Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

[mattstar]

Hi,

I moved out of my rented property back in October 2009, which I had council tax remaining to pay, after quite a bit of time I paid quite a lot off and got it down to the last £60, it came to my attention a few months back that £60 balance is still remaining, it was my mistake thinking I had a direct debit set up, turns out the agreement for the last £60 was for me to phone up every month to pay £20 until settled.

I phoned the council to tell them I'll pay the £60 off now, but they tell me I can only deal with the DCA being Rossendales. Which they want £102.50 and have threaten removal of goods (even though this is my parents house/property?).

Reason I don't want to pay Rossendales is because they are trying to add £42.50 to the £60 owed.. and I can't afford that.

I'm currently self employed, back living with the parents, and my income is very very little..


Do I have any rights with not paying the Rossendales charges? I'm happy to pay the original amount owed.



Thanks in advance for any replys.


Matt

[Guest]

Re: Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

The sum they allege is owing, £42.50, will be made up their visit fees. £42.50 is the maximum they are permitted to charge for two visits.

Have they visited you?

[mattstar]

Re: Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

They haven't been to my property, there's always at least one person in at home.

Outstanding liability Order Value: £102.50

Final reminder do not ignore.

Dear sir/madam

Despite previous correspondence you have not made payment to clear the above overdue balance.

When the van attend you will be liable for additional costs.

In order to avoid the removal of your foods you must contact us immediately on...



Yours faithfully,

Bailiff manager

[Guest]

Re: Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

Read this, as it will give you a good idea of what you can do next and come back and ask any other questions you may have.

Bailiff Guide - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

[mattstar]

Re: Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

Read this, as it will give you a good idea of what you can do next and come back and ask any other questions you may have.

Bailiff Guide - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

Thanks for the link, I've had a read through it, but still unsure what I should be doing to solve this with them..

If I was visited by a bailiff, would they leave any kind of card if no one answers?
and should I write to them to ask what exactly the £42.50 is added for? I just want to pay the original amount owed being £60...

Thanks!

[Caspar]

Re: Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

What the council are saying is not true. They can take payment for the debt, but they always say they can't to start with. Pay the £60 direct to the council either on line or via their automated telephone payment system. Give it a day or two to clear then phone and ask for the balance of council tax outstanding which should now be zero.

If you're sure the bailiffs have not visited you - they have to leave paperwork everyrtime they do, so you would know, then let them whistle for their money. One trick they often try is to use the liability order gained by the council to collect their fees once all council tax is clear. As usual for bailiffs they will lie and say they can claim the money as they're doing so on behalf of the council, but as long as you've checked your balance is zero you're on strong ground. They are not allowed to do this. If they want to collect their fees they have to go back to court and do it properly.

I think this financial year I've dealt with between 20-25 council tax / bailiff issues. Every single time the council said they could not take payment. Every single time they did!

Finally DO NOT BELIEVE THE BAILIFFS when they say what the liability order amount is - always phone the council and ask them, then you know what you actually owe.

[Swingletree]

Re: Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

From the many Bailiffs Records I have seen, the Bailiffs always collect their fees/charges first before they start handing over to the Council their slice of the all the monies collected

[Caspar]

Re: Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

That's why I said pay the council directly. They may say they pay the bailiffs first, but in reality they usually don't!

[WendyB]

Re: Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

But if you do pay the council direct, you need to make sure that the payment is allocated to the outstanding LO, as they will automatically allocate it to the current year, if any is outstanding.

Once you have paid the council, write to Rossendales stating that you have paid the council direct so you will not be paying them. Point out that no visits have taken place so therefore you will not be paying their charges.

[Amy]

Re: Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter)

That's why I said pay the council directly. They may say they pay the bailiffs first, but in reality they usually don't!

They do actually.

"Usually" will be cold comfort if you are the poor unfortunate whose liability is not clear because the bailiff fees have been paid out of whatever money you have paid directly to the council. If your liability is not clear, then the bailiff has every right to carry on chasing for the outstanding amount.

Ultimately when paying the council direct, it is down to the council to ensure the bailiff fees are either paid to the relevant bailiff company or are made null and void. For example where a debtor has been charged for levies that should not have been made or other nefarious fees have been added to the account, the council might decide the fees have no basis and they may wipe them - meaning the bailiff is owed nothing, but the council cannot do any of this if they have no knowledge of the bailiffs lies and made up visits/levies.

Therefore, it is essential to keep the council informed at all times.

It is just not possible to pay the council direct and believe everything will be ok because it just might not be.