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Urgent help with bailiff please - Council Tax.

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  • Urgent help with bailiff please - Council Tax.

    My wife and I fell into arrears on our council tax, and after some time we ended up with Bristow and Sutor pursuing us for the money.

    We owed over £2000 so we set up a payment arrangement with them of £77 per week, which was the minimum they would accept. We paid this a number of times but really struggled, and ended up missing a few payments. About 6 months ago, a bailiff called while we were out and left a letter with his number on, and not to call the office because they would only refer us to him. I tried to call him numerous times but there was never any reply.


    A couple of days later I ended up calling B&S again and surprisingly they let me set up another payment arrangement of £55 per week. They said the bailiff had passed it back to them, which I found odd but put down to the fact he wasn’t able to levy anything (no car on the drive etc.) so he wasn’t interested. We never heard from the bailiff again.


    Unfortunately, after a couple more missed payments (we have probably paid off about £220 in the last 2 months) we had another bailiff call yesterday evening, again while nobody was home. He posted a letter through which says:


    “An enforcement agent has again attended your premises today to take control of your goods as this debt still remains outstanding. Your goods are going. You cannot remove, sell or otherwise dispose of them. Further visits can be made to your property. These visits can be made without warning, between 0600-2100 hours 7 days a week, in order to remove your goods for sale at public auction... You must ring me immediately on...”


    My wife called him this evening and after her explaining that we have been paying somewhat sporadically, he offered to accept a payment plan of £43 per week, but said he would need to come round to the house so that we could sign some paperwork. I immediately heard alarm bells, so she said she would call him back with a convenient time to come.


    He was insistent that the papers be signed in the house, and said they were court papers. I’m assuming he wants to come inside so that he can then levy or seize goods. I don’t see why paperwork can’t be signed outside. I also found it odd that he offered a payment arrangement when, in theory he could have just demanded full payment. We do have a car which I’m worried he will take possession of.


    Can someone advise me on what to do next please? We are keen to make payment as best we can, but I don’t want to have the worry of having the car taken away or people turning up at the house constantly hanging over me.


    Thanks.
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Urgent help with bailiff please - Council Tax.

    He wants to make a Taking Control of Goods Agreement which if agreed between you gives him the right to remove said goods should you fail to keep up with the payment arrangement. He would also be able to force entry on a future visit.

    There is no legal right for him to insist on this and I would be denying him entry. You have to remember that at this present time you have the upper hand and it would do no harm to write a letter of complaint to the Council pointing out they have unrealistically high demands for payment you cannot afford and is now also demanding to be allowed entry for a Controlled Goods Agreement - a copy should also be sent to your local Councillor(s).

    At present you are liable for Bailiff Fees of £310 and they can add nothing more unless goods are removed for sale. They will not make repeated visits when it is costing them money to do so. If you have a car outside or any other goods of value then obviously they can Take Control of them and remove them for sale. A car is best parked on a neighbours drive if possible or in a private car park.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Urgent help with bailiff please - Council Tax.

      Originally posted by ploddertom View Post
      He wants to make a Taking Control of Goods Agreement which if agreed between you gives him the right to remove said goods should you fail to keep up with the payment arrangement. He would also be able to force entry on a future visit.

      There is no legal right for him to insist on this and I would be denying him entry. You have to remember that at this present time you have the upper hand and it would do no harm to write a letter of complaint to the Council pointing out they have unrealistically high demands for payment you cannot afford and is now also demanding to be allowed entry for a Controlled Goods Agreement - a copy should also be sent to your local Councillor(s).

      At present you are liable for Bailiff Fees of £310 and they can add nothing more unless goods are removed for sale. They will not make repeated visits when it is costing them money to do so. If you have a car outside or any other goods of value then obviously they can Take Control of them and remove them for sale. A car is best parked on a neighbours drive if possible or in a private car park.
      Thank you for the reply.

      I think they are unaware of the car at the moment, and it’s currently on a shared car park which I believe is private property. My van is on the drive but that’s sign-written and obviously for my work (self-employed) so am I right in thinking they’ll leave that alone?

      I want to tell him I won’t agree to his demands but I’m concerned that will antagonise him and there’s only so long I can hide my car for and keep looking over my shoulder.

      I’m not sure a letter to the council will help as whenever I’ve contacted them previously they have been very dismissive and obnoxious about the whole thing. They obviously don’t care once things have been passed to the bailiffs.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Urgent help with bailiff please - Council Tax.

        if you have a kind neighbour with a garage, then that is the best place.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Urgent help with bailiff please - Council Tax.

          I had a similar problem a few years ago and I denied entry to them. When I looked into it further I discovered that in fact Council Tax Enforcement Officers (as they are now called) actually have very limited powers.

          You do not have to let them in, but if you do and they levy on goods, as you were rightly told earlier, they can force entry to remove them. However, in reality they probably wouldn't because in most cases they can't take goods of enough value. There are also things that they are not allowed to take.

          With the car, out of sight is the best solution. Parking it on a private driveway might not be enough. Its best that they don't see it at all.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Urgent help with bailiff please - Council Tax.

            Originally posted by 7CS View Post

            My van is on the drive but that’s sign-written and obviously for my work (self-employed) so am I right in thinking they’ll leave that alone?

            Your van is at risk if it is of some value as protection is only given to a value of some £1350.

            - - - Updated - - -

            Originally posted by thedirtyhound View Post


            When I looked into it further I discovered that in fact Council Tax Enforcement Officers (as they are now called) actually have very limited powers.
            They are simply known as Enforcement Agents whether they are dealing with Council Tax, Court Fines, Parking Tickets etc. Only the County Court Bailiff retains the Bailiff name.

            Comment


            • #7
              If the bailiff visits while you are home you should not open the door and you should not let them inside. They sometimes say that they need a table to rest their papers on, or some other casual remark, just to gain entry. Once they are inside, all the possessions in the house are at risk of being seized. If you want to talk, you can do so through an upstairs window. They are not supposed to do it but it is not unknown for a bailiff to jam a foot in an open door and then pretend that that counts as peaceful entry. You have mentioned that you have had problems contacting the debt collectors. It might become worthwhile if you put details of this in a letter, keep a copy and obtain a posting receipt.

              Yes, your car and van are at risk of being seized if the bailiff can identify them as yours. They are not able to get your vehicle registration by giving your name to DVLC but if they suspect that a vehicle is yours (because it is on your drive, for example), they can give DVLC the registration, find who owns it and take it away. There are a lot of rules about what bailiffs should and should not do but they don't always follow the rules.

              Comment

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