Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

[PocketTheDifference]

Evening Beagles,

A few months ago I had a baliff turn up at my door claiming that I owe for a council tax bill was about £200 plus their fees and all that so setup three payments and initial £35 plus 2 x £110 - Well it slipped through my net, I paid the £35 plus one x £110 and missed the other, 2 months down the line, without warning they turned up at my door with a removal van, so have added £150 odd to the £110 so i owe now £250, the problem I have is they want the money NOW, they said tonight, but moved it until tomorrow, Phoned the office they said they cannot help and i HAVE to deal with them.
I cannot get this money yet, I can have access in a few days but not in 1 or 2 days....is there ANYTHING i can do here or am I stuck facing further charges etc?? I can't let them add £150 or whatevr the recovery fee is each time. I offered to pay half now and half on the 15th which is payday. but hey will not have it. I'm actually fearful of this spiraling out of control?!?
Please Please advise this one seems out of my hands and playing into theirs now.

[Mrs James]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Evening Beagles,

A few months ago I had a baliff turn up at my door claiming that I owe for a council tax bill was about £200 plus their fees and all that so setup three payments and initial £35 plus 2 x £110 - Well it slipped through my net, I paid the £35 plus one x £110 and missed the other, 2 months down the line, without warning they turned up at my door with a removal van, so have added £150 odd to the £110 so i owe now £250, the problem I have is they want the money NOW, they said tonight, but moved it until tomorrow, Phoned the office they said they cannot help and i HAVE to deal with them.
I cannot get this money yet, I can have access in a few days but not in 1 or 2 days....is there ANYTHING i can do here or am I stuck facing further charges etc?? I can't let them add £150 or whatevr the recovery fee is each time. I offered to pay half now and half on the 15th which is payday. but hey will not have it. I'm actually fearful of this spiraling out of control?!?
Please Please advise this one seems out of my hands and playing into theirs now.

Hi,

Have the bailiffs gained peaceful entry to your home?

Have they levied on goods, if so what?

Do you know exactly how much you owe the Council?

Do you have a breakdown of the Bailiffs fee's?

If you can supply the answers, we'll be able to help you better.

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

well I actually do not, As i have moved from the property a week ago, so they went to my old property to be honest.

I owe £110 but with their fees on top they said something like £257 now.

Other than that they have nothing, except for adding more and more fees each day.
Im sorry it's brief Mrs James.
I appreciate you looking aswell. Have a thanks from me.

[Mrs James]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

well I actually do not, As i have moved from the property a week ago, so they went to my old property to be honest.

I owe £110 but with their fees on top they said something like £257 now.

Other than that they have nothing, except for adding more and more fees each day.
Im sorry it's brief Mrs James.
I appreciate you looking aswell. Have a thanks from me.

Thanks for the reply.

As they have not been in your home and have not levied on any goods, they have no right of entry, so if they come back tomorrow you don't have to speak to them or let them in. Make sure all windows and doors are closed and if you have a car move it away from your property so they can't levy on that.

In the morning, contact the Council and find out exactly how much you owe them, it could be that you don't owe anything and the Bailiffs are just trying to collect fee's. If you do owe the council, pay them direct via their website, they can't refuse payment. The next thing you need to do, is write to the Bailiff company and ask for a breakdown of their charges, the most they can charge is £24.50 for the first visit and £18 for the 2nd visit (In England) as they haven't levied on any goods.

[WendyB]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Don't panic, Mrs J is absolutely right, if they haven't already gained peaceful entry then they cannot force entry. Have a read of this for more info on bailiffs and what they can and can't do Bailiff Guide - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

Bailiffs lie and cheat and frighten people into paying. Once they know you aren't going to be taken in by their scare tactics they usually tend to back off, but be aware they may tend to get angry and scarier - take no notice of this and don't let them bully you into handing over any money.

Which bailiff company is it?

