Council Tax Arrears Clarification - Please help!

[AdamW]

Hi,

I've stumbled across this forum whilst searching for clarification regarding my council tax arrears. I'm aware that there's a lot about this on the forum however I couldn't find the answer I needed.

I have recently been out of work for 3 months. During that time, I was unable to make the final two payments on my council tax (£223) nor make the first installment of this years.

I remained in contact with my CC throughout this and they explained that as I was unable to set up an arrangement (due to not the knowing firmly when I would be back in work) I would simply have to wait for the summons to come through and then make an arrangement with the bailiff if it got that far.

Well it did, last night I had a visit from the (popular on the thread..) Bristow & Suiter with the usual hand delivered red letter saying that they'd visited to repossess my goods. Now I'm fully aware of my rights regarding them visiting due to this forum amongst other, however after calling them today, I'm a bit stuck.

Upon speaking to them, they are demanding the £223 from last year and this year’s full £1496, totaling £1719 in 3 monthly payments of £573 + Fees. I told them that this was ridiculous and that the debt management plan which I'm on with the CCCS outlines that after all basic living costs, I have £150/month for Council Tax.

I then went back to the council to explain this and they told me that although they told me that I could just make an arrangement with the bailiffs, they didn't say that it would be 4x as much. I then proposed that I was to pay off the entire £1719 off to the council in 12 payments as I would then just be able to fend off the bailiffs in that time. This is what I gathered from various forums.

I was then told by the lady that this is not the case, yes they could accept payments but this wouldn't affect the bailiffs actions (which I accept) however I would be back in court within 3 months and they will issue an order to gain entry to my property and add on unlimited fees for visits with vans etc. in the meantime.

I really don't know what to do... I could probably afford up to £250/month to sort this out (which is a very reasonable amount for council tax!) however B & S won't budge an inch.

Is anything that the lady from the council said true?! What is my best option? Any help is greatly appreciated.

P.S. I've only just realised the bailiffs initials are BS. That just about sums this up!


Thanks,
Adam

[Amy]

Re: Council Tax Arrears Clarification - Please help!

Who told you this and do you have this in writing?

[WendyB]

Re: Council Tax Arrears Clarification - Please help!

Bristow and Sutor are gits but they are handleable. Have a look at my thread Wends V Bristow & Sutor... Also some councils are more helpful than others. Amy is the best to advise, believe me she knows what she is talking about and if you follow her advice you'll not go far wrong.

[AdamW]

Re: Council Tax Arrears Clarification - Please help!

Thanks for the responses.

Amy, do you mean who told me...

'I was then told by the lady that this is not the case, yes they could accept payments but this wouldn't affect the bailiffs actions (which I accept) however I would be back in court within 3 months and they will issue an order to gain entry to my property and add on unlimited fees for visits with vans etc. in the meantime. '??

If so, it was the council over the phone in response to me stating that it was unreasonable for B&S to demand that I pay them nearly £600/month for the next 3 months when effectively I'd just missed 3 payments of ~£120 and that I will just pay the council (out of principal!) £200/month and fend off the bailiffs until it was cleared.

She then said "Well I can tell you in 23 years of council tax experience you will not get away with that and you will be back in court within a few months and the WILL gain access to your property and continue to visit and charge for it."

Obviously I would prefer not to be at war with bailiffs for the next 7 months for my households sake however I don't see any other option. I've explained my situation to both parties and the fact that I'm on a debt management plan with now expendable income but neither side will budge.

I saw the letter written in the 'Bristow & Sutor - please help quickly!' thread and was wondering if I should send a similar letter to both parties, stating that I will be happy to pay up to £250/month to try and get it resolved and also note my willingness to pay this off quicker than the origional agreement with the council!?

Thanks for your help...

[Amy]

Re: Council Tax Arrears Clarification - Please help!

You need to write a letter of complaint to the Finance Officer, or similar and ask why he has appointed staff who do not know the law. I hope you took her name.

A bailiff cannot gain access to your house unless you have previously allowed them peaceful entry. You are not a criminal simply because you are unable to pay your council tax, you are a criminal if you refuse to pay your council tax.

This woman has absolutely no business saying this to you. In light of these lies she has told you, I would insist that your council takes the debt back from the bailiffs.

[AdamW]

Re: Council Tax Arrears Clarification - Please help!

Thanks for the advice Amy. I'll do that and report back.

[Amy]

Re: Council Tax Arrears Clarification - Please help!

No problem. If you need any help with what to write then just post back here.

[AdamW]

Re: Council Tax Arrears Clarification - Please help!

