Threatened with prison today.

[John139]

Hi,

I have today been told that If I cannot settle my full outstanding council tax bill that I will be arrested and sent to prsion.

In July 2013 I was several months behind in my council tax bill. I called the council and arranged a repayment plan of £250 p/m until the debt was settled. However I had a very unexpected medical bill that I had to pay of £1000 and could only make a payment of £200.00 to the council.

The oustanding amount is £926.00.

They wrote to me and said that they would be passing my debt over to the bailiffs, when I called them they refused to discuss the matter with me insisting it was with the bailiffs and none of their concern.

I called the bailiffs who stated that they would not under any circumstances accept anything less than full payment which I could not afford. I offered to pay £300.00 immediately with a monthly sum of £150.00 which was refused. They made their visits whilst I was out and so have never spoken with them on the doorstep.

I recieved a liabillity order two months ago and again I contacted the council asking them to accept money from me (albeit not the full amount) but the declined.

A week ago I was asked to complete a earnings declaration which I did along with a letter begging them to accept £300.00 and then £150 p/m. They called today and said that as I had not paid any money toward the bill they would be asking the bailiffs to attend one last time and if they do not recover the full amount the council debt officer will push for an arrest warrant for me to be committed to prision (his words).

He did this time accept that the council will accept payments that are not for the full amount and I have now paid £300 at the paypoint today.

However if they do arrest me and I get a record I will lose my job and probably my career. I'm pretty terrified.

Thanks for reading.

[PEBBLES71]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

In addition to the above we are personal friends of Tim Aker who is M.E.P for Thurrock and the ppc (prospective parliamentary candidate) chris Baker Graham Snell etc are Thurrock councillors and bloody good blokes who fight long and hard for residents rights

[PEBBLES71]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

just a quick reply to an earlier post which said ukip would back the council/sirco etc I can tell you hand on heart they will NOT back them they are very active in helping with bailiff problems council tax debt also if you need to make a complaint the head of complaints is Lee Henley his direct number is 01375 652 500 and his email address is lhenley@Thurrock.gov.uk....hope this helps

pebbles

Re: Threatened with prison today.

Completely agree.

Except for the last paragraph. The debtor should not prioritise debts at this stage. £120 per month is a very reasonable amount to offer. By not paying credit cards etc would incur additional interest, meaning further funds to be found by a person already struggling with debt. Do not volunteer to prioritise debts, wait for the council to insist. It is probable that the £120 will be accepted, especially given the reprehensible behaviour that Tuttle and the bailiffs have shown. There is no need to offer to pay more, to the detriment of other debts.

I would also take this opportunity to put a letter in writing to the bailiffs, copying the council in, asking for the following:

1. The date that any enforcement action against the debtor has incurred a fee
2. The reason for this fee
3. The amount of the fee

I would also check with the council on how many LO's in total have been obtained, the amount for each LO and the amount now outstanding. We can then look at the bailiffs charges in detail and check if anything has been charged for that shouldn't have been. If as I suspect, this debt dates back to pre-April 6th, theres at least a 50% chance of charges been added that shouldn't have been.

[Reluctant]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

I've looked up my local councillors am a little worried as they are all either conservative or UKIP and so will, i think, be a little invested in backing serco up.

I would like to complain about Mr De La Fuente though as he was so clear that I will be arrested without any prior court case - which reading all your replies seems to be completely false. Does anyone have any idea how I might do this?


P.S thank you again for all these replies, I've really been at my wits end today imagining my entire career going down the toilet just because I couldn't get anyone to accept money from me.

You do a fantastic job here, thank you.

I don't know about that. I was wondering if his daddy M is a football referee and if there's a brother S, who drives using personalised number plates. The name's familiar.

Re: Threatened with prison today.

Completely agree.

I agree, BUT I'd copy the complaint to the CEO of the council as well, clearly headed 'Formal Complaint'

[Kati]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

I feel you need professional legal advice to deal with Thurrock Council and Tinpot Tyrant Tuttle, Tongie. Go to the National Pro Bono Centre website and also see if there is a Law Centre in your area.

