Hi all,
Long story cut short.I again fell behind with my council tax and was issued a liability order so had 2 debt owing to the council.Agreed a payment plan and missed a payment.Baillif made 1 visit and charged a total of 201.50 .He charged me 42.50 for both orders and 2 levy fees although no levy was made and he stated on the notice Unable to Gain Access.I contacted the council and now only have 200 pounds left due on the 1st October .(Which I will not be paying)The original debt on the liabilty orders has been paid so only the bailiff fees outstanding Below is an email sent to the head of revenues .I would like to know how I can take this further and what action I can take against both the council and the baillif .
Thankyou for any help I have used this site before and got great results from Rossenthiefs.
Dear COUNCIL IDIOT(name removed),
Reference no:-
Address removed
I am writing regarding the ILLEGAL charges that where placed on my account by your Bailiff Mr Roy Blyth with regard to council tax liabilty .I received 2 notices in the same envelope on the 13th July 2010 .This was the first contact I had with a bailiff and no other correspondence has been left at my address. As you will be no doubt aware the law states :-
SCHEDULE 5
CHARGES CONNECTED WITH DISTRESS
1,The sum of charges connected with the distress which may be aggregated under regulation 45(2)(b) shall be set out in the following table.
A, For making visits to the premises with view to levying distress.(Where no LEVY is made.)
(i) where the visit is the first or only such visit: 24.50
(ii)where the visit is the second such visit : 18.50
This was the first visit the bailiff has made to my property as no notices had been posted prior to this. There was no Levy made and the Baillif stated on his notice "UNABLE TO GAIN ACCESS " This means he can only charge 1 fee of 24.50 pounds as he delivered both notices at the same time.The law states he can not charge for 2 visits when only 1 was made even if he is acting on 2 separate Liability Orders.I have been charged a total of 201.50 pounds for this 1 visit.
I expect my account to be updated correctly and all ILLEGAL charges removed .Also now I have made you aware of your "MISTAKE" I also expect a full report on how this could happen and what action you are going to take to stop this illegal activity by your bailiffs.I believe you as a council are also responsible for this illegal activity and are equally culpable should this matter not be resolved without delay.I would like your response within 48 hours.I have already spoken to my solicitor and he has informed me that you will be well aware of the following ruling
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
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]
20 Apr 2007 : Column WA94
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): A bailiff or any other person who dishonestly charges for work that has not been done will be committing an offence under the Fraud Act 2006. Section 1 of the 2006 Act contains the new general offence of fraud. One means by which this offence can be committed is set out in Section 2, on fraud by false representation. This section applies where a person dishonestly makes a false representation and intends, by making the representation, to make a gain for himself or another, or cause a loss to another, or expose another to a risk of loss. It is also possible that, where a bailiff repeatedly charges for work that has not been done, this conduct will amount to fraudulent trading either under Section 9 of the 2006 Act or under the provisions on fraudulent trading in company legislation.
I must make you aware that as the bailiffs employers The local authority is vicariously liable and are equally culpable for any unlawful actions carried out by any of their agents.If this matter is not resolved within a reasonable time frame I will seek further legal advice with a view to legal proceedings against both Arun Council and the Bailiff employed by yourselves.I will also be filing a Form 4 complaint with Chichester Combined Court Centre where the Bailiff is certificated.
I expect you to treat this matter with the importance that attains to this and expect a speedy response.
Mr Wahoo_thomas
I have Carbon copied this email to my councillor and would like a response from her as this is an extremely important matter .In this day of poverty and debt, predominant on the REMOVED ward , the council themselves are acting illegally in adding charges to accounts that people are struggling to afford .Then I believe that the councillors should act accordingly to stop this .
CC.Cllr RMEOVED
Long story cut short.I again fell behind with my council tax and was issued a liability order so had 2 debt owing to the council.Agreed a payment plan and missed a payment.Baillif made 1 visit and charged a total of 201.50 .He charged me 42.50 for both orders and 2 levy fees although no levy was made and he stated on the notice Unable to Gain Access.I contacted the council and now only have 200 pounds left due on the 1st October .(Which I will not be paying)The original debt on the liabilty orders has been paid so only the bailiff fees outstanding Below is an email sent to the head of revenues .I would like to know how I can take this further and what action I can take against both the council and the baillif .
Thankyou for any help I have used this site before and got great results from Rossenthiefs.
Dear COUNCIL IDIOT(name removed),
Reference no:-
Address removed
I am writing regarding the ILLEGAL charges that where placed on my account by your Bailiff Mr Roy Blyth with regard to council tax liabilty .I received 2 notices in the same envelope on the 13th July 2010 .This was the first contact I had with a bailiff and no other correspondence has been left at my address. As you will be no doubt aware the law states :-
SCHEDULE 5
CHARGES CONNECTED WITH DISTRESS
1,The sum of charges connected with the distress which may be aggregated under regulation 45(2)(b) shall be set out in the following table.
A, For making visits to the premises with view to levying distress.(Where no LEVY is made.)
(i) where the visit is the first or only such visit: 24.50
(ii)where the visit is the second such visit : 18.50
This was the first visit the bailiff has made to my property as no notices had been posted prior to this. There was no Levy made and the Baillif stated on his notice "UNABLE TO GAIN ACCESS " This means he can only charge 1 fee of 24.50 pounds as he delivered both notices at the same time.The law states he can not charge for 2 visits when only 1 was made even if he is acting on 2 separate Liability Orders.I have been charged a total of 201.50 pounds for this 1 visit.
I expect my account to be updated correctly and all ILLEGAL charges removed .Also now I have made you aware of your "MISTAKE" I also expect a full report on how this could happen and what action you are going to take to stop this illegal activity by your bailiffs.I believe you as a council are also responsible for this illegal activity and are equally culpable should this matter not be resolved without delay.I would like your response within 48 hours.I have already spoken to my solicitor and he has informed me that you will be well aware of the following ruling
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
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]
20 Apr 2007 : Column WA94
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): A bailiff or any other person who dishonestly charges for work that has not been done will be committing an offence under the Fraud Act 2006. Section 1 of the 2006 Act contains the new general offence of fraud. One means by which this offence can be committed is set out in Section 2, on fraud by false representation. This section applies where a person dishonestly makes a false representation and intends, by making the representation, to make a gain for himself or another, or cause a loss to another, or expose another to a risk of loss. It is also possible that, where a bailiff repeatedly charges for work that has not been done, this conduct will amount to fraudulent trading either under Section 9 of the 2006 Act or under the provisions on fraudulent trading in company legislation.
I must make you aware that as the bailiffs employers The local authority is vicariously liable and are equally culpable for any unlawful actions carried out by any of their agents.If this matter is not resolved within a reasonable time frame I will seek further legal advice with a view to legal proceedings against both Arun Council and the Bailiff employed by yourselves.I will also be filing a Form 4 complaint with Chichester Combined Court Centre where the Bailiff is certificated.
I expect you to treat this matter with the importance that attains to this and expect a speedy response.
Mr Wahoo_thomas
I have Carbon copied this email to my councillor and would like a response from her as this is an extremely important matter .In this day of poverty and debt, predominant on the REMOVED ward , the council themselves are acting illegally in adding charges to accounts that people are struggling to afford .Then I believe that the councillors should act accordingly to stop this .
CC.Cllr RMEOVED
Comment