Well I've just successfully concluded a Council Tax case.
This one had been out to enforcement since last summer. No CGA arranged at all. No Agent called, except to drop off the NoE.
The debtor was in a total financial mess, 8 debts, 1 EA, 3 pending to Court. Action on 3 stopped and arrangement plans arranged. So that leaves 1 CT with an agent to really deal with.
How did I do?....
I'd completed a Step change debt remedy document, checked the debtors credit file, put all debt in to the resolution tool and then we had a plan to go forward with.
I'd spoken to the EA's office twice bringing them up to date with the debtor. This includes financial and medical.
Firstly, getting proof of vulnerable status was easy this time. Letters from the Drs. Helped a lot. Having spoken to the main office it was suggested almost in one call that there was a vulnerability from the off.
The case was transferred to the Welfare dept. Straight away. This is when doing your homework really helps. Having all of the proof at once was a bonus.
The Welfare dept. Correctly stated that they cannot decide whom is classed as vulnerable, but instead followed the correct procedure and informed the creditor for them to decide to accept this or not.
In our case we had to wait 10 days and the enforcement put on hold until the EA's had copies of the evidence in their hands.
I followed up at 10 days, still no decision had been made! But, given my call this morning the office then called the LA for a decision. Given the evidence had been provided it was agreed thus debtor was in fact vulnerable..
Now, with this in place, I was able to use the financial aspect of my homework and get an affordable weekly repayment plan put in place and allow the debtor time to breathe and get up to date with other priority debts.
No special letters or templates used, just provable income and expenditure forms correctly filled and and supplied plus medical documents supplied as well.
No controlled goods agreement either. Fees correctly added at the time and amount.
Most of you know that I enjoy posting but haven't very much over two years. I've been very busy doing my thing in the real world.
A word of warning though. Given new CT bills are due in less than 2 months make sure you pay your next year's bills on time, if you run in to financial trouble speak to your LA before you miss a payment. It will save you a lot of heartache and trouble, not withstanding the £325 Fees plus interest you'll have added.
That one call will be the best think you can do...
The debt was a low four figure, a repayment plan of a low two figure was agreed, it will take a while to clear, but with the right help and direction it will help you get your financial aspect of your life on track.....
delta157
Council tax success
Re: Council tax success
Its unusual for bailiffs to drop a NOE. It's usually a red letter document.
Be careful, debt management is a regulated activity, unless work for free.The debtor was in a total financial mess, 8 debts, 1 EA, 3 pending to Court. Action on 3 stopped and arrangement plans arranged. So that leaves 1 CT with an agent to really deal with.
An individual on the Consumer Action Group forums and was nabbed for trading in unregulated debt advice.
Did the bailiff company actually allow you to speak on the client's behalf? Calls are recorded for staff training, get a copy of the call under the GDPR: FRee template: https://www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk/Te ... dings.htmlHow did I do?....
I'd completed a Step change debt remedy document, checked the debtor's credit file, put all debt in to the resolution tool and then we had a plan to go forward with.
I'd spoken to the EA's office twice bringing them up to date with the debtor. This includes financial and medical.
Which forms? the bailiff company or StepChange?Firstly, getting proof of vulnerable status was easy this time. Letters from the Drs. Helped a lot. Having spoken to the main office it was suggested almost in one call that there was a vulnerability from the off.
The case was transferred to the Welfare dept. Straight away. This is when doing your homework really helps. Having all of the proof at once was a bonus.
The Welfare dept. Correctly stated that they cannot decide whom is classed as vulnerable, but instead followed the correct procedure and informed the creditor for them to decide to accept this or not.
In our case we had to wait 10 days and the enforcement put on hold until the EA's had copies of the evidence in their hands.
I followed up at 10 days, still no decision had been made! But, given my call this morning the office then called the LA for a decision. Given the evidence had been provided it was agreed thus debtor was in fact vulnerable..
Now, with this in place, I was able to use the financial aspect of my homework and get an affordable weekly repayment plan put in place and allow the debtor time to breathe and get up to date with other priority debts.
No special letters or templates used, just provable income and expenditure forms correctly filled and and supplied plus medical documents supplied as well.
Fees charged to a vulnerable debtor? That might change this year to exclude debtors on prescribed benefits, a complaint was lodged to Parliament it is unfair for taxpayer-funded debtors to support bailiff companies.No controlled goods agreement either. Fees correctly added at the time and amount.
Hindsight is good isnt it? The majority of use just let the bank deal with council tax payments from April - January.Most of you know that I enjoy posting but haven't very much over two years. I've been very busy doing my thing in the real world.
A word of warning though. Given new CT bills are due in less than 2 months make sure you pay your next year's bills on time, if you run in to financial trouble speak to your LA before you miss a payment. It will save you a lot of heartache and trouble, not withstanding the £325 Fees plus interest you'll have added.
