how much can bailiffs charge?

Question

i have a debt for counciltax which unfortunatly got passed on to bailiffs they have now got a walking possesion order. the debt was origianally 445 including court sosts i have repaid 700 and they still want another 200 off me surly this cant be right has anyone got any advice pls

Answer 1

All bailiff fees (with the exception of magistrates' court bailiffs) can be looked at by the county court to see if they are reasonable or excessive. This is known as 'detailed assessment'. If you think that the bailiff's fees are excessive you should get further advice about this.

You should contact your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau as soon as possible to get advice, otherwise the debt is likely to get worse.

You can see a list of baliffs fees here to see if you think you may have been charged unreasonably:
http://www.multikulti.org.uk/en/debt/bailiffs-council-tax/

Answer 2

Hi there. I hope this helps, I have been a Senior Qualified Debt Adviser for 15 years. You can apply for a N245 from the county court which enables you to suspend the warrant and repay an amount you can afford. Whilst Council Tax is one of the more serious enforceable items of essentail monthly expenditure, you can pay a realistic amount over time. As it is Council Tax, the Bailiffs are instructed by the court and the courts are there to help you. By tackling the problem and getting the right advice you should find you overcome this no problem. You can go to www.ukmoneyadvice.co.uk and click on useful documents. There is a section there where you can click on the actual form you need, N245, complete it online and print it off. There is a court fee to pay, view the court fees on the website and the N245 is dealt with promptly. If you find the form confusing or need a little reassurance you can call UKMoneyAdvice, they are one of the free services by the way. Should you have other debts which are causing you problems it may be best to speak to them for practical advice. Hope this helps you and good luck.

Answer 3

Bailiffs have set fees which they can charge. There is an amount per visit (but only up to three visits) an amount for the actual levy (the walking possession order) dependant on the amount owed (its a percentage of it) then a 'reasonable' amount on the last visit for bringing the van to collect the goods (which they will charge wether or not they actually collect any goods) 'reasonable' in this case is usually in excess of £100.
The bailiffs should give you a list of their charges every time a charge is applied to your account (this is in their guidelines) If they havent, you should put a complaint in writing to the bailiffs company.
If you go to the CAB, ask them to do a social policy report on the bailiff firm for not providing clear charges. This wont help you as an individual, but if enough people do it the CAB can continue to make an issue of it nationally and hopefully something can be done about it. Bailiffs are now regulated and certified and as such should be sticking to their code of practice, but a lot dont.