My son has had a visit from the Baliffs demanding payment of an outstanding council tax bill which ammount to £290.00 plus the Baliffs and court charges totals £495.00. The first he knew about it was a knock on the door and a demand for the full amount or they will come back in a weeks time and take goods to the value of the debt. Now he is not trying to get out of paying the tax but it goes back two and a half yeard to a property he rented for two months and being young and a bit naive overlooked to check with the council how much he owed, he has also moved around a lot since then and they have only just caught up. He has contacted the council who said that because the matter has been through the courts it is no longer their debt and he has to pay the Baliff, the crux of the matter is they are not giving him any time to pay and being high handed and threatening, does anybody know what his options are

If he contacts the bailiffs office he shouild be able to work out a payment plan with them.

If the Bailiffs have come round then they have been issued with a warrant by the court. You can apply to have this suspended which will give you the opportunity to arrange a repayment schedule with the court. You will need form N245 from the county court.

You don’t need legals bods, the court will provide all the advice you need.

Rickee – is it possible your son has been a bit vague on the details? It seems weird that they could have obtained a judgement without having served him with some sort of notice beforehand.

Does your son not have any documentation?

If the Bailiffs have come round then they have been issued with a warrant by the court.

I’d ask whether they were actually bailiffs or just debt collectors, though. I’ve had debt collectors knocking on the door before and they didn’t have any court documentation. (They were looking for moron previous tenant – a bloody lawyer by the way – who didn’t change his V5, couldn’t park legally and never paid his tickets).

They seem to have court papers and i have spoken to them and they are genuine Baliffs

As Mortuk says + ring the Baliff company asap… which I assume you have already done? and start a direct debit payment asap if they will allow.

Your son will now have a CCJ logged against him for the next 6 years making it very difficult for him to obtain credit. At the end of the 6 years he will also need to get the CCJ removed from his credit record and obtain a discharge notice.

Oh and does he live with you currently? Be careful not to get any financial association with him as this will effect your credit scoring too.

I dont buy the fact he didnt know anything either.