Swift Baliffs - Council tax

[brucetta]

I don't know if this is the right place to post but I don't know what else to do.

 

I have been away for a few days visiting my parents and when I returned I found I had a letter from Swift dated the 13th August for a council tax liability at my previous address for £575.14 as this was the first letter I had recieved for this amount (I had previously recieved a letter from Swift for a debt of £70 for the same council tax which I paid). I have had no chance to do anything about it since yesterday evening when I arrived back and so recieved a knock on the door at just before 9am this morning from the baillif which I did not answer as I was in the shower - I further £22.50 has been added to this now.

 

I immediatley contacted Swift to make an offer of payments which was rejected - they offered me payments of £199 which is not even close to what I can afford which I explained to them. As they could offer me no solutions I rung the bailiff who had left a letter and he said that the best he could do would be £85 a month which again is about double what I can afford.

 

I am willing to accept that the debt is most probably mine although I have no proof or letters from the council - I moved out over 2 years ago.

 

Any advice as to what I should do now would be greatly appreciated - as I cannot afford what they are offering and don't want further Bailiff visits.

 

Many thanks

[ploddertom]

You need to speak to someone at the Council and ask the following questions:

1 - how many Liability Orders they have against you

2 - the dates they were obtained

3 - the addresses they were for

4 - the period of time each covers

5 - how much each one was for

6 - how much is still outstanding

7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement

8 - the dates & amounts of any payments

[i hate bailiffs]

as this is a old council tax debt it is a non priority,stay off the phone to bailiffs

 

you can pay this direct to the council at a rate YOU can afford

 

keep bailiffs out deny them a levy and will be not alot they can do if you have a car move it away for the time being

there is no right of entry for bailiffs you do not have to speak with them

do not let them in bailiffs lie and have no powers

[wonkeydonkey]

Start by getting the info suggested by PT then post back here....It is fact there is no law to say you have to deal or even speak with bailiffs...they are prone to lies and exaggeration of their powers...do not answer the door to them and above all else do not invite them or take anything they say to be gospel...They do not need to use the loo or water to take medication, they do not need to contact their office on your landline...they cannot force entry with or without a locksmith and police attendance, they cannot arrest you, and they cannot put your grannie into care..if you have a car registered in your name then for now I suggest you park it some distance from your house, if you have a garden that has expensive furniture on view then get it under lock and key...remove anything they can levy upon and with doors and windows secure they are helpless. Until we can gather all the facts you will need to adopt a siege like mentality...but you have taken the first good direction to sorting it all by finding CAG.

 

WD

[brucetta]

I emailed Swansea Council with the above questions as I couldn't get through by phone and this is the response I had:

 

The balance outstanding is in respect of the Council Tax due for ......

The council tax records show that you were liable for council tax at that address for the period 14/09/09 to 05/08/10.

 

The council tax due for the period 14/09/09 to 31/03/10 was £553.14. Payment of £276.14 was received on 09/01/10 leaving an outstanding balance of £277.00

 

The Council Tax due for the period 01/04/10 – 31/03/11 was £1058.05

 

As no further payments were made, a Liability Order was issued at Swansea Magistrates Court on 08/07/10 for the total balance of £1405.05 (including £70.00 court costs). This balance was subsequently reduced to £715.14 due to you vacating the property on 05/08/10 and also by a payment being made on 08/01/10 of £276.14.

 

The balance of £715.14 was passed to Swifts Credit Services Limited for collection on 14/02/11 and you paid £70.00 on 7/03/11 and a further £70.00 on 26/04/12 reducing the balance outstanding to £575.14.(excluding any fees incurred to Swifts Credit Services Limited)

 

My car is not parked immediatley outside the house and I still have 6 months left to finish paying it off. I was tempted to phone the Bailiff back and accept the £85 a month as this is much less than Swift were willing to pay even though I cant really afford it. However I am worried that he will only be able to set up this if I let him in!

 

What should I do now? Is there anyway of getting them to accept less a month?

Edited August 21, 2012 by brucetta

[brassnecked]

brucetta as a matter of urgency edit your last post to remove address details, bailiffs do come a snoopin on here sometimes, so any personal identifiers need to be removed

 

BN

[i hate bailiffs]

why are you trying to make arrangements to pay the bailiff????????????

 

pay council direct

 

don't phone bailiff unless you happy to pay made up fees line his pockets make him righer and be taken in by his lies

[brucetta]

Because they turned up at my door today and I didn't know what else to do and still don't.

 

Can I make an offer of payments to the council? What if they don't accept?

 

Is there any reason they would have taken the two payments of £70 without any mention of the full fee?

[i hate bailiffs]

you can pay the money direct to council online using correct reference number

 

if you phone them they will probably have the same script they read from "you have to deal with the bailiffs" you don't

 

if you can start making regular payments to council it is a old debt therefore non priority

 

bailiffs have no right of entry and no powers they lie and make up fees

 

some will say there will be bailiff fees to pay if you chose to pay them do so direct to council

 

see the powers of a bailiff here http://youtu.be/OhpsIyNVwwM