rossendales bailiffs out of order

[benny1979]

i had a visit off a bailiff today from rossendales whilst i was out saying they are coming back on monday to sieze goods from my house for council tax even though im paying £200 a month back they said its not reasonable as we dont have a written agreement ive rang my local council to try and get help to stop them which they cant do, also my husband rang rossendales to which they put the phone down on him ive just look at my bank statements on line to make sure the payments were made (which they were) and then realised they sent a payment back which i paid from my debit card when there was sufficiant money in the bank to pay my statements can back this up but it leaves a gap in my payments im soooo mad ive been getting upset all day just wondering if anyone can give me any advice on what to do when they next come out im actually scared to be in my own home

[seduraed]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

first things first, do not let any bailiff into your home ever. speak to them fom an upstairs window and ideallyvideo the conversation. Kepp payng the council. First thing monday morning ring the council recovery office and see how many liaility orders there are out against you .
Speak to the bank, find out why they sent ack a payment when there were availale funds. If they have madea mistake then you may have acase against them . Keppyour doors and windows locked , including the garden gate, park the car a few streets away. . someone more knowledgeale will e along later with more accurate advice.

[bluebottle]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

Hi Benny,

Who sent the debit card payment back, your bank, the council or Rossendales?

BB

[labman]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

Hi,
Don't worry. The bailiffs will cancel a payment arrangement as soon as anything goes wrong or is the slightest bit late as it opens the opportunity to make more money.

Totally ignore them now and just pay the council online or via their phone automated system. The bailiffs won't like it, but as long as you don't grant them peaceful entry or leave your car outside for them to levy on, there's nothing they can do about it. If they don't receive payment, it's returned to the council anyway.

The council are lying when they say they can't do anything, they can and should, but they too want to make money out of you.

Keep paying the council, regularly as clockwork. Phone them on Monday and find out how much the liability order was, how much is remaining, and keep a record of what you pay from now on so you know when it's paid.

Also send this to Rossendales:

From:
My Name
My Address

To:
Acme Bailiff Co
Bailiff House

Ref: Account No: 123456

Dear Sir

With reference to the above account, Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges.

This includes:
a - the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee.
b - the reason for the fee.
c - the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged.
d - the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were Certificated at.
e - the date of the Certification.
F – any amount outstanding

This is not a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. You are obliged to provide this information.

I require this information within 14 days.



See if the council and bailiff figures match.

Have Rossendales been out to visit you at all? I'm just trying to work out what, if anything, you might legitimately owe them in fees.

Don't panic - all is fine!

[benny1979]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

hi thankyou for all your advice we have actually sat and gone through our bank statments today and have made 4 payments of £100 ever 2 weeks without fail they have also took money out of our bank without us knowing so weve actually paid more than we thought which we didnt know about till today, which rossendales have failed to tell us and they havent knocked it off our bill, they have visited us once before which is when i agreed to pay £100 every 2 weeks, im at my witts end im at home all day with my 2 year old son and scared i just dont understand when they have been getting paid plus the extra

[benny1979]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

it was rossendales that sent the payment back

[labman]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

hi thankyou for all your advice we have actually sat and gone through our bank statments today and have made 4 payments of £100 ever 2 weeks without fail they have also took money out of our bank without us knowing so weve actually paid more than we thought which we didnt know about till today, which rossendales have failed to tell us and they havent knocked it off our bill, they have visited us once before which is when i agreed to pay £100 every 2 weeks, im at my witts end im at home all day with my 2 year old son and scared i just dont understand when they have been getting paid plus the extra

The letter I gave you above should give you their breakdown of what has been paid and when, including any about which you knew nothing. This is very naughty, but wait till you get their onfirmation - you've got your proof.

If they have visited you just once, all you owe legitimately to them is £24.50. Just make sure you keep paying, but pay direct to the council, regular as clockwork. The bailiffs won't like it, but if they had played fair, they would not be in this situation. Do not be fooled by threats of police, locksmiths, breaking in etc.... They can't!

