Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Original poster

What can I do? BIG MESS

52 replies

itshitthefan · 31/05/2007 12:12

I've got bailiffs coming next Tuesday for unpaid council tax from last year. Long story but we didn't have any money last year and it kind of got forgotten about. (DON'T have a go, I know how bad that is).
I've tried but can't raise what they want. House is part furnised by landlord. I owe £1400 after they've put all their charges & stuff on.
What can they take?
Any options - the pay a bit monthly we tried failed cos no money. This is the final final final straw.
Believe me, I'm seriously considering suicide on this one. DH & DD don't deserve someone like me round their necks

OP posts:
Lolly68 · 31/05/2007 13:59

Have you not had a court date for this unpaid council tax? They cant send bailiffs around if you have not been to court first.

Judy1234 · 31/05/2007 14:14

Actually that is true. Very good point. I have come across people told bailifs are going in and yet they never had a court claim issued, a chance to defend it, a court judgment made against them. Check all the paperwork you have received so far.

sahmtotwo · 31/05/2007 14:41

Some absolute cracking advice here. Please also go and look at www.monetsavingexpert.com.

Also ring either of these Debt charities they will offer you FREE impartial advise. They are the ones recommended by Martin Lewis.

www.cccs.co.uk/

www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/

Please don't panic there is lots you can do and you have taken the 1st step by sharing. Good luck and please keep us updated.

Original poster
itshitthefan · 31/05/2007 14:41

Thanks all. Went to CAB in my lunch. He phoned bailiff & told him I couldn't pay & why (my overtime hasn't been paid). Said bailiff was rude & said he didn't believe me.
The chap then phoned the council & told them I was paying £50 tomorrow then a lump sum at the end of June then the rest by instalments.
He wrote me a letter to send to council (along with receipt for payment).
He told me bailiff probably won't turn up but if he did to pass him a copy of the letter through the letterbox and tell him to go away.
I can't believe it though. I still think the guy is going to come round like Rambo - I mean, what if he sits outside the house all day and tries to barge in when we go out/come home from work/pick up DS or let the dog out?

OP posts:
Original poster
itshitthefan · 31/05/2007 14:48

Plus he gave me loads of advice for DH about his business

OP posts:
anniemac · 31/05/2007 14:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

doormangav · 31/05/2007 15:01

All good advice so far. I've done debt collecting and baliff work in the past (it is not a nice job) if they do turn up tomorrow then as already stated do not allow access to the property, do not even open the door to them, if you have to speak to them then do so by speaking to them out of an upstairs window.

FioFio · 31/05/2007 15:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Lolly68 · 31/05/2007 15:37

Is it a court bailiff or a company one? What is the company name? You can actually phone and complain about the bailiff if he is being rude. But do what everyone says on here. Dont answer the door tomorrow. Keep us posted - and try not to worry and as anniemac says it is only £1400 - they are just bullying you.

TequilaMockinBird · 31/05/2007 16:24

And dont pay the full bailiff fees either! As they havent had access, the maximum they can legally charge is £39 - they will have added other 'illegal' charges on aswell though I guarantee it. If they insist you have to pay the 'illegal' charges then do what i did - tell them your solicitor has advised that they should take you to court for them and that if they win a court case expecting you to pay illegal charges then you'll show your behind in Harrods window .

Bailiffs are really scary when you dont know anything about them but once i'd spoken to a solicitor, I found out that really they have no rights at all if you dont let them in! They are horrible people to deal with though - the last contact i had with mine, he told me to 'fuck off and go to hell' before slamming the phone down. I knew it was because he realised that he couldn't scare me any longer as I knew my rights and so he couldnt use his scare tactics any more!

Please don't worry, as others have said it isnt the end of the world and although these people frighten you to death, please remember that theres nothing they can do except make idol threats to scare you (providing you dont answer the door to them!)

I've been there, I know what you're going through but believe me, you will get through this and come out smiling at the other end.

Judy1234 · 31/05/2007 18:30

Some of the nastiest people around do it. But also a plea for those of us who sometimes find peopel who can perfectly well pay and choose not to and we sue them and then very very rarely we send in bailiffs and we know they have more than enough to pay and we;ve worked really really hard for them and yet they still won't pay. It's really annoying when you're trying to feed your children and the bailiff comes back and says they say they don't own a single thing and you know they're lying through their teeth and not paying what's due and there's nothing you can easily do.

ravenAK · 31/05/2007 23:18

Yes Xenia.

But I've had bailiffs after my ass after my first husband died leaving me with a failed business - & I'm sorry, they routinely lie, bully & terrorise the vulnerable.

& it's the woman with kids who is terrified of losing her home who gets her stuff taken & sold for nuts. Not the wideboy types who know PERFECTLY BLOODY WELL that the bailiffs are pretending to powers they don't actually have.

Second others' advice - don't open a door to them, speak through an upstairs window.

