Bailiffs....I need advice asap please

[Dumbfounded212121]

Hello all I have and changed for this.

So I'm not far off murdering my dp. Many will say LTB but that's not going to fix my problem for tomorrow. I will deal with him later.

Dp has a debt to do with business however it is in his own personal name. Business rates. The company hasn't been doing very well recently and he has struggled with this and paid as and when he can. The bailiffs have been sent round to his place of work and left a letter saying they will be back to remove goods. Do called the number and said look I can't pay all. Can I pay a bit and set up a payment plan with you. Bailiff said I will give you until Friday (3 days ) to get what you can and if you are lucky we can agree something to let you pay it off by new year. Well we still won't be able to pay it off by then. As the council want the years business rates up front even though we are only a few months in arrears.

So they can't take anything from his work as he has proof the business owns everything not me. This so try as in finance in companies name and business rates in dps name. So the belief said I will come and you can show me your proof but then I will be coming to your house. He has our address. So I have some receipts for the tv and laptop to prove they are mine. But no receipts for anything else.

What can he take.... Can he take the tumble dryer, dishwasher?we have a spare fridge in the garage, sofas? My jewellery? Nothing worth much.

Thanks in advance. I know not aibu. But i am desperate and don't know what to do tomorrow. I'm more worried about the effect on my kids rather than stuff. Please don't bash me or dh. Times have been hard and the council didn't listen when we tried to sort it out before.

I hope you can get something sorted out. Can't believe how fucking feral some of the responses are and prefer to invent rubbish to attack you with like asking for sympathy and telling the bailiffs you're pg, etc. No practical advice to offer but sending morale support and hugs. Horrible situation. Thinking of you and hoping it gets resolved somehow.

You've said repeatedly that you could have made lots of payments, but no one would accept it. Where is that money now? You've only got £2000 spare. Every time you had money to pay them but 'couldn't where did that money go?

It should have been paid into an account which you agreed not to touch on pain of death. Then, when the council agreed a payment method or sent bailiffs, you'd have all those payments sitting in the bank ready to pay. But I'm guessing you've spent it? Which means you havnt tightened your belts, havnt set a strict budget and stuck yo it in order to pay this off. You've just been spending, and now don't have he money left... But you're complaining about the bailiffs. You say you know you need to pay and really want to pay, so why didn't you say every one of those possible payments on preparation for that?

Small businesses can get a really hard from from councils and loan companies, and this is one of the reason. We're not trusted to think ahead and make sensible choices so that they money is still there 6 months down the line.

I get the feeling something is missing from the information.

Councils will help if willingness is shown to pay any type of debt owed (I worked in council debt recovery for a while)

I have looked up a random councils policy and it would seem that things have got very out of hand for bailiffs to be knocking on the door assuming your council's policy is similar to this one of course. This policy says that it would have had to go to court with a court summons before bailiff involvement?

www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/business/business_rates/recovery_process.aspx

It night be worth seeing if you can find your council's policy on debt recovery to check they haven't breached it.

Alright bloody hell are you rossendales

Like I said when we had the money at the time. Other things had to be paid. So instead of big debts on other things it is just the business rates. I'm not complaining about the baliff. That's how it works. I asked on what I should do. And I have been told. What do you want me to say. You k is what you are right I am as thick as shit and hopefully any bad thing that can happen to me hopefully will happen and that will make it all better. You don't k ow 100% of our circumstances. Maybe I changed a few things around not to be identified. Maybe the scenario is slightly different but again I changed so I'm not recognised as I have friends in here. Or maybe I am posting for a friend who doesn't have it and i am pretending it is myself for ease of writing. Maybe I am a dipshit who doesn't know what she is doing. None of that is relevant. I asked how to handle a baliff and how to fix it. I got my answer. You are just fixed on the pregnancy thing. Fair enough. If it is annoying don't read it.

No court orddr has been given.

FFS I HAVE SAID I WANT TO ORGANISE A FUCKING PAYMENT PLAN WITH THEM!!!

IamI have reported your last post. This is bordering on harassment now.

Thanks i aim it will probably get shit down now. Best screen shot all the advice before it gets taken down. Good luck with your own business

Hello all - please do remember we're here to make parents' lives easier, and if there's one thing we could all use, it's a bit of understanding and support. While we encourage healthy and robust discussion, we hope that everyone can respect each other in their choices and express their views without resorting to personal attacks.

Thank you Clara. I will bite my tongue

Dumbfounded. Look up the council's debt recovery policy for business rates. If it's a compliant council then they will publish it, if not ask for it tonorrow and check they have followed their process and are not breaching their own policy.