That one call will be the best think you can do...
The debt was a low four figure, a repayment plan of a low two figure was agreed, it will take a while to clear, but with the right help and direction it will help you get your financial aspect of your life on track.....
delta157
Well done, you did pretty well consider the odds were against you.
Re: Council tax success
Thanks for the nice words, not often heard but welcome.Schedule 12 wrote: ↑23 Jan 2019 18:01Its unusual for bailiffs to drop a NOE. It's usually a red letter document.
In this case it was hand delivered, as I suspect there where other debtors being chased with open accounts. It's common practice to do so, it was done under the old regs too if you remember.
Be careful, debt management is a regulated activity, unless work for free.The debtor was in a total financial mess, 8 debts, 1 EA, 3 pending to Court. Action on 3 stopped and arrangement plans arranged. So that leaves 1 CT with an agent to really deal with.
I never charge or accept anything for anything I do. I do what I do because of my position.
An individual on the Consumer Action Group forums and was nabbed for trading in unregulated debt advice.
Did the bailiff company actually allow you to speak on the client's behalf? Calls are recorded for staff training, get a copy of the call under the GDPR: FRee template: https://www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk/Te ... dings.htmlHow did I do?....
I'd completed a Step change debt remedy document, checked the debtor's credit file, put all debt in to the resolution tool and then we had a plan to go forward with.
I'd spoken to the EA's office twice bringing them up to date with the debtor. This includes financial and medical.
Which forms? the bailiff company or StepChange?Firstly, getting proof of vulnerable status was easy this time. Letters from the Drs. Helped a lot. Having spoken to the main office it was suggested almost in one call that there was a vulnerability from the off.
The case was transferred to the Welfare dept. Straight away. This is when doing your homework really helps. Having all of the proof at once was a bonus.
The Welfare dept. Correctly stated that they cannot decide whom is classed as vulnerable, but instead followed the correct procedure and informed the creditor for them to decide to accept this or not. I'd argued this point several times on other forums, but given some stick , but I just let it go in the end.
If you take everything in to account, read what happened, why it happened, then do all of the basics, you can then talk to the debtor and suggest the best way forward for them and whom to turn too, once the hard work is done they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. After that If they mess up they will see it's their fault, for not following what's been suggested.
Normally once they realise how bad it is and understand even this late in the day all is not lost. If you talk and understand the help that's out there you can get debt free relatively easily.
In our case we had to wait 10 days and the enforcement put on hold until the EA's had copies of the evidence in their hands.
I followed up at 10 days, still no decision had been made! But, given my call this morning the office then called the LA for a decision. Given the evidence had been provided it was agreed thus debtor was in fact vulnerable..
Now, with this in place, I was able to use the financial aspect of my homework and get an affordable weekly repayment plan put in place and allow the debtor time to breathe and get up to date with other priority debts.
No special letters or templates used, just provable income and expenditure forms correctly filled and and supplied plus medical documents supplied as well.
The forms used were a standard income and expenditure form. Any one from any of the debt forums/advice sector will suffice.
The debt remedy form is free from Step change and you can use this for other debts as well.
Fees charged to a vulnerable debtor? That might change this year to exclude debtors on prescribed benefits, a complaint was lodged to Parliament it is unfair for taxpayer-funded debtors to support bailiff companies.No controlled goods agreement either. Fees correctly added at the time and amount.
I've been watching this in the background and have been aware of it for some time. Hence why I mentioned it in the post. It'll be great news if it comes in to force, but then the fees may then come under further scrutiny and eventually go up to compensate for the loss.
Hindsight is good isnt it? The majority of us just let the bank deal with council tax payments from April - January.Most of you know that I enjoy posting but haven't very much over two years. I've been very busy doing my thing in the real world.
A word of warning though. Given new CT bills are due in less than 2 months make sure you pay your next year's bills on time, if you run in to financial trouble speak to your LA before you miss a payment. It will save you a lot of heartache and trouble, not withstanding the £325 Fees plus interest you'll have added.
This is correct, but some debtors have a direct debits or standing orders can still fall foul of this, by this I mean if a debit fails due to insufficient funds this could be a start to things going wrong.
It's always best to contact the LA to check every so often to make sure there are no arrears on your account. You may think the payment has been made but it hasn't, this in this day and age is a dangerous mistake to make.
That one call will be the best thing you can do...
The debt was a low four figure, a repayment plan of a low two figure was agreed, it will take a while to clear, but with the right help and direction it will help you get your financial aspect of your life on track.....
delta157
Well done, you did pretty well consider the odds were against you.
The debtor has seen the light and has agreed that they need to keep a better eye on their finances in the future...