Thanks foe all the messages of support. Very much appreciated!

Whew what a day. Well I got to the Court nice and early.. Spoke to a helpful young Duty Solicitor who gave same advice re proof of ability to pay. Also advised I speak to the Claimants Solitor before we had to go in Court. * Asked the Usher if he knew who it was, he paged for whoever it *was to come to the front desk. Found out 5 mins b4 we were called in that they had simply sent a letter to the Court. Walked in front of female District Judge, greeted her and first thing she asked is whether I had seen the letter they sent to the Court? I said no, so she asked me to come forward and she allowed me a minute to read the evil and desperate letter they had sent in. Fact is they really thought eviction would go ahead and were dead certain they would evict as I had tried to convince them to reach an agreement with me up to 1pm yday but they were adamant on full payment. I guess they didn't expect my last minute mad dash to the Court to restrain them from ever stepping foot on my property. Letter was as evil and vindictive as they come. *Telling court I live abroad, property is on commercial terms, giving a suspended sentence would mean I had got what I wanted ie evading payment blah blah blah. Read it quickly and said to the judge, "I can clarify everything" Proceeded to sit down and we began: *I must mention that On arrival at *Court i sent in proof of all payments to date and proof of funds to continue making monthly payments as of when due and my budget sheet, to be included in the case file in front of the Judge. Judge asked me to clarify issues they had raised in the letter, I explained as briefly as I could the complexities of my case, she asked how much the rent was and how much mortgage I paid etc. *I then told her due to my wife having had a baby in the last year and being off work plus with the payments due to clear the debt we have had to make lifestyle adjustments which includes moving back into my property. Next thing she was concerned with was how much I had paid so far and to explain arrears. I told her arrears were as a result of the difficult economic climate and in my case compounded by the fact that the Claimant had bankrupted me without my knowledge which however I got annulled. * I confirmed the dates of payments of ALL arrears, copies of the proof I pointed out were in front of her and she referred to these documents. *I also said as soon as had difficulty raising the initial payment I was on the phone to the claimants solicitor. *This demonstrated that I was in no way attempting to evade payment of the said debt. Her next order of business was to find out how much I was ready to pay to the claimant as a lump sum if she was going to suspend the warrant. I explained the financial burden a lump sum would place on my family being the sole bread winner but she was looking for commitment. Pushed between the devil and the blue sea I conceded to pay of just less than half of the outstanding balance and she ordered I be allowed to continue repaying the balance at the rate of £1,000 per month, which is the relief I sought plus warrant suspended!! In the end a good and positive outcome for me thanx again largely to the support of people on here and reading through similar threads. If ur faced with such problems cannot emphasize enough how important it is to do your research and be prepared. For me the personal highlight of the day was reading that letter from the claimants solicitor which came across as totally desperate and obviously penned in extreme haste as they thought I'd be on the phone come this morning begging them to give me back my house on their terms. Law firms such as the one I am battling with are plain and simple rogues and give the legal profession a bad name, they love nothing more than to take over properties such as mine that have a bit of equity and take u to the cleaners with their outlandish "costs" of disposing of your hard earned property. Today I said not on ur life mate. *Bloody idiots don't know the amount of sacrifice I had to make to acquire the property in the first place. Here ends my rant, maybe next time they'll hire properly qualified lawyers to deal with such matters and not some semi illiterate so called "legal executive" pawn to do their evil bidding! Good night and a BIG thank you @CAG.* Sent from my iPad Deux

Hi. Also faced with an Order for Sale. How can I get this particular solicitors details? Thanks

Thanx for the reply Ell-enn. No I didn't affix proof due to time. I have read advice here and updated a previous one I had done and printed copies for tomorrow. I mentioned there were arrears which are now up to date but time was short and mind muddled so didnt go into reason for arrears. Basically trying to raise the amount which is quite substantial ie £4,000. Claimant is Barnet Council. I can also show proof of some extra bulk amount having received payment for a sold car today if that will help sway the court. Any further thoughts?

Hello would appreciate any last minute input/help. Had order For Sale on my property for unpaid council tax in March. Total owed is now £15,000 which include all kinds of costs. Offered payment of £1,000 per month. Fell into arrears but have now paid all owed arrears. However claimant has now decided they are no longer interested in monthly payment and have sent a letter for a Warrant of Possesion which was received last week as I'm based abroad. Been on the phone negotiating with them all week and they are insisting on full payment or eviction will go ahead tomorrow. At a loss of what to do i called the court for some info and they suggested I come and submit a form N244. I dashed to the court and made it with 5 mins to spare. Basically asked to stop the order and be allowed to coninue making payments and consider that arrears cleared and have a wife and 2 young children at risk of being made homeless. I have been given a hearing date for tomorrow morning. All input appreciated. Thanks

Hi Thanx for all the Replies above. Gaston yes you are right the debt amount cannot be negotiated. A payment plan has been put forward and accepted so will move to close the whole sorry chapter. Once again really appreciate all the help I have received from the forum and its members. Keep up the Good Work @ ALL !!

