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[hmrcgotme]

Can anybody help on this one. I am concerned that the Bailiff could ignore my BR.

The Revenue are petitioning for my BR, and will suceed, on Friday 12 June. I am self employed, male and a single parent with two children, 9 and 15. I have virtually no assets and a 15 year old car worth £50. I earn about £15000 a year and claim WTC and CTC.
Amongst other creditors are my domestic Council Tax arrears of about £3000 and about £2500 in bailiff fees, total £5500 ish. Bailiffs are Ross & Roberts. There is a Liability Order made in the local Magistrates Court last year. There is no attachment of earnings as I am self employed.

On 4th July 2008 I mistakenly let the Bailiff in, I agreed to a repayment plan of £250 per month and he took walking posession of a small list of downstairs furniture and left.

I paid on the plan to about November 2008, then stopped and moved house in early December 2008 a few miles away (cheaper rent!).

They found me again on 27 May 2009 but I didnt let them in (we talked through the window). He came back an hour later.
In exchange for a new smaller payment plan of £150 per month I paid over £450 in cash, resigned the walking posession (we signed the papers on my dustbin). I assured him that the items were still in the house and he left.

The next payment is due on 27 June 2009.

Meanwhile, the Revenue will make me BR on Friday 12 June.

Questions;
Will the Council Tax debt be added to the list and the Bailiff go away?
Will the Bailiff ignore the BR and the OR and enter my property using his Walking Posession Order when I miss the first payment on 27 June?
Will they take my car?
Is there a single parent card to play here. I dislike the idea but I will if I have to.
What will the Council do if I ring them and give them all the facts?

I am concerned having seen previous threads on the complication of Bailiff law against BR law. I am aware that I was wrong to move the goods when I moved house. I am also aware that I could have claimed abandonement on the walking posession order but it was half term and I had two frightened kids in the house.

Can anybody help please??????????

[Hg]

For practical purpose we have to accept that the levy is valid and move on from there, as the bailiff isn't going to turn round and say "You know what? I never actually saw the stuff, they signed the walker outside on the bin lid."

From an Insolvency Law point of view the best answer I can offer is that indeed the liability order will still be valid, and that a bailiff is still entitled to enforce it after the date of the bankruptcy.

Therefore if the levy was valid, they are still entitled to remove the goods. Further, if after removal and sale of the goods the proceeds were insufficient, they would be entitled to levy distress again as many times as necessary, as long as it was prior to your discharge. Worse, they can even levy against many assets that would be exempted from a bankruptcy.

At this point it becomes a beat the bailiff law question not an insolvency law question, and I'm afraid that's the same point at which I run out of useful information. I could only suggest either speaking to CAB or trying a debt forum like consumer action group, as I suspect there will be things you can do to help your position.

However you need to bear in mind that the loophole that allows bailiffs to continue when it's re council tax is not widely known (except by council tax debt collection depts and bailiffs), so you might get some wrong advice along the lines of "tell them you're bankrupt and that they need to F off".

[hmrcgotme]

Thank you. I feared as much.

You say that the bailiff can levy distress as and when.... up until my discharge.

Does that mean that on discharge things change?

If so how and why? Is there some light on discharge? Could I, therefore, pay the monthly installment up until discharge and then validly ignore it?

[Hg]

I'm afraid I'm not the person to answer that, as it's too much a different area of law.

That could be an answer, but it could also be that they'd still be able to take possession of the goods for the levy they've already done.

I'm afraid I could only recommend you take advice from someone that knows about this area of law.

[hmrcgotme]

Thank you Hg.
I have been researching this one a bit further and finally found a helpful chap at the Insolvency Service Enquiry Line (0845 602 9848).
His view was that the Liability Order was still valid at the date of appointment of BR and it should be listed in the Estate. He thought that the OR should allow me to pay the monthly instalments during the period of the BR. If I didnt pay the bailiff would enter and remove goods.
On discharge the debt would be extinguished. Therefore I need not continue with the monthly payments and the bailiff could no longer enforce the Liability Order as it had been wiped out.

It seems that the answer revolves around when a debt is extinguished. This is not on appointment but on discharge.
The complexity is that Liability Orders for Council Tax are one of the few exceptions to avoid being suspended on appointment of the OR.

Seems simple now!!!!!!!!!!

THanks Hg, we were nearly there!