Please help had council tax bailiff at the door

johnroberts07

The C.A.B near me you have to go there when they are open and see someone. They are short-staffed, and dont have the time to talk on the phone. M.I.N.D are better. They are only helping people who have mental and depression troubles. I know how you are feeling, i couldnt eat with worry. But talking to friendly people on here made me feel a bit better

jojopo000

johnroberts07 wrote: »

The C.A.B near me you have to go there when they are open and see someone. They are short-staffed, and dont have the time to talk on the phone. M.I.N.D are better. They are only helping people who have mental and depression troubles. I know how you are feeling, i couldnt eat with worry. But talking to friendly people on here made me feel a bit better

The CAB advertise that they take phone calls and give advice over the phone and I cannot go down there as am starting to have problems leaving the house on my own and isnt really a place to take the kids and also I have no money to get there with ie for bus fare or petrol and it is not within walking distance. Am now going to wait until next week when the bailiff delivers the form and take it from there otherwise will end up breaking down with stress.

johnroberts07

I hope you will be o.k, just try not to worry too much (i know thats hard)

Sea78

hi

Glad to hear that you have got somewhere at least. Were you able to get hold of your HV at all? Perhaps she could give some other numbers/help for all this, or at least put you in touch with those who can.

As regards to your son's bday - take a look at the freebies board, the christmas and specials occasions board for free/very very low price pressies. Could you make him anything? How about nearby charity shops? Sign up to some survey sites (take a look at the freebies board again) and see if you can start accumulating points towards future pressies etc. Pigsback too...

Just some ideas that you might be able to look into once you have got a little more sorted. Are you in all the baby clubs for wherever you shop? this might give you extra points/money off extra. Now I might be teaching a granny to suck eggs with all this so if yuo've done it all, please forgive me!

I thin you can just contact your local MP for the area - if you have difficulty getting out and about, you can write - just look up the details on the net. They might be able to help out a bit if you're being messed about.

Sea xxxxx

jojopo000

Sea78 wrote: »

hi

Glad to hear that you have got somewhere at least. Were you able to get hold of your HV at all? Perhaps she could give some other numbers/help for all this, or at least put you in touch with those who can.

As regards to your son's bday - take a look at the freebies board, the christmas and specials occasions board for free/very very low price pressies. Could you make him anything? How about nearby charity shops? Sign up to some survey sites (take a look at the freebies board again) and see if you can start accumulating points towards future pressies etc. Pigsback too...

Just some ideas that you might be able to look into once you have got a little more sorted. Are you in all the baby clubs for wherever you shop? this might give you extra points/money off extra. Now I might be teaching a granny to suck eggs with all this so if yuo've done it all, please forgive me!

I thin you can just contact your local MP for the area - if you have difficulty getting out and about, you can write - just look up the details on the net. They might be able to help out a bit if you're being messed about.

Sea xxxxx

Hi Sea

I was so stressed this morning thatI canceled her coming this morning as she would of arrived in the thick of it all. Am waiting for her to call in the next few days to reschedule as baby needs weighing too.

The surveys etc are good advice for anyone else reading this as I am already members of god knows how many survey sites now and baby clubs and am waiting for some of the rewards to come through to help with xmas. I have even started entering comps as must be due a change of luck by now!
We were lucky as I shop throughout the year for xmas in the sales but never think to do it for the kids birthdays so have made a mental note to do this next year. DS will be 3 on 26th so am lucky that he doesnt understand the value of things yet and all he wants if a mass selection of cars so that should be easy enough to sort.

Thanks for thinking of me though and fingers (and legs) crossed it all can be sorted with ease.

x

jamesd

jojopo000 wrote: »

the council who said that as we were no longer in their area the debt had been passed to Rossendales

That sounds more as though the council has sold the debt than taken you to court. Try to find out from the council or the bailiff firm what court was used and the case number and then call the court. Tell the court people that you've been told that you have an order against you but didn't receive any papers about the court appearance and want to check that it happened and if it did, get the order set aside and make an offer to pay what you can afford now that you know about it. The court people are usually helpful in telling people how to arrange this sort of thing. Your local court will probably help you with the paperwork once the other one tells you what you need to do.

