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on friday 14th may i had a bailiff visit while i was out, it was regarding unpaid council tax. the amount is £1435.53.
i had got into a mess with it after my ex and i separated last year and i was struggling with my finances.
i phoned the bailiff the same day on his mobile number which was on the notification he left, and after a brief chat he advised me to call his office to arrange payments.
I spoke to a 'lady' ( the word 'lady' is used here in the loosest possible terms) and offered £200 per month to clear the debt, only to be told this is unacceptable and they wanted me to pay almost £300 per month. I told her i couldnt possibly afford that, but i wanted to get this sorted out. She wasnt at all helpful and the phone conversation ended after i said i was going to seek advice from the CAB.
CAB advised me not to let them in and dont sign anything, i dont have to let them in and they cannot force their way in, they have to gain peaceful entry first. i was also advised to contact my local authority and ask them to take back the debt and have the bailiff action removed, and to ask if i could pay my debt directly to them. My local authority were unhelpful and they flatly refused. I was so upset that i sat and wrote a letter to Ashfield District Council to please reconsider because i couldnt afford the payments that the bailiffs were demanding and that they were being unreasonable.
I also sat and wrote a letter to my local MP explaining my situation and how ADC and Bristow & Sutor were both refusing to let me pay anything that i could afford. I then emailed Bristow & Sutor to say i had written to ADC and was awaiting response.
I got an email back almost immediately stating that the only way i could stop bailiffs action was to pay the whole amount in full and that a bailiff had been intructed to pay me a visit to take full payment or seize my goods.
I was in a panic by this time and i wanted to sort this mess out, it wasnt going to go away.
So yesterday i visited my bank manager and explained my situation and asked for help with organising my finances and my bank account in order to free up some of my income, i needed £280 at least every month to take care of the debt i owed. My bank manager was incredibly helpful and after an hour in his office going through my commitments and cancelling unneccessary DD's we managed to get this done, much to my relief.
As soon as i got home i rang Bristow & Sutor to arrange payments by standing order for the amount they had previously told me. But the obnoxious cow who i spoke to said the only payment she would accept would be for the full amount and that i am due for a bailiff visit, and that he will be asking for full payment too. I informed her that i am not refusing to pay my debt and asked them to please be reasonable, only to get the response 'I cant keep repeating myself to you and if you cant pay the full amount owing then I cant help you any further'.
I immediately called Ashfield District Council and told them that Bristow & Sutor have flatly refused to allow me to set up a payment arrangement with them and are demanding full payment only. The ADC said Bristows should have let me pay by instalments and would look into it for me, meanwhile they will email Bristow to halt action.
This was late yesterday afternoon so i expected the bailiffs to sometime today or tomorrow, so far they havent shown up.
I have security cameras on my property linked up to recording equipment, i'm wondering should i inform them when they come that everything they do and say is being recorded for my safety and security? Am i ok to do this? I fear they will come with their bullying tactics and mis-info and i want to have proof if they turn up like this. We all know what liars they are dont we?
Anyway, its been a panic-filled week for me and i'm sick of feeling threatened and frightened, there is no need to make people's lives a complete misery like they do.
Bailiffs are the most miserable, obnoxious and offensive low-lifes ever to infect this planet, essential qualifications for the job it seems. Even the office girls who answer the phones have the same dreadful attitude. I'll bet they're ALL single - YUK!!
I'll post an update as soon as either the ADC or Bristows contact me.
Remember folks - YOU DONT HAVE TO LET THEM IN!!!
i had got into a mess with it after my ex and i separated last year and i was struggling with my finances.
i phoned the bailiff the same day on his mobile number which was on the notification he left, and after a brief chat he advised me to call his office to arrange payments.
I spoke to a 'lady' ( the word 'lady' is used here in the loosest possible terms) and offered £200 per month to clear the debt, only to be told this is unacceptable and they wanted me to pay almost £300 per month. I told her i couldnt possibly afford that, but i wanted to get this sorted out. She wasnt at all helpful and the phone conversation ended after i said i was going to seek advice from the CAB.
CAB advised me not to let them in and dont sign anything, i dont have to let them in and they cannot force their way in, they have to gain peaceful entry first. i was also advised to contact my local authority and ask them to take back the debt and have the bailiff action removed, and to ask if i could pay my debt directly to them. My local authority were unhelpful and they flatly refused. I was so upset that i sat and wrote a letter to Ashfield District Council to please reconsider because i couldnt afford the payments that the bailiffs were demanding and that they were being unreasonable.
I also sat and wrote a letter to my local MP explaining my situation and how ADC and Bristow & Sutor were both refusing to let me pay anything that i could afford. I then emailed Bristow & Sutor to say i had written to ADC and was awaiting response.
I got an email back almost immediately stating that the only way i could stop bailiffs action was to pay the whole amount in full and that a bailiff had been intructed to pay me a visit to take full payment or seize my goods.
I was in a panic by this time and i wanted to sort this mess out, it wasnt going to go away.
So yesterday i visited my bank manager and explained my situation and asked for help with organising my finances and my bank account in order to free up some of my income, i needed £280 at least every month to take care of the debt i owed. My bank manager was incredibly helpful and after an hour in his office going through my commitments and cancelling unneccessary DD's we managed to get this done, much to my relief.
As soon as i got home i rang Bristow & Sutor to arrange payments by standing order for the amount they had previously told me. But the obnoxious cow who i spoke to said the only payment she would accept would be for the full amount and that i am due for a bailiff visit, and that he will be asking for full payment too. I informed her that i am not refusing to pay my debt and asked them to please be reasonable, only to get the response 'I cant keep repeating myself to you and if you cant pay the full amount owing then I cant help you any further'.
I immediately called Ashfield District Council and told them that Bristow & Sutor have flatly refused to allow me to set up a payment arrangement with them and are demanding full payment only. The ADC said Bristows should have let me pay by instalments and would look into it for me, meanwhile they will email Bristow to halt action.
This was late yesterday afternoon so i expected the bailiffs to sometime today or tomorrow, so far they havent shown up.
I have security cameras on my property linked up to recording equipment, i'm wondering should i inform them when they come that everything they do and say is being recorded for my safety and security? Am i ok to do this? I fear they will come with their bullying tactics and mis-info and i want to have proof if they turn up like this. We all know what liars they are dont we?
Anyway, its been a panic-filled week for me and i'm sick of feeling threatened and frightened, there is no need to make people's lives a complete misery like they do.
Bailiffs are the most miserable, obnoxious and offensive low-lifes ever to infect this planet, essential qualifications for the job it seems. Even the office girls who answer the phones have the same dreadful attitude. I'll bet they're ALL single - YUK!!
I'll post an update as soon as either the ADC or Bristows contact me.
Remember folks - YOU DONT HAVE TO LET THEM IN!!!
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