction, broke in and took away my and my customer's property and sold it at auction for well below its true value, could I and my customer sue the council and its agent for up to £30,000 of joint losses.

That isn't going to happen, he said. I suggest to talk to your bailiff again, I said, as that is exactly what he is talking about, that if I'm not there he isn't obliged to identify who owns what he is looking at.

I understood a few months later that the council don't use that bailiff any more.

So even if you have letters very clearly stating the council has stayed the proceedings while the admin blunder is worked out, absolutely do not let the bailiffs in. I'd even consider making copies, ready to pass them out of your letterbox if necessary.