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Hi Guys,
first, thank God for sites like this that help 'ordinary' people deal with injustice dealt to them by incompetent organisations who have the resources not to care.
I was recently served with a stat demand for unpaid council tax, thanks to the brilliant advice gleaned from here, I was able today to hold off bankruptcy proceedings while granted more time to provide evidence that the Stat demand should be set aside (on the grounds that an injustice would occur if it was not).
I intended to represent myself but found so many grounds as to why the stat demand should be set aside including abuse of process (and the fact the council were paying a barrister £400 to represent them at a 30 minute hearing) I decided at the very last minute to appoint a solicitor to help me.
The solicitor was not much use in the end but in all fairness he only had 1 day to prepare, had it not been for the fair nature of the judge who allowed me to talk directly to him and the information I had gathered from various threads here, all would have been lost.
However I have a problem where I have not been able find any advice and would gratefully appreciate any help or advice given.
Brief outline of my case (which gets complicated!):
Was on income support for a while and was granted council tax benefit, around 3 years ago I set up my own business which is looking promising but not yet established and I'm on a low income of around £600 per month so still entitled to ctb.
Back in 2008 I received a summons for non payment of c tax, I was confused so got in touch with council who told me because I failed to provide required info my claim had been disallowed putting me in arrears.
After writing to the Chief Payments & Benefits Officer, I received a letter saying he had reviewed my case and decided that they will not proceed with the hearing due to take place early Jan 2009 but the 'debt' was still owed and I should contact the council to make arrangements to pay it.
It took weeks to sort out but eventually found that the council had been provided with all info they requested but they 'misplaced' it. They eventually found the misplaced info and reinstated my ctb which should have cleared my 'debt'.
In 2010 I got a visit from a bailiff who claimed he had a liability order granted against me and that I either pay or he removes goods, he also claimed he had other liability orders.
I denied owing anything, politely refused him access, and told him I would take it up with the council.
The council put the bailiffs on hold while we sorted things. I was furious that after the chief's letter saying the court hearing would not proceed in 2008, it appears it actually did and was granted in my absence.
after weeks of visiting the council, phone calls, writing letters etc. the council could not tell me how the arrears arose but insisted they were owed.
in the end after seeing senior officers they refused to see me anymore or take my calls telling me I could seek legal advice or complain to the ombudsman, they told me not to attend their offices again, made me feel like a criminal.
After seeking legal advice I was told I could not get legal aid to instigate action against the council but could get legal aid if I was defending proceedings instigated by the council. So I decided to wait until the council issued further proceedings.
i kept the bailiffs at bay and at one point offered to pay £1700 (borrowed) but only as full and final settlement, they refused but agreed to put things on hold if I paid them £1700. The next day I visited CAB who told me not to pay and to deal with council direct. The council told me to just deal with the bailiffs.
recently...
I received an stat demand on 19th Oct 2011, I immediately prepared a response (dug out old letters, statements etc.) and filed an application to set aside. The stat demand listed 4 liability orders, 2 of which I knew nothing about. Stat demand said they had 4 liability orders against me but I never received any summons for any of them.
The process server attended my home 3 times, spoke to my wife 2 times and handed her letters and Stat demand, on 3rd visit posted another stat demand.
I don't know why but I've ended up with 3 stat demands in my name, each with the same details and signed by the same person (solicitor acting for the council) and you can see variations in the signature which is in blue ink proving he signed 3 versions.
on 3rd feb my wife received a notice from court (form 6.7) containing an endorsement saying that a petition presented 10th nov 2011 would be heard on 2nd Feb 2012 and if she intended to oppose it she must do so within 7 days before hearing date.
on 4th feb my wife received an order 'adjudging her to be bankrupt.
she has never received a stat demand in her name and the process server only ever gave her documents addressed to me.
I picked up a copy of her case documents from court and it shows the process server stating he served her on 10th oct and the copy stat demand he exhibits as the one he served bears her name on it!
I was hoping that if I got my stat demand set aside it would be easier to annul my wife's bankruptcy order but now think I have to do something more instant.
my hearing to have stat demand set aside was today, the council's barrister argued that liability orders could not be questioned at this hearing and the correct process if I felt aggrieved was to apply to have them set aside.
I argued (while my £900 lawyer sat back!) that the judge had discretion and that if he felt there would be an injustice he could set aside the order and that getting old liability orders set aside when I knew nothing about them was not a simple task even if a judge wanted to and that it could require a judicial review which was way beyond my means and therefore not a viable option.
The judge asked for evidence and I produced a ct bill for one of the periods claimed as debt in the liability order, issued after the liability order was made and showing zero amount due.
I now have a couple of weeks to provide evidence the last 2 liability orders should not have been made.
My lawyer wants £4000 plus to deal with the annulment with no guarantee i can recover those costs, I just can't afford him so need to act on my own. I wouldn't trust him to do a good job anyway.
I know I got to apply for the annulment asap but am worried it would be my/my wife's word against the process server which may not be enough to convince the judge.
This is a read David v Goliath battle, them with unlimited resources and no care for detail or justice, me with limited resources and dealing with this is effecting my work which means my income is dropping by the day. The stress is unbelievable.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the long post but thought you'd need to know the ins & outs to be able to offer useful advice.
