Newlyn advice regarding council tax

[CleverClogs]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

I rang Newlyn again for a breakdown of costs which i was given as follows:

22nd July visit fee £24.50
22nd Aug visit fee £18.00
6th Jan Visit with van to collect goods £163

Screwlyns should stop telling lies, as they are simply rather bad at it.

That "breakdown" lacks one detail which is rather significant - no levy fee was charged !

That means that no valid levy or seizure of goods was in place at the time and the purported "Visit with van to collect goods" was - if it happened at all - completely speculative. For all they know, your furniture may comprise old pallets, beer crates and tea chests!

July and August account was up to date so not sure why a Bailiff would attend.

To garner a fee, perhaps?

I also did not receive anything via post or phone to say anyone would be attending.

Or even through the letterbox to say that a Screwlyns troll had visited?

Actually, when paying over the phone in Oct these charges were not on there then!

Perhaps those visits had not been invented then?

Now i know for a fact no one has turned up on 6th Jan to remove goods as i was at home.

Fancy that!

I told the lady from Newlyn that no one has actually visited and her response was that i would need to prove with CCTV evidence.

Utter nonsense!

I went on to ask what the bailiff had levied on and she said a household levy,

In other words, a levy of goods and chattels within the household and belonging to the debtor.

again i asked what, she said a vehicle parked outside my home probably.

Oh, bless her! They've not told her anything and, because she's having to make it up as she goes along, she's just contradicted herself!

See what I mean about them not being good liars? :grin:

I asked to confirm the reg and she couldn't but did go on to say i will have to prove with dvla evidence it is not mine.

More nonsense!

I asked her to confirm the name of the bailiff, which again she couldn't and would be someone assigned to my area.

Well, yes - it would hardly be some oaf assigned to the other end of the country, would it?

I also said i had not received the form 7 notice or anything apart from texts which she said i should have.

Except that no actual levy was made; at best, it was a "drive by" or constructive levy - which is invalid.

7th Jan "Bailiff to attend the next day" again no one turned up, this is when i rang Newlyn who already said i had charges applied to my account but couldn't give me a breakdown at the time.

Yet for which phantom visit, they have decided to charge you £163.

And a text yesterday, 9th Jan, "Bailiff to visit to remove goods". If they visited 6th Jan to remove goods wouldn't i have received the text then? I will wait and see if they bother to actually turn up tomorrow!

I dare say he won't, but the buggers will probably charge you again.

Now, you stated that Screwlyns claimed to have added £216 in "fees". The charges they listed only total £203.50 - so what's the other £12.50 supposed to be?

They're not good liars. They're abysmally bad liars!

Hopefully Newyn will send me a proper break down with details of the car or whatever has been levied on along with the name of the bailiff.

:flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig: :flypig:

I think i will call the council on Monday to get details from them with regards to the dates they past it over and date of any orders from court.

And also how much - if any - money they've received from Screwlyns and when (if at all) it was paid.

[bizzybob]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

There is one thing Newlyn can be relied on, it is consistency, they rip off everyone they deal with; the council as well as the debtor.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

There is one thing Newlyn can be relied on, it is consistency, they rip off everyone they deal with; the council as well as the debtor.

That is why it is important to find out how much money was paid by Screwlyns to the council, and when - it will provide ammo for when rsp85 takes up the matter with her (?) elected ward councillors and MP.

Find those snollygosters at https://www.writetothem.com

[bizzybob]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

That is why it is important to find out how much money was paid by Screwlyns to the council, and when - it will provide ammo for when rsp85 takes up the matter with her (?) elected ward councillors and MP.

Find those snollygosters at https://www.writetothem.com

Screwlyn will be most unhappy that they have been caught out again, but I reckon they may have given the council 10% of what they have been paid

[rsp85]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

I waited in on Sat and surprise surprise no bailiff attended

Right, so I have spoken to Watford Council. I didn't get much joy from the first lady I spoke to, she seem to avoid my questions for some reason then became argumentative when I asked to clarify what she was saying to a point she hung up! I called back and was put through to the head of recovery, Mr South, who was helpful.

Date liability obtained - 31st May 2013
How much for £1,048.71
Passed to Newlyn 1st July 2013
Amount still outstanding £ 791.20
Newlyn paid to WBC £257.51

I tried sorting it with WBC back in July as i was making extra payments before May but they still passed it over to Newlyn as they wanted the whole amount, due to being in another financial year. The reason i was in debt in the first place was after a split from my partner, as i work part time i had to claim benefit. They continued to charge full rate tax for a while. It was only this year that the benefits backdated but cleared most of my current tax. It has been an ongoing issue with WBC and the amount i should be paying. Sorry, this confuses me so it’s hard to explain!

He was also able to log into Newlyn to see their charges.

22nd July visit fee £24.50
22nd Oct visit fee £18.00
6th Jan visit fee £24.50
6th Jan van fee £105.00
6th Jan Levy fee £48.00 (Mr South confirmed the levy was against a grey Citron Picasso - not my car or any of my neighbours so can only assume it was some random car).

I started paying £100 per month from August 2013. Sorry, i previously thought it was Sept!

