Hello, Been a member for a while but this is first post, please be gentle. Have got Rossendales chasing an old Lloyds account for about £3.5k. This is a very old debt, 10+yrs. I got rolled by Lloyds three times on three accounts, loan, cred card and overdraft when I was young and naïve. Didn't realise interest on interest on interest X3 but bank manager knew exactly what he was doing. Stitched me up like a kipper, no wonder he used to laugh like crazy when he was ringing me to tell me how he could save me £150 a month. paid a good part of it back but then decided to exact my revenge and say you've had enough out of me. No payments or contact on my part for 10+yrs. This debt has been passed around the block so many times I don't think there are many left for it to go to. Ignore, ignore, ignore has worked very well for me. Checked today on trust register, no ccj registered against me at present address 1.5yrs, previous address 9yrs and previous address to that 3yrs. Pretty much knew that anyway as credit rating appears to be in very good condition (haven't checked credit report though) Have thought that I could throw a CCA request at them but then I think your entering into dialogue with them #and like a jack Russell once they get a bite they don't let go. Am I best just continuing to ignore? I do reckon the letter is just a speculative fish. I'm looking for opinion please ref the statute barred aspect of this situ. Fact is that the debt is 10+yrs old with no payment or contact on my part on that basis I understand the debt is statute barred and there is no enforcement action anyone can take. So any DEO, DCA or bailiff that wants to call can go whistle. However, what would the situ be ref a high court writ? Can they apply for one? Is it possible one could be granted and is it possible a HCEO could turn up with a writ, walk in and start removing stuff even after all this time? Any advice please would be appreciated. Thanks

I have received a second letter today from Rossendales. I have a debt with Egg from 13 years ago which I thought was statute barred. Apparently it`s not as I made a payment of £20 in September 2010. Now they are asking for the sum of £1225. This has been taken over from Lowell. Rossendales have been asked to send me the original agreement and they have said they will this. Lowell have failed to supply me with the original agreement and I think as they could not get it they have sold the debt on. Any ideas on what I can do, should I pay up?

Hi guys. Back again for some PPC advice I've reached the Rossendales Collect stage that started with a speculative invoice from Excel a few months ago. Should I ignore? That always used to be the advice but is it still the case? I'm seeing more and more references to appeals and/or engaging in some form of correspondence. Something I'm loathe to do as I feel it gives these cowboys some sort of legitimacy.

A familiar story from the threads I've been reading, but ours has a twist that I hope someone can advise on. Over several years we claimed Working Tax Credits because my wife's full-time salary is low and for many years I was working on limited part time contracts or as a volunteer. Each year we submitted the forms to HMRC and they agreed we should receive WTC. At no point have we tried to withhold information or cheat the system and there had been no suggestion from them that we did - but they still claim to have overpaid us! In June/July 2013 we had two letters from 'Debt Management and Banking' at HMRC to advise that we had been paid too much tax credits. This was for period ended 2006, 2007 and 2009. We don't have any record of what we submitted in those years now. I called HMRC and the lady I spoke to agreed to put the matter on hold as I explained that I was chronically sick, on ESA and DLA, and that we were still receiving WTC due to our low joint income. The man I spoke to at HMRC today agreed that those notes were on the system but that they had carried out a review in June this year and passed the matter to debt collection. He says we should have had a letter, we've not had one. We would always respond to anything like that and get in touch to sort it out. I remember that I had made some notes last year, based on reading about WTC debt, where HMRC would write off such debt if a person was never going to work again through illness. I've no idea where those notes are now, possibly discarded after being on my desk for months. I've seen other threads where the advice is not to ring the DCA (I already knew that) and not to give them I&E information (I knew that too). What I can't do with is the stress of endless phone calls and letters, possibly callers to the door, while they attempt to make me pay. Yes, I know about sending them the 'do not call me' letter, but I'm already quite frantic about this and do not want to end up in hospital, or worse, through their activities. The many at HMRC refused to do anything other than insist I speak to the debt collectors. He seems to think that their one letter in June was the end of it, and as we didn't receive it we were blissfully unaware until Rossendales sent their letter. That's dated 24th July and gave us 7 days to pay in full, it only arrived on August 7th ! I have sent my MP the same information as above, to keep her informed of what's going on. In our situation we cannot afford to pay. We have told HMRC that previously and they accepted that, deferring the debt and saying I should contact them if I return to work. I explained last year that that was not going to be happening but she said she could not revoke it at that time. I was given the impression that they would contact me after 6 months to look at my circumstances again, but that didn't happen. We are still in receipt of WTC after sending in the annual claim form for 2014-5. That in itself should tell HMRC we cannot afford to repay ? Any suggestions ? My own thoughts would be to write to HMRC and go over the info above, the guy on the phone accepted what I said but told me that he could do nothing now it was in the hands of external debt collectors. I think that's rubbish.

