Rossendales and the next step to take?

[JamesTaylor]

I'm looking for any advice I can at the moment please.

A couple of weeks ago I received notification from the Council that they had applied for a liability order and sent me an income and expenditure sheet to which i filled out and returned on the 8/10. I never received any correspondence from them regarding the information I had provided until Friday when a letter appeared from Rossendales regarding the levy and removal of goods from the property etc. I have rung the bailiff in charge this morning and explained my situation and circumstances to him, the fact that I defaulted on an agreed payment plan with the council due to work hours being reduced and he seemed relatively understanding which actually un-nerved me more than the initial letter from them. I explained to him that under no circumstances would I allow him peaceful entry into my home and that he should not misinterpret that as refusal to pay, I reiterated that I am aware that I am liable for the debt and I'm not refusing to pay I'm just unable to pay the full balance. He said that we could come to a payment arrangement provided I could stump up £650 as an initial payment and goodwill offering, I told him that if I had a spare £650 I'd have paid my agreed amount with the local council already. After a bit of umming and arring I told him I was applying to the council to recall my account from Rossendales and that even though I had, had no response regarding the form I sent them I would make the agreed payment to them directly today using their automated service. I have since made the payment that I offered and E-mailed the local council as follows.

Dear Sirs,

I write to you in regards to a Bailiff Removal Notice received from Rossendales Bailiffs, dated 19/10/2012. Regarding outstanding balances for Council Tax.

I recently informed yourselves of my circumstances using the income and expenditure form that was sent to me, this was posted back to yourselves on 08/10/2012 to which I received no correspondence until the Bailiff Removal Notice.

On the form I sent back I gave details of my current income and outgoings and a proposed payment plan, as I explained in my additional notes I am currently on reduced hours at work and only working 15 hours a week and therefore can't afford to pay the whole debt at once and proposed initially to make payments of £30 a month. Also as explained in additional notes with it being the run up to Christmas there is the opportunity for overtime at work which I will be taking advantage of, allowing me to pay more than the £30 a month.

I am unsure why I haven't received any confirmation of receipt of the income and expenditure form and request that you recall my account from Rossendales so as I can make an arrangement of payment with yourselves.

Due to circumstances with my reduced hours at work I have also been unable to keep up with my rent as subsequently been issued with an eviction notice. I am hoping to be able to lodge with friends for a couple of months which will in turn free up my rental expenditure to which I can then make substantial payments on my arrears. My eviction date is 07/12/2012.

I would like to point out that I am NOT refusing to pay my debt to yourselves but as my situation is at the moment I am just unable to afford any more than the offered amount, and by lodging with friends I see this as an opportunity for myself to clear all debts with yourselves before moving into a new property and basically starting a fresh.

I really would like to get this matter resolved at your first convenience and eagerly await your reply. I have spoken to Rossendales Bailiff In Charge a Mr. M S******** who informed me that a payment arrangement can be made with themselves as long as I can afford to pay him just over £650 immediately. Unfortunately as I explained to Mr. S******** I can not find that sort of money, if I could then I wouldn't be in such arrears with yourselves. He has told me that he will suspend any further action for 24 hours giving me time to contact yourselves regarding this matter. I have informed Mr. S******** also that I am NOT refusing to pay this debt and I am aware that I am solely responsible for it but I can not afford to make such a substantial payment at the moment, and that I also wouldn't be allowing him peaceful entry into the property.

I would be grateful if you could also provide me with the following pieces of information.

1. How many Liability Orders you have against me?
2. The dates they were obtained?
3. The addresses they are 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?

I will be making my first payment installment today via your automated service as promised and stated in my additional notes section of the income and expenditure sheet returned to yourselves on 08/10/2012.

The receipt number for my promised payment of £30 is *********

I thank you in advance for your reply

I have received an automated response from the council that says they have received my email and they will get back to me within 14 days, maybe 28 days depending on how busy they are. I'm wondering though is there anything else I can do to try and suspend any further action until the council get back to me regarding this matter?

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.

[bluebottle]

Re: Rossendales and the next step to take?

Rossendales are subject to a Category F Debt Collection Licence issued to them by the Office of Fair Trading. FOIA requests to local authorities and other public bodies have revealed that certificated bailiff companies, including Rossendales, are required to hold a Category F Licence as a condition of contract/tender. This means that they are subject to the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines, which includes a condition that a licence-holder does not make or attempt to make a debtor pay more than they can realistically afford. Licence-holders who breach the Guidelines risk having requirements attached to their licence or having the OFT issue an Adverse Determination to Refuse Renewal or to Revoke a Licence. For a certificated bailiff company, such as Rossendales, to suffer the loss of their licence would be disastrous as it would result in the termination of public debt enforcement contracts and render them unable to collect non-public debt, which they also collect. The bottom line is that Rossendales would go out of business.

