Chandlers Baillifs Bristol and Council Tax confusion!

delmonta

Well the agents just guided me through the process of letting it out and them fully managing it. They said they would be responsible for all post etc and forwarding it to me. I was under the impression all matters regarding the house and the council would be things they would sort out. I have been living out of the country for long periods of time and they knew that and said they would 'take care of everything'

I fully understand that Council Tax for when I was there is my responsibility and I am more than happy to pay it, but i cannot do so if I do not get the letters. I was unaware that I owed any more council tax when leaving as I had been up to date on all my bills.

Is it actually possible to get the council to only send you council tax related things for when you lived there, but then deal with the agent for anything else?

delmonta

Hi Simon

When you say the warrant will be sent back, do you mean at that point they will stop coming after the fees?

CIS

I'll add to pieces to the discussion on paying or not - anyone who reads my posts on council tax will see that I sit in the middle (sometimes I agree with the council and sometimes I disagree) and work on what legislation/case-law says (although I personally don't agree with many but that's life).

In respect of the enforcement agent the law is not clear, which is why there's so many issues. That being said both the Local Government Ombudsman (see paragraph 19) and the County Court have made decisions which indicate the fees cannot be avoided in the way discussed. These views are the LGO/Court etc and you can read them here respectively, LGO, County Court.

At the end of the day you are the only person who can make the decision - I can only add that current prevailing decisions read the law as the fees remaining due until they (and the original balance) have been paid.

Craig

CIS

delmonta wrote: »

I fully understand that Council Tax for when I was there is my responsibility and I am more than happy to pay it, but i cannot do so if I do not get the letters. I was unaware that I owed any more council tax when leaving as I had been up to date on all my bills.

As I mentioned earlier, that aspect is immaterial as they issued the paperwork to the appointed agent as requested (good reason for this to work like this - it stops people giving an address and then later disputing it to try and get out of paying, as a some people do try).

Well the agents just guided me through the process of letting it out and them fully managing it. They said they would be responsible for all post etc and forwarding it to me. I was under the impression all matters regarding the house and the council would be things they would sort out. I have been living out of the country for long periods of time and they knew that and said they would 'take care of everything'

Some agents handle the council tax side and some don't, it depends on the contract with the agent but this side of it would need to be taken up with the agent.

Is it actually possible to get the council to only send you council tax related things for when you lived there, but then deal with the agent for anything else?

Yes - just give the council a postal address for you but advise they can take instructions etc/contact/send post to the agent if they need information regarding the tenancies. A very common setup.

Craig

CIS

I should also add that the comment elsewhere which states

You apply for a quashing order on the liability order under section 82 of the Local Government Act 2003 because the liability order was created in error. You write to the council asking::

is not entirely clear.

You can ask the council all you like however the legal powers to quash a liability order lies purely with court only on the application of the local authority - regulation 36A of the council tax (administration and enforcement) regs 1992 brought the quashing powers in to force.

There's no need for the local authority to ask for the order to be formally quashed in this case as all of the provided information indicates they've done nothing wrong. If they had then by all means I'd say to ask the council to case action in respect of the order however I can't see any fault on their part.

Craig

delmonta

Thanks Craig, I appreciate your replies.

I don't want to get in to any legal battles or complications. But I also feel this has happened because of the agents incompetence, which they are known for. All they had to do was send me one of the many warning letters over many months for this not to happen.

I have found another agent in the city who were reccomended and they are very helpful, and do not charge any of the fees that my current agents do. My current agents charge £240 for setup, £60 for cancellation, fees for tenant changeover, taking pictures (terrible ones) etc.

I just hope I can get my last months rent and maybe they take respnsibility for the bailiff fees

absolutereturn

If the letting agents have failed in their duty to forward you correspondence and this has resulted in bailiff fees being added to your council tax because of their negligence, you may be able to take it up with them, but you need to look at your contract with them to see if there's been a breach. I'd certainly be looking into that possibility.

delmonta

Thanks, yeah when I get home I will read through the paperwork. At the moment I am going by what they said which is they will manage my post and will send anything to me, and obviously important stuff.

I have found quite a lot of negative stuff out about them online. I feel stupid for ever going with the, as I normally do a lot of research. I just always walked past their shopfront when I lived there and assumed it was ok.

absolutereturn

Herbie21 wrote: »

The decision must be yours. The website's owner (a Will Writer) is aware that his argument failed in court and his client was ordered to pay £7,000.

It should be noted that, in the case in question, the debtor was ordered to pay £7,000 as a result of an unfortunate sequence of events, not just because he went and made an online payment to the council. The debtor in this case issued legal proceedings against the enforcement company and the council, and the £7,000 in costs were the result of these proceedings, not a direct result of his not having paid the fees to the enforcement agents.

He thought he would be immune to costs because the claim was below the small claims limit and costs are not routinely awarded in the small claims track. He made a series of mistakes along the line that resulted in these costs.

Litigation isn't an easy course of action, and a similar warning would apply should you decide to take action against the letting agents if you find they have been negligent in their duties.

delmonta

Thanks for that Absolute

yeah I dont know how comfortable I am just paying online and avoiding the bailiffs. It feels like it could come back to haunt me.

Im very reluctant to take on the agents too. I am hoping they take some responsibility and offer to pay, as someone mentioned earlier in this thread, agents calling up to pay enforcement fees.

But I need to change agents now and have found a company with a much better reputation who charge no fees or hidden costs and they state clearly that they deal with Council tax