Hello Everyone! I'm looking for a little advice regarding a friend and her council tax bill. She has received a letter from Rossendales 12 days ago and hasn't acted on it (she was originally going to ignore it as she is scared but i've convinced her how much more brutish Rossendales can be with council tax as opposed say a credit card bill). The bill is for just over £800. The letter she received is titled "Council tax notice of issue of liability order" The letter states that she can now only discuss the matter with Rossendales and not the council, Is this true? She is classed as a vulnerable person as she is a single parent of a 2yo. Can she phone the council and arrange a payment plan or can she only deal with Rossendales? What does a vulnerable person actually mean? What protection or rights is she entitled too? With regards Rossendales the letter states if she wants to set up a payment plan she needs to complete and return a questionnaire within 7 days, as mentioned previously it's been 12 so the questionnaire is out of the question. She can potentially afford £100 per month but she is in denial saying that this won't be enough for them. The letter states if she doesn't get in touch with them within 14 days then enforcement action will be taken. So hopefully I can help her resolve this in the next 2 days Any advice on what to do will be appreciated. regards James

Hello was wondering if someone could give me some advice, almost 1 year ago I move out of my old property owned by a housing association. It was the worst property I have ever been in and ended up falling behind with the rent payments once I had changed job. cutting a long story short I had to deal with rats, cockroaches and anti-social behaviour in that flat from neighbours and he housing association never bothered to help me. my debt was passed onto rossendales. I'm a single parent and totally freaked out when they sent me a letter saying court action would be used or bailiffs sent to take my belongings to pay the debt. So I started paying £20 a month. I was sorting through my old letters and came a cross my final statement from the housing association and realised that there is an extra £140 on my bill which I received from rossendales. I've contacted both the housing association and rossendales disputing this and I'm getting no where. The housing association are saying that's how much I owe and have just been contacting me through email and rossendales are still contacting me about the debt. What do I do? Keep paying them???

I succesfully beat Rossendales in the past thanks to this forum. A friend who has NEVER seen the bailiff nor let him in, has a letter saying they are coming tomorrow for £576 or removing goods. He is not techno savvy so I told him to ask for a breakdown to be sent to him. He phoned and asked for it over the phone but was told he cant have it as its electronic. He is really panicking and as it was a while since I beat them, I want to make sure all is as is. Am I still 100% correct that as they have not been in the house, no walking possession or anything, that there is nothing that they can do? I just want to make sure before I try and help him. Thanks

Hi I was hoping you could help? I have a Rossendale problem. I owed council tax from 2011 which I have paid all but £90.00 0f. As I had apparently an agreement with Rossendale to pay 40.00 a month. I actually paid what I could when I could and paid off nearly 700 quid. An agreement I do not recall but bailiff said I did, but I recall signing nothing. He visited me for the first time today and did not enter the house. But asked for an agreement to be set up over next few days. The bill he gave me was for £325.00. I proved to him via bank statements etc. that I owe only £90.00 But he is claiming default of payment arrangements due to new legislations. So I threw back that if I owe below £100.00 bailiffs are not supposed to visit houses which he checked with his office and turned out to be true. Do I have to pay the £325.00? Which seems a bit steep for apparently missing a payment. He quoted a whole lot of new legislation stuff at me which I do not understand. I have to resolve this payment in a few days. I have not had a court letter or let a bailiff in my home and neither did he ask to come in. He was quite polite but I still think the extra money on top of the £90.00 I owe is obscene seeming I have battled to pay off £700. I am struggling financially so this is not peanuts to me. It just seems odd that I was nearly finished paying this damn bill and now its nearly half of what I owed in the first place. The payment plan that was apparently set up does not include a list of items from my house as today was the first time I have seen a bailiff regarding this bill. The last letter they sent me was 4th September 2013 Yet he has tried fobbing me off that he has sent later letters and phoned my mobile. Which is rubbish as I don`t own one!. He also tried to fob me off with a rude comment that I apparently have a history of failed payments earlier due to failed credit payments which is also untrue as I have all the bank statements that show payment going out in black and white. I don`t know my rights on this, do I have anyway I can get this bill down? Any help grateful. Kind regards all.

