Croydon Council will not accept my money for Council Tax

[ploddertom]

Re: Croydon Council will not accept my money for Council Tax

A wheel clamp may be removed providing no damage is caused to it - including a slight scratch. Otherwise you could be charged with criminal damage, there is also a chance you could be charge with interfering with Controlled Goods as if the vehicle has been "seized" it is now under the Control of the Court and may not be sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of without consent - this assumes of course a properly executed Controlled Goods Agreement is executed.

[PeacefulWarrior]

Re: Croydon Council will not accept my money for Council Tax

Thanks for the new posts. I have not received any news from either JBW bailiffs or the council. I have come across something relevant on the CAB site, however:

What counts as harassment by a creditor

If the creditor tries to do any of the following things to try and get you to pay back the money you owe, this could be considered harassment. They include:

not telling you if the debt has been passed on to a debt collection agency

putting pressure on you to pay all the money off, or in larger installments when you can't afford to

According to this, I have been harassed by the council, as they did not inform me they were passing the debt to collection agencies, and this was done in 2 occasions, with 2 diff agencies.
Also, they put pressure on me to pay larger installments than I can afford, by ignoring my offers to pay and referring me to collection agencies who are demanding I pay the whole sum.

I think I could have a good case to present to the local Councillor, don't you think?

[ploddertom]

Re: Croydon Council will not accept my money for Council Tax

For Council Tax it used to be that the Council would inform you they had a Liability Order and if you did not pay then the account would be passed over for enforcement - used to be called the 14 day letter as this is how long you were given. With the implementation of the new regulations in April 2014 the issuing of the 14 day letter was withdrawn meaning once a Liability Order was issued it could be passed straight on and the first you would then know would be the receipt of the Notice of Enforcement from the Enforcement Co.

As far as the Council are concerned you have been issued with all relevant documentation prior to your account getting to Court. They base this on any letter sent not being returned - if you moved & did not tell them then they are permitted to send to your last known address. If you are saying you received no letters prior to this then it is up to you to provide why.

You are getting confused between the collection of ordinary debts and those imposed by they Courts. The Bailiff is not a debt collector, he has an Order from the Court and therefore is not committing harrasment. There is no law that says you have to deal with or speak to a Bailiff & you you can inform the Council & Bailiff that you will not engage with them. Whilst the account is with the Bailiff the Council will refuse to enter into any payment plan with you. You should however inform the Council that pending the Bailiff returning the debt then you have been putting a sum aside each week/month of £xx so will be in a position to pay a lump sum + carry on paying your proposed payment after this.

Sorry to say but if you carry on with your previous stance then you stand the chance of being summonsed to a Committal Hearing - which can add another £300+ to what you owe. You are correct in that you should not be pressured into paying more than you can afford but that is only Guidance & not Law, they may also use the argument it pre-dates the new Regulations and does not apply anymore.

[bizzybob]

Re: Croydon Council will not accept my money for Council Tax

As it is in the hands of the council's bailiffs it would be a good idea to negotiate an affordable repayment plan, they don't need a Controlled Goods Order, listing your posessions either to do that.

[PeacefulWarrior]

Re: Croydon Council will not accept my money for Council Tax

Hello again. I have a few updates on the matter:

1. As stated in the last post, I sent the letter to the bailiffs ( http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...Useful-Letters) on the 8th April 2016.
2. On the 21st April 2016 I received a letter from JBW, containing a Statement of Accounts.

Accounts
JBW Ref Client Ref Client Debt Type Warrant /
Liability Order
Name
Warrant /
Liability
Order
Address
Status Original
Debt
Fees VAT Total Paid Balance
Transport for
London
Red Route
Contravention
Flat 7 2
LONDON
SWX XXX
Closed 202.00 68.20 13.64 283.84 0.00 283.84
2812120 20072073 London
Borough of
Croydon
Council Tax
MAISONETTe
CRX XXX
Live 3098.10 429.86 0.00 3527.96 0.00 3527.96
TOTAL 3300.10 498.06 13.64 3811.80 0.00 3811.80
Visits
Date Bailiff / Agent Result Spoke To
22/06/2012 08:01 Stefan Jones Visit - left letter Nobody
04/02/2016 08:17 John Carless Visit - left letter Nobody
23/02/2016 13:20 John Carless Visit - left letter Nobody
Fees
JBW Ref Date Fee Amount VAT
1814210 02/06/2012 Letter fee 11.20 2.24
1814210 22/06/2012 Attendance to Levy 1 57.00 11.40
2812120 14/01/2016 Compliance 75.00 0.00
2812120 04/02/2016 Enforcement Uplift 119.86 0.00
2812120 04/02/2016 Enforcement 235.00 0.00
TOTAL 498.06 13.64
Payments
JBW Ref Date Amount Type Source
TOTAL

The Statement of Accounts did not include all the information requested.

3. Did not write to them regarding this and did not receive anything back in the mail again until today. This is the last letter from JBW:

'YOUR CASE HAS BEEN PASSED TO AN ENFORCEMENT AGENT

Re: OUSTANDING COUNCIL TAX - £3427.96

You have ignored the Notice of Enforcement issued to you and out various attempt to make contact with you.
Your case(s) have now been passed to our Enforcement team.This will result in one of our Enforcement Agents attending your premises with a view to taking control of your goods for sale at public auction.

Only immediate payment of £3527.96will stop this action.

Your sincerely JBW Group. '

They send this letter out to us every month or so.

My reply to this was:

To JBW Customer Care via RT Today at 14:17

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you in regards to the enclosed communication sent to your office. I have received an email with a Statement of Accounts, from Katie Smith dated Apr 21.

I would like to point out that the statement sent did not include the information I have specifically requested in my previews communication.

You have failed to disclose the information requested within the 14 days that was clearly stated, therefore I can no longer communicate with your office regarding this mater. I have requested a reappraisal of this case by Croydon Council and am currently dealing with them. I have already made repayments towards the sum that is outstanding. I would appreciate it if you did not contact me again regarding this matter.

Many thanks.

I have also called the local MP's office today, to arrange a meting with the local councilor, in order to discuss this matter. I am forwarding them the information regarding the case and they said they will let me know what happens next soon. I hope they will agree to taking the case back and dealing with me directly.