Council tax and bailiffs

[TheNightIsDark]

Trying to type through tears so sorry for typos.

Back in August last year I received a letter saying I owed council tax. I phoned them up and apologised and set up a payment plan. I then was in and out of hospital with pg issues and having DC3.

The council phoned me again in October and I explained that I could pay £10 a week to clear it. They said I had to pay £20 and I said I could try but couldn't guarantee it.

I paid £40 in October and November. So £80 in total. I'm trying to find a receipt to say if I paid December because I can't remember

I received no further letters or phone calls until 3/1/14 when they said I had had an adjustment and the amount due before 1/2/14 was £0.14. I paid this.

Yesterday I had a letter saying a debt for £245.79 had been passed to bailiffs. This is last years council tax and this years that's not due until 31.3.14.

A bailiff turned up this morning. I told him I couldn't pay it in full. I have no money until my wtc and ctc come in on the first week of feb. He said I have to phone him and arrange something. He will be back Thursday.

I phoned the council and asked what was going on. Apparently it's been to court etc and I was told if I didn't keep up the installments it would go to bailiffs immediately.

They have no record of me saying I couldn't pay £20 a week and could only do £10 so I've defaulted by not clearing it in time. They also hadn't told me that I only had until the end of the year to clear it.

What the fuck do I do? It's a rental house, most of the furniture isn't mine. If it's been to court then the bailiffs can legally come in can't they?

I've got 3 small children and I'm on mat leave.

Can CAB be of any use? Or emailing MP?

I've really fucked up.

Can I phone the council and clear it with them? DM can lend me the money but I don't want to give out card details to a random bailiff.

Call the council and ask if they will take payment. If not, contact CAB and see what they recommend.

Start paying the council directly, you can do it online. It's doubtful they'd take the money over the phone but their automated system will not refuse the money, make sure you type the right account number and pay it off the outstanding bill and not the current one.

After building up a short but regular payment history, phone the council and ask them to take the debt back from the bailiffs (also put this in writing to them, via email so you have a record). They are not really allowed to refuse if you've shown willing to pay, but they might do so anyway, continue paying online.

Do not engage with the bailiffs at all. Don't let them in, don't discuss the matter with them. Keep all doors and windows locked. Eventually they will give up and pass the matter back to the council, who you've been paying. You might get billed for bailliff fees, they are only allowed to charge £24 for the first visit and £18 for the second, anymore than this and they are breaking the law. So long as you didn't let them in the first time, there's little they can do. If you let them they are allowed to break in to gain access again, so you'll need to speak to CAB and arrange repayments and stick to them.

There's loads on moneysavingexpert about this. I've been dealing with an 11 year old council tax bill from my misspent youth that I'd forgotten about and have had constant letters from Equita telling me they're going to imprison me They haven't, they won't, they can't, only the council concerned can apply to have me jailed and they'd be refused because I am making regular payments to them via their online system.

Thank you. I'll make a small payment now.
The actual balance is £245.79

Bailiff has written £270.29 on the letter. I opened the door but refused access as I was getting ds1 ready for school.

Can they break in if I opened the door but refused to let them in?

No, they're only allowed to break in if they've gained peaceable entry in the past. They're known for using tricks to gain peaceable entry, so don't open the door to them again, they're also allowed to gain peaceable entry via open doors and windows, so keep everything closed and locked.

They can't take your LLs stuff or your children's stuff, only things belonging to you. If you don't have goods worth covering the bill, they have no choice but to pass it back to the council who can then apply for a warrant to have you jailed, however they will not do this if you've shown willing to pay or can show that you have not paid because you do not have the means to pay.

There'll be a court fee added to the bill for the bailiff summons. Iirc that's around £45 ish depending on the council/court, so that'll be what's bumped it up.

If you have a car, start parking a few streets away, they are allowed to just take your car.

My car is my stepdads. It's in his name he's registered owner and keeper. Can they take it?

Sorry I've had my head in the sand for so fucking long I have no idea how any of this works!

Dooin is right: Don't let them in, keep paying on line and don't be intimidated. Bailiff firms such as Equita are basically licensed thugs, and liars. I have had a few battles with them myself over their made-up charges and ridiculous threats. Don't negotiate with the bailiff at all.

No, they can't take that. They can attempt to put a levvy on it (meaning they'll let you know they are going to take it, after which the car technically belongs to them and you are not allowed to move or hide it and have usually 24 hours to come up with the cash to prevent them taking) then you need to get your stepdad to phone them and let them know it's not your car and they'll have to remove the levvy and any levvy fees they've added to the bill.

Pay the council today, pay the 245.79, and if you can go to the office and pay it in cash so much the better. Ensure you have your council tax reference number so the payment gets allocated.

Make sure you get a receipt and guard it with your life. Call the council tax department on monday and tell them you've paid and ask them to contact the bailiffs.

If the bailiffs come back then show them the receipt and tell them you've paid - they cannot levy on their fees alone no matter what they say. If you've paid then there is no debt for them to collect and no reason for them to contact you.

Make sure after this that all your council tax accounts are cleared, get them to check that your balance is zero and then work out how you are going to pay next years so you don't get into the same situation.

I had bailiffs threatening to take 'my' car once. That was the only time I actually rang them, to inform them that if they did sieze any of the cars parked in my street, they would find themselves in serious legal trouble as I don't own a car!

Luckily I don't seem to live in an area where they have a bailiff, I just get increasingly alarming letters informing me that TERRIBLE THINGS WILL HAPPEN TO YOU IF YOU DON'T CALL AT ONCE WITH FULL PAYMENT!!!!!!!

They still have not bothered to tell me how much they want me to pay or why I have learned that they like bold typeface, capital letters and have an unhealthy relationship with exclamation marks

There is a van coming now, I am assuming the first three vans got lost on the way here. The van will be here next week, which is unfortunate as according to last weeks DRAMATIC!!!!!! letter I will be in jail by next week. I can only guess as to what happened to the last cell they arranged for me

I have, this week, finally managed to get some sense out of the council in question, so I now know how much I owe and have a relevant account number in order to make payments.

If your mum will lend you the money then it would be best to go to the council opffices & get it paid asap. MNo more worry, no more stress.