Its more convenient usually to just pay it each week via our debit card. Usually its not an issue, but on this one occasion I forgot to transfer the money between accounts so it got missed.

Being honest, I know I owe the money, its not statute barred or anything like that. So quite happy to pay. I don't want to shirk away from having to pay what I owe. No doubt they are the lowest of the low ( as today has shown ) but I'd rather just pay them off and get them out the way. My annoyance is with the fact they can even call you on CHristmas day. Surely that can't be legal.

Yes the debt is mine, and I don't dispute it. I'm happy to pay, but for them to ring up on Christmas day is deplorable in anyones mind...

I thought I'd seen it all with debt collection agencies, but Lowell have taken it to a whole new level. I have been paying £20 a week for numerous weeks. Never missed a payment, been up to date, all good. I was supposed to transfer £20 from one account to another to cover the payment on Christmas Eve, but unfortunately due to sorting out work ( I work as a chef so do shifts ) and shopping I forgot to do it. Lo and behold, today ( yes, christmas day ) I have had FOUR phone calls, all of which I recognised the number for so ignored, and an automated text message demanding I ring their office asap. ON CHRISTMAS DAY !!!!! To say I am absolutely livid is understating it somewhat. Surely this isn't allowed. A Bailliff isn't permitted to call on Christmas day, and they have the law on their side. How the hell can a debt collection agency get away with it.

Without the Levy he can knock as many times as he wants he hasn't got a leg to stand on.

I think I have rattled the cage a little, because they are not insisting on me talking to the bailliffs or a levy being made. They are happy for me to pay them via standing order every week without any further correspondence or contact with the bailliffs.

The bills were for unpaid council tax, one of which we've been paying directly to the council, and the other for a bill that we are contesting as we moved house. No levy had ever been made, and in both cases the bailliffs turned up at the door. We refused to let them in, and they handed us a notification of intent to remove goods. In both cases they had written the sum owed but not listing any charges they had incurred. I did ask one of the bailliffs how he reached the figure written down, and he said "its my charges for coming today". I then contacted the firm and asked for a break down of fees, and in both instances the amount they said I owed was substantially lower than what the bailliff said we owed. THey itemised the charges, which appear correct. So the bailliffs had definitely added on large sums which they thought we would pay without question. Having the correct amount in writing from both firms means I have proof of what I legally owe, and a copy of what the bailliff claims I owe, which of course do not match.

When two bailliffs turned up at my house within 48 hours, both demaning huge amounts of money, I read the advise given on here, and wrote to the bailliffs firms in question, and asked them for clarification of fees applied to my account. Well as you can imagine, the bailliffs had added on massive amounts which are not on the list of fees they had applied to my account. In both cases they had added on about £260 in fees, and rather stupidly, neither of them had left as list of fees applied to the account, a clear breach of the guidelines they apparantly are supposed to adhere to. What I want to know is, is it worth contacting BOTH the councils involved and showing them how the bailliffs are adding on excessive amounts of totally unenforcable fees, in the vain hope that I won't know the law and therefore will just pay them without question. I have reached agreements with one of the bailliffs firms on a repayment plan, and it was only once I'd questioned the fees that they agreed on a plan. Prior to that they were insisting on full payment and that had to go to the bailliff with any fees that him coming to my house would incur. Councils are 100% liable for the actions of bailliffs, and therefore if the bailliffs are proven to be lying, would it be worth pointing this out to the head of revenues at both councils and pointing out the actions the bailliffs are taking which are wholly illegal and unjustifiable.

Well how about the Bailliffs start by doing something really sensible and finding out WHY people haven't paid and rather than treating everyone like a criminal ( which they are not ) working out the best way to proceed rather than just using the "you are paying now whether you can afford it or not, and by the way I've added 25% onto your bill because I am a thieving thug". You say SOME refuse to pay it, that is a very very small minority. The majority cannot afford it and in most cases I think that pride means they refuse to face up to it and admit there is a problem. That pride takes a further knock when some thug is stood in front of you telling you that you should ring friends or family and admit to them they are in trouble. That is the most disgraceful thing a bailliff can do. Not only do they make the matter worse by adding on huge charges, they then force them to go to other people and tell them that they are being blackmailed into borrowing money which they cannot afford to repay.

