I haven't challenged anything yet. When I payed the bailiff, the same day he posted 'form 7 notice of seizure and inventory of goods' through my door I explaned to him that the only thing on his inventory was a car which didn't even belong to me so I wanted to just pay the outstanding balance, he told me I had to pay everything otherwise action against me would continue and I would have another visit the next day. He said if I wanted to dispute it I had to write to the legal department?? I did write to get a breakdown of charges and payments I've made etc. This is how it goes: Debt: £1,030.00 statutory visit fees: £24.50 - 30/08/11 Levy fees: £41.00 - 12/06/12 Enforcement fees £167.00 -12/06/12 Card charges £21.00 Unpaid direct debit £65.28 - 04/01/12 & 27/04/12 TOTAL: £1,348.78 Received: 14/09/11 £34.00 22/09/11 £34.00 30/09/11 33.00 07/10/11 33.00 14/10/11 33.00 21/10/11 33.00 28/10/11 33.00 07/11/11 33.00 11/11/11 33.00 21/11/11 33.00 28/11/11 33.00 02/12/11 33.00 09/12/11 33.00 19/12/11 33.00 26/12/11 33.00- unpaid direct debit 23/03/12 40.00 31/03/12 40.00 16/04/12 40.00 20/04/12 40.00- unpaid direct debit 14/05/12 9.70- direct payment made to council 07/06/12 21.00 12/06/12 734.08 Total receved: £1,348.78 BALANCE £0.00 I also received a letter from the council saying I over payed by £33 so I could claim a refund??

Hello, Thank you To be honest I had come to a dead end a few months ago because I didn't know what the next step was. I assume you've read what has been happening up 'till now? I haven't done anything from my last post. I hope I haven't left it too long, is there a limit on time to appeal or such? Thanks for your time Samantha

Are you able to help Todge? Thanks S

Yes please. If I'm totally honest with christmas and the baby etc I had totally forgotten all about this. I hope its not too late. What do I need to do now? Thank you soooo much Samantha

Hello again, is there anyone who can please give me a rough idea on what i need to include in a letter to equita with regard to attempting to claim these fees i paid back? Also is it likely that i will get the money back? Thanks Samantha

Hello all, so I've had the baby and now I'm very keen to attempt to claim these fees/charges back, please,any help writing a letter to equita/south oxfordshire district council would be VERY appreciated as I'm not really to sure what on earth to write. Also I received a letter from SODC this morning saying that for the year in question (2011/2012) I over payed and I can claim a refund of £33!! Thanks

Hello again, sorry to keep on but does anyone know if, and if so, where I could find a template letter to send to equita to try to claim back the fees?

Should I call equita to try to sort it first or should all correspondence with them be written?

Thank you I was upstairs with my two children (it was 7.30am) and didn't answer the door so he never saw me. When I explained to him on the phone I was less than 2 weeks off giving birth he just started talking about his pregnant girlfriend?? What should be my next step? Should I write to equita's legal department? The bailiff gave me the name of the lady who is the head of legal and the address, if so I'm totally clueless on what to write (I'm awful at letters etc)

Thank you, from all the posts last week I was quite sure that the charges were unfair, I just don't really know where to take it from here. Do you think there is anyway I can claim the fees and charges back even though I have paid them all? I did dispute them with the bailiff when I called to pay but he said all action against me would continue, I had to pay it to stop action and then take it up with equita's legal team?? I really wish I hadn't paid it now but as I'm due to give birth tomorrow I was getting myself into such a state that my grandmother gave us the money to pay it off!

Hello, okay so this morning i received a reply from equita with a breakdown of my account. It went like this: Debt: £1030.00 Statutory visit fees: £24.50- 30/08/11 Levy fees: £41.00- 12/06/12 Enforcement fees: £167.00- 12/06/12 Card charges: £21.00 Unpaid direct Debit: £65.28- 04/01/12 & 27/04/12 TOTAL £1348.78 IThere is then a huge list of of payments i've made from 14/09/11 when the account first went to them all the way up to the final payment i made of £734.08 on 12/06/12 to stop any further action. I have checked all the payments against my bank statements and they are all there. I'm not sure where i need to go next with this as from what i've read they cannot charge the levy fee or enforcement fee as they never gained access and made a llevy on a car thats neither my partners nor mine. Also i dont know what the card charge is about as all the payments were collected by direct debit except 3 which were paid by card which they charge £1 for card payment which are shown on the amounts received by me. Also there were two occasions where the funds wernt in my bank to cover the direct debit but can they really charge me £65.28 for these occasions? Thanks