National Pro Bono Centre website = http://www.nationalprobonocentre.org.uk/

:tinysmile_grin_t:

[bluebottle]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

Ring them again make sure that you have your phone recording the conversation. Get them to threaten you with prison again . The is no need to tell person on the other end that you are recording in this case as the recording is being done for the detection or prevention of crime . Oh and also check if any of the other conversation were recorded it'sjust possible that the shaved gorilla from serco was so arrogant here made threats on a recorded line .

What an absolutely wonderful description of Tinpot Tyrant Tuttle!

[bluebottle]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

I feel you need professional legal advice to deal with Thurrock Council and Tinpot Tyrant Tuttle, Tongie. Go to the National Pro Bono Centre website and also see if there is a Law Centre in your area.

[Amethyst]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

You need to follow this advice from Debt Camel ....

Completely agree.

[seduraed]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

Ring them again make sure that you have your phone recording the conversation. Get them to threaten you with prison again . The is no need to tell person on the other end that you are recording in this case as the recording is being done for the detection or prevention of crime . Oh and also check if any of the other conversation were recorded it'sjust possible that the shaved gorilla from serco was so arrogant here made threats on a recorded line .

[Kati]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

1) put in a formal complaint to Thurrock Council. The email for this is here https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/complain...ow-to-complain. Your email could look something like this (but obviiously change it for your own circumstances):

I wish to complain about the actions of Kevin Tuttle and Phoenix bailiffs. I have offered £120 a month to pay off my council tax arrears, which is all I can afford. Thurrock's policy says there should be a "full apraisal of debtor's circumstances" - this has never happened. It also says debtors should be referred for monay advice eg to CAB - this has never happened.

I have been threatened with prison and having my daughter taken into care - I am a single parent. As a result I am scared to be at home. I am suffering from depression - I have told [xxxxx] this but it has been ignored which I understand is against Thurrock's policy on handling vulnerable people with debts.

I request that the debt is called back from the bailiffs, the bailiffs additional changes are removed and that my offer of £120 a month is accepted."

This will be a Stage 1 complaint, you don't need help to put it in. If it is rejected you will be told how to put in a stage 2 complaint (Thurrock's name for this may be slightly different) at which point you should go to your local CAB.

2) talk to your local councillors. They will usually have "surgeries" once or twice a month that you can go to. There is a list here https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/current-councillors. If you don't know which ward you live in, the council switchboard will be able to tell you. This may not sound like a very promising option, but it can produce results quite fast sometimes!

3) go to your local CAB and ask for their help https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/socialca...-advice-bureau

You need to follow this advice from Debt Camel ....

[tongie]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

how would I go about making an appeal? I think after listening to their comments and what ive red online. kevin and the balifs have gone to far. the court will see I'm paying more than I can afford. and that I did offer to pay extra to stop any more balifs. Kevin said he don't think I will pay or deserve to have a payment plan to stop them. I begged him while in tears.

[bluebottle]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

Given what Tongie has said, I am wondering whether a Regulation 46 appeal to the magistrates court is in order or whether it would be better to apply to the county court for an injunction, citing the Human Rights Act 1998 as a cause of action amongst other things.

I am attaching Section 6 of the HRA and the Articles and Protocols of ECHR for information. I am also providing the link below which is an article on human rights in the UK. Whether we wish to accept it or not, the Human Rights Act is a very powerful weapon against local and national government and its various arms when they go too far or overstep the mark.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...n-s-judge.html

[tongie]

Re: Threatened with prison today.

a month a go I got their frets and I've been waiting to hear from either the council or the balifs. I paid over 500 to them a few weeks beofe hand. then they came back out for 590 a month ago. I didn't and don't have the money. They decided my goods where nnot worth taking and I' moved all electronic items out just to be safe.
its been a month since I herd anything then came home to more summons and a letter from the balifs for 591 witch they know I haven't got.

I want to go to court make formal complaint about both kevin and the balifs. After saying my daughter will go into care its made me ill and very scard. this is a nightmare all of it.