To feel up to my neck in it ... Any advice?

[Leavingsosoon]

I'm not panicking, but I could do with some rational and kind help with some stuff.

I am a lone parent. Am on maternity leave at the moment.

I seem to be in a really difficult position where I have essential stuff that needs paying and as soon as money comes in, it's whisked back out again - on top of that, I've come home today to a letter shoved through my door demanding money for non payment of council tax from 2013 God knows what's happened there. Obviously, it's an old debt but it's now massive due to bailiff fees.

I suppose I'm wondering firstly what to do about that but also, if anyone else has ever been in a similar position and how you got through it? I know things will be OK in six months time when I'm working and when other stuff is sorted but now it's still all over the place and a bit shit.

I have to wait until this evening until I can use a phone but yeah I'll try that :)

No, the original mistake was that you moved and didn't give a forwarding address to send the final bill to. It may not have been a bill, it might have been a refund! But unless you give them an address how do you expect them to send this to you?

You talk about them checking the electoral roll - what all of them? Do you know how many local authorities there are in the UK? And unless you have the most unusual name ever there will be more than one person with your name. Council's aren't telepathic.

Talk to the council. Don't deal with the person who answers the phone - ask to speak to a manager/team leader. If you would be happier with a face to face meeting ask for one (if you still live close enough to the council of course). I understand your anxiety (I hate talking on the phone either) but you do need to address this sooner rather than later.

Best of luck OP

Can you not get to a phone box? Is there going to be anyone there if you call in the evening?

Yeah my husband used to do that ... don't know why he didn't but there was a lot going on.

Evening/afternoon - about 4

Did you call ?

I hope you contacted the CAB.

Stepchange are amazing. They changed out lives. I can't recommend strongly enough that you contact them. You can do lots of it online. They will contact your debtor's and negotiate on your behalf. They are fab.

I couldn't get through to CAB, I may try again today but it is only open certain times and I've a lot on. Thanks for the suggestions, again.

I've a lot on
I shouldn't think much is a priority over this.

I really do think you are behaving like the proverbial osterich, burying your head in the sand and hoping it all goes away. It's not going to go away. You need to be proactive - grit your teeth and just do it. You'll feel so much better when it's sorted.

It's not the CAB you need to ring, it's the baliff as you know.
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but what happens to the children if you do nothing and the courts sentence you to 30 days imprisionment for non payment? Even if you've a lot on, how difficult is it to pop the baby in a buggy and go to the nearest pay phone?

I think the courts can probably wait two weeks, like the bailiff'll have to. It's not about effort, like I say, I just can't face calling as I can't pay yet. I do appreciate the advice though, thanks.

You can't keep putting this off, you're going to end up with a court date or worse. You have to ring them.

The bailiffs won't wait though. They'll take what they can.

You can borrow the money; you can ring the council; you can ring the baliff to arrange a payment plan; you can get off your bum and visit the nearest CAB, you have so many options but are refusing to do anything. You are not thinking of your children AT ALL. That's it from me, good luck OP.

The reason you have to call is that if they have to take further action they may add further costs to the amount you owe them.

If you are genuinely unable to phone them then you have to find a third party who can do it for you.

I'm not too knowledgable about the exact workings of this type of debt recovery but o think you can apply to have the repayment postponed.

INFORMATION HERE

MoneySavingExpert is a great place to go for information or, as has been suggested numerous times StepChange.

Unfortunately, choosing to do nothing might make things a lot worse. I know that's not what you want to hear. I don't know if the debt WILL increase if you choose to do nothing but you would be foolish to assume that it won't without checking.

If you'll have the money in two weeks time, why not get a payday loan to get them off your backs? You'll have it quickly and so long as you do pay it back when you have the cash, you won't incur horrendous interest.

I'm confused OP...

I think you and other posters are falling into a trap, that the council has set!! :
Viz...

If you genuinely, honestly don't believe you owe them money...DO NOT agree to pay it!! Why are you even considering it??!

But you MUST put this in writing /email.. You should also be able to contact the bailiffs like this... In fact I would so to have a paper trail.....

soz I don't mean to shout... But this is crucial!!

I know from my experience (from both sides of the fence) , councils can be very late/confused /inept issuing the last bill when you told them you were moving. It's easy to forget the last bill for 27£...... So you didn't realise there was a debt accruing...

I haven't read your other threads but it sounds like you were in a domestic violence situation... If this was the case then, or around the time you were pregnant /left your previous address...

Then the council should look sympathetically as you would be counted as someone who was/is vulnerable...

