Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

[bluebottle]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

If you have to phone again, may I suggest you record the call. It is standard advice on consumer forums, and better still try to avoid phone calls and keep things in writing for the avoidance of doubt....

...and have a papertrail to stuff them with if it becomes necessary to do so.

[goggers]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

Well im still no closer to sorting this mess out, the bailiffs are due to commence action again as of the 16th August, i get the feeling they are stalling this whole process on purpose so they can then charge me the extra fee's with regards to levy etc. I have responded to a letter asking if the previous property had any furnishings in it whilst living in my current property and nothing as yet. I dont want to have to call them again but at this moment I dont see what other choice I have, I will record the conversation next time, I assume I have to make the other person aware of such an action and they have to agree to it?

[labman]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

Not for personal use you don't, no. The fact you have it recorded and can send the person proof is good - they'd never say anything if they knew they were being recorded.

[labman]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

Goggers - from what I can see you've received little in the way of concrete help here. Around post 9 Clever Clogs linked to Letter 1 for a breakdown of fees. You stated you already had a breakdown, but there is no explanation of the increased fees from the £42.50.

Can I suggest you send that letter as a matter of urgency to Rossendales and see what comes back. No levy has taken place, this is council tax so you have no legal obligation to deal with the bailiffs at all - NONE! As long as you don't allow them entry, or to gain a lawful levy on anything, then you do not have to deal with them.

I would suggest strongly you send that letter by recorded delivery and just ignore the bailiffs until you get a reply to the letter.

As soon as you have a reply, we will identify lawful fees (it should be just the £42.50) and then send a letter to the Head of Revenues asking him to condone the fees. If (or more likely when) he does, we'll send a letter to CEO of the council telling him his Head of Revenues is leaving his council open to legal action under their vicarious liability. I'm sure we can add a few choice phrases from the new guidelines as well.

This should get your debt back to the council, but in the meantime, ensure you make regular payments to the council either via the internet, or using their automated telephone service. Just remember that as long as the bailiffs don't gain a valid levy (including your car, so put it in a garage or a few streets away), you simply do not have to deal with them. Make sure they can't get into your house through an unlocked door or open window.

If you follow this, you should at least resolve your problem. You may be left frustrated by some of the discussion on this thread. At the end of the day discussion is all well and good, but it will get you absolutely nowhere. This is solid advice and I would strongly suggest you follow it.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

That's fine, except that they claim to have levied on his motor-car.

Without seeing the breakdown of the fees charged, it is difficult to understand what the Rossendales rotter is up to, but a guess would be that they are trying to charge an "attendance with van" fee on the same visit as they charged the levy fee. It may even have been a drive-by levy...

[charitynjw]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

Reading back on the thread, it is only an assumption that the vehicle has been earmarked; Rossendales have not (as far as I can see) confirmed the levy.

[goggers]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

Ok lets see if i can sum all this up so far, I have been given so many different figure im lost but here goes:

I had a bailiff letter though my door for the sum of £600 for last years council tax which I did not know was outstanding, upon contacting the council by phone on the 'helpline' i was told an amount of £320 was outstanding. I then advised that I had moved out of the property in January and into my current property but I still had to pay my previous property rent due to finishing the contract. I asked for the bailiff action to be put on hold while this was sorted and told this was not possible as the 'enforcement' team would not speak to members of the public. I was then advised to bring proof of my contracts and bailiff letter to the town hall which would then be passed over to the enforcement team however this could take up to 10 days. After visiting the town hall i was told i could not speak to anyone in person, the documentation was scanned and sent for which I have a confirmation letter, I was then told to use a phone to contact the 'helpline' again but was just told the same thing, i need to speak to Rossendales.

After some time I received an email which i posted earlier to say that it had been put on hold etc, I responded to a letter asking for confirmation that I did not live in the property whilst renting my current property. I deemed this letter to be a complete waste of time and stalling tactics as what was the point in me going to the town hall in the first place.

I recieved a break down of charges from rossendales, it states 2 visit fee's for the correct amount if indeed they did visit (this was printed on the back of the letter they sent)and the council tax outstanding but this did not add up to the £430 on the front of the letter, so what the extra £100 or so was for is still unclear. I then managed to get hold of the 'enforcement' department, I was asked how I managed to get the number in the first place, which I said was on the letter they sent me. The conversation went on and on and the woman was just not listening to anything i was saying, she just kept saying the debt has been reduced from £900 odd to £300 which makes no sense. I asked to speak to a manager or someone that had access to the documentation I provided which I was told they had not received any and there was no one else I could speak to.

And that's pretty much where i'm up to, as mentioned the bailiffs are due to resume action on the 16th, as I was unaware of the visit they will now have details of my car regardless if I move it etc so no point in doing that from what I can see. I have been told about 4 different amounts i owe, £600 from bailiff, £430 from rossendales, £360 ish from council and i'm totally confused, i keep getting told by the council that i have to deal with rossendales, rossendales are saying I have to deal with the bailiff and regardless of the letters I have sent I have had no replies.

I hope that all makes sense and i've included everything.

[charitynjw]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

It might prove amusing to switch vehicle registration plates with that of the head honcho 'down the council'!

Obviously, I'm joking!

[labman]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

Hi Goggers,

Apologies for not posting, but I've been away. I'm therefore going purely from what you've written above, and not from anything posted previously. My suggestion from a couple of posts ago still stands. Have you sent that letter linked by CClogs yet?

You should also now, having read the above post, phone the council and ask:

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?

It is fine to do this by phone and they HAVE to give you that information. They are not allowed simply to say you must speak to the bailiffs. Try to record the call, even if only on a mobile phone. Be very clear if they say you must speak to the bailiffs, to ask, "Are you refusing to give me the information I'm asking for?"

Get answers for ALL those questions, get the breakdown from the bailiffs and then come back to us. Remember though, with no valid levy in place, you do not have to have anything at all to do with the bailiffs for council tax issues.

Finally, ensure you do continue repayments to the council on a regular basis, ideally the same day every week, so you prove quite clearly you are willing to pay once everything is resolved correctly. You can pay online or via their automated telephone service.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

Remember though, with no valid levy in place, you do not have to have anything at all to do with the bailiffs for council tax issues.

And the most you might owe the bailiffs would be £42.50.

Just think of the bailiff's poor children starving because you won't pay their inflated and excessive charges.

[Marson84]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

Hi

I myself am having an ongoing issue with Rossendales and there ridiculous charges

[ploddertom]

Re: Rossendales Bailiff and Council tax advice needed

Hi

I myself am having an ongoing issue with Rossendales and there ridiculous charges

Your better off starting a thread of your own and explaining all.