Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

[michael the mouse]

Forgive me if this has already been asked, I couldn't see this particular issue answered.

Rundles Bailiffs delivered a letter over a month ago saying they had come to seize goods for unpaid council tax and would return in 48 hours, I did not call them but instead spoke directly with the council to make payment arrangements. Conversation went something like this :

"I'm calling to make payment on council tax ref xxxxxxxx"
"There's nothing we can do, this has been passed to the bailiffs"
"Have they bought the debt?"
"......(pause)......No they haven't"
"Ok, then it's you I owe the money to and it's you I'll pay"
"There's nothing we can do, this has been passed to the bailiffs"
"Are you refusing to take my payment?"
".....(pause again)......something something bailiffs"
"I am not refusing to pay, however I am refusing to deal with your bailiffs. You own the debt and I will pay you."
etc etc
They eventually caved in and I managed to clear the council tax debt in a couple of days. The council confirmed in writing that the account was clear, and the bailiffs had been informed, however on their letter they stated that the bailiffs would still chase for their fees.
A month went by with no word from either party and I thought nothing of it until yesterday when a letter arrived from Rundles saying that £118.50 remains unpaid and they'd return in 48 to seize goods. Usual threatening tactics such as "the law allows me to remove your posessions in your absence".

I'm assuming this is their fees as the council tax debt is cleared. My question is do they still have to be paid even though the debt is now clear? Bailiffs in this area are using ANPR to locate and clamp vehicles regardless of where they are parked so I really do not want to go through the expense of that. I will be writing to them today - do not want to deal with them on the phone - but worried that they'll be back before they get my reply.

Thanks in advance.

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

With Council Tax the Bailiff Fees are paid first with any balance being paid over to the Council. As an example you owe £500 in Council Tax, the Bailiff has visited and you then pay the Council £500, the Council pay the Bailiff his fee of £24-50 for his 1st Visit so you actually only paid £475-50 to the Council, the Bailiff re-attends again and you pay the £24-50 but unfortunately he has charged for a 2nd Visit of £18-00.

What you need to do is ask the Council if your Liability Order is now discharged in full. Do they pay the Bailiff out of what you have paid & if so how much and what for. With the Bailiff you need to ask for a breakdown of their fees, taking the visit fees into consideration this still leaves £76 unexplained, have they left a Notice of Seizure for anything.

[michael the mouse]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

I don't have the letter to hand for reference (I'm at work currently) but I will take another look tonight and update this page. In the meantime I am about to send a letter to Rundles saying that the council have confirmed that the account was paid and that as such I consider the matter closed. As I recall they confirmed that the Council Tax account was cleared in full but the bailiffs would still chase me for their fees. This was over a month ago.
I read elsewhere that a bailiff cannot seize goods to pay for their own fees, if that is the case then am I under any obligation to pay them?
I have had one visit in my absence, they hand-delivered a letter to say they'd been, and immediately after that I contact the council and paid them off. I did not hear from Rundles again until now.

[sanj]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

******** they can not clamp your car for council tax **************

[michael the mouse]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

******** they can not clamp your car for council tax **************

Are you sure about that? My understanding is that it's easy pickings for them as it is a possession they can remove without gaining entry to your property

[IanM]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

Don't pay the bailiff fees full stop, let them take you to court for them and you will find that because you paid the council direct the bailiffs have not done their job and are not entitled to their fees.

Do you think that if, as a builder, i was sent to look at a job and then someone else did the job i would be able to charge for doing that job just because i went to look at it?

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

On the face of things it looks as if all you should be due to pay in fees would be a 1st Visit of £24-50, so where they get the others is a mystery. As has been said you can wait and challenge them to take you to Court for them butmany are even reluctant to do this as they have to swear they are correct.

[michael the mouse]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

None of their letters have alluded to their fees at all, it simply said they were there to seize goods for unpaid council tax. The council were paid directly and confirmed in writing that the council tax account was clear. I wrote to Rundles stating that the account was clear and that no further payment is expected of me, and I had a reply back yesterday simply stating that all queries should be directed to the bailiff in charge and here's his phone number. They did not provide a postal address other than their head office.
Knowing their reputation for lies, threats and imtimidation I am not going to contact anyone by phone.
As far as I am concerned , judging by their own demands they are attempting to collect payment for unpaid council tax, not their fees. As I have paid the council tax then Rundles can go f___ themselves.
I will write back to them at head office stating that I do not wish to contact anyone by telephone or in person, all communication will be conducted in writing, and reiterate that they are chasing me for a debt that does not exist according to the council.