Hi, found your site while frantically searching around looking for answer to my problems, I'm literally going out of my mind with worry here Sorry its a long post but please I beg that can somebody help me! I owed a little on my council tax (£81) for some time, but I paid £100 at the Council offices 2 weeks ago thinking it was cleared... Now, a little back story Up until July last yr I was claiming Job Seekers Allowance, although Ive not worked since 1999 because of my physical health, Im registered as disabled and receive higher rate mobility DLA. Well I'd felt pressured into trying to find work by the people at the job centre who put me on a work programme late 2012, which caused further degradation of my physical health. At the end of July I became really ill with my health, and also mental health problems, depression, agoraphobia, etc.. I went to my doctor who prescribed anti-depressants, these were unsuitable and made me MUCH worse, to the point where I became so ill I didnt leave the house for months, I wasnt cleaning up and looking after myself properly, its embarassing to admit. The pain from my disability also becasme so bad that I was taking a tonne of codeine every day (also prescribed) which combined with the adverse effects form the antidepressants resullted in me being well, not quite there. I stopped taking medication in September and eventually my self-awareness returned, but physically I am still very very ill. I am still suffering from depression. My JSA lapsed, and becuas e of my state of mind and health I didnt speak to them or make any claims, I continued to receive my dla and hosuing benefit so was just surviving but not able to leave the house or do anything. This limited money was enough to pay the rent, some of which i had to pay from my dla, and pay for basic shopping, some gas, etc. I could NOT afford to pay anything towards my Council Tax, and also had to borrow a lot of money from family just to survive My health did not improve at all between then and now, and only in April 2014 did I get myself together enough to make a claim for ESA. I wasnt opening my mail for a long time, yes very stupid I know, but I felt so low that I didnt care about the outside world at all. When I finally checked through it about 3 weeks ago there were several leters from Rossendales, first from 6th MARCH, each with increasing amounts. Two weeks ago I paid £100 direct to my account at the Council Offices, more than the £81 I owe just to cover next payment too, to show them I'm not deliberately avoiding paying. But TODAY I recieved another letter from ROSSENDALES, saying I still owe the same amount plus more fees, and they are coming to remove my goods in 2 DAYS TIME unless i pay them in full in the next 24 hours! Also a letter came yesterday from another bailiff EQUITA demanding a different amount (according to my paperwork its the 2012-2013 amount from when I was sharing a different property with a friend, I thought they had paid, as I gave them money towrd it at the time). They have also added fees on too. I was starting to improve but now I feel like I'm going to spiral into a deep depression again, I can barely cope with daily life and this is likely to tip me over the edge. Thanks in advance

Hi, I wonder if anyone could please give me some advice. Back in March I was visited twice by a bailiff for council tax debt. There were 2 smallish fees added to the amount owed each time. I told the bailiff I would not let him in and Rossenadales would not accept the amount I could afford to pay each month. I wanted it sent back to the council. I don't own any vehicle for him to take. I am visiting CAB tomorrow to see if they can help with this. Last week he came back I ignored the door but the letter he put through the door had the new fee of around 200 and the previous fees had been removed. Which would be the correct fees please? Can he just remove the original fees and apply the new ones? Also I know the law has changed regarding bailiffs since April. Can they now force entry for council tax debts? Last time I spoke to the bailiff he said they would be able to use a locksmith once the new laws were in place. I am very worried about this. Thanks for any help