Please write them a letter, it doesn't have to be lengthy...
+++ask them to stop the bailiffs with immediate effect.
+++ Point out you don't agree you owe this. amount or anything. You are in conflict with them. Just because they have sent bailiffs it DOES NOT mean you have to automatically pay their fees!!

+++That you were pregnant and experienced DV.

+++You don't agree you owe them fees for their bailiffs, when you were paying tax elsewhere and you were easily traceable. Their response to any alleged underpayment is ridiculously late.

+++It was their tardiness in issuing the final bill, that caused the problem.

+++Say that it is the council's (their) responsibility to prove you owe this money.... It is NOT enough for them just to bill you. And if they can't prove this , then nothing is payable.

In my letter I also included something along the lines:... I know that it was common knowledge in bloggstown that at this time 1999/2000 the council was in meltdown, having IT problems /new filing system/moving building (whatever you think! Here). So I believe it is unlikely you would have the requisite paperwork to to support your assertion of my alleged debt some 5? Years later. It is also highly likely that cases.l have become confused and also not kept up to date.
Sending me another bill with an amount highlighted/underlined is insufficient and would not be acceptable in a court of law.

I also mentioned about harassment (i quoted the relevant legislation - can't recall it now), and their continual mails/bailiffs and threats may be seen as harassment..
Also I said something about lawfulness... Natural justice and the right to be treated fairly and reasonably... And making spurious financial demands to someone demonstrably vulnerable was completely wrong, improper and unfair...

They did eventually agree I did not owe the money... They will always say you do as their opening gambit... They just work on the assumption that if they bully enough most people will give in!

I would also include something like ' my alleged shortfall on my account was 42£...as you understand I did not know I even owed this amount. I informed you I was leaving Bloggtown in June 2012/whatever....and you haven't informed me previous to the most recent mails.

Today you now allege that I owe the council 450£, some 10 times, the alleged amount owed. This represents a rate of x%.
This I believe any reasonable person would see as completely unfair and punitive ...

Good luck!

The OP has admitted she does owe the money.

Not knowing you owe it isn't good enough. They have a right to pass the debt on. I would suggest that if your letter was successful you were not in the same situation as the OP. Ranting on about natural justice will do nothing. All delays mean further costs.

There's obviously already been a court order for it to have got to where it is. Although this tends to just be rubber stamping there does have to be some evidence of the debt and it obviously did stand up in court.

And I have no idea why people keep saying they are "easily traceable", why should my money be wasted "tracing" people? The electoral roll can't be searched by name you know, it is in addrsss order and I'm pretty sure councils aren't allowed to use it for that sort of thing anyway as it would be a data protection breach. Ditto paying CT somewhere else, the council you pay to is not allowed to just give your details to another council you know. And even if they were, how would that happen then? The first council writes to every other council in the country and says "sorry to bother you old chap, but you don't happen to have a Mrs Nonpayer on your current billing system do you?", " oh, yes, actually weve got four hundred people with that name", "no problem, we'll just write to all of them" (x number of councils in the country)!?

Hi everyone and thanks again for all your advice and support.

I am trying in a sense to educate myself about money and the like as my DH was the one who used to pay everything. I suspect the truth of this matter has fault on both sides - DH evidently missed a trick but given we haven't ever had any problems from any other council I also suspect the council haven't been as organised as they could have been.

I get very confused with the timeline of events but I have been in touch with the council who have assured me (and will confirm in writing at my request) that there are no more old bills. Therefore, I will pay this bill online at the end of this month (a week tomorrow basically) and that should be the end of it. I just don't feel able to have a conversation with a bailiff: just receiving the letter made me feel quite panicked and scared and phoning will, I believe, excacerbate the situation by alerting the bailiff to my case (he hasn't been back, I imagine it will be another month or so before he returns by which time the debt will be paid) and I don't feel robust enough in myself to risk that.

Thanks again for the support and the advice and I just want to draw attention to the fact that even if someone HAD offered me the money (they didn't and I wouldn't expect them to) there is absolutely no way in gods green earth I would have accepted it. The only people I have ever accepted money from as a loan (bar £40 from my friend once for a few hours when we went out and I discovered I'd left my bag at home) are members of my immediate family and that will not ever change. I'm just NOT that sort of person, whatever my other faults are.

Does it work like that? I was under the impression that a bailiff 'buys' the debt from whoever is owed it, in your case the council and that you now owe money to the bailiff rather than the council who has passed the debt on.

I'm not sure what I've said that contradicts any of that

I assumed by paying online you meant paying the council rather than the bailiff.

Regardless of what I assumed, I hope that you get it sorted.

No, I meant paying the bailiff (or rather the company that the bailiff came from) online.

Thank you.