You have council tax arrears and you need more time to pay.

You can quote official guidelines and ask the council for more time.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published an official document called the Guidance on Enforcement of Council Tax arrears.

On page 8, paragraph 4,4, it states:

4.4 Arrangements should seek to safeguard against bailiffs entering into punitive repayment arrangements directly with bill payers. Local Authorities should consider how they manage their relationships with bailiffs to have oversight over such arrangements and set parameters for such agreements. They should be mindful of the impact that repeat visits may have.

Paragraph 24 of the Taking Control of Goods: National Standards 2014 states;

24. Debtors must not be pressed to make unrealistic offers and should be asked to consider carefully any offer they voluntarily make and where possible refer to free debt advice.

If you succeed in persuading the council to take the account back into town hall control, you save paying for the £310 bailiffs fees and the bailiff is out of the loop.

Use the guidelines to enable you to pay council tax arrears at a rate you can afford.

If the council does not follow these guidelines, you can ask the local Government Ombudsman to intervene on the grounds for failure to comply. Your best route is through your local councillor.