NEWLYN are coming my home.....really scaring me

jitcouncil

Hi all seniors and experts,

Please really help me out I am really in hard time now. Please read my situation now and give me good response ASAP please.


2 Days ago I have received one letter from NEWLYN saying that I owe COUNCIL TAX £1100.00 more than 10 years ago. so now they want to come my home and remove the goods. its really scaring me now.
To be frank I was staying in that property for only 2 or 3 months and I left that property. I even didn't know that I was owing money to the council until I saw the letter 2 days ago from NEWLYN. I really don't know what to do now. I have son 3 years old, my wife and I have one ordinary car at my current home now.
my queries are...

1) will they really come and take the goods away?
2) if they see me at my home and I refuse to pay, will they arrest me or anything serious they will do?
3) I am a tenant now and whole furniture is given by the agent. but I have my own TV, LAPTOP, small toys for my son like scooter, and toys and main thing is I park my car in my parking everyday. so if I refuse to pay, will they take TV, TOYS, LAPTOPS and CAR and also will they arrest me???
4) will they come to the negotiation paying like £300-£350 and matter closed for ever.?
5) If I tell the council that I wasn't staying in that property for more than 3 months, will they stop chasing me now or will I have to pay the total amount of £1100 or very less?
6) what I happens if I close the doors and windows and don't open at all and don't speak to them if they ring my home. it is really scaring and sleepless night for the last 2 days.
7) friends, I really need big experts on this problem and I am unable to work also, all the time I am thinking about this.

please please please I need your advice on this and how do I need to proceed with them .

please please help me out

many thanks in advance.

Rgds,
jitCouncil

National_Debtline

Hi jitcouncil


I have offered some basic answers below in bold, but I strongly advise you to contact one of the free debt charities for more detailed advice as soon as possible. In the meantime you may find our council tax debt guide useful:


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/02%20EW%20Council%20tax%20recovery/Default.aspx

jitcouncil wrote: »

2 Days ago I have received one letter from NEWLYN saying that I owe COUNCIL TAX £1100.00 more than 10 years ago. so now they want to come my home and remove the goods. its really scaring me now.
To be frank I was staying in that property for only 2 or 3 months and I left that property. I even didn't know that I was owing money to the council until I saw the letter 2 days ago from NEWLYN. I really don't know what to do now. I have son 3 years old, my wife and I have one ordinary car at my current home now.
my queries are...

1) will they really come and take the goods away? These agents are allowed to visit your home to try to collect the debt. However, they do NOT have the right to force entry into your property.

You should move your car elsewhere for now if you think the agents will be able to identify it as yours when they visit your home.

2) if they see me at my home and I refuse to pay, will they arrest me or anything serious they will do? These agents are trying to collect cash and/or valuable items to cover the debt. If they cannot do that, they may continue contacting you to demand payment until they accept an offer or return the debt to the council. They are not seeking to arrest you.

3) I am a tenant now and whole furniture is given by the agent. but I have my own TV, LAPTOP, small toys for my son like scooter, and toys and main thing is I park my car in my parking everyday. so if I refuse to pay, will they take TV, TOYS, LAPTOPS and CAR and also will they arrest me???
See answers #1 and #2. If you do not let them in, the only item at risk would be your car which you should move elsewhere if necessary.

4) will they come to the negotiation paying like £300-£350 and matter closed for ever.?
You need to make sure that you offer only what you can afford, and you should start paying that amount immediately even if they don't accept.

5) If I tell the council that I wasn't staying in that property for more than 3 months, will they stop chasing me now or will I have to pay the total amount of £1100 or very less?
You need to inform the council of the dates that you moved into and left that property - it will help if you can provide evidence, such as dated bills/tenancy agreements from other addresses.

You can ask the council to suspend any action by Newlyn while they look into this, but there is no guarantee that this will happen, so you may still have to deal with the agents in the meantime.

6) what I happens if I close the doors and windows and don't open at all and don't speak to them if they ring my home. it is really scaring and sleepless night for the last 2 days.
You are not obliged to speak to the Newlyn agents and you are not obliged to shut all windows, as agents are not allowed to enter a person's home other than through a door.

