Bailiff advice needed for friend asap

[lou33]

i have a friend who has unpaid council tax, apparently it went to court and now a bailiff wants to enter his property to do an assessment and come to some financial arrnagement.

he tried calling the council to arrange repayments but was told it was not possible

cab say let the bailiff in and dont prolong it

but he is worried that once the bailiff is in he will demand full payment there and then and start seizing goods

can he refuse entry to the bailiff and find another way to pay?

it's fairly urgent

anyone who can advise?

omg i cant believe he just told me that he hasnt mentioned she owes it, as she told him she isnt working

It will be a walking possession agreement, where they catalogue items and sort of mark them as theirs, he cannot dispose of those items and failure to reach payment agreement would mean the baliff could return (once they have gained peaceful entry, they can force entry on future visits) and seize the goods.

You don't have to let them in - they will try to convince you they have more powers than they do. You talk to them through the letterbox and do not let them in. If they threaten you with police, tell them that's fine - police only arrive to keep the peace, they CANNOT make you let the baliff in. You make the baliffs an offer through the door. The courts are very understanding if it is someone in a bad circumstance who can't pay...but not so if it is someone who thinks their fortnight in Ibiza is a higher priority than their council tax, iyswim!

Do bear in mind though that, if your friend refuses to cooperate with the bailiff, the council can either apply for an attachment of earnings order or to have your friend declared bankrupt. So he needs to consider his options carefully.

As far as the council (and the bailiffs) are concerned, it is irrelevant that your friend's ex-g/f has not paid her share. The full amount is due and they are entitled to pursue your friend for all of it.

Refusing to let the baliff in isn't refusing to cooperate with the court, though - if he makes an offer. courts generally accept offers, as long as it is genuinely what the person can afford.

he says he has no recollection of hte council sending any sort of assessment form for his finances, tho they say they called a few times to request them to contact him

he's silly for being so laissez faire

the council have said they can do nothing at all, he rang to see if they could revoke it and do an atatchment of earnings for payment instead, but they said no

have told him off

once you let bailiff in they have walk in possession. they can list what they like apart from vital items eg cooker fridge basic furniture they can put your car and pc etc on their list, make sure they leave an inventory of whats down on it. we had bailiffs other week and stupidly we let them in they made list but not sure whats on it as they didnt leave copy set standing order up but cos i had to change date to my payday they now have cancelled the agreement and i owe 1200 quid which they want now, woman on phone at b and s bailiff was a snotty cow who said its not her problem they didnt leave a list if we dont pay up the stuff will go as its now legally theirs and it would be illegal if i sold it.. im shitting myself incase they put cars and pc on list one car is on hp so they cant touch it the other my hubby owns but we need cars for work as we both have to travel to get there. my pc has all photos of my kids growing up and ones of my dad who died in fire it cannot go. may swap pc for one i got off freecycle and hide this one somewhere till theyve been dont know if its legal but tough. dont know what else to do

but whatever you do DONT LET BAILIFF OVER YOUR DOORSTEP AND KEEP CARS AWAY FROM HOUSE FOR A WEEK OR SO

The person in question can request in writing that the bailiff take it back to court.

The court can arrange the payment plan, but only when the bailiff returns it to the court to deal with. Until it has bee returned by the bailiff, the court cannot deal with it.

Bailiffs can be real shits. They want to make money, so have no incentive to return it to court. Your friend will have to refuse entry, refuse to cooperate and continue to write requests to take it back to court to deal with, make sure all copies are sent to court for information/evidence that effort has been made take it back.

It will take time, but it will happen eventually.