Ok thanks. Seems very extreme that I could get arrested!

I'm leaving on Monday.

I was made aware of it in 2013 and have had an ongoing dispute with the company. Last year I applied for a set aside but due to an emergency couldn't attend. (Unfortunate I know!) I didn't hear anything more from the company until now, nearly a year later! Maybe stupidly on my part I haven't done anything about it in that time but it's not very fair that neither have they, then a year later I'm expected to jump!

Well I can't rearrange my plans, there's no way. Other people have booked things based on me being there so I'm not wasting everyone's time and money. I only received notice last night and the hearing is on Tuesday, is there not some kind of minimum notice period?

Ok so it's a valid reason not to attend as long as I provide proof?

I have an ongoing dispute about solicitors fees which ended with me receiving a ccj even though I have disputed the amount. The ccj was served on an old address so I was never aware of it until last year. The company has sent me a court order for an oral examination hearing but I am out of the country. They have told me very aggressively, I must attend or be arrested! I'm moving out of my home and going abroad for 6 weeks for family reasons. Everything is booked in terms of flights and accommodation so I would lose a lot of money. Am I still expected to attend!? What will happen if I don't!?

Hi I haven't done that yet, I will do though. In the meantime, what do I do about being pursued for not only these very old accounts and also the account that my car was taken for? Thanks

Hi No i am not satisfied that the amounts on these old accounts are correct which is why i asked the council for time to check any payments made and old paperwork. They ignored that response and proceeded with enforcement action anyway. Given they have the wrong amounts for the account that my car was taken against, it's highly likely these other accounts could be incorrect. I dont want to enter in to a payment arrangement and pay the added bailiff charges of £75 per account if the amounts are wrong. The council have ignored all of my requests so far and have not acknowledged my point about the sale of my car and the payments allocated. Bailiffadvice, I understand you gave me advice previously and I really appreciate it, but the situation has now developed and it transpires that the council have been given no money from the £1,100 from the sale of my car. Am I not at a point where I can legally do something about this?

Yes i complained to Marstons at the time and asked for a full breakdown of charges which matched the councils. What doesnt match are the amounts that the council are claiming that have been paid by Marstons.

Hi I really hope someone can help me, I am absolutely pulling my hair out with an ongoing council tax issue. There are a few issues which I'll try and break down as best I can without waffling! I have posted on here already about an issue with my council and Marstons bailiffs. My car was taken for an unpaid council tax bill of £217 in 2013. The car was worth £2,500 and sold at auction for £1100. The bailiffs added a sum of around £800 in illegal charges, which I'm STILL disputing with them. I escalated my complaint through the council who took no responsibility for the illegal actions of the bailiffs employed by them. I then took my complaint to the Ombudsman who said it was a financial issue and to seek legal advice. At the time, the council broke down what they thought was owed on that account and stated that actually there was an amount of £531 owed not £217 and that just over £300 had been allocated against this bill from the sale of my car. Meaning at the time it looked as though Marstons kept £800 from the sale of my car. There is a long thread about this issue detailing why the bailiffs acted illegally. I havent been able to find a solicitor that deals with these kinds of issues so I'm stuck. The second issue is, all of a sudden, I've had 5 or 6 letters about very old outstanding council tax bills from shared accommodation. One of the letters was about the £531 that my car was taken for!!!! The letters were all very unclear about what is owed and any payments made against these accounts, so I asked for a proper breakdown of each account and also asked why I am now being pursued AGAIN for a debt that should have been paid by the seizure of my car. In the councils initial email response, they said that only a payment of £20.34 had been allocated from the sale of my car against that outstanding amount!! I replied immediately and asked the council to hold any action on all of these accounts as they clearly had incorrect information and I asked for proper clarification and details of all payments allocated to each outstanding account. In the meantime they have sent each outstanding account to the bailiffs again, adding £75 on to each account. In their latest response, they have not acknowledged my request for clarification of what has been allocated against the £531 for the sale of my car. And have told me I must deal with the bailiffs if I have issues with the account. Honestly, I don't know what to do. I have been fobbed off at every point of this ongoing problem. I am happy to pay anything owed, even though the old accounts were in other names, not just my own. But it's disgusting my car was taken and sold for £1,100 and it looks like Marstons have kept it and I'm now being pursued for the same debt with added charges!! Help please!?

Hi Thanks for your replies however i already have access to my bank statements and they aren't disputing I've paid a fee so how would it help? Thanks

Hi I was mis-sold a Santander premium account in 2011. I was told i 'had' to swap my existing current account over to the premium account with a monthly fee of £20. I was told about the various insurances etc but i already had mobile phone and breakdown insurance at the time. I have written and complained to Santander who as expected have written back to me and said they won't uphold my complaint because their 'evidence' shows that i valued the account based on the following reasons: I never changed the account to an everyday account, they did. - I wasnt aware i could do this as i was told initially i had to take out the premium account and that was my only choice. That i 'chose' to upgrade- False, i was told i had to Santander have always had no monthly fee accounts available, information available on their website so therefore i should have checked! I was sent information on the account and could have said i didn't want it They can see from my account that i have travelled, that i have a mobile phone and a car so would have benefited from the insurance- I have these insurances elsewhere I have access to online banking so could see i was being charged a fee- I knew i was yes, that isn't the point. I was never told i could have an everyday account. They are clearly in the wrong otherwise why would they have swapped people over to an everyday account with no fee without even consulting us!? Basically they're trying to fob me off and make out there were other options available to me which was not explained when they sold me the account. I was told i had to take the account out. They arent prepared to take the complaint further and have advised that if i wish to take the matter further, i need to complain to the ombudsman. Anyone had any success reclaiming these charges yet? Thanks

Any more advice?