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Is burstow and Suitor,
They did visit once a few months ago my flat mate let them in they made their list, but I came to an agreement with them. and paid a few monthly instalments, however I missed the last one and this is a result of it. So they now say they turned up with the removal van and have added a charge.
My working outs is that it was £110 and now £250 so around £150 charge for removal van etc.
And if it goes back to the office which it will tomorrow they will send out another order of removal so is another charge this is what i am afraid of.

Thanks guys

[WendyB]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Oh yes, I've had the odd dealing or two with B & S myself. They came off worse Have a read of these two threads Wends v Bristow Sutor - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum and Shell v B S and two Councils - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum for a few pointers.

[Mrs James]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Is burstow and Suitor,
They did visit once a few months ago my flat mate let them in they made their list, but I came to an agreement with them. and paid a few monthly instalments, however I missed the last one and this is a result of it. So they now say they turned up with the removal van and have added a charge.
My working outs is that it was £110 and now £250 so around £150 charge for removal van etc.
And if it goes back to the office which it will tomorrow they will send out another order of removal so is another charge this is what i am afraid of.

Thanks guys

Ok, didn't realise they had been in your home and actually made a levy.

Can you tell us what they have listed on the Walking possession order? As sometimes they levy on things they're not supposed to and the levy could be illegal.

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Hey, a good read all around on these, I'm happy and proud to be able to take advise from you for this alone

However - How do I stop this happening to me they will just fleece these charges from me if I don't find out where to go next as I would just cough it up as my partner has said she would led me this cash.
I mean as far as I am concerned I do owe this (sort side of my story) So basically I need to

A) Stop more charges which they have said will happen tomorrow
B) if possible remove this removal fee

What would you do Wend?
I only missed the last payment of £110 and now it's more than double that. I wouldn't mind but the debt was only about £260 to start with. I'm not trying to avoid it, but I don't earn money for people like ths to be able to just take it at will. Where can I turn to?

Do I speak to to council? They where useless last time (when the original charge came through in May) and just told me to speak to the B & S people. I actually spoke to them today who actually said we CANNOT help you speak to the person outside your house.

Overall not bad for a 3 year old debt!!
Pocket.

[Amy]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Since you have moved from the property where the levy was gained, it is no longer valid.

Furthermore, the van fees are incorrect. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, Schedule 5 allows for one attendance only with a vehicle with a view to the removal of goods (but only once a valid levy is in place). The legislation states that “reasonable costs and fees incurred” [may be charged].

Therefore, you might also like to ask your council what is reasonable about a charge of £150 for one van when you can hire a van for significantly less than this. You should ask them if you were the only debtor visited that day because only then can you be expected to pay the full cost of the van for any particular day - if more than one debtor was visited, then the cost of the van should be equally divided by all debtors, but the bailiffs hope you do not know this and the councils do not care and cannot be bothered to find out.

Finally, see post #4 of this thread for information on fraud, which is what this is Bailiff levy charges - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Thanks Amy's Helpful as always (as you all are) so in the morning shall I call the council directly and ask them these questions or actually speak to Burstow and Suitor? or possibly the actual Bailf.

[Amy]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Deal only with the council and follow everything up in writing.

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Last one tonight, Does this matter even if i have alreayd made previous payments on this debt and just missed the last one?
Can I also refuse to pay this debt until I have conformation from the council? Just so i'm clear THANKS AMY

Just need my plan of action clear for the morning

[Amy]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

You cannot be expected to pay if you do not know how much council tax you owe. This must be your first question. Ask the council for a list of the payments you have made and a list of what is outstanding.

I should imagine the council will say the charges are correct and must stand, but that is because they are only as bright as a 12w bulb (and I'm being generous).

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: Desperate Baliff Plea, Please Help!

Ok Thanks for that I shall keep you posted on what happens as I imagine they will not help and tell me to speak to B & S as they did the first time. after that I suppose i shall have to quote some jargon, and hope it get's me somewhere.

Like I said i would pay what I was last quoted as outstanding £110 but not this £257 and both the Baliff and "office of B&S" told me over the phone.

I guess asking for the council to contact B&S to tell them to lower the van fee would be start, can I be dumb and ask for or ref what a Levy fee is and what it's for?