I am attaching a copy of a document which takes you through the process of making a formal complaint to OFT Credit Fitness Team against a bailiff company. You will need to quote the following details in the complaint -

Company Details: Rossendales Limited
CCA Licence No.: 0594823

I am also attaching a copy of the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines. Read through them, make a note of any breaches by Rossendales and list in your complaint to OFT Credit Fitness Team.

Rossendales know full well what the rules are and should not be trying to do what they have. Reporting them, under these circumstances, is justified.

[JamesTaylor]

Re: Rossendales and the next step to take?

Thank you for that Bluebottle. Very much appreciated.

[bluebottle]

Re: Rossendales and the next step to take?

You're welcome. You seem to be dealing with the matter pretty well and appear to have covered all relevant points. Get the complaint against Rossendales off to OFT Credit Fitness Team today and make sure you forward a copy of the email to OFT to your local Trading Standards Department.

[JamesTaylor]

Re: Rossendales and the next step to take?

I trawled through quite a few posts before I acted on anything this morning and must say that the information on here is clear and concise and a great help to all situation types. Can't thank you enough for the information regarding OFT though, I'd never have thought to log a complaint with them at all.

[bluebottle]

Re: Rossendales and the next step to take?

It's something that has been going on for a few months now. It followed an incident involving a Marston Group bailiff who assaulted an innocent person in their attempt to collect a court fine that had already been paid. OFT Credit Fitness Team were not impressed with Marston Group, who hold a Category F Licence. The sort of behaviour bailiff companies engage in is, frequently, contrary to OFT Debt Collection Guidelines which also means that the bailiff companies involved are in breach of their OFT Licence. As stated above, for a bailiff company to lose its OFT Licence would, in most cases, be disastrous.

[JamesTaylor]

Re: Rossendales and the next step to take?

Quick update.....
Well I've received the standard automated e-mail back from OFT regarding my complaint and they endeavor to respond within 10 working days however they are currently experience a high volume of complaints in regards to bailiffs and debt recovery agencies. *no surprise there then*
Felt rather chuffed with myself earlier too, I've sent a Cease and Desist notice off to Rossendales this morning (recorded delivery) :tinysmile_aha_t: also added a removal of implied rights of passage notice at the end of the driveway. Spoke to the Council Tax Advice team regarding any next steps whilst I'm waiting the 14 - 28 days for Leeds City Council to get back to me. Mentioned to the lady there about the Cease and Desist notice (highlight number 2 of the day) They offer a service for £62.50 where they intervene and liaise with the council and the bailiffs on your behalf and basically send off the Cease and Desist for you ... Thank you LB for that saving :beagle:

Will provide any further updates as and when I have anything in the sheer hope that it just may help someone else in my position.

*EDIT*

And in regards to your previous post Bluebottle regarding that poor lady and the *expletive deleted* from Marstons it is purely disgusting! its beyond comprehension as to how they think they can behave in this manner. It's certainly not justifiable or legal! Have the police managed to catch him as yet do you know? I did see in another post a link to the story but he hadn't been caught at that point.

[bluebottle]

Re: Rossendales and the next step to take?

Quick update.....
Well I've received the standard automated e-mail back from OFT regarding my complaint and they endeavor to respond within 10 working days however they are currently experience a high volume of complaints in regards to bailiffs and debt recovery agencies. *no surprise there then* That's what happens when the gloves are taken off and the consumer starts hitting back. Perhaps, now that OFT Credit Fitness Team can see what is going on, they will go about revoking licences of the worst offenders and slapping requirements on the licences of those who are sailing close to the wind.
Felt rather chuffed with myself earlier too, I've sent a Cease and Desist notice off to Rossendales this morning (recorded delivery) :tinysmile_aha_t: also added a removal of implied rights of passage notice at the end of the driveway. Spoke to the Council Tax Advice team regarding any next steps whilst I'm waiting the 14 - 28 days for Leeds City Council to get back to me. Mentioned to the lady there about the Cease and Desist notice (highlight number 2 of the day) They offer a service for £62.50 where they intervene and liaise with the council and the bailiffs on your behalf and basically send off the Cease and Desist for you ... They'll probably have to look up what Cease and Desist means as they appear to have trouble understanding phrases like that. Rossendales know what "Local Government Ombudsman" and "Blaby Council" in the same sentence mean. The LGO gave them a right panning over that incident.
Thank you LB for that saving :beagle:

Will provide any further updates as and when I have anything in the sheer hope that it just may help someone else in my position.

*EDIT*

And in regards to your previous post Bluebottle regarding that poor lady and the *expletive deleted* from Marstons it is purely disgusting! its beyond comprehension as to how they think they can behave in this manner. It's certainly not justifiable or legal! Have the police managed to catch him as yet do you know? I did see in another post a link to the story but he hadn't been caught at that point.

Unfortunately, James, the lady is so terrified of the thug coming back and having another go, she has moved to another part of the UK. Without a Statement of Complaint, the police are powerless to do much more. However, I understand they have the necessary details of who the thug is and will be keeping an eye out for him. If it does this again and gets arrested, they can then ask to have the attack on the lady taken into consideration if he is put in front of a court.