I am sat here laughing my socks off at this thread. The whole crux of this section of the forum is that there are set guidelines as to what Bailliffs can charge, and most if not all of the bailliffs are ignoring those rules and making up their own fees. Relying on ignorance of the law and using bullying tactics that they know full well they have no legal powers to use. Before we start talking about whether bailliffs are making enough money to cover their costs, how about you start by addressing the issue that most bailliffs are acting illegally, overcharging when they know they shouldn't and more importantly making threats that are wholly illegal. That is the real issue that needs addressing here. Whats the point of discussing what constitutes a reasonable amount when they can't even follow the standards they are supposed to abide by anyway. HCEO also happens to ignore so many factors that should be taken into account but are not. Such as how many properties a bailliff atttends with one van in a day. I have it on very good authority from an ex bailliff that one van can bring in amounts of up to £2100 per day, simply by charging every person they visit a "van hire" fee. Not bad considering he bought the van for £1000 from an auction and used it every day of the week. The actual cost of using the van ( insurance, diesel, road tax, ear and tear ) was ( according to him ) less than £50 per day, and he would charge each and every house he visited £150 in "van hire fees". Thats not including the fees he would charge for "waiting time" or attendance fees. Those kinds of actions cannot be justified, and it because of unscrupulous actions such as that, that forums like this are here to expose the lies, cheating and downright fraud that occurs within the bailliff industry, and the person being threatened is being bullied into believing the bailliff has the law on their side. And, the final insult, is you actually sit there saying "no ones mentioned the creditor". Bailliffs have absolutely no concern for the creditor whatsoever. Their only interest is to make as much money as they can from the debtor, for doing as little as possible. The more fees they can charge the more they will try and [problem] off the debtor. The fact the debtor cannot afford to pay and the actions of the bailliff is actually more likely to mean the creditor takes longer to get paid, is something that doesn't even cross the tiny minds of the bailliffs. If the bailliffs cared about the creditor in all of this, they would not be charging sums that increase the debt to levels that make it even harder to sort out. Rather than ask us what we think is reasonable, why don't you go to the bailliff conpanies and start by asking them to act reasonable, because the way I see it, if I pay for something I expect a professional service, and the amount I pay should be reflected in the level of service I am given. If a bailliff does not act professionally then I should not have to pay him a professional fee. Act like a professional and you should get paid as such. Act like a bullying lying cheating thug, and what you should get is what I personally would pay bailliffs.. NOTHING....

If a bailiff turns up at my house to levy on goods, and I refuse to let him in, can he then levy on something as stupid as the potted plants I have in my garden. If he then does that, is he by law entitled to force entry to sieze goods that are not listed on the form he has to leave. More importantly, if a bailiff were to gain access to the property and he levies against items, are those the only items that he can forcibly gain entry to recover. I haven't let him in, and certainly don't intend to do so, however I want to be sure that he can't levy against my prize Fuschia, then come and kick the door down and take away my 32" TV.. As I said, most probably a stupid question, but I just want to make sure I know where I stand.

https://ip.e-paycapita.com/AIP/itemSelectionPage.do?link=showItemSelectionPage&siteId=255&languageCode=EN&source=AIP this is the link you use to pay the council tax online. As you can see from the link above, you are not paying Mendip council, but paying Capita. There is no way of paying the council direct, you are paying the company they use to run it, who in turn are not paying the council as I thought they were, but in fact paying Equita.

Thats my whole point.. I have been paying the council but they are not receiving it because the bank account the money goes to belongs to Capita and they in turn are sending it to Equita.

I am happy to keep paying, however when they wham on £240 a time in charges, then its going to take me a lifetime to pay off the debt. How can I settle the bill with the council if they wont accept my payment, and are giving hte money to Equita via Capita. When I make payments its not going to the council, its going to Capita.

Thanks for your replies. A quick check on Google has revealed this http://www.catherinesmyth.co.uk/images/stories/pdfs/bi_capita.pdf Capita are most definitely using Equita as a money making exercise, under the guise of acting on behalf of the council. They have been given a license to print money and no one can do a thing about it.