Dennis
@natdebtline

jitcouncil

Hi National Debtline,
many thanks for the valuable response and really appreciated this.

I still got few more queries please reply me much appreciated.

1) I really dont have the solid evidence that can show it I was in and out from the property. in this case if i speak to council will they come for an offer with reduced amount?
2) is Newlyn bailiffts or just debt collection agents?
3) which one would you recommend to consult first to contact whether council, any debt free agents or Newlyn ?
4) r u sure if i talk to Newlyn, they will not come to some little amount for clearing the debt?
5) How are the chances in my case that NEWLYN are going to come my home soon, otherwise they just keep on sending warning or threatening letters. which one they will do in my case.
5) If i contact you (National Debt line office), then how quick this is sorted and any fee do i have to pay you?

National debt line please help me in this problem. I am really having hard time and having sleepless nights and scaring me and my wife here.

thanks

sourcrates

jitcouncil wrote: »

Hi National Debtline,
many thanks for the valuable response and really appreciated this.

I still got few more queries please reply me much appreciated.

1) I really dont have the solid evidence that can show it I was in and out from the property. in this case if i speak to council will they come for an offer with reduced amount?
2) is Newlyn bailiffts or just debt collection agents?
3) which one would you recommend to consult first to contact whether council, any debt free agents or Newlyn ?
4) r u sure if i talk to Newlyn, they will not come to some little amount for clearing the debt?
5) How are the chances in my case that NEWLYN are going to come my home soon, otherwise they just keep on sending warning or threatening letters. which one they will do in my case.
5) If i contact you (National Debt line office), then how quick this is sorted and any fee do i have to pay you?

National debt line please help me in this problem. I am really having hard time and having sleepless nights and scaring me and my wife here.

thanks

Hi,

In the case of council tax, newlyn's will be acting as bayliffs, they will want full payment, usually they will make two attempts at collection, then if unsuccessful, will pass the account back to the council.

You need to contact the council, as previously advised, ASAP.
you may also benefit from ringing National Debtline or stepchange, both are free to use services.

dancingfairy

It doesn't seem fair that the council can call the bailiffs for a debt from 10 years ago without speaking to you first. Unfortunately I think it's quite difficult for a lot of people to prove where they were 10 years ago especially if they were in rentes accommodation and forced to move often.
The council will have appointed the bailiffs so they are the people you need to speak to.
If you owe the council tax then no, they will not let you pay some of it. You will need to pay what's owed but the council should let you set up a payment plan with them, especially as the debt is so old and it's the first you've heard of it.
National debtline and stepchange are free services and are there to help you.
Good luck
Df

dancingfairy

If you open the door and let them in, then yes they can take your items. If you don't let them in they are not allowed to break in.
They could take your car so you must park it as far away as you can until this is sorted.
The bailiffs can't send you to prison but you do need to speak to the council and get this sorted.
Df

jitcouncil

Many Thanks for the reply and really appreciated your time.

I have just spoken to the council over the phone and they asked some previous address where i was staying for the last 14 years dated back since 2002. Because I was sharing with friends and others and my name wasn't there on the previous houses bill.

And finally, they told me to come for appointment tomorrow at 9am to talk more on this. And it is really scaring me again what will happen, what questions they are going to ask and how I need to reply them.

All I want to say that as a genuine victim, I came as a international student that time and I don't have any college letters that proves to get any exemption now. And also I wasn't staying for 1 year that time in that property. And now the NEWLYN bill is £1100 +.

1) Anybody know that what council is going to ask questions and cross questions with me tomorrow.
2) Actually I am working now, shall I say that I am not working and my wife only works. This is to avoid in order they force us to pay £1100 + for which I wasn't staying in that property for 1 year.
2) if NEWLYN manage to come my home, any idea what time and days they usually visit us?
3) Do they also visit us on the weekends (Saturday and sunday) and at what time?
4) do they also visit us after 6pm everyday?


Please Please ur advice for tomorrow appointment with council

Thanks

jitcouncil

Many Thanks for the reply and really appreciated your time.