Hello Please can you advise me. I received a letter through the door from Rossendales regarding payment of arrears in council tax in early April. I then contacted the man to arrange to pay via instalments. I am already in a debt management plan. Whilst I still own the property and the debt is mine, I no longer live there as I work and live in Glasgow. I arranged to come to Peterborough to meet the gentleman to sign the installment papers but he called me the day before to say that new legislation was coming in which would change the amount of fees they could charge so he wouldn't come around, he would leave the papers through the door and I should sign then amd send them in and it would be under old fee arrangement. I filled in the papers and send them but did not send them recorded delivery. I also paid him £50. Some weeks went by and I then tried to get in touch with him to see what was happening. In the meantime a final notice arrived. I tried to call, I texted. I asked for email address to provide a copy of what I had sent off. I have now received another final notice. I got hold of the bailliff and he said it was too late, I had to pay the full amount - which has gone up from 440 to 748. I explained that I couldn't, he said he would have to remove goods. I explained that I don't live there anymore. He said tough he would still go around there. I called Rossendales office and offered to pay £200 today and then £100 per month until debt is cleared. They refused. They told me to phone the bailliff again. What can I do? I want to get on with settling the bill but cannot settle it all at once. It is impossible. Can they enter the house when I am not there? Can they take stuff not belonging to me but to the people that stay there? I'm sure they can't but I heard that the onus of proof can be established at a later stage once they have removed stuff. The people that are there work late hours and there is a child at the property - can they force their way in? Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

I received a letter today from Rossendales regarding a £500 debt I owe the legal aid agency. Considering my case was only last week they've been fast off the mark. The case concerned an appeal in Manchester which I was unsuccessful. I live in Scotland. I have two questions: Does the LLA or Rossendales have any authority in imposing this charge as I live in Scotland and we do not have bailiffs? If forced to pay what is the minimum I can pay per month? I have no intention of sending details of my personal finances to Rossendales. I have no contacted anyone yet but I am aware not to contact anyone by phone. Thanks in advance for any advice.

On the 19th March this year I had a letter from Rossendales Debt Collection about unpaid fees to HM Revenue & Customs. I was aware of the unpaid fees since I tried earlier to settle the debt with Revenue & Customs themselves without any luck. So they sent it to Rossendales. I was dealing with another debt collector a few years ago regarding a debt to my bank and that went very smooth. They accepted my proposal of payment (monthly installments) and the debt was paid off. So I thought it would be just as easy this time. But I was wrong. I sent them proof of income, my expenditure and a proposal to pay £10 per month. The reply from them came today in the form of a threat of legal proceedings if I don't pay in full now. There was no reply regarding the letter I sent them and they treated my offer like it didn't exist. What do I do? If they ignore my offers should I continue making them or should I contact HM Revenue & Customs about the debt again? I don't understand why HM Revenue & Customs won't accept instalments. They, if anyone, know exactly what my earnings are and must be aware that I can't pay these fees all at once. Thank you in beforehand for any help and advice. C.

Hi, I am new on here so I am not sure if I am in the right place. I had a bailiff from Rossendales come to my door a couple of weeks ago and he then came back last week . He told me he had 3 liability orders totalling £695.50 and he added on £42.50 which on the paper he wrote on came to £738.00. I told him I was on a debt management plan so he left the paper work with me to sort out with my management company and the Rossendales's office. I have just gone onto Rossendales website to make a payment to find that they have added another £85.00 onto the amount. I rang them only to be told that £42.50 had been added to each separate amount due . I told them I would not pay the extra £85.00 and this smart mouthed lad told me I would have even more charges if I do not pay the extra amount. I can not understand how they can put all the amounts together on an official piece of paper and then add extra amounts on after . A levy was never made he never came into my house as my dog made sure of that. I am disabled and live on my own. My question is can they put all this extra money on after I have been given an amount ? I am fuming and the smart mouthed lad had better not cross me again. Thank you for any help given in advance

I've just had a telephone call from 01706833772, the guy on the other end sounded like he was from a foreign call centre. He asked was I Miss * to which I reluctantly said I was. He then blasted in to say he was from Rossendales and he was calling regarding an outstanding debt and wanted me to confirm my details for data protection. I told him I have no debt and will not be confirming any details over the phone, I then hung up. I'm fuming that whoever it is has managed to get my mobile number and I have no idea what they are ringing for. I'm now left stressed out and worrying that some big bully are going to come harassing me on the doorstep. I have no idea what they want. Any advice greatly received.

