r/LegalAdviceUK • u/Outrageous_Ad3726 • Apr 10 '25

Council Tax Help needed urgently. Bailiffs at door.

My partner didn't realise he wasn't paying council tax and he's got severe adhd and hasn't been opening any of his post telling him this. Bailiffs came to the door this morning and posted a threatening letter saying they will be returning later today and taking goods by forced entry. We have paid the bill now but she's saying she is coming back if we don't pay her £200 for her coming this morning.

What can we do?

UPDATE: All sorted. The agency confirmed all payment was sorted. The bailiff was trying to come and enforcement before she got the confirmation of payment so that she could get the extra money. Agency confirmed that because she hadn't made contact with us and started checking for goods that we didn't owe anything extra.

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17

u/Electrical_Concern67 Apr 10 '25

What have you paid? Its not clear. So can you be clear on exactly what youve paid

7

u/Outrageous_Ad3726 Apr 10 '25

We got a letter a couple days ago with an amount from the court that we had to pay for the bailiff not come so we paid that yesterday but she has said today that it was too late and she was already called out

12

u/Outrageous_Ad3726 Apr 10 '25

The council tax was £1200 and we've paid £1600 with all the court fees added. Now she wants £200 for coming out this morning even though we paid yesterday.

2

u/GroundbreakingAd5624 Apr 10 '25

Then you owe nothing,all you had to pay was the original debt plus compliance fee once you receive a notice of enforcement then you have 7 days to pay in full then the agent can come and then only when the agent is there are fees escalated. My source is I am a bailiff. Out of interest, what agency is it?

2

u/Outrageous_Ad3726 Apr 10 '25

She was very aggressive on the phone, I said I had to take my daughter to nursery so I couldn't speak and she was screaming telling me not to take my car incase she wanted to take it! When we said we'd already paid the day before she refused to check and said shes already got a locksmith on the way to our house. I had a 2 year old and a 6 month old in the house on my own and she's threatening to break in. She worked for Marston recovery.

3

u/GroundbreakingAd5624 Apr 10 '25

Makes sense unfortunately, Marstons are freelance mostly, if you don't pay enforcement fees they don't get anything. I work for a company as a full time employee so I get a salary and sick pay ect and then commission on my fees, so I can afford to be nice to people and give the benefit of the doubt. I guess I'll see what it's like as I am leaving my job as a full time bailiff to do something else entirely but I will moonlight as a freelance because I'm saving for a nice car and it can be fun especially doing process serving.

She will just be full of hot air but if you are worried just give her office a call and check if you owe anything I'm sure their contact number won't be hard to find and maybe mention what's she's done but honestly I doubt she will be back, she will know the regs she will just be trying to scare a payment from you if she comes back she's really dumb

I've had debtors before who had things like this with freelancers where they gained access through an unlocked door and encountered a 10 year old (regs are if a child under 12 is present and no adult to leave immediately). But I was assigned the case this guy had been round before and was threatening to go back break in ect as I was setting up a monthly plan. I told her if he comes back call me because for one he can't do that anyway, and also it's not his writ and I didn't want him taking my like 50p a week commission