Jacobs Bailiffs Again

[bigjayce]

Afternoon all,

Just need some quick advice, I moved into my new house last august, since then I have made 3 stem cell donations for a critically ill patient and as a result I have been unable to work hence I fell behind with my council tax.

I have an outstanding balance of £932 but I have since found out that the bill was incorrect as they have not included my single occupier discount, whilst I was in hospital they obtained a liability order and last friday a bailiff letter was pushed through the door, I rang Stockton Council and went through everything again but they refused to recall it as they had followed procedure and obtained the order correctly - although to my mind it wasn't correct as, as they have admitted the bill is incorrect.

I have informed SBC that they should recall it - remove the 25% discount and I will pay an additional £400 to bring the bill down, I also have a benefit claim going through which will cover the rest.

Anyhoo I don't deal with Bailiffs and told them so, this morning he pulled up outside at 8am and pushed another letter through the door stating he would be back at 5pm to start removal of goods, now I have not spoken to him, not had anything to do with him and he has not had any access to my property, has no walking possession of anything so unless I am mistaken there is nothing at all he can do at 5pm?

Am I correct?

Jayce

[ploddertom]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

He may huff & puff dor all he is worth but providing you deny him access to your home and prevent him seizing any goods outside - most notably a car - then there isn't a lot he can do. he may indeed make lots of noise & threats but that is all that will happen. Of course he may have decided to levy on goods belonging to someone else - usually a neighbours car.

Unfortunately the Council do appear to have carried out things correctly and it is no defence to withold payment pending claims for Single Person Discount and/or Benefits. You are supposed to pay and if you pay over the top this can be credited to a future account or refunded on request. The downside to this at present is that you may be seen as refusing to pay in which case the Council can apply for a Committal Hearing where you can be asked to explain your actions. Again they will add the cost of this to your account and if found against the ultimate sanction is imprisonment.

You could of course commence minimumpayments to the Council via online banking,Council website or automated phone. This shows a committment to paying and they would find it hard to seek further enforcement if you do this. You do not need the Council or bailiffs permission to do this.

There is also the point that you may be potentially vulnerable in which case the Council should be taking back your account and possibly using an Attachment to Benefits for payment.

[labman]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

Well, it's just gone 5 pm and I bet he hasn't turned up.

i assume the council confirmed the LO was the larger amount, and not the bailiffs.

Pay the council as much as you can comfortably afford now, then pay the rest when you can. There's really very little they can do as long as you're clearly paying what you can.

There's no way they will apply for a commital hearing at this stage - that would be way down the line.

As for the bailiffs, don't let them in and don't let them levy on anything obvious outside. They will eventually pass the debt back to the council in any case.

Once you've made a decent payment to the council via their automated system, there's no harm writing to the Head of revenues asking if he'll take the debt back and instruct the bailiffs to cease enforcement.

[bigjayce]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

well as you would expect he didn't show, I never deal with Bailiffs and never will.

I have spoken to 4 people at SBC today and each one has said that once an account is with the bailiff they are unable to recall it - I know this is a lie and have contacted my local MP who was less than impressed. The most senior person today informed me that she was recording the call and did I have anythinf to say abouot that - I replied 'Yes I am not refusing to pay my council tax bill I am just refusing to deal with a bailiff'

I am making a £400 payment on Friday as I have told them and with the 25% removed that will leave approx £300 which, once they have processed my claim for benefits I will pay if needed

[labman]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

Sometimes it's hard to know who are the bigger liars, the council or the bailiffs. Absolutely appalling!

[CleverClogs]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

Anyhoo I don't deal with Bailiffs and told them so, this morning he pulled up outside at 8am and pushed another letter through the door stating he would be back at 5pm to start removal of goods, now I have not spoken to him, not had anything to do with him and he has not had any access to my property, has no walking possession of anything so unless I am mistaken there is nothing at all he can do at 5pm?

Am I correct?

Not quite.

Providing he does not expose his privy member in public, he could sit in his motor-car and play with himself.

But he cannot lawfully even begin removal of your goods,

[bigjayce]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

Phoned SBC this morning and paid the £400 I said I would, and put it to them again that I am sticking to exactly what I said I would do and therefore they should recall the debt from the scum.... I mean bailiff but they are still refusing

[CleverClogs]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

I am making a £400 payment on Friday as I have told them and with the 25% removed that will leave approx £300 which, once they have processed my claim for benefits I will pay if needed

Phoned SBC this morning and paid the £400 I said I would

But today is only Thursday.

Are you determined to get them confused? :tinysmile_aha_t:

[pepsie]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

please re read what PT has written....you must make a small weekly payment to the Council while you are waiting for discounts and benefit claims to be processed, that is vtal to you coming out a "winner " in all of this, also important to remember is that those two letters pushed through your door allows them to charge you two visit fees, 1st £24.50 2nd £18 total £42.50 so don't fall foul of not adding those into your budget.

Pepsie

[labman]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

Agreed, both posts 2 and 3 state you should pay something to the council NOW. This should be an affordable and sustainable amount, but it shows you are willing, indeed keen to pay the debt and potentially will save you an awful lot of struggle in coming months.

Please take note of this comment and post that you've made a payment.

[bigjayce]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

£42.50?? not the £400.00 the very nice, not lying in any way, throughly professional scum sucking pig added on ???? lol

[ploddertom]

Re: Jacobs Bailiffs Again

Ask him very nicely to give you a breakdown of his charges, if you are feeling very diplomatic you could say "pretty please". Here's an example of what to use, adapt as you see fit and send initially by email followed by a copy in the post:

"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.

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.

Yours faithfully

Ripped off customer"