Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

[hastings2014]

Hi all,

Im new so please bear with me. In July 2012 I split up woth my partner, he moved to his mums and I stayed in the family home with my 2 children. I applied for council tax benefit and stupidly I know expected to get it all paid so didnt make any payments. I was living on about £10 a week after id pad the mortgage.

In January 2013 I moved out and rented a new property in a different area. My ex contacted me saying the council had sent my case to bailiffs and he had paid his part but i needed to pay the full ammount for the 6 months I was there. I went to the offices who were very nice but advised me as I had moved out I would have to pay the full ammount as they cant back date further than a month for council tacx benefit claims.

Initially the bailiffs refused a payment plan and I refused to let them in, I spoke to him on my doorstep as I was leaving to stay with my grandma as she had fallen. He was quite sympathetic and said pay me what you can and I wont come back for a while. I paid him £250. Which left about £450 to pay.

In this time my mother killed herself, my daughter was being bullied at school and my grandma was having continual falls. He called me one evening and said he needed more payments or they would come round with a van and a locksmith and remove goods. Again I explained what had happenned and again he was quite nice and I paid £175 off a friends card.

He tried to say that he could take my car out the front when he initially came round BUT its registered in my dads name so he cant am i right on that ?

I owe him £299 now and hes calling every day. I know its not a lot and i feel like throwing my tv out the window at him because that is all i literally own now. My house is rented more or less furnished. All thats mine is the beds the kids wardrobes and the tv !

I dont want to be mean to him because he has given me chances to pay in installemnets BUT what I need to know is has anyone got any ideas how i can pay in intslallements ? I can realistically afford £60 per month. That is all I genuinely have.

Can he come in ? I havent signed anything ?

Will I go to prison ?

I cant ask anyone for help my dad has cancer and stress is the last thing he needs.

I am so sorry to rant but i wanted to explain the full picture.

Thanks in advance for any advice

[Wombats]

Re: Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

You will not go to prison. Do not let him into your property.

There - that's better. You can sit and have a cup of tea now without worrying before you read anymore.

If the car outside is your fathers, make sure you have solid proof of that. They cannot just enter your house and take things without a warrant from the court.

So........

The first thing to understand is this is a joint debt with your ex. There is no "I've paid my half now you've got to pay your half." It doesn't work like that, the debt is joint, it is as much his as it is yours, no matter who has paid what. You would do no harm in telling the Enforcement Officers this, especially if they're more likely to get money from him.

Can you answer the following? If not, phone the council first thing on Monday and get answers to ALL the questions:

You need to speak to someone at the Council and ask the following questions:
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
8 - the dates & amounts of any payments

The answers to these questions will enable us to know what charges can legitimately be applied to the account. Do you know immediately if the account was passed for enforcement and a bailiff came out to try to levy on goods BEFORE April 6th 2014?

Also, what letters have you had so far?

If you can deal with that to start with, bearing in mind my first two sentences that is a good start - You will not go to prison. Do not let them into your property.

In the meantime pay what you can afford, if necessary directly to the council using the internet or the automated payment system. Don't forget your ex is STILL equally liable for this debt, it isn't just you.

[hastings2014]

Re: Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

Hello thank you for taking the time out of your Saturday to help and already make me feel slightly better. The council have said it is my debt to pay as I was living there with the kids, he has paid his since he moved back in. Sorry if my post was confusing !

I'm going to go to the council on Monday and get the answer to the questions you asked and come back to you if that's ok ?

The car is Definately in my dads name I can't get credit so he said he would call the Dvla and check ...

So if I haven't signed anything he can't come in is that right ? He said to me when I made the last payment that He would call me to meet me in town to sign something ? So I won't do that ?

Shall i ignore his calls ?

thanks again

[Wombats]

Re: Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

Hello thank you for taking the time out of your Saturday to help and already make me feel slightly better. The council have said it is my debt to pay as I was living there with the kids, he has paid his since he moved back in. Sorry if my post was confusing !

I'm going to go to the council on Monday and get the answer to the questions you asked and come back to you if that's ok ?

The car is Definately in my dads name I can't get credit so he said he would call the Dvla and check ...

So if I haven't signed anything he can't come in is that right ? He said to me when I made the last payment that He would call me to meet me in town to sign something ? So I won't do that ?

Shall i ignore his calls ?

thanks again

The V5(C) logbook should be ample proof for the car, though they don't always take notice of proof sadly. Don't sign anything without understanding fully what you're signing. If you are in any doubt you should sign nothing, and it is not normal practice for you to meet him somewhere, so don't do that. He can come to you and talk outside your property with door locked and preferably being recorded.

We need to ascertain when the enforcement started, so if you have any letters it would be good to know what you have received and what dates the enforcement started. If you have to wait until Monday, so be it. The EA can't call on a Sunday anyway.

[ploddertom]

Re: Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

The EA can't call on a Sunday anyway.

They can now.

[bizzybob]

Re: Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

They can now.

One of the more "unwelcome" changes from April 6th, but they can't call on a Bank Holiday, even though the Enforcement Companies lobbied for it, so you are safe on Christmas day, Boxing Day, but they can come to take the presents on December 27th possibly depending on what day Christmas Day falls.

[Wombats]

Re: Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

They can now.

Thanks Plodder - funny 5 minutes, I was thinking of the 7 clear days excluding Sundays! Always good to be corrected - thank you.

[ploddertom]

Re: Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

Thanks Plodder - funny 5 minutes, I was thinking of the 7 clear days excluding Sundays! Always good to be corrected - thank you.

Ill be waiting for the one who says he attended on December 25 & not Xmas Day!

[bizzybob]

Re: Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

Ill be waiting for the one who says he attended on December 25 & not Xmas Day!

I reckon emboldened with the new regs, some greedy EA will definitely call on a bank holiday. Place your bets as to which company he/she will be from.

Evens Marston Group incluing Rossendales, and Collectica
2-1 Equita/Ross 'n Robbers
Odds On Bristols & Hooters
3-1 on Excel

[LEXUSLAWYER]

Re: Please help with Council Tax Bailiffs.

I reckon emboldened with the new regs, some greedy EA will definitely call on a bank holiday. Place your bets as to which company he/she will be from.

Evens Marston Group incluing Rossendales, and Collectica
2-1 Equita/Ross 'n Robbers
Odds On Bristols & Hooters
3-1 on Excel

Hi all just a quickie on this....A V5 is not proof of ownership and it says that on the document, it is only proof of the "Current Keeper" who in many cases is not the owner, just take company vehicles used by an employee and parked at or nearby their home.

All of these bailiffs and so-called enforcement agents are well aware of this and will demand proof of actual ownership rather than the V5. In fact if a V5 is your only proof, it is probable they would at the very least clamp the vehicle to pressurise you into finding a means to pay them.

The only thing that will stop them is a receipt or bill of sale made out to you dad at the time he purchased the vehicle. This can be as simple as a two line handwritten note, as long as it identifies dad as the person who bought the vehicle, the vehicle's registration number, the amount paid and the seller's signature.

If you have that, give them a copy and tell them to clear off and to go and review the rules regards vulnerable debtors.

Not so quick after all...but hope it helps.

Kind regards
LL