been so stupid re council tax

elly2007

i know we have been so stupid but we have not paid council tax for ages as was sorting out the other debts and totally forgot not good i know but the thing is on friday jacobs came round we were not in but they are asking for 12,000.
i'm so scared my dh has called themn asking them to come round when he is in but i'm so scared that they will come round when its just me and i know i will let them in as i don't want them making a fuss on the doorstep in front of all the neighbours as i'm to soft

emmy05

who are jacobs, are they bailiffs? if they are, have they already taken an inventory of stuff? my suggestion if they havent is to get your butts to CAB and get them to sort out a budget or something, council tax is a priority bill and shouldve been paid next to the rent/mortgage you have really rather than letting it slide to 12,000 which sounds an awful lot for someone to have gone without having any actions beforehand from anyone

elly2007

yeah they are baliffs no they have not taken an inventory of stuff. never thought of the cab think that is a good idea as any advice is good

nimbo

couldn't you go into the council offices and pay them something? even if it was only £100 it shows that they have received something, and although they may turn it down over the phone as it's been passed on to a DCA, they'll find it hard to turn it down if you are waving cash under their noses...

good luck, and big hugs...:grouphug:

elly2007

sorry just noticed put the amount down wrong it should be 1,200

emmy05

if youre going to offer money to the council, you need to make a realistic offer, a one time pay off of £100 isnt going to stop them from taking further action, sounds like theyve handed it over to the bailiffs and now you got them to deal with, CAB will help you with your goods not being taken as the next step will be for the bailiffs to want to take a list of your goods and if youre struggling to pay it now, you really dont want to be put in a position of having anything taken ..

chappers

My advice would be under no circumstances to let the bailiffs in.Once you have their powers of enforcement increase dramatically i.e they can force entry and remove your possesions,once again i urge you not to let them in.If you don't let them in they can only charge you for two visits (£42.50)in connection with your council tax, if they tell you otherwise they are lying.
The council will probably not deal with you now the debt is in the hands of the bailiffs, however they cannot stop you making payments direct to them, but you will still be responsible for the bailiffs fees and even if you pay the CT in full they will probably leave the liability order open in order for the bailiffs to collect their fees.

you will probably have to make an arrangemnt to pay with the bailiffs, but don't let them bully you into paying more than you can afford, if you cannot come to a satisfactory arrangement the bailiffs will probably return the debt back to the council as uncollectable and you should be then able to negotiate with them direct, however be aware that they can then use other forms of enforcement, such as attachment of earnings, bancruptcy or commital to prison.
If you do let the bailiffs in, and once again I strongly advise you not to, then they will distrain (levy)your possesions and take an inventory of the goods distrained in the form of a walking possesion, they can then charge extra fees and have the right to force entry to remove these goods if you still don't pay.

Have alook here for more information http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=02_bailiffs_and_council_tax

this lists the bailiffs and your rights and the only charges they can make in relation to council tax.

Just one more thing if you park your car on the driveway then move it and park it away from your house they have been known to distrain peoples cars without entering the property.Remember even though there are rules governing their operations, that they are masters at bending and breaking these rules.

misspoppy

Hi my advice is to call the baliffs and come to an arragement to pay them. I did this and they were very reasonable although this was some time ago. The other thing is don't let it become an attchment of earnings, i work in payroll and the amounts can be crippling and the payroll team have no control over the amount, it is a set % of your wage. The other thing you must do is sort out this years payments with the council you don't want that figure to grow further.

Good luck

chappers

Indeed however as I said in my previous post don't let them pressure you into paying more than you can afford if they refuse your offer then send them a full budget showing that you can only afford what you have offered, I would keep all communication in writing aand copy everything to the council too(recorded delivery), that way when the bailiffs finally give up and return the debt to the council, the council will be able to see you made reasonable offers to settle the debt.