Unpaid Council Tax & Debt Collection

For every one person like you there are probably 100 who have no intention of paying. As they are not psychic they cant differentiate. CAB is probably your best bet.

Unless you have missed out the part where you were summonsed, a CCJ was given against you, and the court appointed bailiffs to collect the debt, what they are doing is trying to intimidate you into paying.

The fact that they are bailiffs does not necessarily mean anything. Many debt collectors are also bailiffs. They have no particular powers, provided they do not have a CCJ against you. Do they?

I suspect not. Getting a CCJ costs money and effort and takes time, and is no guarantee of successful recovery, so if possible they prefer to intimidate people into paying - sending nasty letters, being threatening on the phone, etc.

So far you have done the right things. I would reply to their letter, reiterating that your offer to pay is the maximum you can afford, that you are unable to pay any more or any faster, and that you intend to pay in full as described. Don't elaborate beyond that. Emphasise that you are taking the matter seriously. Keep all correspondence, including the envelopes - debt collectors may try to apply pressure by sending you demands for money within

7 days but postmarked later than that date.

Keep a note of when and whom you call and of what was said. Especially note any antagonistic behaviour. Stand your ground - if they take you to court, your evident willingness to co-operate will count heavily in your favour and their heavy-handedness will equally disadvantage them.

County courts don't just rubber stamp what creditors want. Debt collectors want you to think that and most people do. A Court will not order you to pay sums you demonstrably cannot afford. It will look at what you earn, what your reasonable expenses are, and what you have left, and will order you to pay accordingly. They can even strike debts out, partly or wholly, like the

400,000-odd a Liverpool couple "owed" to a loan shark. This prospect appals debt collectors and is why they are very, very averse to actually proceeding with court action. Some courts take a bloody dim view of collection agencies taking people to court who have honestly made a reasonable offer. It is wasting the court's time. So if you can prove that you have been reasonable and they have not your position improves.

HTH.

W

Is it recommended to include an initial payment to show seriousness? Or even setup and show he has setup a SO?

So why do councils sell their debts to collectors who are in the habit of misleading debtors into paying? It does not go well with the honesty and transparancy required of councils in other contexts.

I posted a reply to their letter and included a cheque as initial payment. Not sure what they'll do with it. I must remember to keep my windows & doors locked from now on!

Thanks for all replies!

What happens if an unknown burglar just happens to break in half an hour before the bailiffs turn up to conveniently find an open window through which to climb in?

By the way, they can't send bailiffs without first obtaining a court judgement, can they?

But what if the burglar takes all my stuff leaving an empty house so there's nothing left for the bailiffs. I like your style. Maybe I could arrange something. And then when this is all over the burglar, weighed down with guilt, could return my stuff with a big appology.

I *was* suggesting the burglar might have an arrangement, but with the bailiffs, not with you!

If the bailiffs do turn up, don't open the door

How do I deal with a bailiff at my door? The bailiff can call at your house at any reasonable time to seize goods, but you do not have to let them in. The bailiff cannot enter your house by force, but they can legally enter your property through open windows or unlocked doors, so make sure all your doors and windows are locked or closed.

Once the bailiff has been inside your house by entering peacefully, they can call again at a later date and enter your house without your permission, forcefully, to remove your goods.

When seizing goods the bailiff must leave the premises safe. When in your house the bailiff has the right of access to all rooms and can force their way into other parts of the property.

Posting from Peter Rogers

Replace NOSPAM with ntlworld to reply

If they bank it they have tacitly accepted your proposed repayment schedule. If they contact you again, point this out.

"Peter Lawrence" wrote

If you look very closely at the letter of what they write, very often they technically are not misleading. Just because a letter arrives from a firm of bailiffs, that doesn't mean they're about to force entry and grab your stuff. Bailiffs sometimes do that after a CCJ, so the idea is that debtors will think that's what they always do, panic, and pay. They would no doubt argue that they have not misled, and since few debtors will have the means or opportunity to record phone calls or visits, they can be as obnoxious as they like in the course of those.

I'd reiterate that it's a different kettle of the proverbials if all this bailiff activity is further to an actual CCJ. That makes a big difference.

What always interests me is how they decide what is 'your' property. We have a Ltd. company which owns a certain amount of the things at our house, are the bailiffs not on very dodgy ground if they take some of the company's property?