Hi, we've just had the second visit in as many weeks from Rossendales. My partner DID let the man in last week whilst getting him our contact number. He said he was writing things down but did not ask for a signature, just left a letter for me and today he hand delivered another letter. He did knock but I only just heard it and he waited no time. I have dealt with them before and youll understand my reluctance to start again with them, my financial situation is pretty dire ATM and know that I could offer nothing that they would accept, let alone the initial payment they wanted even last week.. Is it still possible to pay the council direct or do they now have right to gain access and take my goods, not that that would cover my debt which in all honesty isnt that big but I have no goods of any worth!

Hi All. I got behind on my CT, and had a lovely visit from Rossendales. I managed to agree to payment plan with them. I paid the first 2 payments as agreed, but my third payment was £60 instead of the agreed £100. Last month they turned up again. They said that if I didn't pay the remaining balance, which was £220 plus £120 for defaulting on my agreement and another visit charge. They would force entry into my home, via a lock smith. I have paid up the full amount now. But should I have been charged £120 for defaulting. And do they have the right to threaten to force entry for CT?

Hi i am currently receiving letters off a bailiff company called rossendales for my council tax arrears totaling approx £1200. At the bottom of my latest letter they say they will force entry to my home, can they do this? Also i have spoken to them on the phone with an offer to pay £15 per week which they refused and asked me to send proof of income, this was november 2013. I have had no reply off them until my latest letter which was hand posted 3 days ago. Any advice would be much appreciated

Had a good job, career, home, money, etc. Then had a prolonged period of inactivity, debts piled up, not opening letters, spiral of anxiety and stress. blah, blah. Now, for past year or so, been earning, and getting back on feet. Looking to start paying back, and deal with all my debts. Have done as much due diligence as I can, and need some pointers. I have a number of creditors, with debts totalling around 45K. Have been paying token payments of £1 to most, some more. Looking to get StepChange advice and help. But also need some idea of full and final offers to really motor down the debts. So, as a starter, here are some of my most pressing questions: 1: I am having difficulty filling in my Income and Expenditure, as my income fluctuates. (I am working freelance, as am probably too old to be employed by a company.) I am wary of entering payment schedule and failing. Prefer to keep paying token amounts, then offer surplus every 6 months or so. Would creditors go for this? 2: I understand the first step may be to get CCAs from my creditors. Are there any downsides to asking for CCAs? Would creditors sense that I am trying to wriggle out, and go for asking for more, or get heavy-handed? 3: Are CCAs only for debt companies, or even the Originating creditor? (some of my debts have been off-loaded to debt-companies.) 4: What is the purpose of SARs? How does that help me? I understand they might be for finding penalty fees, etc? I know I accrued a lot when I couldn't pay any amounts when I started my downhill slide. 5: When offering Full and Finals, do I go for the biggest first? 6: I have been sold from one debt-company to another on some debts, I dont know what I am paying for on some of the payments!! Can I just phone them up and ask where the original debt comes from? (I have signed up with noddle, and got my list of creditors and credit file, so I have a starting point. I have been reading this forum for a few days, and have built up some knowledge, and seen how helpful this site can be. I would like to ask for some help in taking the first steps for an eventual bright future. PS: would it be ok to list my debts (with some fudging to protect myself) as a starting point?

Hi everyone just new to this site and hoping you can help me out I have a liabilty order for approx £500 unpaid council tax from a couple of years I have had two arrangements with the council to pay it off in instalments i have defaulted on both of them ( I know I have been stupid ) I then had a change of employment with consideribily less money the council handed this to Rossendales I then had an arrangement with them which again I have defaulted on reason being all of my wages pay the mortgage and we live on my wifes part time job wages which is not a lot. Yesterday Monday night my wife went upstairs and brought a letter that had been posted through the door no knock or ring of the bell saying I now owe £642.30 which needs to be paid in full and he will collect in 24 hours its now Tuesday and he has not been I am past my self with worry and me and the wife as you imagine are not exactly on speaking terms I was reading threads that said the council will take the debt back I phoned them up today and and pleaded my case and spoke to the recovery section and they are not moving just saying contact the baliff direct I have nothing and he wants the lot in full. One thing the council did tell me was they had a levy charge they have never been in the house and they wont get in all I can think ov is the first time he came he spoke to my wife who was getting into my daughters car they must have put a levy on but all the bailiff told my wife was to contact him also they told me there was a van charge I was sitting watching tv no van pullef up and he must of sneaked up the drive as not to be seen to post that letter