Amounts are different to Newlyn but i am unsure if that was my fault as my phone didn't have a lot of signal and disconnected twice from them so i can't be certain. I do not recall them mentioning the levy fee at all though. And originally the first time i spoke to them they just said default fee of £216!!! I don’t understand their figures, I think i will record all future calls.

I continued to ask Mr South from WBC if they can charge a levy fee, visit fee and van fee to collect goods at the same time, he was unsure himself and said he has not dealt with Newlyn that much which i thought was odd considering he is the head. Maybe he is new? I told him that there has been no evidence of them actually visiting the property and feel the charges are not right. I did also mention the dates of the texts I received don’t match the dates they said they attended. I told him that i will be paying WBC directly and not Newlyn which he said ok to. He has asked me to put everything down on an email and send it to him directly to look into for me.

The more i look into this the more it confuses me. I am not disputing the debt and want it paid asap but it don't seem right the Newlyn are charging me for visits that they actually have not done.

Oh, i also had a voicemail from a bailiff left this morning which is the first one!

[bizzybob]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

Newlyn are noted for dodgy fees and LIES If they have no levy, they can have a maximum of £42.50 for a First and Second visit fee, they cannot have various visit and other fees, if they have applied them they are unlawful unless they have a valid levy on your goods. When pressed they will likely have a levy on a car, not necessarily yours for which the bailiff conveniently but unlawfully neglected to leave you a Notice of Seizure for,

[rsp85]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

Newlyn are noted for dodgy fees and LIES

It seems that way, i just wish i recorded the convo as it makes me doubt myself if i heard correctly!

[rsp85]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

Newlyn are noted for dodgy fees and LIES If they have no levy, they can have a maximum of £42.50 for a First and Second visit fee, they cannot have various visit and other fees, if they have applied them they are unlawful unless they have a valid levy on your goods. When pressed they will likely have a levy on a car, not necessarily yours for which the bailiff conveniently but unlawfully neglected to leave you a Notice of Seizure for,

Could they do the levy at the same time as the third visit fee and van fee? Seems odd to turn up with a van to do the levy?

[CleverClogs]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

Could they do the levy at the same time as the third visit fee and van fee?

No.

Seems odd to turn up with a van to do the levy?

It is also utter stercus bovi as, without a valid levy already in place, they'd have no idea if there was anything worth seizing or anything that was not exempt.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

How much for £1,048.71
Passed to Newlyn 1st July 2013
Amount still outstanding £ 791.20
Newlyn paid to WBC £257.51

Paid £500
Newlyns have therefore taken £242.49 in "fees"

He was also able to log into Newlyn to see their charges.

22nd July visit fee £24.50
22nd Oct visit fee £18.00
6th Jan visit fee £24.50
6th Jan van fee £105.00
6th Jan Levy fee £48.00

Total £220

(Mr South confirmed the levy was against a grey Citron Picasso

Was it a lemon? :nerd:

I think i will record all future calls.

That's always wise, especially when dealing with bailiffs; not only are they habitual liars, they don't have sufficiently good memories to dissemble convincingly.

I suspect that, if tested, many would prove to be pumpkin positive.

it don't seem right the Newlyn are charging me for visits that they actually have not done.

It's not right, but it's traditional.

[bizzybob]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

When challenged on the levy and fees, Newlyn will possibly do an Equita and ask you to provide the V5 of the car you don't own to show you don't own it (Equita bailiffs actually asked a debtor for this when they were challenged)

[rsp85]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

I have now received a response from Newlyn, which I hope attached correctly! Newlyn didn't want to give me the details of the Bailiff that supposedly attended.

I am still waiting for a response from the head of recoveries at WBC. I have been doing a little research into liability orders and read that they cost £3 and if charged more, which most councils do, you can claim it back. I was charged £100, do you think it is worth addressing this with WBC? I found this under Schedule 1(5) of the Magistrates' Court Fees Order 2008.

The third visit fee was actually a Head H fee. I read that this is the cost for myself collecting goods from a bailiff, if no goods were taken then how can they charge the fee? Complaint no 11 007 684 (on page 10) against Blaby District Council - local government ombudsman report on 29th November 2012 confirm "if no goods were physically taken then no goods were redeemed and no costs due".

I read that the only statutory fees are the first and second visits and everything else is Bailiff's "costs" which they have to prove they actually incurred. As the levy fee was on a car that does not belong to me then they cannot claim this fee - is this correct?

Hoping I will have some good news from the council soon as the bailiff keeps calling!

[rsp85]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

When challenged on the levy and fees, Newlyn will possibly do an Equita and ask you to provide the V5 of the car you don't own to show you don't own it (Equita bailiffs actually asked a debtor for this when they were challenged)

How can Newlyn expect me to produce a V5 on a car I have no idea belongs to? They won't even give me the reg no lol

[bizzybob]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

How can Newlyn expect me to produce a V5 on a car I have no idea belongs to? They won't even give me the reg no lol

They do this to confuse you and stonewall to make you pay the dodgy fees.

[ploddertom]

Re: Newlyn advice regarding council tax

Appears to me you have been doing a lot of reading. What you should read however are the appropriate regulations that all this relates and make your own mind up from them.