Sorry, no... the £304 owed to Equita, included the £250 fees for Equita coming to the house.

I set up a monthly arrangement to pay it off, which I did in December

But in August the council added some more, but rather than adjust/increase the Equita account that was still ongoing/live in August, they instructed Bristow & Sutor for a total of £530, including £310 enforcement fees.

Thank you

Yes, the amount oustanding to Equita was £304.42, when I was ill & unable to work. I had a visit to the house, & of course they added fees, think it was over £250 in fees.

Even though I'd been in touch with the council & told them the situation, they passed everything over to Equita, I was ill for 11months.

I had an arrangement with the enforcement officer to pay a monthly amount.

I paid that every month last year, & made the final payment in December.

The council now say they passed the account to Bristow & Sutor in the August, when I was still paying Equita. And they've now added their fees too, of £310.

Hope that all makes sense, thanks for your help

Thank you, Yes there are payments that were made to Equita, missing from the statement the council have sent me.

My last & final (or so I thought) payment to Equita was made in December 2017. I paid it off in full.

No the council haven't confirmed or stated when Equita returned it to them. I'll email & ask them to confirm the date.

Hello

I am really not getting any where with the Council, they've sent me a supposed statement, however there are payments missing.

They've made this so confusing, I'm starting do wonder if they actually know what they are talking about at all.

So according to them & the statements they provided, I was still paying Equita for this account when they 'supposedly' sent Britow & Sutor on 2 visits to the old address. How I prove that I don't know.

How can they possibly send a second debt collection agency when I'm already paying another one? For the very same bill?

If there was any adjustment to the bill, surely they shouuld have simply added it to the Equita bill & let me know.

My last payment was to Equita in December, then January I get a letter out of the blue demanding £220.21 + £310 fees for Bristow & Sutor. They say they were passed the account in August. I was still paying Equita in August.

What a confusing mess!

Hello, thank you for the replies.

I've just telephoned Bristow & Sutor, they told me to call tem before 7th Feb. & I've set up £10 per week payment arrangement. Asking me loads of questions, why I was ill, what was wrong, am I working, what my earnings are.

They say they have visited the old address on 23rd Sept 2017 & 8th November 2017.

It went to court Oct 2016 & passed to Bristow & Sutor August 2017. And they got my new address in January 2018.

The advisor thought it was odd that it had been passed to them & not back with Equita. I was still paying Equita in August 2017 for one of the bills.

The council knew I was not at the property from 26th September 2016. And they've confirmed this in the statement they sent me last week, as it has that date on it!!?

On the statement from the council Liability was from 02/07/2016 to 26/09/2016, Gross Charge £418.55, Net Liability £418.55

Then they've charged me £2.40 for the 27th September, but I wasn't there then, I left on 26th.

It seems odd to me that my last payment to Equita was December 2017 & then 8th January I get this letter from Bristow & Sutor.

Going through statements & payment records now.

Thanks again

Thanks so much for your help.

The 2 Equita bills were paid & cleared, the council also confirmed.

How can there now be more?

Also, not only was I paying Equita I was also making payments directly to the council.

I'm going to check back through the bank statements tomorrow as I don't think they've included those payments at all,

just Equita payments.

If that's the case they'll owe me money!

If I make an arrangement to pay Bristow & Sutor, will I be accepting liabilty for the debt?

That I may not owe at all?

Thanks again

Sorry, I had 2 bills sent to Equita, when I became ill. One for £304.42 last payment made 12/17, the other was £208.94 last payment made 05/17

The first revenues officer said the Equita bills were paid off in full. His exact words were "Having checked the history of your account, previous balances regarding other periods of liability were passed onto Equita which have all been paid in full.

He then said it was relating to a payment arrangement I had directly with them, saying it was £200 left to pay. So I went through my paperwork & the last conversation I had with an advisor, they told me there was £55 left to pay. I replied to him but then got someone replying, which has caused more confusion.

The second revenues assistant said it was an amendment added to the Equita bills?

