Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

[papasmurf]

I had some unpaid council tax from a while back which was passed to Rossendales. Arrangements were made, I have been making payments and there is currently still £400 outstanding. Rossendales don't accept direct debit and I simply forgot to make payment this month, yesterday I received a letter from a bailiff saying that I owe £610 which has to be settled in the next 24 hours or they would start removing items from my home.

I made a payment of £200 this morning via Rossendales automated phone payment system as this is all I can afford at the moment. I then called the bailiff to see what the £610 was as this must be a mistake, he informed me that the bailiff charges were £210 - all he has done is put a letter through my door!! I explained that I cannot make the full payment at the moment (wife with new baby so currently on single income) and he has given me 10 days to settle the debt in full - including the £210 fees.

Can anyone offer any advice on what I should do? I cannot settle the full amount, I do not want my wife to be at home with our baby boy if the bailiffs come back and I cannot believe as this is the first visit from the bailiff the charges of £210 are fair or just (especially when the debt is only £400). The bailiff charges are making me so angry and the conversation I had with him made me feel like there is nothing I can do. It all feels like illegal activity by the bailiff and I am being robbed.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Mrs James]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

Hi papasmurf and welcome to Legal Beagles.

I'm no expert by any means, but don't worry, I'm sure one will be along soon to advise you. In the meantime all I can advise is never call the bailiff unless you have means of recording the conversation as many of them have selective memories. Keep everything in writing for avoidance of doubt.

If not already done so, you need to write to Rossendales and ask them for a complete breakdown of their fees. There will no doubt be nefarious fees added which can then be challenged.

[papasmurf]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

Thanks Mrs James,

This is just what worries me. They all sound like cowboys and I can't understand how they can be involved in legal (or are they?) activities!

Unfortunately the only contact details I have been provided with is the bailiffs mobile number. Should I send him a text asking for an email address or what is the best way to contact him if I need to?

[Mrs James]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

Here's their HQ address:
Rossendales
Wavell House,
Holcombe Road,
Helmshore, Rossendale
BB4 4NB

And here's an email address
enquiries@rossendales.com

I personally wouldn't text them as then they would have your mobile number and would no doubt hound you.

[Mrs James]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

If you haven't already done so, papasmurf, have a read through this as it may help you. It also shows the amount of fees bailiffs collecting on Council tax are legally allowed to charge.

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...67-Council-Tax

[wiccaqueen]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

a £210 visit fee can only be an attendance to remove fee however this can only be charged if there is a valid levy in place


its not uncommon for a bailiff to charge a levy fee without leaving a notice of seizure of goods and inventory more often than not its a random car that would have been parked near your property

the reason being if you don't know a levy has been made on a car that doesn't belong to you (or its your car that's on HP or has no sale value) you cant contest it most debtors just pay what the bailiff demands

If you do have a car please keep it well away from your house until you sort this out

[benny1979]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

Hi papasmurf

don't make the mistake of worrying like me and my wife did !!! have a read through my thread titled "rossendales out of order" and follow the advise i was given. i found that an email to the head of revenues was the way forward for me, we made a realistic aggreement and he told rottendales to back off, the bullys will try anything to trip you up but dont worry!! have a read and act fast.
good luck

[papasmurf]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

Thanks wiccaqueen.

When I spoke to the bailiff he mentioned attendance but it meant nothing to me. Does this mean a levy has been charged and if not, how would I know? If it has, it is completely without my knowledge and parking is a nightmare near me so very little chance that my car would have been picked at random.

the reason being if you don't know a levy has been made on a car that doesn't belong to you (or its your car that's on HP or has no sale value) you cant contest it most debtors just pay what the bailiff demands

I'm a little confused by this. I don't know if a levy has been made on my car, any other car or if the random car is HP and I wouldn't know what to contest if it did!

I'll keep the car parked away for a few days anyway

[ploddertom]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

"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"

Adapt the above for your own use and send to the Rottendales initially by email backed up by a copy in the post.

[IanM]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

Hello Papasmurf.

Could you please do me a favor?

Ring your local council and ask them why they are harassing you with the bailiffs, ask them if they have attempted to place an attachment of earnings order to your employer before involving the bailiffs?

I'm not sure what they will say but it would be interesting to hear their response!

[papasmurf]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

@IanM,
I remember going through this when it all first happened. Their answer was simply that the debt had been passed to Rossendales and there was nothing they or I could do about it. It all seems very heavy handed and I wish I had investigated further at the time but the truth is I felt a naughty boy and therefore just started to pay Rossendales.

@ploddertom
Thanks I'll do this now to the details Mrs James supplied.

[IanM]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

@IanM,
I remember going through this when it all first happened. Their answer was simply that the debt had been passed to Rossendales and there was nothing they or I could do about it. It all seems very heavy handed and I wish I had investigated further at the time but the truth is I felt a naughty boy and therefore just started to pay Rossendales.

@ploddertom
Thanks I'll do this now to the details Mrs James supplied.

Typical answer from the council, too damn lazy to do their jobs properly!

You reacted in exactly the way they wanted you to, put the fear of the bailiffs on you and you don't question their methods and start paying the bailiffs, plus bailiff fees etc.

Just keep refusing to pay the bailiffs and they will send it back to the council themselves eventually, then the council will make an AEO to your employer, exactly what they should have done in the first place!

[papasmurf]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

Guilty of that! It was worse than that. I moved in to a new property in about December, completely forgot to arrange DD for the council tax which went on for several months. Long story short, I had two outstanding debts that the council passed to the debt collectors and because the council didn't amalgamate the debts, I got hit twice for the fees.

Rotten scoundrels!

[ploddertom]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

You need to speak to someone at the Council and ask the following questions:
1 - how many Liability Orders they have against you
2 - the dates they were obtained
3 - the addresses they were for
4 - the period of time each covers
5 - how much each one was for
6 - how much is still outstanding
7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement

[ploddertom]

Re: Rossendales - Missed payment, received Baliff charges of £210

You say you had an arrangement with the Bailiffs. How was this arranged? Did they come into your home? What paperwork were you left?

No matter what spiel the Council gives you they are 100% liable for the actions and charges of their contractors - they will indeed try to wriggle out of this but that is only because you speak to a member of staff wha hasn't a clue about it bar the script they have been given.