Help! Bailiffs and unknown bill.

[QueenPodling]

We were out this morning but received a letter through our door advising that bailiffs had called to 'seize and distrain' our possessions.

This appears to be in relation to unpaid council tax from five years ago. I think probably from a property we rented for six months before buying our house. There is apparently a Magistrates Liability Order dating back to Feb 2008.

This is the first we've heard of it and I'm sure we paid our tax there. I tend to keep all my old bills but had a clear out last year and wouldn't have kept anything that old.

We had a postal redirect to our new house for six months after leaving the old place.

I've googled the company and they look legit and I'm going to call the council on Monday to find out what's going on.

Does anyone have any advice? I'm hesitant to pay this bill (£700) because I'm fairly sure I can't owe it and would want further details but I also don't want to have to argue with bailiffs.
Is it possible for me to have a court order against me without getting any notice? And how can I not have heard anything about this at all?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Can you call the district council in the town where the bill was liable and ask them to explain this?

Unfortunately, their office is closed today so I can only call on Monday. I'm just a bit flummoxed how I could supposedly owe this money for five years and this is the first I know about it.

whos name was on the card put through your letter box?

Mine and DHs. DH called them and they confirmed it relates to council tax from that property. It definitely seems to be for us.

Further to the above, I've just rechecked my credit record on Experian and there's nothing about this there. Very confused.

Have you got the money to give the company? If they come out again it will add another approx 180 quid to the bill - so try to avoid them coming out if you can.

Ask for a break down on the bill - court charges, call out charges and jot all that down - it maybe the bill wasn't as big but has got to 700 through charges, make sure the charge are real.

You can ask to pay in instalments and they shouldn't add interest. But council tax is serious as government money and they will not leave it or go away

i'd put the 'bailiffs' name into moneysavingexpert search...then see how 'reputable' they are?

They look like they're legitimate. Does anyone know where I can go to search records for the Magistrate's Liability Order?

Okay, I'm officially not going to worry about this until Monday when I can call the council. Doesn't look like there's much I can do today.

My DH Is a bailiff and the best advice I can give is to call the bailiff directly and let him/ her know you have never had any letters about this and are tring to find out what it is all about. Then on Monday contact the court, explain you did not get any letters and they will tell you what to do to stop the bailiff adding any more fees. If you have moved from the property and did not get the letters you should be able to have the bailiff and court fees taken off and just pay the outstanding balance.

I suspect the court will just refer you to the council.

The council will be first point of call. You need to check you are liable for the correct period. Even if you moved out, you may still be liable if your tenancy hadn't ceased. However, if the property was left unfurnished, you can have a class C exemption from the date the furniture was removed until the end of your tenancy.

Did you notify the council when you moved and give them a forwarding address? If you were having mail redirected, you should have received the final bill.

£700 sounds like quite a lot to me - bailiffs add £42,50 for the first two letters so there shouldn't be much in the way of bailiffs costs as yet. if the bailiff has to visit to try and levy though, this could add upwards of £100 in costs. If you perhaps just hadn't paid the final month, then I wouldn't expect the bill to be so much. Either you didn't pay, or you've been made liable until the next tenant moved in. A lot of landlords don't tell the council when a tenant moves out!

It's a good idea to call the bailiff company to let them know you are querying it with the council. Typically, they will ask you to pay within 3 months. If you can't do that, they will make an arrangement over a longer period but will want a bailiff to visit to levy distress, which will add more costs. You are not obliged to let the bailiff into your home.

HTH

Oh, and it won't show on experien - Council Tax arrears aren't subject to credit searches as any action is in the magistrates' court rather than county court.

You can file a statutory declaration with the court if you moved and did not receive the letters, the council will tell you to contact the bailiff company as it is out of their hands.

Chances are you moved out and signed up for CT somewhere else straight away. If you can prove this, and you weren't behind at your previous place, you shouldn't have owed anything (assuming your previous tenancy had come to an end). Don't just blindly assume that because there is a liability order you must owe it. IME the system if collection of unpaid CT is a shambles.