if they have levied previously then yes that sounds about right. How many visits have they made? what charges on each visit ? If your shop or business has lots of goodys then expect the worst. If your goods are low value or very heavy just palm them off with about £250 cash & the rest on arrangement. If u pay direct....be sure it goes to the correct year outstanding. If u clear the liability amount with the council inc court costs then the bailiffs cannot remove for fees only....even if they levied. So if u can afford it clear the liabilty get a reciept. Dont be too smug if u do this as the bailiffs wont forget u & if u default next year u may regret.

Sounds about right for nndr but £350 is very high considering the debt was around £1000. They may levy & van in one visit. They can only discuss with your your staff if the liability is in the company name. If your a sole trader & its in your name then they shouldnt.

This attitude was exactly the same in the early 90's for the poll tax but bailiffs still carried on. Violence was common place from the anti poll tax brigades. I dont think even if they had forced entry it would make much difference. Household goods arent worth what they used to be & I think its very rare that domestic removals take place these days. Cars are really the only thing they look at.

The van fee is much too high & should be challenged. other fees are ok but not sue why they have added another 1st attendance at the end....is this for another liability ? They will levy on the car if they dont know its leased or tool of trade. Once you show them relevant paperwork it should'nt be an issue. £230 pm sounds more than reasonable.

why would they want it back. the op defaults every year & the bailff company have collected each year. It really depends on your history with the council.

To be honest if you send a letter like that it will firstly end up in the nearest bin & secondly your car will be clamped before the stamps dry. Just my opinion.

whats the full story here ? How much have they charged ...how many visits etc ? yes they can take the car if its yours.

maybe get the same police that let him in the house lol

Burp a levy fee is part of legislation, of course he can levy on the car without asking for payment. after all isnt the bailiff there to levy distraint in the first place ?

thanks very much Tomtubby...exactly what I was looking for. So a bailiff would be ok to clamp before knocking if he didnt add a fee for clamping.

lol ok mate whatever.

I hear what your saying. Is there any case law that goes against a bailiff that clamped before he knocked ? your offence & section laws sound good but not sure this amounts to that. you say the bailiff "pretended".......but he did clamp & did charge & was entitled. The part im really interested in is .....can a bailiff clamp before he knocks on the door on a first attendace ?

but u didnt have the choice so u cant say that. if he had knocked on the door asked for £216ish u would have told him to get stuffed. too late to say u wouldnt pay.....& very hard to prove u would. But I agree its out of order clamping first but not sure its illegal.

any idea what powers county court bailiffs have when it comes to evictions ? I remember seeing big fights on the news a few years back when tree protesters were evicted. It must be different to the council tax lot.

but would you have paid if he didnt clamp ?

well i didnt read that the bailiff was arrested either & they can get arrested ive seen it happen.

so are you saying the bailiff cannot turn up 14 days after the £11.20 letter of which I thought 2 should be sent making £22.40 & clamp the car without knocking first ? not saying I agree with the tactic.

well it a still photo which doesnt show what happened. The fact that a police officer was there & this was in a cheap newspaper probably sums it up. No one really knows unless your there. But i guess cutting someones throat is ok ? lol

well do a search & see how many have got it so far.

burp your forgetting they clamped his car. £54.50 ? I wouldnt waste the stamp sending that letter just yet.

£224 sounds a bit low if he clamped. so he actually wrote van hire & diesel ?

it doesnt normally state "hire". its just a van charge. He probably did 20 calls that day & charges each person the same. They dont hire vans for the day they own them or his company does. give a break down from his first call to removing the clamp...i'll tell you if its legal.

There is no VAT on council tax fees only parking unless its local authority in house then theres no VAT on that either.

Are u saying you car has been listed on the notice ? or just that the letter was left on your car ? either way just ring them up & say u are the new occupier. Easy as that

most companys have levy bailiffs & van bailiffs. obviously the van bailiff follows up on cases levied by the levy bailiff. A bailiff doing council tax cases already levied does not need a certificate but its unusual for companys to have non certificated men. Even if they have a walking possession its unlikely they will force entry. If they ever do it would be with a locksmith & not with a crowbar as suggested in the previous post.