Hi guys,

Well after much hassle and intimidation, my matter has finally been resolved and my proposed payment plan accepted. Thanks to everyone, especially Amy, for your help. For other peoples benefit, this is the letter which I wrote below;


F.A.O. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Finance Director
Xxxxxxx City Council
xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx

Council Ref. xxxxxxxxxxxx

CC:
Bristow & Sutor
Bartleet Road
Washford
Redditch
Worcestershire
B98 0FL

Bristow & Sutor Ref. BRIT/xxxxx

Thursday 29th July, 2010

Dear Mr xxxxxxxxx,

I have received advice to write to you regarding my current situation regarding my Council Tax whilst copying in the debt recovery agents (of which certain parts of this letter are intended for).

xxxxxxxxx (here after xxxxx CC) has instructed Bristow & Sutor (here after B&S) to recover my Council Tax Liability arrears for 2009/2010 of £223 as well as my 2010/2011 of £1,496, totaling £1,719.

Firstly I would like to make you aware that I am fully aware of my rights and Bristow & Sutor will not gain entry to my home under any circumstances to levy goods and I am fully aware of the fees allowed under statute and when these fees can be applied.

Around 4 months ago I was made redundant and phoned xxxxxxx CC to advise them of my situation of which I was informed that my two final payments of 09/10 would be sent to B&S and I was to make arrangements with them to pay it when I could. My un-employment then continued until July and in this time I had been back in touch with xxxxxx CC regarding my 10/11 bill which I was still unable to pay. Upon calling them, I was informed that I would just have to wait until a summons was issued, then should it get this far with me still being out of work, make the payment arrangement with B&S.

Well this time came however thankfully I found work at the start of July and proceed to get in touch with B&S after a bailiff visit on 26/07/10. Upon speaking to B&S regarding my account with them, I was shocked to be told that the only payment arrangement that they were prepared to discuss would be over 4 months at a figure of c. £430/month. May I note at this point that I am on a Debt Management Plan with the CCCS currently due to my financial situation and adding to that having been out of work for 3 months, made this a completely unfeasible and unreasonable figure to demand considering only my first payment of the 10/11 year had been missed along with the two final payments of 09/10.

After the shock of hearing this from B&S I proceeded to get back in touch with xxxxxx CC to discuss my options of which the lady I spoke to was very unhelpful and suggested that even though I was willing to pay up to £200/month to clear this bill, my only option was to allow them to repossess my property. Also upon me suggesting that I just pay this amount to xxxxxxx CC on a monthly basis and don’t allow B&S to access my property (which I’m perfectly entitled to do) until it’s paid off, she told me that I would be “back in court within a few months and they will gain access”. I have since sought legal clarification on this and have been informed that this is basically a lie and for this point alone, this debt should be returned to xxxxxxx CC.

I am able to pay the above amount of £200 on the 1st of each month which will clear this figure in less than 9 months. Please advise how you would like future payments made and to which party. My personal preference is payment by Standing Order/Direct Debit.

It should be noted that I am not at any point refusing to pay this debt but only asking for a fair payment period considering my circumstances. And if either party is unable to accept my offer I will place the money aside each month until such a time the council take the account back into their management, when I will make payment of the set aside money to the council.

Could Bristow & Sutor also provide me with an itemised list of any charges that have been added to my account, you are required in statute to supply this information and I look forward to receiving it within 14 days.

I hope the above meets your approval and I look forward to your timely reply by letter

Yours Sincerely,

After sending this letter, I received a prompt response from B & S basically telling me where to go, and that the matter wasn't up for discussion, however I should discuss the matter with my bailiff round my house?!? That isn't a contradiction at all...

I awaited the response from my council, however this morning I received a call from 'my bailiff' from his mobile stating that we needed to talk about this. (This was the best bit!) He then proceed to tell me that the only way the matter could be resolved was if he came round my house and sat down with me to talk about it. Upon telling him that I was awaiting the response from my council, he angrily stated that he would call them to clarify the matter. I agreed, and 5 mins later I received a call back saying that they'd received my letter and were not going to accept my payment proposal and would not be writing back to me. He then repeated that this could on by sorted out by him sitting down in my home, whereby I stated that I wasn't an idiot and he wouldn't be coming round my house. When I asked him to justify why this had to done round my house, he stated that "as you've defaulted from your council tax, then we will not take your word (by letter) that you'll keep to a payment structure." I then proceed to tell him where to go, and that he was talking **** and hung up.

I then called the council to clarify this, and upon being swiftly put through to the local taxation office, was told that they'd written to me yesterday saying that they cannot take the account back, but that they'd ordered B&S to accept my payment plan of £200/month by email and telephone on Monday. All sorted!

This just highlights the devious tactics and lies that B&S will use to try and recover money and gain access to your property. They were obviously trying to deceptively gain access to my property before I received this letter and set up a payment plan with them.

It's a shame I can't say what I really think of B & S, as I'd probably be banned from this forum (or have my member status elevated?!), but I think that this all speaks for itself.

Thanks for your help and I hope this might help others in my situation.

[Amy]

Re: Council Tax Arrears Clarification - Please help!

Excellent result Adam, really well done xx