[benny1979]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

hi, when the bloke came originally he was on the door step to do a levvy as i had the chain on as my 2 year old son was with me aswell as my other 3 children in the house, he had looked through the windows to see what there was as my 2 year old was crying and distressed he said for me just to sign this form to say hes been out so i can go and attend to my baby which i stupidly did sign but there are stuff on the levvy which i havent even got! my husband is having to take the day off work tomorrow as im scared to be in the house, im going to the council tomorrow along with my bank statements to see if they will take back the debt and will pay another £100 there and then which is not due yet! but im desperate to get rid of the bailiffs:tinysmile_cry_t:

[labman]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

Please wait to go to the council, or go prepared. The front line staff will deny they can do anything at all to help, and you will have to fight to see someone from the recoveries team.

Rather than going, if possible you're much better phoning, but recording the conversation, however crudely, and insisting to be put through to the recoveries team to argue your case. If they refuse ask for the e-mail address of the head of recoveries.

My concern, and I've seen it happen a lot of times, is that you leave more upset than you go in. There are strategies for dealing with these people, but it will not happen quite overnight. How much is the debt outstanding roughly now?

[benny1979]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

thankyou, il ring them in the morn, our original bill was £1,052 weve paid £300 off willingly and then they took another £100 out without us knowing then they repaid us £100 6 days later without us knowing we only just realised this today, they have charged us £55 for a visit £12 for a levvy fee and they are saying we still owe them £949 which doesnt add up at all and i checked this figure with the coucil and they said i owed £949 but my bankstatements clearly show the payments being made

[benny1979]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

the £55 was for a second visit, which it wasnt it was his 1st visit and thats when he did the levvy its the 1st time we had bailiffs so we dont know the ins and outs of what they do

[labman]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

Excellent - they're playing beautifully into your hands. The second visit fee should have been just £18, and they're not allowed to levy by looking through a window, so the levy is invalid. Even if it were valid, they can't charge a levy fee and a visit fee on the same day.

I'd not bother with the phone call tomorrow. If you can withstand another few days of keeping your car locked in your garage or a few streets away (difficult with little 'uns I know!), send the letter to the bailiffs as per above. Also send this (e-mail if possible) to the Head of Revenues at your local council:

[YOUR ADDRESS]

[DATE]

Dear Sir,

Your Ref: [Insert your reference]

I am writing with regard to the above account. I have been visited recently by your appointed enforcement agents [insert name of bailiff company] who have charged me a total of £xxx.xx.

I do not believe that these fees are legitimately charged, as prescribed by The Council Tax and Enforcement Regulations. I would therefore be grateful if you could confirm whether or not you believe these to be fair and honest. If they are not, I would request that the debt be recalled to the council, and all fees removed. [Delete if necessary] I am able to repay the amount of £xx.xx per week direct to the council and I trust this will be acceptable.

I look forward to receiving your written confirmation one way or another regarding the fees charged. I would also be grateful if you would confirm that the council is recalling the debt, and instructing the enforcement agents that they should cease to pursue this account.

Yours faithfully,

Sign you name here

[PRINT NAME]


You will almost certainly find he sides with the bailiffs - this is actually good news. If he doesn't, then the council have taken the debt back and the bailiffs can go whistle for their illegal fees.

[benny1979]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

thankyou so much for your help i shall do this, i cant believe what they have done to us i will post back and let you know how we have gone on

[labman]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

Don't be disappointed if the council's Head of Revenues condones the actions of the bailiffs - it's good if he does his job properly and doesn't, but it's also good if he doesn't do his job properly. All will become clear! Just make sure if you're due to make payments you pay them direct to the council online or via telephone automated system so they have no complaint about you.

[benny1979]

Re: rossendales bailiffs out of order

i feel 100 % better thankyou and im ready to take on the bailiffs im going to spend all day tomorrow sorting this out rossendales are not getting another penny out of us il keep paying direct to the council, i could understand if we wernt paying it back but we are and more than what we can afford