Hi, Back Again. Finally received a response from my Solicitor, who had been chasing the Barrister for a legal opinion. This is what they've come back to me with: I have finally received an update from the Barrister, who advises the following: (1) It is possible to lodge an appeal against the Order for Sale, but the following must be taken into account: (a) the legal costs involved will potentially outweigh the debt that you intend to have written off (b) if you succeed, it is not a guarantee that your costs will be paid for, as the judge will have to look at the case as a whole © the Council have agreed to your offer for payment of the debt over the next 12 months, but if you wish to appeal the Order, they may proceed in any event with the sale. (2) you will be appealing the Final Charging Order dated 14 May 2010, and earlier liability orders which date from 2004 and 2005. It might be possible in exceptional circumstances to make late applications to set aside judgments. However, the Barrister has not heard anything in your instructions which suggests that this is an exceptional case, or a good explanation for your failure to act sooner in respect of the orders dating back to 2004/2005. She states: "I have not heard a good explanation for his failure to take action sooner or anything that suggests that until his tenant moved in anyone other than him was liable for the council tax. Once he had judgments against him was obliged obey the court order and pay up. He has done nothing to challenge the judgments. It is only because he has failed to pay that the Council subsequently got a charging order. And, it is only because he still failed to pay that they obtained an order for sale. He has had ample opportunity to do so and the court will be very unsympathetic, especially as I understand that he attended court on the occasion of the making of the final charging order. The seriousness of the situation would have been perfectly clear then and yet he neither paid nor applied to set aside any of the judgments." (3) The liability orders dating from 22 June 2004 to 20 August 2007 total £8,720.72 as at 17 July 2008. Since then, no further/very little council tax has been paid and 3 years have since elapsed, so the total debt is probably closer to £10,000 in any event. The Council's solicitors and other costs of £1,731.52 that were assessed and approved in the Order dated 28 February 2011 will not be reviewed or dismissed, as the Council had a valid reason for taking you to court; for continued non-payment of council tax. (4) The barrister believes that it is in your best interest to stick to the agreed payment plan of 1/12th of the total debt each month, which will protect your home from being sold. In addition, the liability should be passed on the tenant, as he is the one who has failed to maintain the payments from the date that he became a tenant of the property. Are you able to negotiate that with him? In addition, I would urge you to change the name on the council tax to your tenant so that he will remain liable for future arrears. (5) As the Council have agreed to your proposed payment plan of 1000 Pounds per month, there is no need to appeal the Order of 28 February 2011. 6) In relation to the potential argument raised in your email that the Schedule of Costs was not validly served, the problem is that you still sent representation to the court, and the debt is still outstanding, in which case, all they would have to do is re-serve the Schedule of Costs on your legal representatives now. The situation would be different if you had already paid off the debt. I therefore do not think that this argument would assist. In summary, while it is always possible to challenge decisions, especially when the claimant made procedural or other mistakes, in challenging the Court's decision, you would need a much stronger case than the one presented so far. The assessment by your GP as to your Medical Condition would not necessarily help you, as the Council tax would still remain outstanding and you are still liable to pay. In addition, the fees incurred by the solicitors in taking you to court will also still remain outstanding. Please let me have your instructions on the above. Kind regards, 2- Re the Order for Sale Hearing mentioned above costs of £1,700 was awarded against me, total owed is now £13,700. However they are now trying to add extra cost/interest which is totalling £14,352???? Please someone offer some advice. Do I just roll over and beg, borrow etc to pay back the amount? Also has anyone got any experiece negotiating a full and final settlement ie £10,000 to settle once and for all. Thanks cant wait to have closure on this knightmare!

Great point. Have emailed Solicitor and will call her in an hour. Thanks

Thanks for the clarification. No I did not nominate a solicitor to accept service of proceeding on my behalf. I was just emailed the details.

Thanks Ganymede, Will take proper advice re your commets. What is a Part 8? I was not personally served a schedule of costs as I do not live in the U.K and property has tenants in it. Claimants solicitor however emailed me this, which I never acknowledged or replied to: Please find enclosed by way of service upon you, copy Notice of Hearing, Claim Form, Witness Statement and Exhibits in support of the Claimants application. Kindly acknowledge receipt. Please also confirm an address for legal process as a matter of urgency.

Thanks debbbbsy, Will take your advice and ask for the Breakdown of the costs. Form 244 is yet to be submitted, part of what I'm working on with my Solicitor. Solicitor recommending first putting forward an offer of repayment to the Court to ensure no sale goes through then coming up with a yet to be defined strategy to appeal the Order for Sale. Method of achieving this is still not clear to me. If anyone has any suggestions I'm listening.

Hello, UPDTATE: Well Order for Sale was granted. Now speaking to solicitor re grounds for appeal. Well my solicitor recommends I do an offer to settle the debt. I also now have additional costs of £1,700 piled on by the claimants solicitor for the order for sale hearing! Please someone help me with advice. haven't spoken directly with the Barrister solicitor has contacted but this is making my head spin. We're now looking to appeal the Order for Slae udgement and I would welcome any comments, suggestions on the best way forward. Thank you.

Thanx Debbie, Not living in the UK an longer has also worsened things. Thank you for the response and legal arguments speaking to lawyers again 2mor morning and trying to make sense of things and way forward. Will update again then.

Anyone pls??

Hi and Thanks for the replys. Pls any other thoughts and advice most welcome.