Bailiff

[Crazyk]

Hi everyone
Hope someone can help..im new here and i have a question does a bailiff have the right to issue an attachment of earnings?
Or would this be instructions from a council?
Its a long story but i will explain further maybe in a new post but at present i would just like to clairify if a bailiff has the legal right to do this.
Im being told by bailiff council did it and council told me it was bailiffs decision.
Thankyou

[Guest]

Re: Bailiff

Hi

My understanding is that the liability order is passed back to the councill who then decide which enofrcement method to use, if i am wrong i am sure someone will point it out.

Peter

[labman]

Re: Bailiff

Spot on as usual Peter. Here's the relevant legislation:

Making of attachment of earnings order37.—

(1) Where a liability order has been made and the debtor against whom it was made is an individual, the authority which applied for the order may make an order under this regulation to secure the payment of any outstanding sum which is or forms part of the amount in respect of which the liability order was made.

(2) An order under this regulation—
(a)shall be in the form specifed in (and accordingly contain the matters specified in) Schedule 3; and
(b)shall remain in force until discharged under regulation 41(2) or the whole amount to which it relates has been paid (whether by attachment of earnings or otherwise).

(3) The authority may serve a copy of the order on a person who appears to the authority to have the debtor in his employment; and a person on whom it is so served who has the debtor in his employment shall comply with it.

[Crazyk]

Re: Bailiff

Sorry to sound dumb...so the answer is the council enforce it not the bailiff?

[Guest]

Re: Bailiff

Sorry to sound dumb...so the answer is the council enforce it not the bailiff?

Yes the council decide to issue an attachment of earnings not the bailiff.

Peter

[bluebottle]

Re: Bailiff

Oh no, not another bailiff full of bovine excrement.

[Crazyk]

Re: Bailiff

Well here is a breif outline of what my situation is will try and keep it short!
Currently in arrears with council tax dating back to 2007.. In 2010 bailiffs got involved and we started making payments to bailiff who demanded £150 a month then they put it upto £200 a month. After investigating my rights and bailiffs rights etc we decided to start paying the council direct payments we could afford as we didnt want to get in arrears with this months ctax.
So yes we broke the arrangement with the bailiff but up until feb this year we felt we had no choice but like i said after finding out bailiffs powers etc we felt it was ok to pay council direct after all they are still getting there money and we are not refusing to pay!
After numerous emails etc to the council they insisted we must make an offer of payment to the bailiff so we did £60 a month ..the bailiff refused the offer and said in writing they will be handing the debt back to the council!.in the meantime we are still paying the council every month!
Eventually council said fine send us income and expenditure forms and although we wont recall the debt from the bailiff we can negotiate and lower payments for you.
On the council letter it says the income forms must be sent to us by 30th april...
On 25th april i come home to find the bailiff has issued an attachment of earnings all copies already with my employer! now this paperwork has no court stamp just all signed and dated by the bailiff company.
I called the bailiff who said its down to the council to stop it and the council are saying its the bailiff!
The bailiff also said they were not informed about the income and expenditure forms and far as they are concerned have heard nothing from the council.
Sorry its so long just dont know what will happen now!
I have been onto council since this has happened but they have not been any help in the past!
If this aoe goes ahead we wont be able to afford to pay this years council tax let alone anything else! According to bailiff the amount they are hoing to deduct from
My husbands wages ia around £400! It will really put us in financial hardship!
So what do i do? Have already written to ceo and the council.

[labman]

Re: Bailiff

The bailiff cannot make deductions from your wages, only the council has the right to do that.

I would go back to the council, with the quotation from my post above which is taken direct from the legislation, and ask them to confirm in writing to you that no attachment of earnings will take place, and the agreed repayment plan.

Whatever you agree must be affordable and sustainable for you, so don't be pressured into paying more than you can afford.

Are you OK doing the IE forms? You do not HAVE to give the council these, only a court can order them, but it is sensible if you want to agree a repayment with them.

[Crazyk]

Re: Bailiff

Thank you
I have already done i and e forms we spoke to national
Debtline who helped us fill them
In.
I just hope i can get this aoe stopped!..

[labman]

Re: Bailiff

the authority which applied for the order may make an order under this regulation

This is very clear. The council applied for the LO, so they are the ones who can make an order for an AOE, NOT the bailiffs. If the council have agreed to installments, as long as you are co-operative with the IE etc.... there is no reason why they should change their minds. :beagle:

[Crazyk]

Re: Bailiff

Thankyou! . I shall make sure i add that to my letter to the council!

[CleverClogs]

Re: Bailiff

Oh no, not another bailiff full of bovine excrement.

So it would appear.

If the bailiff company has served an order that it is not lawfully permitted to issue - and bearing in mind that the company will benefit monetarily thereby - what criminal offences may have been committed?

[labman]

Re: Bailiff

I should also have said that you need to get the council to confirm they are calling off their enforcement agents.

[Crazyk]

Re: Bailiff

They have specified in every correspondence they will NOT recall the debt from the bailiff ..
But saying that i have in wriing that they will look at the income/expen forms and come to a decision to reduce payments with the bailiff.
Now this action with the aoe has gone ahead without them waiting for the ie forms.
So they had not even seen them yet!
The deadline to get them in was today!
Yet the aoe was applied around the 24th april.

[labman]

Re: Bailiff

A classic case for a formal complaint against the council. I would also be inclined to contact the CEO. There is a letter in the 'Useful Letters' section of the bailiff stickies which will need rewording, but will give you the idea of what you want to put across. It is intentionally worded as it is to try to keep it within the Executive's office, and not just get passed down to the underlings. Ty to avoid using the words formal complaint in it, as there is a procedure for that which takes time. You want to 'jump the queue.'