This isn't so you can get out of paying but actually give yourself some breathing space to sort out repayments and get the bailiffs off your back and not take low value sentimental items from you.

https://www.btbatb.com/
Try this OP, they give great advice and help

@Notwiththeseknees

She wants advice. Telling her to lock the bailiffs out and avoid avoid avoid isn't an answer. This won't go away. But there's no point saying "try to save from here, cut down there" if the answer is "we simply can't save".

She said over and over that they could have paid, but no one would take the money (even though you can pay online yourself). She never said that the money was needed for something else... so wondering what happened to it is applicable. If it was just spent on general life then the answer is to sort our their budget. But now she says it was used to pay other debts/business bills which would have gone unpaid had the council accepted it. So you don't have any money spare to commit to a payment plan? That means you need to seek other solutions; even if it is a rubbish consolidation loan. You can't set up another payment plan and default again, and it really seems like that's what will happen if all the money you could have used for this was actually needed for other stuff.

Avoiding bailiffs is not an answer. It will help for one or 2 days, but then you're right back here again.

Oh ffs we are able to keep to a payment plan now. Hence why I want one

WTAF?

I read the thread and got something completely different. I think it is you who have problems with comprehension. I don't know what business it is you claim to be in, but I think you need a holiday.

Then I don't understand why you havnt gone online and made payments?

It doesn't get to the point if bailiffs without you being plwnrt forewarned. Either the council are seriously dodgy, or there's a lot missing from your version. As soon as you were able to start making payments, it should have been straight online to do it. If you can get rid of the bailiffs tomorrow, then you or your partner need to start doing that. At least then when they come back pr letters start arriving in a few weeks you can say "we've made weekly payments if X and will continue to do so until the debt is clear".

But "lock your door, avoid them and move your car somewhere else" isn't advice which helps for long.

I'm sure I mentioned some where we have made some payments. I will double check now. And they were made via online as they are on statements. One I know was for 1000. I have never actively dodged them because I felt like it.

Yes I did

Which reads like the payments made were part of the payment plan, but then you got in trouble again so stopped. Even if you'd consistently done £100 a month despite everything, it would be something you could use to argue your case now. They're being heavy handed for a reason; that doesn't happen if you act in good faith.

You say you can afford it now, so start immediately. Don't give them reason to think you're lieing.

for you, Dumbfounded. I get that you intend to pay the debt...

Take a look at this to see if you qualify under any of the categories, especially if the property has been revalued:
www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief

Have you checked that it is correct that the business rates had to be in your DP's name just because the lease is in his name? I use part of my (owned) home exclusively for business so it is rated for business rates (but currently exempt). I don't charge my limited company rent but it was always my limited company that was liable for the business rates (before the small business exemption was brought in) despite the business not owning or renting the space.

If it is correct that the business rates have to be in his name because of the lease, can you ask the landlord to change the name on the lease (so at least you are no longer personally liable at this point for the rest of the year's business rates that they want paying up front)? Or get the landlord's permission for you to sublet to the business (so you are still personally liable for the rent but not the business rates)? That might give you some breathing space by reducing the debt. Although if the business can't afford to start paying the business rates, you then have the issue of trading whilst insolvent (you would need to speak to your accountant for advice on that). However, before you transfer any money from the business to pay your current debt, it is worth discussing that (because if you leave the money with the business and that would cover the business rates until the sale of the business you wouldn't have to worry about the insolvency issue...).

Op before it gets taken down I wanted to clarify for you- for business rates there doesn’t need to ba a court claim and a writ. As it’s council it would have been to court, but there is no defence for business rates (very draconian system) so the courts will just sign it off and it will go to bailiffs.
It is very unorthodox (& as harsh as it sounds a downright awful ‘decision’) to have business rates in personal name rather than limited company. One of the pros of having a limited company is it’s a separate entity and there is no personal liability for debts. (With exception to personal guarantees) I would 1) call business debt advice & 2) tell the council it business rates should have been put under business name as of date of move & see if they change it.
If the company is in that much trouble your husband needs to speak to a liquidator & as he has his name against the rent, speak to the landlord to see if he can agree to him sub leasing the property

@Iam
The advice to lock the door isn’t about burying heads in the sand. It’s more economical; goods will sell for far less than worth at auction, so OP wants to avoid this at all costs as there are alternative means of them collecting the money- whether that’s through a payment plan or an attachment of earnings order.