bailiffs charges for recovery of non domestic rates

[lynnmoul]

hi,

can anyone help my son owed 163.19 in non domestic rates the bailiff came in december my son contacted the council who said they would send him written confirmation of how much he owed as he thought he was paid in full,he never recieved a letter and last friday another bailiff arrived at the house saying he had tp pay 374 pound by monday 18th march or they would take goods.My son has been to the council offices today and they said it was out of there hands now and in hands of rossendales.He rang them and asked how they had got to the amount of 374 and for a breakdown of charges and was told for the first visit it was 42.50 and the rest was for the second visit and a van for the goods is this legal i have read a few threads on this and i thought they could only charge for a van if they had put a levy on your goods which they have not ,they have not been over the doorstep also as my son lives with me and his dad can they take our goods can anyone tell me.

He has the money to pay for the bill now but the council would not accept it,he is even prepared to pay for the 2 visits from the bailiffs just not the 140 on top is he legally obliged to pay this.

thanks

[tiglet]

Hi

 

Ask them to put the breakdown of fees in writing as your son disputes how much they are owed and also ask for the bailiffs certification number and the court at which he was certified so that you can check this for yourself.

 

The council CAN take it back from the bailiff if they chose to - they are responsible for the actions of the bailiffs and if they have overcharged, your son has a good case for them taking this back.

 

If your son has the original sum, I would recommend he pays the council direct by internet or telephone banking, making sure he quotes his reference number. then it is purely the bailiff fees which are in dispute.

 

Post back when you have a complete breakdown of fees - you are correct that they cannot take possessions unless a WPA has been signed, so don't let them in and make sure all windows and doors are kept locked as they can gain lawful entry through an open door/window.

 

Has you son got a vehicle that they could possibly have levied on? If he has a vehicle, but they have not levied on it, I would suggest he does not keep it on the drive or park it near the house.

 

I would also telephone the council and say you wish to invoke their complaints procedure regarding the conduct of the council. If they refuse, advise them you will be involving the Local Government Ombudsman and do so.

 

let us know how you get on.

[lynnmoul]

My son had a small business which he had to close he thought his non domestic rates were all paid the first he knew they was not was when a bailiff turned up at our door he advised my son very nicely to go to the council which he did and they said they would look into the matter and write to him,he never heard anything until last friday when another bailiff arrived saying he now owed 374 and wanted it by 18th march she would not let him pay by installments it has to be paid in full.My son has been back to council who says they sent him 2 letters which we never recieved telling him he owed 163.19 he tried to pay them this amount in full but they said it was now only payable to rossendales.He rang rossendales and asked for a breakdown of the extra costs and was told it was 42.50 for the first bailiffs visit which would bring the amount to 205.69 and that for the second visit was a charge for the van to collect goods for which they could charge between 100-200 pound well they have charged 169 is this legal,after having read a few threads i thought they had to put a levy on goods before they could charge you,as my son lives with me and only has the bed he sleeps in and everything else other than his clothes is mine what can they do.

He is willing to pay the 163.19 and even for the two visits from the bailiffs but why the extra when there has been no levy put on anything they have not been over the doorstep can anyone please advise what he can do.

thanks

[tomtubby]

The fees are WRONG

 

These should be just £24.50 for a first visit to levy.

 

For removal fees to apply, a VALID levy MUST have been made, which it has not.

 

State very CLEARLY that you will NOT pay this charge and any attempt to do so will result in a complaint to the County Court for the bailiff who attends.

[lynnmoul]

hi,

Thanks for both replies very helpful need a little more help sorry.My son wants to pay the money 163.19 he owes to the council direct but has no reference number so cannot pay it online,he is also willing to pay for the two bailiff visits 42.50 but that is all.If we send a cheque to rossendales for the above two payments with a letter can you please tell me how we should word this.It must seem like we are a bit numb but this is the first time we have had to do anything like this and to be honest a little wary of what rossendales will do.We are very grateful to this forum for the help we have recieved from your replies and are now not as worried as we were at the start.

[lynnmoul]

Thanks very much i rang the council and manged to speak to the recovery officer on behalf of my son and they have accepted payment of the debt 163.19 plus two visits from the bailiff 42.50 and are calling the bailiffs off as they do not know anything about the extra charges for the van to remove goods even though there was no levy,they have asked that i send them a copy of the letter from the bailiff,to be honest the council could not have been nicer.I must honestly say that without the help on this forum my son would have been 170 out of pocket.

thankyou

[lynnmoul]

hi,

I just wanted to let you know that i rang the council on behalf of my son who have allowed me to pay the bill of 163.19 plus the bailiff visit fees of 42.50,my son tried to do this yesterday but they would not let him i think because he is only 19 they thought they could get away with it.They knew nothing of the other charges and ere quite annoyed about it and have asked me to post a copy of the letter to them with the extra charges and they are going to call the bailiff off.I cannot tell you what a relief this is for myself and my son and we could not have done any of this without yours and the forum help,keep up the good work.

thankyou

[tiglet]

You're more than welcome.

[elsinore]

Three threads merged.

 

lynnmoul, I know you were looking for urgent help but you really only need one thread for each subject.

 

Glad you got a good result.

 

Els

[tomtubby]

Dear Sirs,

 

Please find cheque enclosed in full and final settlement of the above account.

 

Could you please note that this cheque includes an additional amount of £42.50 to cover a "first and second visit to my premises with a view to levying distress" as prescribed under the The Council Tax Administration & Enforcement (Amendment) 1993.

Yours Faithfully.

[lynnmoul]

sorry about the amount of threads not been on a forum before,will know in the future but hoping i never have these sort of problems again.

[tiglet]

Don't worry lynnmoul - it's a really common mistake when you first join this forum - a lot of people do it. If you have a read here, it should give you a bit of an idea of how to go about things: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/welcome-consumer-forums/107001-how-do-i-dummies.html

 

If you browse the site, you may find there are other things we can help you or you can help others with. There are also the consumer health forums which are pretty good.

[lynnmoul]

hi again,

I thought all this was sorted bailiff been again even though the debt and the two bailiff charges have been paid,what do i do now she was really horrible demanded i opened door which i did not do she has put another letter through door to scared to pick it up as it is in vestibule what do i do next.

[lynnmoul]

i hope this is the last post about this ,the letter she posted said she would be back in 24 hours to sieze goods,my son rang the bailiff she apologised and said the account had now been closed and that they had only just been told.I showed the reciept to show the money had been paid and she just shrugged her shoulders at me it was only after she had gone and i rang the council to ring them and get it sorted did she back off.Why do people have to have so much hassle its not like it was even my debt it was my sons they really are monsters.Thanks for the great advice on this site.

[Tau]

Glad its finally all sorted now.

[Bigmac versus]

Threads merged