Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

[charitynjw]

Hi

Long story short

Back end of 2015, Council made noises re money owing.
We queried - no response from council.
Jan 2016 - council inform us 'pay up or else'
Again we query - no response from council
Short while later - Summons to Mags (Kangaroo) court. (20/01/2016)
I attended - was told by the very nice council lady (she went & had a word with her 'boss' who was sitting well away from the action) that they (council) could not stop the LO. :lie:
I asked if I could see the Magistrate, as it was a summons to Mags Court.
I waited until she stopped laughing.
I explained that the sum owing was as a result (I believe - council haven't acknowledged) of an admin cock-up - someone there had stopped CTB, but we hadn't been notified.
I explained vulnerable family (a plethora of state benefits, low income, etc.)
Council lady said that there was nothing she could do, as she could not contact her office. (Mags court is virtually next door to council offices!)
I tried to give her written details (pre-typed to include all of the above)
She refused to accept - told me I had to hand it in to the council office,
I did so within 10 minutes of speaking to her, & got a receipt.
A few days later, we received from council a rather lengthy document/form to fill in (re-apply for CTB?)
Then letter from council 25th Jan - LO granted by Mags (rubber stamp), pay up or else!
No further communication from council re the hand-delivered letter.
Letter from B&S dated 15th March - pay up or we'll remove your kids, shirt off your back, doormat etc.
& in the meantime we'll whack on another £75 (escalating upwards.....£235,,,,,,etc.)

That's the sorry saga.
So, what to do?
Pay their installments?
N245 to freeze it pending sorting it out with council (Inc removal of erroneous charges?)
SD?

Pointers would be much appreciated!
[MENTION=15129]Crazy council[/MENTION] [MENTION=9189]bizzybob[/MENTION]

Btw - the 'big' form has not been completed as my father died during Feb, leaving a rather complicated estate to try & sort out. It's taken most of a month's full-time effort.

Plus posting on here, of course - someone's got to keep an eye on the miscreants on this forum (No use hiding, we know where you are, lol!!) eep:

[Kati]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

Formal complaint to the council (if you let me know the area, I'll find contact details for the CEO) with a request to at the very least put the account "on hold" if not recall it from the bailiffs :nod:

One thing to remember is that (for CT debts) the council is ultimately responsible for the bailiffs actions and they have the choice of recalling it at any time. There are only 2 charges (unless the bailiff manages to levy on anything). These are £75 (when the bailiffs are given the 'debt') and £235 (at the time of their first visit). If you manage to get the 'debt' recalled by your council, these charges can be removed.

If you are on benefits etc..., the council has a duty to allow you AFFORDABLE repayments.

CT bailiffs cannot force entry, can only come in through a "normal means of entry", cannot levy on goods by looking through a window etc...

[bizzybob]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

Have the muppets at Busted & Stupid turned up yet and added the £235. I would be inclined to do as Kati says and complain to CEO, also send proof of vulnerabilities to B & S and offer a payment you can afford backed by an I & E, so that when and if they reject any offer in order to visit and apply £235, you have proof of their garnering of fees for that complaint.

[charitynjw]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

Formal complaint to the council (if you let me know the area, I'll find contact details for the CEO) with a request to at the very least put the account "on hold" if not recall it from the bailiffs :nod:

One thing to remember is that (for CT debts) the council is ultimately responsible for the bailiffs actions and they have the choice of recalling it at any time. There are only 2 charges (unless the bailiff manages to levy on anything). These are £75 (when the bailiffs are given the 'debt') and £235 (at the time of their first visit). If you manage to get the 'debt' recalled by your council, these charges can be removed.

If you are on benefits etc..., the council has a duty to allow you AFFORDABLE repayments.

CT bailiffs cannot force entry, can only come in through a "normal means of entry", cannot levy on goods by looking through a window etc...

Thanks, Kati.
One CEO complaint coming up.
& the Devil will be ice-skating to work before they enter the house, lol!

Have the muppets at Busted & Stupid turned up yet and added the £235. I would be inclined to do as Kati says and complain to CEO, also send proof of vulnerabilities to B & S and offer a payment you can afford backed by an I & E, so that when and if they reject any offer in order to visit and apply £235, you have proof of their garnering of fees for that complaint.

Hi bizzybob,

They haven't called yet, just the threatening letter - further recovery action if not paid/installment plan agreed.
I was wondering if this could be used:-

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/...ion/88/enacted

(8)

After paragraph 40 insert—
“Withdrawal of warrant of control by fines officer

40A(1)

This paragraph applies if, in taking a step specified in a further steps notice or replacement notice, the fines officer has issued a warrant of control for the purpose of recovering the sum due.

