urgent help/advise needed (swift credit services) council tax

[plonkatronix]

please can anyone help/advise me i am going round in circles with my council & the debt collector both refusing to help me set up an affordable payment plan!! I owe £880 for 2010 council tax.

 

swift credit services have advised me they want payment in full within 7 days now i am on an income (with defecit of £900 a month) & cant pluck £880 out of thin air! I have been advised BY THEIR BAILIFF that he'd accept payments (over 8 months) that would be all he could do!!! but i still can not afford this & he would also want me to sign a walk in possession order (or something like that)

 

can you PLEASE tell me where i go from here anyone i am desperate & have a 14 week old baby & a 5 year old

[wonkeydonkey]

Hi and welcome to cag.

 

Lets start with basic advice...under no circumstances allow the bailiff to enter your home and sign nothing, this is regardless of any threats he may make about having you imprisioned , take your children into care, break in etc etc etc the list of fairy tales they have to tell is a mile long.

 

Work out exactly what you can reasonably afford each week and then start to make regular payments direct to the Council via their online payment system make absolutely sure you reach a figure that is affordable and sustainable to your circumstances as you must make the payments without fail every week.

 

With pen and paper at the ready contact your Council and ask:

 

1 - how much the Liability Order was for

2 - how much is still outstanding - if you know how much you have paid the Bailiff the difference may be revealing

3 - what period of time the LO covers

4 - the date they passed it to the Bailiff

 

When you get that info call back here and you will get help to write to both Council and Bailiffs. If this is the first visit you have had you currently owe the Bailiff £24.50 for his fees and not a penny more, he will without doubt return and therefore he is allowed to add a further £18 for that visit.

 

If you have a car then get it out of sight or sell it to a friend/relative register the change of ownership with the DVLA and get a receipt for the car. Bailiffs are partial to a car for a levy, for it gives them the chance to bump up fees and is as good as a ransom letter.

WD

[ploddertom]

Is it possible you can explain a bit more about your present circumstances. How long has this been going on for?

 

PT

[plonkatronix]

Hiya love thanks for your help you are wonderful

 

1 - how much the Liability Order was for £880.06

2 - how much is still outstanding - if you know how much you have paid the Bailiff the difference may be revealing (not paid nothin yet)

3 - what period of time the LO covers 1st april 2010 1st april 2011

4 - the date they passed it to the Bailiff 13th december 2010

 

is this the information required?

[wonkeydonkey]

Is this the figure the Council say is owed or is it the figure the bailiff says is owed?

[plonkatronix]

all the details above were provided to me today (by the council)

[wonkeydonkey]

address FTO ( look him/her up on your councils web site and get a name)CEO of Council.

 

Dear Sir

 

With regard to the above account xxxxxx Council along with xxx bailiffs appear to have created an "Impasse" for it is such that neither xxxCouncil or xxxx bailiffs seem to be interested in collecting the outstanding Council Tax to the sum of £880.06 other than at a rate that is not affordable to me.

 

It is not that I do not wish to discharge this debt, for indeed I have made it a priority to try and reach an agreement to make repayments but unfortunately I have been prohibited in doing so by unyielding parties.

 

Therefore, you will find attached an income and expenditure report that will confirm I am unable to meet the unrealistic repayment schedule in question and, I outline my intention to move this matter forward and commence making payments directly to xxx Council at the affordable and sustainable rate of xxx per week/month commencing on xxx xxx.

 

That xxx bailiffs have made but one visit to my home address I have been given to understand I have an added fee of £24.50 to which I am liable, having outlined my intention to make all future payments direct to xxx Council I would expect they inform xxx bailiffs they have no reason to make further visits and subsequently no further fees are to be added.

 

Yours.

[plonkatronix]

sorry to be/soundcompletely thick but what/who are FTO ( look him/her up on your councils web site and get a name) CEO of Council.?

sorry & thank you for your advice its greatly appreciated

[ploddertom]

Maybe it should have read FAO - For the Attention of Chief Executive Officer of the Council.

 

PT

[drew123]

hi

i was in a very simular situation on monday and was also desperate, and waiting by my comp for anyone to answer,

 

all i can say is what happened to me but i am dealing with a different council and bailifs,

 

firstly as everone on here will tell you move your car and don't let them in ,

then the only thing my councill would listen to is a debt manager from your local citizens advice so call them and get an immediate appointment ,

 

i was in there yesterday for hours,then call your local council and ask to speak to your CEO this is chief executive ,

i didn't get to speak to him but i spoke to his secretary and she helped,

 

i was also advised to call my councillor which i did,i had three one helped ,1 didn't the other was ill,

 

so basically i have gone from not getting anywhere with anybody, a very aggresive bailif coming for a £1000 on friday or taking my car ,

to the head of the council tax calling off the bailiffs until i have had a meeting with a debt advisor from cab tomorrow morning ,

then they will come to some manageable arrangement hopefully

 

my heart goes out to you it has been a terrible week for me,

everone will recomend writing and even give you examples of what to write ,

this is great if you have the time ,

 

i had four days so found phoning direct and emailing the faster option for me ,

 

but basically i don't think they will believe that you can't afford payments unless they hear it from cab then they have to ,

 

good luck

[wonkeydonkey]

Maybe it should have read FAO - For the Attention of Chief Executive Officer of the Council.