Thanks for that council info. I have just phoned the council again and asked for the starting balance, which was £1030.00, I have gone through all my bank statements which shows i've paid £602.00 which means the remaining balance should have been £428.00 not the £495.08 which is the figure the council have or the £528.08 which equita have!! I have phoned equita who have told me that since they've had this case there have been six different bailiffs in charge of it and I have incurred a total amount of £307 in fees! Anyway, the lady on the phone told me she will get her manager to send me out a breakdown of these charges, although I have posted a copy of wonkeydonkeys template letter requesting all the details this morning.

Just spoke to south oxfodshire council and the balance is still £495.08 (I only payed the bailiff 2 days ago and the lady from the council said it could take 10days to clear) The thing i'm stuck on is that the council are saying £495.08 but the bailiff company are saying i owed £528.08. I am going to go through my bank statements now as i have always paid equita by debit card or direct debit.

Morning, sorry I should have asked yesterday but do you think the fact i've already payed the full balance including the charges means i'm less likely to get the money back? Thanks

Thank you, i'm really not good with things like this, half the words used i don't have a clue of their meaning. I will copy that letter requesting a breakdown of fees in the morning, thanks for that, its a great help as usually when writing letters i sit for about an hour with a blank piece of paper not knowing what to write!! Also how can they charge me for two visits?

Hello, thanks for your reply. I have just checked and yes the bailiff is certified. The £209.00 has not been broken down, however he was in a van so maybe he has charged for that although reading through a schedule of charges bailiffs are allowed to make, charging for a van can only be done when returning with intention to remove goods after a levy has been made. This was the first time the bailiff has called to the house. When paying the bailiff over the phone he gave me the name and address of the lady at equita who i should write to with my query, should i write to her or the council or both? When i called the council before i payed they told me that they did not deal with charges or the fact my mothers car had been put down as ours and i should speak with equita! I'm totally confused what to do now.

Hello, i'm after some advice regarding a council tax debt which was given to the bailiffs. After getting behind with our council tax payments, equita bailiffs took the debt over and I set up a agreement to pay £40 a week by direct debit (this was over the phone with the call centre before it had gone as far as a bailiff visit) Stupidly it was my choice to pay £40 and the operator told me i could pay as little as £5 a week if i chose. Anyway, we carried on paying the £40 a week for about 6 weeks and then my partner had no work (he was self employed decorator) so I called asking to lower our payments to £20 a week untill my partner had secured more work. The operator told me this was not possible, leaving me with no choice but to cancel the direct debit with the bank as i didnt have the funds available. I then recieved a letter from equita stating they were sending a bailiff out when i tried to call to set up another payment plan it just gave me the phone number of the bailiff who was going to come round. After trying to call him several times with no answer i went onto equitas website and paid £20 off the £528.08 balance (which was all i could afford) After several days a bailiff called (at 7am) and luckily my partner, my children and myself were upstairs so didnt answer the door. After several atempts at knocking the door he posted a letter and drove off. The letter stated that full payment was due in 24hours or he will re-attend and may remove goods even in my absence. With the letter there was also a 'form seven'- notice of seizure and inventory of goods, this had my mothers car regestration on (her car was parked on the road outside my house). At the bottom of the form it stated the amount of owing council tax was £528.08 (remember i payed the £20) The bailiff costs were then £209.00 setting the total amount due at £737.08!!!! Luckily my grandmother was willing to lend me the money as i'm 39 weeks pregnant and was totally freaked out. I did not agree with the charges and pointed this out to the bailiff when i called to pay him, i also queried the £20 i payed. He put me on hold to speak to his 'manager' when he came back to the phone he told me i had to pay the full balance of £737.08 and then write to the legal department of equita to see if i'm eligable to claim the wrong charges back. Can someone please help me as i've read the bailiff fees can only £24 or something similar as he has only visited once and never gained entry, and although he has done an inventry it doesnt include anything belonging to me?? Please help, thanks