[Terry54661]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

I had this for council tax. The bailiff turned up at my door asking for the council tax arrears and his charges. I went to the council offices the next day and paid the account in full. Within a few days the bailiff was back on my door, i told him that he did not enter my property and that means he cannot collect his fees i told him i had not even signed anything that he wanted me too either, he went away very angry. He did return again but i just repeated what i had already said the last time.

So dont sign anything and dont let them in, that way they cant collect the fee's

[michael the mouse]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

Thanks Terry. Nothing has been signed, in fact due to work committments I have never been at home when they visitied (or claimed to visit), and I have no intentions of letting them in or dealing with them outside of written communication.

Was your experience recently? And if so, is the matter considered closed?

[michael the mouse]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

Update.

Another letter from Rundles today - Prior Notice Of Intended Proceedings. "The above debt remains outstanding......etc etc" even though there is no actual figure stated, simply "Council Tax Debt", a debt which does not exist as described above. This is mere days after writing to them stating the debt is clear and they have replied to that letter. Clearly these idiots do not talk to each other and will continue to use threats and intimidation to get their snouts in the trough and extort money. I'm having none of it.
They also only provide a mobile number to call (which I will not do) and letters to their head office are answered with "just call this number". Surely it is their job to inform their agents that they are incorrectly chasing a debt, not mine. I am not stressed about this situation, simply angry and disgusted by their behaviour and seeming refusal to respond.

[counciltaxgrief]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

Hi, I'm in exactly the same situation as you at the moment. I paid the outstanding debt (£95 court costs on a liability order) directly to the council because, like you, I didn't want anything to do with the bailiffs, a company called Equita. The council took payment happily enough and said they would notify Equita but I'm still getting letters from them. Four so far, the latest being a removal notice. No one has actualy knocked on the door yet.

This is not the first time I've had to suffer the stress of bailiffs and their threats. A couple of years ago, I was renting a flat and the tenancy agreement stated that the landlord would be paying the council tax plus some utility bills. Long story short, the landlord kept "forgetting" to pay the tax and would never answer my calls, the letting agent washed their hands of it, the council said I was liable becuase I actualy lived there and took me to court, the bailiffs got involved and it was about 6 months of constant misery and hours on the phone, writting letters trying to sort the mess out. In the end, I had to stop paying rent just to get the landlords attention and he finaly paid the bailiffs over the phone.

This time around, I'm trying not to get stressed about it but it's difficult not to.

.

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

Hi, I'm in exactly the same situation as you at the moment. I paid the outstanding debt (£95 court costs on a liability order) directly to the council because, like you, I didn't want anything to do with the bailiffs, a company called Equita. The council took payment happily enough and said they would notify Equita but I'm still getting letters from them. Four so far, the latest being a removal notice. No one has actualy knocked on the door yet.

This is not the first time I've had to suffer the stress of bailiffs and their threats. A couple of years ago, I was renting a flat and the tenancy agreement stated that the landlord would be paying the council tax plus some utility bills. Long story short, the landlord kept "forgetting" to pay the tax and would never answer my calls, the letting agent washed their hands of it, the council said I was liable becuase I actualy lived there and took me to court, the bailiffs got involved and it was about 6 months of constant misery and hours on the phone, writting letters trying to sort the mess out. In the end, I had to stop paying rent just to get the landlords attention and he finaly paid the bailiffs over the phone.

This time around, I'm trying not to get stressed about it but it's difficult not to.

.

If you start a thread of your own you will get a better response. http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...newthread&f=76

[counciltaxgrief]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread, was merely posting about a very similar situation.

[michael the mouse]

Re: Bailiffs demanding fees after debt is paid

No worries, thanks for sharing. I sent Rundles a fairly blunt letter in reply to their latest demand stating that I will not contact their agent by phone and they would not be granted access to my property under any circumstances, as far as I am concerned this debt does not exist and any further demands will be treated as harassment. Have heard nothing back since, though it's only been a week. No visits either despite the continual "I will return in 48 hours".
Have you got it in writing that the debt has been paid off? If not, contact the council and ask for it, then write to Equita stating that the debt does not exist and the council have confirmed this.