I defaulted on a walking possession agreement with Rossdales for unpaid Council Tax. They arrived today to remove goods stating that i must pay £896.87 or they would remove goods. The goods listed are Sharp 40" tv 2 Seater Fabric sofa Zoostorm Desktop Pc

Hi guys need some advice just received a warrant of execution today from rossendales for an alledged offence for contravening a bus lane. This all started back in june 2013 when I received a court letter from the Northampton county court "statutory declaration " which I filled in stating I had never had a prior notification from the council regarding this alledged offence, I then signed it in front of a solicitor, a few weeks later I then received a letter back from northampton court stating that the order for recovery of unpaid charge be revoked, and then today receive a warrant of execution from rossendales, can anyone guide me on this one many thanks in advance iv upload the letters I received from both the court and rossendales..

Hi i received a letter a couple of week's ago from Rossendales Collect so i contacted them through email asking what the debt was for which i got a reply today with the date the debt was for which was May 15th 2004. I know that would make it statue barred for sure. on reading further down letter i got today it state's i made a payment in 2009 which i can't recall doing so. i contacted them again asking if they can provide prove of where the payment was made. The thing i am asking is did i do the right thing or not as not sure if they would lie in a letter with date on which payment was made or not? And if there's any way i can find out my credit file for free as lack of money to pay anthing?

Namaste All.... I had a visit from the good people of Rossendales. ..well their bailiff actually. ..nice chap, very pleasant etc. ..He gave me some paperwork to fill in regarding my council tax bill which was about £1500....give or take. I filled in the required paperwork showing income and expenditure, indicating that I could only afford £30 per month repayment, and mailed it off to them. The reply I got was that they would only accept £400 per month. ..totally unacceptable. I got in touch again and said that they could take the goods to the value.. ..which was the proposition on the bailiffs paperwork ...they REFUSED it. ..turned me down...LOL. I have a brand new range cooker in my hallway, retail value of about £1600 and they could have had that with pleasure. ..they would have been doing me a favour by taking it...still they refused. They suggested that I redo and revise my paper work and resubmit it...which I did yesterday. They have now decided to go to my employer and take from my earnings 5%. ...and guess what that comes to????.. .£30. ..yes £30 ...the amount I offered in the first place. What a convoluted way of going about things!.. .I howled with laughter on the phone to them not so long ago, asking which genius worked that one out...ROFL I just had to see the funny side of this...because I knew there was one... I am not belittling anyone else's dealings with Rossendales ...and do not want to come across as such.. .What tickled me was the way that they could not deal with anything "outside of the box". They seem to have off pat answers that are scripted. I think I broke the mould that day. Another plan that I came up with was this.. ..The bailiff did not actually see my goods that he wanted to take if the money was not paid.. .but we came up with a kitchen table, a small TV a chest of drawers, a tumble dryer and a 3 piece suit. I got on to my local "Freecycle" website and began collating the items that he had agreed to ...the idea behind this was that he could have the goods that we had agreed.. .they would of course be courtesy of "Freecycle" In theory the debt would be paid off once they went to auction and I would still have my furniture etc. ..but, as I said earlier. ..Rossendales did not want my furniture.. .or the range cooker that I offered.. .and they have ended up with the amount that I offered in the first place. ..If they had said yes 3 weeks ago we would not have had this hassle. ..LOL Regards TDMJ xxx Namaste

Hi, I need some help. I last had the bailiff from rossendales in August, for non payment of council tax, I rang them as at the time I was working away. He did not access the property. He has returned on Thursday 14th November, posting another letter through my door, stating goods will be removed from my property, I called him on Friday and all his answer was they want the full amount, or he be removing the goods. I have said I dont have the money, and he will not accept this and asked me to call tomorrow (monday) to discuss further. He has had no access to my property, so there for I have signed nothing, I have only spoke to him on the phone. I did point out that he was last at my property in August I have had no contact since. What is the best way to do this, I cant afford to pay anything till end of month when I am paid, will I pay direct to Council? Shall I email council? I know I cant dispute the council tax and know it needs to be paid. Thanks