Advice needed please

[kd1]

Apologies for the long winded post!


I wonder if anyone canhelp me please? I have recently walked away from my business afterwhat I deem to be the worst year of my life! I was self employed andafter making some very bad decisions professionally and having todeal with other events of a personal nature in the last 12 months Ihave found myself in a lot of debt which I am now going to try anddeal with. The biggest problem is with my Business rates. Last yearI received a visit from a bailiff at my business premises and Isigned a walking possession order and agreed to pay £250 per weekeven though I told him it was too much and I wouldn't be able toafford it! His reply was to call him if I was short and as long as Iwas paying something it would be ok. I have paid around £3700 sofar, the original debt being approximately £6750.


At the beginning ofJanuary I had a bit of a breakdown due to the stress of it all and afriend has taken over the lease of my business premises. He contactedthe council and they sent both of us a new bill. My bill is over£3400 which I feel has been miscalculated due to the amount I havealread paid to the bailiffs. The bailiffs then went around to myparents address to recover goods. I haven't lived there for morethan 9 years and I contacted the council with my new address andasked for a breakdown of what I owed so cant understand why they havedone so. My father has dementia and my mother is unwell and this istotally inappropriate and unacceptable. My husband made a payment of£200 to the council on my behalf yesterday morning and whilstvisiting my parents yesterday afternoon I found a final notice fromthe bailiff saying that they were unable to recover goods from myparents house and that as I was unwilling to pay they were referringit back to the court for my commital to prison.


Are they able to goafter my parents for my debt as that is surely not right? Also, canI deal with the council directly to pay the outstanding rather thanthrough the bailiffs? I am so worried about it all I don't know whatto do. I am so ashamed of myself for getting into this mess but Ireally cant face dealing with these people when I don't understandhow it all works.

[ploddertom]

Re: Advice needed please

What status did you trade under? You need to speak to someone at the Council and ask the following questions:
1 - how many Liability Orders they have against you
2 - the dates they were obtained
3 - the addresses they were for
4 - the period of time each covers
5 - how much each one was for
6 - how much is still outstanding
7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement
8 - the dates & amounts of any payments

[bizzybob]

Re: Advice needed please

No they cannot go after your parents, you could get your parents to swear a Statutory Declaration as to ownership of goods at their address, they are also vulnerable, so I would send a Formal Complaint to council and your MP regarding this, also tell the council you are reporting them and their bailiff to the DPA for breach of Data Protection regarding passing details of your data to a third party.

Are you receiving medical treatment for stress or depression as a result of the breakdown? and are you on benefits? If so you are also likely to be vulnerable under the National standards.

"I found a final notice fromthe bailiff saying that they were unable to recover goods from myparents house and that as I was unwilling to pay they were referringit back to the court for my commital to prison."

The bailiff should not even have attended your parents hose to levy distress in the first place let alone rely on it to make a threat of prison because they couldn't clear a third parties property for YOUR debt.The committal to prison is also a little harsh, as it is not within the bailiffs power to recommend this at all. make the council an offer and show you are a can pay, just not at the rate their bailiff is demanding.

What bailiff company is this?

[ploddertom]

Re: Advice needed please

I don't doubt the Bailiffs have ripped you off and also they are allowed to deduct their fees first before passing any balance to the Council. You mentioned a seizure, did they also list the fees incurred at the time - may be on the reverse? Is it possible you can list the items seized exactly as described on the Notice of Seizure? Are any of the items the property of someone else or on finance? You should also send off for a current breakdown of their fee using Letter 1 from http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...Useful-Letters

[Somecamel]

Re: Advice needed please

Are you a Limited company or a Sole Trader?

Have/Did you claim small business rate relief?

[kd1]

Re: Advice needed please

Thank you for your replies, I will contact the council tomorrow regarding the questions I need to ask.

They haven't actually seized anything, they came to my business premises back in July last year and he wrote out a walking possession order (i think) which is what I signed.

I was on medication and having treatment for most of last year but since all this happened apart from going to my parents home to make sure they are ok I haven't left my own home which I know is going to make things worse for me in the long run. I have been receiving tax credits but have never claimed anything else. I need to pull myself out of this and get a job so I have some form of income to sort out all the debts that have mounted over the last year.

The Bailiff Company is Collect Services and I was a sole trader

What would be an acceptable offer to the council?

[ploddertom]

Re: Advice needed please

They haven't actually seized anything, they came to my business premises back in July last year and he wrote out a walking possession order (i think) which is what I signed. That is your Notice of Seizure.

PT
PT

[ploddertom]

Re: Advice needed please

The Bailiff Company is Collect Services and I was a sole trader

What would be an acceptable offer to the council?

You pay the Council what you can afford, if you are presently on Benefits & unemployed then you may fall into the vulnerable category. Are you under a medical professional for your health issues?

As for the visit to your parents home then that may possibly be permissible. It would seem the Council will have given them all your known details and the Bailiff is allowed to go anywhere within England & Wales in order to collect the goods of the debtor. Hopefully now he knows you are not there and have nothing to do with that address he should not return.

[Somecamel]

Re: Advice needed please

Hi KD1, Can I ask what kind of business it was? Paying anywhere near £7k worth of business rates must have meant it's either a very large premises or a rather wealthy area.

I've been in a similar situation to you recently, My son was very ill and I couldn't be in two places at the same time (Work and Hospital) so I lost my business, my thoughts are with you.

[kd1]

Re: Advice needed please

Thank you

It is a hair and beauty salon. The premises was quite large but in a poorer area of a wealthy city. Sadly my rates were double to the premises on the other side of the street due to the postcode. The rateable value of the premises didn't fall into the small business category so I couldn't claim relief like every other business owner in the area appears to have been able to do. I did query the rv as other businesses with larger premises were valued a lot less but they say that the value is correct.

I hope your son is on the road to recovery. I just want to put it all behind me now, sort out the debt I am in and get on with the rest of my life.