I have just spoken to the council over the phone and they asked some previous address where i was staying for the last 14 years dated back since 2002. Because I was sharing with friends and others and my name wasn't there on the previous houses bill.

And finally, they told me to come for appointment tomorrow at 9am to talk more on this. And it is really scaring me again what will happen, what questions they are going to ask and how I need to reply them.

All I want to say that as a genuine victim, I came as a international student that time and I don't have any college letters that proves to get any exemption now. And also I wasn't staying for 1 year that time in that property. And now the NEWLYN bill is £1100 +.

1) Anybody know that what council is going to ask questions and cross questions with me tomorrow.
2) Actually I am working now, shall I say that I am not working and my wife only works. This is to avoid in order they force us to pay £1100 + for which I wasn't staying in that property for 1 year.
2) if NEWLYN manage to come my home, any idea what time and days they usually visit us?
3) Do they also visit us on the weekends (Saturday and sunday) and at what time?
4) do they also visit us after 6pm everyday?


Please Please ur advice for tomorrow appointment with council

Thanks

Grumpelstiltskin

Do not lie to the council about working.


They will agree a payment plan with you but although as you have discovered Council Tax is an important debt do not agree to an amount you can't afford.


I fear if you cannot prove where you were living you may have to bite the bullet and pay the debt.

Placitasgirl

It is really important that you do not lie to the Council (or to anyone else for that matter) about your employment status. By doing so you are lying at best and committing fraud at worst, which you could result in criminal charges and a whole other world of pain for you and your family.

You must answer all of the questions you are asked truthfully. Give only the information that you are asked for - don't be tempted to elaborate or give details that you haven't been asked for or which aren't relevant.

I'm sure this isn't what you really want to hear, but you must realise that any information you provide will be noted and could be checked, and lying about your work status is or other factor in this situation is the very worst thing you could do.

Tell the truth, if you honestly don't know the answer to a question, say that you don't know. If you don't have anything you are asked for, explain that you simply don't have it. It is possible that you will be liable to pay this debt, but the Council will try to work with you to help you to do so, if you are honest with them and cooperate with due process to establish the facts.

Good luck.

finley909

Firstly, they are enforcement agents (previously called bailiffs) and are subject to regulations, they should not act illegally so you really have nothing to fear.

If Newlyn turn up at the door, don't let them in, they cannot force entry into your property. If you let them in - even to discuss an arrangement then you have effectively invited them in and they would then be within their rights to re-enter your property without your permission ona future occasion. If they were to force their way in, this is trespassing. Highly unlikely that it would happen.

They can legally visit your property eny day of the week between 8am and 9pm.

If you were to let them in, they would 'levy distress' on the goods in your house. This is just taking an inventory of items which they could technically take at a future date if you defaulted on an arrangement and sell at acution. This would not include childrens toys, items essential for daily life, eg; washing machine, fridge etc...
They very rarely ever take anything away as the re-sale value is so low and it would not be cost effective for them.
That being said, it might be a good idea to move the car somewhere else for now just to be safe.

I would advise you to telephone Newlyn and avdise them that you have an appointment with the council tomorrow and ask them to hold any action for 7 days.

Have you recently moved house or moved a number of times recently? It seems strange to me that a council would take a ten year old debt and immediatley send to the bailiff. It is not unheard of but still quite rare for any council tax be chasing debts that old.

If you dispute that you should be liable for the debt, the council will ask you where you were living at the time, try and obtain any infromatino regarding your previous addresses. You might want to obtain a copy of your credit file which should show your previous addresses. You can do this for free on www.noddle.co.uk

You mentioned that you were a student at the time. If you were a full time student on a qualifying course of study (full time, more than one academic year and for more than 21 hrs per week) then you should be disregarded and therefore not liable for council tax. If you were you sharing a property with freinds and they were all students, you woudl have needed to supply the council with proof of your student status. it could be that your friends supplied their information and you didn't. Contact the University/College and ask them for a certificate proving you were a student and give this to the council.

I could be wrong but I'm sure there is a statute of limitations of council tax. I'm sure someone wil be alonge to correct me but I think the council needs to have actively persued the debt within the last six years to be able to take any action.

Good luck with the council and let us know how it goes.