You do not need to let the bailiff in. Do not do so. The council can authorise them to collect the debt but they are still subject to the normal bailiff rules and that prohibits them from initially forcing entry into your home. But the moment you let the bailiff in even once to go to the bathroom or use your phone or whatever other excuse they come up with, they can use force in the future. So never let a bailiff into your home. Not even if accompanied by police, who probably just don't know that you're sunk the moment the bailiff enters! The police would be there only to keep the peace, not to help the bailiff, but they may help the bailiff without knowing it - they are naturally inclined to trust someone authorised by the court even if you didn't know about the court process.

If you get an agreement through the letter box, post what it says here before signing it. Beware anything that says "walking" or "possession". Some bailiffs will list your possessions by looking through windows and then try to con you into signing a walking possession agreement posted through the letter box. That's illegal, they can only get a walking possession agreement if they have first entered your property. Do not sign an illegal agreement like this.

Just ask for the court papers proving the debt they are trying to enforce. Then use the court. You don't have to agree anything with the baliff. They won't like it that you want to use the court to protect you by ordering only reasonable payments but that's sad for them and they are going to have to accept it if you stick to your guns.

jojopo000

jamesd wrote: »

That sounds more as though the council has sold the debt than taken you to court. Try to find out from the council or the bailiff firm what court was used and the case number and then call the court. Tell the court people that you've been told that you have an order against you but didn't receive any papers about the court appearance and want to check that it happened and if it did, get the order set aside and make an offer to pay what you can afford now that you know about it. The court people are usually helpful in telling people how to arrange this sort of thing. Your local court will probably help you with the paperwork once the other one tells you what you need to do.

You do not need to let the bailiff in. Do not do so. The council can authorise them to collect the debt but they are still subject to the normal bailiff rules and that prohibits them from initially forcing entry into your home. But the moment you let the bailiff in even once to go to the bathroom or use your phone or whatever other excuse they come up with, they can use force in the future. So never let a bailiff into your home. Not even if accompanied by police, who probably just don't know that you're sunk the moment the bailiff enters! The police would be there only to keep the peace, not to help the bailiff, but they may help the bailiff without knowing it - they are naturally inclined to trust someone authorised by the court even if you didn't know about the court process.

If you get an agreement through the letter box, post what it says here before signing it. Beware anything that says "walking" or "possession". Some bailiffs will list your possessions by looking through windows and then try to con you into signing a walking possession agreement posted through the letter box. That's illegal, they can only get a walking possession agreement if they have first entered your property. Do not sign an illegal agreement like this.

Just ask for the court papers proving the debt they are trying to enforce. Then use the court. You don't have to agree anything with the baliff. They won't like it that you want to use the court to protect you by ordering only reasonable payments but that's sad for them and they are going to have to accept it if you stick to your guns.

Thanks for all the wonderful advice esp about what the bailiff can and can't do.
The council said they took us to court in 2006, would the court have easy access to that information still?
If and when I get the agreement I will definately post what it says before I sign and return it (thanks for that advice too)

I am so grateful to this board as without this board without a doubt I would totaly be in pieces as there is such a wealth of knowledge here and the support I have recieved so far has been amazing. I hope I will be in a position to return all this help I have had one day.

jamesd

[STRIKE]Yes, the court would still have the information. So, get the details and that can be dealt with. The court will just say pay what you can afford (will set an affordable amount) and you have the right yourself to ask the court to do this, completely overruling what the bailiff and council want if the court thinks your proposal is reasonable.[/STRIKE]

Please see your other topic for more accurate discussion of how the council is supposed to handle Council Tax bailiff situations - you don't go back to the court for these.

Sea78

How is everything going?

Sea xx