Ask the council for more time to pay council tax arrears after bailiffs



Guidelines for enforcement agents state they must not press debtors into making unrealistic offers of payment they cannot afford.[1]



Ask the council to cease the enforcement[2] (which cancels the bailiff's fees)[3][4] and set a schedule of payments.

Template Letter

Send the letter to the council addressed to the director of finance, and get a certificate of posting from the post office.

Give a copy of the letter to the bailiff company by email and make a screenshot of the sent email capturing the time you gave it.

Send a copy of the letter by text message to the bailiff to his mobile and make a screenshot of the sent text message to record the time you gave it.





[1] Paragraph 24 of the Taking Control of Goods: National Standards. Published by the Ministry of Justice
[2] Paragraph 6(3)(c) of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
[3] Regulation 3 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014
[4] Regulation 17(1) of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014