Confused with the bailiffs.

[lincolnboy]

My problem is with Bristow and Sutor. Council Tax arrears.

I recently asked them for a full list of their fees and what they are for which threw up some discrepancies as far as I am concerned.

They say they came to the house in September and they have charged a walk in possession fee yet they did not enter the house, no one says they signed any paperwork. even if the wife did sign and is not being honest with me surely I would need to sign it as well as we are both listed as the debtors on their documentation. the wife seems to think that at the time they levied against the car. The car a Kia Sedona was at the time under a CCJ from Oxford County Court (which is now sorted) as it was under a CCJ could they actually levy against the vehicle?

To add to the above they returned in November and left a note with the mother in law to say that they had bought a van to collect goods to the value of the remainder of the debt £321. They have charged £180 for this van which the mother in law didn't see outside the house plus if they were going to take the Sedona where was the trailer? The fee of £180 is way over the odds as I looked on the net and could hire a van today for between £40 to £60 depending on the company.

I want to know everything that this company and the local council has on us (the wife and myself) so i will be looking to send of SAR requests to both. can I do it under one Sar to each of them for the pair of us or does it require us to send an individual SAR to each ie is it going to cost £20 or £40?

If I find discrepancies in either SAR how do I go about resolving them. I do not want to let these highway robbers get away with it so just want good information on processes, forms time scales etc etc please

Do I have to use the councils SAR form availabale at their website or is therea more legally binding worded template I could use. I just think that their form is very basic and would not cover everything I could ask to see if that makes sense.

Thanks in advance

[WendyB]

Re: Confused with the baliffs.

Hi. Amy is your best bet on Bailiffs, she'll probably be along later. In the meantime have a good read of this Bailiff Guide which will give you much more idea of what they can and can't do and what they can and can't charge for and the maximum charges.

[Amy]

Re: Confused with the baliffs.

You do need to read the bailiff guide in the link given to you by Wendy. This will answer most, if not all, of your questions. You will also find a very good SAR letter on that page.

The only thing I would add to this is, if your car was the subject of a CCJ then presumably if was under finance. Therefore, the car was not technically owned by you and should not have been levied on. This is called an irregular levy, but since the bailiff has clearly lied to you previously, this is no surprise.

Have a good read of the bailiff guide and if you have any more questions, then just post back here and we'll help.