 

PT

 

Thanks PT it should of course have been FAO and I apologise if I confused the OP

[plonkatronix]

Hi all still battling with the dreaded bailiffs (as was awaiting a reply from them) & how funny after sending them a letter stating i know my rights etc they have no offered Me to set up a payment plan without a bailiff coming to my house (but they want £77 a month)!!! now been as my partner is off sick at the moment so we only getting sick pay that is a hell of a lot of money!!! please advise!

 

thanks & hope you're all well

[ploddertom]

Who do you want to pay?

 

The Bailiff

Who wants a stupid amount of money and will make life difficult for you at every opportunity

 

The Council

You don't need their agreement, you pay via their website or automated phone at a rate that is affordable to you, but you must pay a regular amount at a regular time - £10 per week every Thursday for example. Yes it also upsets the Bailiff but so what. You may also have to remember that the Council may also pay the bailiff his fees so you may need to budget for that.

 

Do you have any idea of what the Bailiffs have charged you so far? If not you should send off and ask for a breakdown of their charges.

 

PT

[Tingy]

Please take note of PT. Don't pay the bailiffs one penny whatever they say or claim - they lie! Pay online or via telephone automated payment. Ignore the bailiffs (easier said than done I know) and deal with the council. Don't expect any joy from the front desk people, they will tell you that you have to deal with the bailiffs which is rubbish!

 

Please do as he says - I've dealt with loads of these this year and the bailiff has never had a penny at the end of the day. They come unstuck very easily as they lie instinctively and make up their charges. Let them. You then use this against them to kill them off.

[dx100uk]

agreed

 

get a letter off to the bailiff co asking for a screenshot too

 

how many times have they visited BTW?

 

dx

[wonkeydonkey]

Hi

 

Did you send the letter above?

Have you made any payments in the meantime to show good will?

 

Pay them direct and if they decide to take matters further you can show both Bailiff and the Council as having been exceptionally inept to seeking a resolve.

 

 

WD

[night-watchman]

You will find many threads on here where people have set up payment plans with bailiffs and after a few months they suddenly default (not by the debter I add) and then you are loaded with more fictional fees. Pay direct to the council. If the council say they cannot take payments ask for a letter confirming that they are refusing payments from you to clear the debt.

[dx100uk]

pay direct by internet banking 'something' using their details on the back of any ctax bill

they cannot refuse it that way.

 

dx

[plonkatronix]

i have sent them a tax credit template letter in the thread about council tax & bailiffs i am happy to pay whoever will take a lower payment i can not afford £70+ a month for an £800 debt & we're £2400 in arrears with our rent & have debts coming out of our ears no we havent payed any money as good will as moment as we just simpl have no money & the council are still refusing to help us with our rent etc so not only dealing with this have got a headfull of it all at the moment!!

 

I just dont know what to do next as the bailiffs letter states that they spoke to the council & the council are not awilling to accept the amount that i can afford but will accept (double it) i offered £35 a month & they want £70+ we only get ESA at moment & child tax credits

[wonkeydonkey]

start paying them £5 a week if thats within your means...they can argue til the cows come in for milking but...at the end of the day they cannot get what you do not have....and this bailiff is only increasing the debt..plenty of arguments to be made yet.

 

It is very very important you pay something then they cannot declare you as a "won't pay" and take action to get an arrest warrant.

 

Pay them online or via telephone banking..

 

WD

[ploddertom]

Please be aware that a lot of letters from Bailiffs are written on paper supplied by A*d*ex!

 

PT

[plonkatronix]

right so i start paying them £5 a week now? i can do that today! but the bailiff's was payment by 10th of £70+ do i send them another letter? if so what & what do i send to council?

 

i so really appreciate your time & help am just so scared & at a loss finding it so hard to get motivated & my poor kids at least they got all the love in the world!!

[hallowitch]

yes make the payment on-line to the council today

 

get your MP involved at the end of the day they cant get blood out a stone there is not point in agreeing to an amount that you cant afford because you will default at the first hurdle and end up right back where you are now

[plonkatronix]

right i have paid £5 to the online payment site what do i do now?

[Tingy]

I agree. You need to get your MP involved and also possibly go to CAB to see what they have to say. Although this site can give you as much help as we can, there is only so much we can do at the end. Sometimes it's best to get the official bodies involved.