Bailiffs & Fees

jsr85

Hello,

Unfortunately I have gotten into arrears with my council tax - single, working mother, ex who left huge bills, usual story...

Please bare with me and help if you can, this is a little messy.

After liaising directly with the council they put a payment plan in place with Jacobs who the debt had been passed on to for £77 a month. I have been making payments and the account has very slowly been decreasing. However, after asking for a breakdown from the council, of the £385 I have paid to date a whopping £329 has been taken by the bailiffs for fees. Is this correct?

The initial debt was split over 2 council tax bills, one for £366 and one for £800. I had 2 reference numbers but the agreed monthly payment covered both accounts.

In addition to this, I also missed the first payment of this years council tax bill and the account was swiftly passed to the bailiffs. I have tried liaising with the council and have been making regular monthly payments for the expected payment but the council have been assigning these payments to past accounts rather than the current one which has significantly reduced the previous bills (thank god as the payments to the bailiff arent doing this!) which means this years account hasnt been reduced.

Furthermore (!!) I had a visit off the bailiffs at 8am this morning, leaving a letter saying removal in 24 hours. The letter had the reference for the old account which the payment plan is in place for and the most recent payment was last week but the amount is increased by £235.

I'm not in any position to make a further payment this month. I have made the bailiff payment as per the plan and the council tax payment for this years bill via the council.

Does all of this sound about right? What should I do next?

fatbelly

For bailiffs collecting council tax the fees are prescribe by statute:

£75 for the compliance stage. This can be charged on each liability order the council put to bailiffs

£235 for the enforcement stage. This can only be charged once if a set of liability orders are given to them. If you reach agreement on a payment plan at the compliance stage it should not move on the enforcement stage.

Herbie21 is very good on dubious bailiff practices and CIS is very good on how the councils can allocate payments you make to them.

Consequently I recommend the following websites as sources of advice

http://bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/

http://lgfa92.co.uk/

I assume no goods have been removed for sale, as they never are.

CIS

I have tried liaising with the council and have been making regular monthly payments for the expected payment but the council have been assigning these payments to past accounts rather than the current one which has significantly reduced the previous bills (thank god as the payments to the bailiff arent doing this!) which means this years account hasnt been reduced.

The key thing that would jump out at me here would be as to what account number you were making the payments under - if it was clear that the monies were towards the account which the enforcement agent was acting for then the payments should have been allocated there as it would be clear where the payment was aimed at - the shouldn't have been re-allocated just because the council decided they wanted to.

If payment is being moved from an account with an outstanding balance to other accounts then I would start by writing a letter of complaint and working through the council complaints process. If the it isn't resolved then there is the Local Government Ombudsman to look at.

Craig

jsr85

My council tax account just has one reference number and as I am making the payments online each month they said they automatically assign it to the oldest bill.

The bailiff returned this morning with a letter saying removal is scheduled between 6am and 9pm tomorrow. I know they can't force entry and I have moved my car away from my address but its still scary nonetheless!

Can they only charge me £235 once for each bill?

fatbelly

They can only charge £75 on each bill and one lot of £235 on the collection that was given to them

CIS

jsr85 wrote: »

My council tax account just has one reference number and as I am making the payments online each month they said they automatically assign it to the oldest bill.

The bailiff returned this morning with a letter saying removal is scheduled between 6am and 9pm tomorrow. I know they can't force entry and I have moved my car away from my address but its still scary nonetheless!

Can they only charge me £235 once for each bill?

It sounds like they're using a multi-year system of accounting for the council tax so all payments go in to one reference and are then allocated between years from there.This sort of system increases the level of arguments over the allocation of the payments (It a right pain the backside to administer)

The council should still be allocating payment to the current year if it is clear that the amounts were intended for that (i.e they matched the payment that would have been expected on that) or that you had advised them of what the payment was for (R v Miskin 1953 ). It would certainly be worth arguing the point with them over the payment allocation if you so wish.

Craig

kgw1009

Can I ask which Bailiff you are talking about?

If three years worth of various arrears are with a bailiff can they charge the £235 more than once?

CIS

kgw1009 wrote: »

Can I ask which Bailiff you are talking about?

If three years worth of various arrears are with a bailiff can they charge the £235 more than once?

It's Jacobs.

If the enforcement agents are coming together (or close together) then there should only be one £235 fee. If the cases have been spread over a period of time then the enforcement agent may well have legitimately charged more than one lot of £235.

It comes down to regulation 11(1)(b) of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014. This effectively requires that they reduce the number of times they charge the fees as much as possible.

Craig