Marstons - £2300 Council Tax - They wont accept payment plan

[matt12345]

Hi

 

Backstory;

 

Jan 2010- December 2011 Council tax bill

 

My ex partner and I did not keep up with payments, towards august 2011 the council tax apparently took us to court. We tried repaying but failed several times.

 

We split up, the council tax is in my name and i have the full debt to pay.

 

I keep failing repayments. In the past 10 months i've repaid £600 but the amount i owe just keeps getting higher as they are adding £114 attendance fees and other fees constantly.

 

They sent another letter recently after i failed to repay again and stated i need to contact them as this is the final warning and they will remove goods. I live with my mother.

 

I called the Marston office and was told that they require full payment and will not accept the £200 i offered them to get back on a payment plan.

 

They said that the agent who was dealing with my account has now left the company and no agent is attached to the account so unless i pay in full now i will simply have to wait for an agent to pickup the account. I asked if they could give me a call and they said the agent cant call you and i will need to wait for them to attend the house again. I know this will only incur more fees. I can't cope with the fees they keep adding and all i want now is a payment plan which i can stick to but they refuse.

 

I asked Marstons to place a note on my account to ask the agent to call me first to arrange, but ive had no call as of yet.

 

What should i do? They just keep adding fees constantly.

 

I've failed the payment plan so many times now that im scared they will simply remove goods even when im offering them some money.

[matt12345]

I just realised that my mum has a car outside her home, what if they think it is my car and clamp it? Can they do that?

[sgtbush]

if the car is your mums then they cannot take it, but be prepared to prove the car belongs to your mum with the V5C log book and a bill of sale to prove legal ownership

 

regarding the repayment plans, unfortunatly Marstons do not have to accept any payment plan

[matt12345]

if the car is your mums then they cannot take it, but be prepared to prove the car belongs to your mum with the V5C log book and a bill of sale to prove legal ownership

 

regarding the repayment plans, unfortunatly Marstons do not have to accept any payment plan

 

So what can i do??? Why can't they accept payment? Seriously what do i do?

[sgtbush]

if you read the council tax bill it states that the council tax is payable in full at the start of the year but the council will let you pay in 10 instalments, or words to that effect

 

therefore that is why the council will be wanting all arrears paid, and this years paid

 

personal circumstances come into play, is their anyone living with you with serious health issues, disabilitys , pregnancy or just had a baby?

you could always pay direct to the council via online, they will take the payment but the bailiffs will still chase you

you really need to try to offer a large chunk off the total for the bailiffs to have an instalment plan put in place

go see them in the CAB

[matt12345]

if you read the council tax bill it states that the council tax is payable in full at the start of the year but the council will let you pay in 10 instalments, or words to that effect

 

therefore that is why the council will be wanting all arrears paid, and this years paid

 

personal circumstances come into play, is their anyone living with you with serious health issues, disabilitys , pregnancy or just had a baby?

you could always pay direct to the council via online, they will take the payment but the bailiffs will still chase you

you really need to try to offer a large chunk off the total for the bailiffs to have an instalment plan put in place

go see them in the CAB

 

I live with my mum, she is healthy. I rent a room that doesn't have many possessions in.

 

I don't have the money in my account to repay a large chunk. To me a large amount is the £200 i offered to pay.

 

What do you mean see them in the CAB?

[matt12345]

Guys please i need some advice on what i should do.

[sgtbush]

go to the citizens advice beuro for help with debt problems

[TB Law]

Matt, you make a formal complaint in writing to the council because attending fee charged b y the bailiff is only appliocable when the bailiff has a valid levy over your goods and at your own address. A valid levy is not possible in your case because your post says you have split and you may be living with your mum. Her car is quite safe.

[wonkeydonkey]

Hi

 

Backstory;

 

Jan 2010- December 2011 Council tax bill

 

My ex partner and I did not keep up with payments, towards august 2011 the council tax apparently took us to court. We tried repaying but failed several times.

 

We split up, the council tax is in my name and i have the full debt to pay.

 

I keep failing repayments. In the past 10 months i've repaid £600 but the amount i owe just keeps getting higher as they are adding £114 attendance fees and other fees constantly.

 

They sent another letter recently after i failed to repay again and stated i need to contact them as this is the final warning and they will remove goods. I live with my mother.

 

I called the Marston office and was told that they require full payment and will not accept the £200 i offered them to get back on a payment plan.

 

They said that the agent who was dealing with my account has now left the company and no agent is attached to the account so unless i pay in full now i will simply have to wait for an agent to pickup the account. I asked if they could give me a call and they said the agent cant call you and i will need to wait for them to attend the house again. I know this will only incur more fees. I can't cope with the fees they keep adding and all i want now is a payment plan which i can stick to but they refuse.

 

I asked Marstons to place a note on my account to ask the agent to call me first to arrange, but ive had no call as of yet.

 

What should i do? They just keep adding fees constantly.

 

I've failed the payment plan so many times now that im scared they will simply remove goods even when im offering them some money.

 

Your account appears to cover two financial years CT, Jan 210-March 2010 then April 2011-March 2012. You do not say what date you left the property or if you advised the Council to having left? I would suggest you start by ringing /emailing the Council to establish what periods you are being charged for...it might be that you are being charged more than you actually owe?

 

First you need to establish the facts,so with pen at the ready ring them and ask:

 

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

 

Next you need to get a breakdown of the fees the bailiff is charging /adding for I suspect they are adding fees they are not entitled too, you do that ,thus

 

To:

Acme Bailiff Co

Bailiff House

 

Ref: Account No: 123456

 

Dear Sir

 

With reference to the above account, Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges.

 

This includes:

a - the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee.

b - the reason for the fee.

c - the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged.

d - the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were Certificated at.

e - the date of the Certification.

 

This is not a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. You are obliged to provide this information.

 

I require this information within 14 days.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Ripped off customer"

 

Meanwhile, do not commit yourself to an amount you cannot realistically afford, work out payments you know you can meet even on a 'bad week'...make use of the Councils automated payment systems phone/online and start to pay the Council direct not the bailiff..Do this on a set day eg every Monday and you will soon build up a recognised history of your intention to pay and cannot be seen as a 'won't pay' then you will avoid the Council taking further action to 'committal proceedings'.

 

To remove the threat of the bailiff attempting to attend your mothers home to sieze good she can make a stat dec to say the home and all goods within and around it including her car belong solely to her, take that to any high street solicitor and get it notarised (cost £5-£10) send a copy to the bailiffs.

When you get a reply to the fee's breakdown and the Council post back here and caggers will help you move matters forward.

WD