Ok I understand thanks. So, it seems the only thing I can try is writing to the bailiff company and ask for a refund of the fees? Is there no other action I can take against the council?

Sorry i thought you meant cause for complaint against me! The bailiff told me the amount owed to the council was £217, so therefore that's what i offered to pay the council. I called the council three times to offer payment and on the third phone call, spoke to the director of the department who i explained my circumstances to. Every offer was refused. I understand there will have been bailiff charges on top of the £217, but that was what i was told the liability order was for originally so that's what i offered to pay.

The local authority have cause for complaint?

I offered to pay the £217 in two instalments, one that week and one the following week. The bailiff told me that amount was what was owed, so that's what i offered to pay. The £541 figure only came out much further down the line and complaint process! The council could see i was in receipt of housing benefit, so they knew i was in financial difficulty at the time. It seems there is lots of conflicting information online! I was originally told that all of those points below were valid and that bailiffs were not allowed to remove your mobile as it was classed as a basic need and also something to do with data protection. Sorry I cant remember the bit of law, it's in my original complaint letter that i'd have to dig out. But having just done a quick check with CAB, it concurs that a mobile phone is classed as a basic need and cannot be removed anyway if it's about your person.

I understand i need to write to the bailiff company about the fees, but i am still confused about the other points raised in my initial complaint which havent been acknowledged by the council or Marstons. The bailiffs gained entry in an illegal way The bailiff did not leave me with a form 7 notice of seizure form 8 notice of removal or form 9 I asked to see the warrant but the bailiff was unable to produce it The bailiff abandoned the levy by clamping the vehicle then leaving There was no written warning of the intention to levy on my vehicle They took a tool of my trade (OK this is arguable, but is still the case!) I offered payment, they chose to take the car and have profited from their actions Their certification might be bogus, in which case their whole course of action is invalid and illegal!? I was threatened with arrest if i did not hand over items that did not belong to me The bailiff took my phone off me, which is illegal I was threatened with violence if i did not hand him my phone, this is illegal and the police woman stood there and did nothing My complaint was ignored, the council have lied and changed their story twice in writing about the reasons for their course of action. i have spent hours and hours on the phone and writing emails in relation to the matter yet all i COULD be entitled to is the £400 in illegal fees!? This just seems unbelievable to me!

I haven't gone down that route yet no, do you think it would help?

And in any case, the charges are still illegal!?

But it was about to go in to the garage and on private property, not on a road or pathway?

Sorry don't get me wrong, I really appreciate your advice, I'm just baffled by it all. To clarify, I was registered as self employed at the time yes and i told the bailiff this. I just wasn't in receipt of any income at that time. They took my company details and checked to see if i had assets under that company so yes, they were well aware that i was self employed! I find it miraculous that it took a year and a half to produce the certificates. I would question the authenticity to be honest!? Why were they not produced when i raised my initial complaint and asked specifically for that information? I still havent seen copies!

Hi Thank you for your reply. Just to clarify, the LGO didnt reject my claim, they said because it was a financial matter against the bailiff company, i would need to seek legal advice. It says in the letter, the LGO cannot normally investigate a complaint where court action can be taken. My complaint is in relation to the conduct of the bailiffs and illegal fees, which would be a matter for the courts. The other issue that the LGO investigate was the certification of the bailiffs. I asked Marstons for proof of their certification at the time and they told me the bailiffs were certificated on the company. I asked for this proof in every stage of my complaint and it was never produced. The LGO asked for copies of the certificates in their investigation and miraculously two certificates were produced. At the time, i checked both the bailiff register and with Manchester County Court and neither bailiff were registered yet Marstons claim both were registered at Manchester. I understand that my main issues are with the bailiff company but i cannot understand how the council arent responsible for their actions in this, listed below: At the time, whilst i was technically self employed, i was in receipt of housing benefit as Im a single parent. They can see that there is a child on my claim. My complaint was initially ignored. The council changed their story (in writing), the original debt WAS £217 but after the LGO got involved that figure miraculously changed to justify the removal and sale of the car. The £541 was from a joint council tax bill, my housemate at the time was named on the account yet at no point did they pursue her. Even though they had her new address. , In relation to the fees, lets say that the original debt was the £541, plus LEGAL bailiff charges that equates to around £680-£700. My car was sold for £1,100 meaning they owe me around £400! The bailiffs gained illegal entry to my house, there are tons of other issues around this, its not just as simple as taking an excess levy. I cant understand how I'm left so powerless in this and it might be better for me to drop it! Really!?

Hi all, I've finally had a response from the LGO. They aren't taking action against the council which i find ludicrous. The council have changed their story a number of times and haven't been able to answer some of the LGO questions but they've aren't taking action, I have been advised that I should take legal action against the bailiff company for the illegal charges. I am going to send a LBA but am struggling knowing what to claim for in terms of damages. I have been without my car for a year and a half! Do i calculate all the additional public transport costs i've had? I have spoken to a couple of solicitors but they can't help because the case probably won't be worth over £10,000 and their fees will be high so not worth it. Any more advice on the best thing to do, it's just a drain the whole thing!

Great! Thanks for your help.