Thanks.
first, thank God for sites like this that help 'ordinary' people deal with injustice dealt to them by incompetent organisations who have the resources not to care.
I was recently served with a stat demand for unpaid council tax, thanks to the brilliant advice gleaned from here, I was able today to hold off bankruptcy proceedings while granted more time to provide evidence that the Stat demand should be set aside (on the grounds that an injustice would occur if it was not).
I intended to represent myself but found so many grounds as to why the stat demand should be set aside including abuse of process (and the fact the council were paying a barrister £400 to represent them at a 30 minute hearing) I decided at the very last minute to appoint a solicitor to help me.
The solicitor was not much use in the end but in all fairness he only had 1 day to prepare, had it not been for the fair nature of the judge who allowed me to talk directly to him and the information I had gathered from various threads here, all would have been lost.
However I have a problem where I have not been able find any advice and would gratefully appreciate any help or advice given.
Brief outline of my case (which gets complicated!):
Was on income support for a while and was granted council tax benefit, around 3 years ago I set up my own business which is looking promising but not yet established and I'm on a low income of around £600 per month so still entitled to ctb.
Back in 2008 I received a summons for non payment of c tax, I was confused so got in touch with council who told me because I failed to provide required info my claim had been disallowed putting me in arrears.
After writing to the Chief Payments & Benefits Officer, I received a letter saying he had reviewed my case and decided that they will not proceed with the hearing due to take place early Jan 2009 but the 'debt' was still owed and I should contact the council to make arrangements to pay it.
It took weeks to sort out but eventually found that the council had been provided with all info they requested but they 'misplaced' it. They eventually found the misplaced info and reinstated my ctb which should have cleared my 'debt'.
In 2010 I got a visit from a bailiff who claimed he had a liability order granted against me and that I either pay or he removes goods, he also claimed he had other liability orders.
I denied owing anything, politely refused him access, and told him I would take it up with the council.
The council put the bailiffs on hold while we sorted things. I was furious that after the chief's letter saying the court hearing would not proceed in 2008, it appears it actually did and was granted in my absence.
after weeks of visiting the council, phone calls, writing letters etc. the council could not tell me how the arrears arose but insisted they were owed.
in the end after seeing senior officers they refused to see me anymore or take my calls telling me I could seek legal advice or complain to the ombudsman, they told me not to attend their offices again, made me feel like a criminal.
After seeking legal advice I was told I could not get legal aid to instigate action against the council but could get legal aid if I was defending proceedings instigated by the council. So I decided to wait until the council issued further proceedings.
i kept the bailiffs at bay and at one point offered to pay £1700 (borrowed) but only as full and final settlement, they refused but agreed to put things on hold if I paid them £1700. The next day I visited CAB who told me not to pay and to deal with council direct. The council told me to just deal with the bailiffs.
recently...
I received an stat demand on 19th Oct 2011, I immediately prepared a response (dug out old letters, statements etc.) and filed an application to set aside. The stat demand listed 4 liability orders, 2 of which I knew nothing about. Stat demand said they had 4 liability orders against me but I never received any summons for any of them.
The process server attended my home 3 times, spoke to my wife 2 times and handed her letters and Stat demand, on 3rd visit posted another stat demand.
I don't know why but I've ended up with 3 stat demands in my name, each with the same details and signed by the same person (solicitor acting for the council) and you can see variations in the signature which is in blue ink proving he signed 3 versions.
on 3rd feb my wife received a notice from court (form 6.7) containing an endorsement saying that a petition presented 10th nov 2011 would be heard on 2nd Feb 2012 and if she intended to oppose it she must do so within 7 days before hearing date.
on 4th feb my wife received an order 'adjudging her to be bankrupt.
she has never received a stat demand in her name and the process server only ever gave her documents addressed to me.
I picked up a copy of her case documents from court and it shows the process server stating he served her on 10th oct and the copy stat demand he exhibits as the one he served bears her name on it!
I was hoping that if I got my stat demand set aside it would be easier to annul my wife's bankruptcy order but now think I have to do something more instant.
my hearing to have stat demand set aside was today, the council's barrister argued that liability orders could not be questioned at this hearing and the correct process if I felt aggrieved was to apply to have them set aside.
I argued (while my £900 lawyer sat back!) that the judge had discretion and that if he felt there would be an injustice he could set aside the order and that getting old liability orders set aside when I knew nothing about them was not a simple task even if a judge wanted to and that it could require a judicial review which was way beyond my means and therefore not a viable option.
The judge asked for evidence and I produced a ct bill for one of the periods claimed as debt in the liability order, issued after the liability order was made and showing zero amount due.
I now have a couple of weeks to provide evidence the last 2 liability orders should not have been made.
My lawyer wants £4000 plus to deal with the annulment with no guarantee i can recover those costs, I just can't afford him so need to act on my own. I wouldn't trust him to do a good job anyway.
I know I got to apply for the annulment asap but am worried it would be my/my wife's word against the process server which may not be enough to convince the judge.
This is a read David v Goliath battle, them with unlimited resources and no care for detail or justice, me with limited resources and dealing with this is effecting my work which means my income is dropping by the day. The stress is unbelievable.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the long post but thought you'd need to know the ins & outs to be able to offer useful advice.
Thanks.
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