(2)

The fines officer may withdraw the warrant if—

(a)

P remains liable to pay any part of the sum due, and

(b)

the fines officer is satisfied that the warrant was issued by mistake, including in particular a mistake made in consequence of the non-disclosure or misrepresentation of a material fact.

[charitynjw]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

N245 to freeze it pending sorting it out with council (Inc removal of erroneous charges?)
@Crazy council @bizzybob

Erm..........can't do this with a LO, can I?

:doh:

[Crazy council]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

Erm..........can't do this with a LO, can I?

:doh:

Dont thinks so , dont think you can appeal a LO after 14 days ( Grrr )

I will add to this later or in the moring, this is right up my street and if i have read it correctly, they have lied to you.

I attended - was told by the very nice council lady (she went & had a word with her 'boss' who was sitting well away from the action) that they (council) could not stop the LO. :lie:

Lie, her boss, had to have been the legaly deligated officer ( LGFA 151 officer legal deligation to court officer ), also,improper telling you that on the court grounds

I asked if I could see the Magistrate, as it was a summons to Mags Court.
I waited until she stopped laughing.

Did you not get to the see the majistrate, did the council officers suggest that you couldn't or shouldn't


----- i will add to this later properly, as well as the CEO, head your complaint to the head of financed ( 151 officer ), and monitoring officer. I might suggest something to put in the letter.

[ploddertom]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

Complaint to the CEO will only be handed down to minions to deal with. Contact your local Councillor(s) and ask them to intervene - if they are reluctant or refuse then go straight to the Leader of the Council & their opposite number. If you were denied access to appearing in front of the Mags then you can make a formal complaint about this.

[Kati]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

My complaint to Northumberland County Council (topic of my first ever post on here - see http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...t-are-not-owed!!!!) was sorted out pretty quickly after contacting the "boss man" ... but I'm a stubborn Yorkshire lass, so that might have something to do with it :lol:

[charitynjw]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

Thanks, @Crazy council

Yes, absolutely I was told that the council could not (as opposed to would not) stop the LO from going through.
I though it was BS (not B&S....er, actually the two are not dissimilar!) as I had successfully argued the case at a hearing for someone else a couple of years back.
Unfortunately I've been out of the loop for a while, & wasn't sure if things had changed in the interim.
Do the council still get a kickback on every LO that's rubber-stamped?

The bit about not being able to see the Mag - it was more of an oblique statement (ie something like "I don't suppose I could see the Magistrate about this?; after all I have been summonsed to the Magistrates' Court"). Nice lady (more of a young lass, really!), laughed & said that it doesn't happen, or she has never seen it happen - something like that.
I knew I didn't have a snowball in Hell's chance, anyway.

I did present them with a letter outlining the reasons why the LO shouldn't be made. I'll dig out the copy from my world-renowned filing system (That's if the budgie hasn't already done it's 'business', lol!)
She wouldn't accept it in the court foyer (where they conduct the 'review' in the style of Judge Roy Bean. Thank goodness it's not a hanging offense, the gallows would be going day & night!)
I did ask how many LO's were being processed that day. She went a bit coy, but admitted that the number was "in the hundreds"
For one afternoon - not a bad payday!!
She suggested that I take it to the council offices (about a 5-minute slow stroll away).
This I did, & got a receipt for it.

We did receive a fairly thick booklet to plough through & complete, but due to some rather urgent & ongoing personal issues, this was back-burnered. As was the letter from the Revenues Enforcement team informing us that an LO had been granted. (& no, we didn't complete the I&E process, again due to far more pressing issues. It is easy to say in hindsight that we should have, but believe me when I say that it was fairly low on our priorities).

Enter B&S (Letter 15/03/2016) £75 added.

ENFORCEMENT PROCESS COMMENCED (probably 'cos of our failing eyesight!)

£sillymoney up front, 10 x £sillymoney/month.
7 days from letter date to comply, or gorilla on the doorstep, + another £235
Good job we don't do luxuries.

Like food, for example!

[Kati]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

Good job we don't do luxuries.

Like food, for example!

you got an I/E you can use??

[charitynjw]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

you got an I/E you can use??

A p,i&e would be nice, lol! (Snake & kidney, or maybe a chicken one, going cheep!)

Seriously, yeah, the council have sent two, one in the 'booklet', the other with the letter re LO granted.

[charitynjw]

Re: Help!! B&S chasing erroneous CT debt

Complaint to the CEO will only be handed down to minions to deal with. Contact your local Councillor(s) and ask them to intervene - if they are reluctant or refuse then go straight to the Leader of the Council & their opposite number. If you were denied access to appearing in front of the Mags then you can make a formal complaint about this.

Thanks, pt

This seems to be the default position for the council.
At the LO hearing (or deafing, as I may as well have been talking to a brick wall!), little-boss-man stayed apart & aloof, while the minions shovelled out the sh..............schedule 101 spiel, lol!