Warn family members - my charmers turned up 200 miles away & threatened my dad into handing over all the cash he had in the house. This for a debt belonging to my late husband & despite the fact I hadn't shared an address with my parents for over 10 years.

IF my dad had ever had reason to know anything about bailiffs & their tactics, he'd have told them to piss off - he didn't, so he believed them when they said they could empty his house for my debts.

You've got nothing to worry about so long as you don't let the buggers get even a toe past the threshold.

FioFio · 01/06/2007 08:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

NuttyMuffins · 01/06/2007 08:51

Only just seen this, glad you have been to CAB, they are very helpful and sounds like thye have given you some good advice.

I also second you going back to them to sort the rest of your finances out, it will make you feel so much better once thats done.

Alot of bailiffs are awful yeah but there are some nice ones out there. I once owed a catalogue money and a bailiff came round, and when i told him i couldn't pay, he told me exactly what to do, who to ring and what forms to get, even rang me a few days later to check i'd got the forms ok and was ok filling them in, told me only to put an amount i could really afford etc, he was lovely......made a nice change.

Having said that, it wasn't for council tax, so not quite as serious.

TequilaMockinBird · 01/06/2007 09:05

Agree with RavenAK. I think the bailiffs know fine well which are the vulnerable people and play on this to their advantage. I had just gotten out of a very abusive relationship and was on my own with my dd when they came round hammering on my door 2 or 3 times a day and shouting through the letterbox that they would take all my dd's toys etc.. as payment. This obviously upset her as well as me and as much as i tried to shield her from them, they would always turn up just after the school run as they knew i'd more than likely be in then. Its always the people who cant pay not the people who wont pay that get terrorised and bullied into thinking theres no way out but to give these horrid people everything they own.

Lolly68 · 01/06/2007 09:25

itshitthefan - thinking of you. Hope everything ok. Let us know how you are.

FioFio · 01/06/2007 09:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

FioFio · 01/06/2007 09:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Lolly68 · 01/06/2007 09:34

They can also put an attachment of earning on your wages too for unpaid council tax!

TequilaMockinBird · 01/06/2007 09:41

Out of all the debts I still have, I now make sure my council tax is always paid on time as it is such a horrible situation to be in.

Are you feeling any better today Itshitthefan?

Iklboo · 04/06/2007 14:15

Hi everyone. Well. tomorrow is the big day. DH & I will probably be out at work. Phoned CAB again and they said no, they can't break in to take stuff. They can't try and barge past you if they're there as you're coming home or going out. They think since he was told last week not to come he might not come out at all. And also that they won't be waiting outside all day for us - he'll have other debts to collect. They were supposed to have come last Thursday but I phoned them to ask them to give me till tomorrow to try and get the cash.

I am still so, so, so worried that DH will forget or they'll try and get in when we open the door to let the dog out or when we come in/out.

Iklboo · 04/06/2007 14:16

OH no - just outed myself [shame]

casbie · 04/06/2007 14:59

you really need to take time off to sort this out and visit CAB/sort finances out.

take it as holiday, warn your manager of a family crisis and do something about it.

if it is making you ill to the point of suicide please please do something about it now. work out your budget etc and see how much you can realistically pay.

unfortuenately the onus is on you to sort it out - but it is do-able. ask hubby if he can take a day off with you and sort it out. good luck!

TequilaMockinBird · 06/06/2007 09:17

Iklboo how are you? Did you get anything sorted out with the bailiffs?

Onedaysoon · 12/06/2007 14:14

I've got a thread in relationships but just wanted to ask separate question re: finances. H is in a hell of a lot of debt. I estimate it to be around £40k, on credit cards/loans. He won't discuss it with me so I am only guessing but from what I can gather it's around that mark. He refuses to open letters, or answer the phone (as it's always banks etc asking for him and I have to lie and say he's not here), and he won't return calls when asked. In short he's burying his head in the sand and ignoring it. I've tried asking him about it but he won't discuss it.
At the same time he is spending around £100 per month topping up his mobile to go into chatrooms (again he doesn't know I know).
Now, am I liable for his debts? They are all in his name only. BUT, what happens if bailiffs turn up (which I suspect will happen if he doesn't act). What can they take seeing as the stuff here is either mine or ours? When we married he brought nothing to the marriage except a microwave, bed and tv. I brought everything else. When he took out finance on his car, he put the finance in his name but registered the car as mine (to be honest I am not bothered if they took that anyway as I own my own car, but he is still paying finance on his anyway).
Can they take stuff like telly/washer/etc...do they take into account that the kids need this stuff?
I am so angry with him for dragging us into this . His ex wife warned me that he left her in shed loads of debt which she is still paying off. I am so careful with money so am furious that me and the kids may lose everything because of his stupidity. Incidentally it's a council house.

Swipe left for the next trending thread