Bailiff coming tomorrow

Gems75

I have an Enforcement Bailiff coming on Tuesday 31st May. He came last week and left a letter to return in 7days and remove goods. I have a debt of 600 for council tax. I missed 2 payments. I owed £19.92 and had a letter from the council in April with the reminder. Its now 600 with the court costs and fees for the bailiff! I rang the bailiff and explained that i was self employed but will be signing onto benfits over the next few weeks as my work has ended. I explained that I could not pay anything now. That I wouldn't be able to get any and that I don't have a car or even drive.
He said will come round later that day to remove goods. I waited all day with the intention of letting him in. I don't have any goods worth removing anyway. No computers or flash tv's. I eventually rang him as he still hadn't come by early evening and he asked if I had the money yet. I told him no and that I wssnt going to be getting any so he was welcome to come round and come in and see for himself that I don't have goods. He said he doesn't want to do that so I have till the 31st May to get some money and he will come back! Now I'm worried about what to do when he comes Tuesday? The amount I owed being under 20quid I am disgusted that I now owe 600. I still can't offer him any money. I'm a single mum to a 12year old and live off my child tax credit of 55 per week! Am I best to let him in or shall I talk to him outside? I don't have any goods but am worried he will take whatever little bits I do have? Am so confused now. I also take psychiatric medication following a breakdown a few years ago so don't cope with these situations very well anyway!

lincroft1710

Do not let the bailiff enter your home.

https://www.gov.uk/your-rights-bailiffs/what-you-can-do-when-a-bailiff-visits

[Deleted User]

Search on google for :

"what to do if a baliff calls"

There's a couple of good websites including gov.uk but I was unable to post the links

Best wishes

Gems75

Will that just make him put on more fees and keep coming back though? If I let him in and prove no goods worth taking will that make him return case to council?

sourcrates

It's best practice not to let bailiffs into your home for this kind of debt.

Make sure doors are locked, as they cannot force entry.

After 3 visits they will normally return the debt to the council.

If you let them in, they will insist on payment or removal of goods, and you have to provide proof goods are not yours, so best not to let them in in the first place.

CIS

You may have only been £20 in arrears but once you default on the reminder the full remaining balance for the year becomes due in full. Any balance with the enforcement agents will include the full council tax balance due to 31 March 17 plus any court costs and any enforcement agent fees already incurred.

Strummer22

You don't need to prove to the bailiff that you haven't got any goods worth taking. As others have posted, you don't have to let a bailiff in and they can't force entry.

Sounds like you are in a financially extremely tough situation. I recommend calling a debt counselling charity: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help

I volunteer with CAP and know they're good, but any of these charities will be a big help. They can also help you check you are getting all the benefits you're entitled to.

fatbelly

I'd be interested to see a breakdown of how £19.92 became £600. The summons and liability order costs vary with each council but must be ridiculous here if the bailiff is charging the allowable fees of £75 and £235. There are no further fees allowable unless he removes goods.

There is also the question it was proportionate to go to such lengths for a debt of £19.92. I'm sure your local counsellor would be interested in investigating.

https://www.writetothem.com/

Edit - cross-posted with CIS - that seems a likely explanation.

CakeCrusader

You must be stressed out over this You really need a breakdown of what these costs are, as £600 sounds excessively high for a first visit, there's a list of their fees here; https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/bailiffs-fees-and-charges/fees-bailiffs-can-charge/ Court costs are about £80 (I think), the initial letter from the bailiffs would be £75. Their visit last week will add £275 to the bill, and it's likely that their visit tomorrow will do this too, so it's really important that you seek some help.

The key things I can see from your post is that you're a vulnerable person due to the fact that you're a lone parent and you have mental health issues. As a vulnerable person the council and the bailiff have an obligation to be sensitive when they are dealing with you, and they have to make sure that you have the chance to seek the right help and advice; https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/complaining-about-bailiffs/vulnerable-people-treatment-by-bailiffs/ You'd be better off leaving your house tomorrow and going to the CAB. Take all of your paperwork with you, and please lock all of your windows and doors!! They can't break in and take your belongings, but the rules are different if they have already taken a levy (but I don't think they have done this from what you've written). The CAB will get in touch with the council while you're there, and they will tell them that you're a vulnerable adult. If the council agree, they can recall the debt from the bailiffs so you can pay the council directly. The council can get a breakdown of the bailiff's costs from the bailiff, and if they can see that you've been overcharged, they can reduce the amount that you owe.

You could do with a benefit check as £55 a week is so very little, you must be struggling to feed yourself and your child The CAB will be able to help you with this, but you may need a separate appointment with a benefits advisor.

If you do find that you're in a position where you feel as though you can't go for help and you do let the bailiff in, there's certain things in your home that they can't take, such as your cooker, or your sofa, or your beds, or clothes; https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/your-belongings-and-bailiffs/what-goods-can-a-bailiff-take/belongings-a-bailiff-can-take/ (sorry that all of my links are from the CAB by the way, it's just that I know the information is correct and I don't want to tell you something that's wrong), so they can't clear your home out. They may take your TV/DVD player if it's not on hire purchase, or a computer if you have one.

I hope this helps, but please pop and get some help. Let me know how things go, will you You can get through this!!

FunBrum

You have come to the right place for advise as these guys know their stuff.
I just wanted to give you a hug as you must be so worried :grouphug:

LPMS

Like CakeCrusader I was going to suggest getting down to yourocal CAB. You could also tryphining AdviceLine.

As a side note, the enforcement agents are not allowed to take anything in your child's room or anything that belongs to your child.