bailiff

[sam1981wb]

OK so i had a visit
last wednesday from Bristow and Sutor. It was my first visit to collect unpaid council tax of 203.41.
I was at work at the time and luckily my partner was out in the car, however his work van was parked on the street. The bailiff posted a notice of seizure through the door with an inventory stating the van tax disc keys and documents had been siezed , can i just say this is in no way owned by us but by his company.
He added fees as follow
: council tax 203.41
levy fee : 30.00
redemption fee : 24.50
van : 170.00
total 427.91

I contacted b &s when i got home and the advisor informed me the council had instructed them to offer no repayment plan, the van was checked on the dvla data base and i had to pay up or he was returning to remove goods. FINE.

I paid £203.41 direct to the council and £24.50 to b & S for a first visit.

I have today posted a letter of complaint to b &s and the council.

The council recovery department have called me today to inform me they have informed b&S that the debt has been paid but if i dont pay the outstanding fees the bailiff will be back.

So my question is if he returns today what should i tell him and can he take the van.
Also are his fees correct, i am under the impression he can only charge a first visit fee of 24.50
please help thanks
Read more at: Legal Beagles Consumer Forum - Re: please can you help me

[Amy]

Re: bailiff

Several items to be pointed out to the council then, since they are clearly incapable of independent thought:-

A bailiff cannot charge a visit fee and a levy fee on the same date. So if you received one visit, then you owe for the visit fee only.

If the van does not belong to the debtor then it cannot be levied on. So in answer to your question, if his company own the van it does not belong to you and cannot be levied. To levy on goods that do not belong to the debtor is called illegal distress and the bailiff will now the consequences of this practice.

The redemption fee is the fee to return goods to the debtor's possession once the debt is paid, but since he should not have levied the van he cannot charge this.

Likewise the van fee.

Perhaps you should also ask the council if they are aware of the Fraud Act 2006. See this link for the question posed below that I have quoted. The answer is an emphatic 'yes'
Lords Hansard text for 20 Apr 200720 Apr 2007 (pt 0001)

Whether a bailiff who repeatedly charges for work that has not been done commits a fraud within the meaning of Sections 1 to 5 of the Fraud Act 2006; and, if so, which sections of the Act apply; and whether it would be right for the police to claim that such an action is a civil and not a criminal matter. [HL2743]

[sam1981wb]

Re: bailiff

Thank You Amy, once again.
I contacted the council to ask them to notify B&S that i had paid the debt owed to them. 15 minutes later i had a call from recovery to see if i had had a visit from the bailiff, when i said yes she replied make sure you pay the fees or they will be back to remove my goods and they could'nt stop that. I have seen somewhere that a bailiff can not attend your house to collect fees, Is this right?
I will let you know if they reply to my letter thanks again

[Amy]

Re: bailiff

Have a read here of post #10 Council tax debt (rossendales debt letter) - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

However, you have paid all you need to pay, which amounts to the council and tax and one visit fee. Now you need to follow up with a letter saying what I said in post #2 because they are just plain wrong.