I emailed the first revenues officer back & said if he was unable to tell me what it was for, I wanted to speak with a manager

They've sent an email today, to the wrong email address, from the first revenues officer, with statements of my payments to Equita

So it does appear to be about the 2 Equita bills even though he said they were paid off in full

One balance is zero but one balance is £200?

Looking at it, the liabilty amount was £418.55 & I've paid Equita £304.42, that's how much Equita said I owed, which would leave £114.13 outstanding. The council are saying £220.21 is outstanding

And Bristow & Sutor want a total of £530.21

But they say I've to make an arrangement to pay before 7th Feb or they'll take recovery action

Both bills with Equita, I paid off in full, now they say there's more to pay. I don't know what to do

If I do owe anything at all it's the £55. Can they just add on more to an already paid up bill, if it is the Equita bill why aren't they dealing with it. Doesn't make sense to me

Should I still set up a payment arrangement with Bristow & Sutor even though I don't know what this is for? And they want £530.21

Thank you

No visit, a letter, arrived 11 January,"ENFORCEMENT PROCESS COMMENCED"

I don't know what it's for & the council seems to be having a problem telling me what it's for

Thanks

ok, thank you

Hello, I'd be grateful for any advice please.

I've received a letter out of the blue from a company called Bristow & Sutor,

who say I owe Recycled Council Tax on a property I left 18 months ago.

I gave the local council my forwarding address & they also had my email address.

I had this account with a payment arrangement set up directly with the council.

The then current bill had been passed to a collection company.

I was ill & unable to work & was self employed.

I asked the council if i could pay reduced amounts but they just passed everything to the bailiffs.

The amounts with the bailiffs have been completely paid off.

This letter says I owe the council £220.21 & Bristow & Sutor have added on £310, total bill now £530.21, now with enforcement.

I've looked back through my records & on the last call to an advisor the outstanding balance was £55 left to pay.

I must have forgotten all about it & I received no further correspondence.

I've managed to get the account suspended for 14 days while I try to contact the council.

However they take 10 days to reply.

I've been emailing since the 11th January.

I had a response which confirmed all outstanding bills were paid in full with the bailiff company.

And that this was recycled council tax.

I emailed back to say the outstanding balance was £55 & my bank statements showed payments of £260 leaving a balance of £57, I copied the bank statement in the email too.

I then got a reply from another person, junior officer, who then contradicted everything the first revenues officer told me.

I've emailed again, but still waiting for a reply. I've emailed Bristow & Sutor & they've only replied this morning to say I have to make an arrangement to pay & if there is any amendment to the bill, the council will instruct them.

I'm expected to blindly pay for something I have no idea why I owe it.

I'm being ignored by the council, their responses are just not good enough.

You just can't get a straight answer but I think it's more no one has any authority.

Why is it acceptable for Bristow & Sutor to put on an additional £310!!

But I'm very worried this is an enforcement agency, don't want any visits.

I'm also worried as I can't pay very much a week at the moment.

I don't know what to do.

Does any one have any suggestions please?

Thank you

I've been worrying about this since January.

These people are so arrogant, private solicitor on insurance, not NWNF.

So pleased they are finally going to be made accountable for what they've done.

Best News!!

Thank you very much for all your help & advice.

Will make a donation

Have to say this morning I felt very out of my depth!

However, I've received a letter from the claimant's solicitor....

Claimant's Notice of Discontinuance!!!

They wish to point out that they don't accept any liability for any allegations raised in my defence.

The claim is being discontinued due to the client not being able to afford to continue with the case.

I know that's not true, they are wealthy people.

Would love to hear what you think?!

Thank you.

I wasn't sure if I should just wait for the judge to decide or actually do something before it reaches that point.

thank you for explaining that.

sorry i've more questions

Should I ask the claimant for a stay now, even though I only sent the DQ yesterday?

I ticked the mediation box on the DQ,

should I wait for mediation

or ask for the stay before mediation.

Do the claimants have to agree to a stay before I submit the N244

And should I submit the N244 now, or wait to hear back from the court first?

I've checked the N244 form,

I don't know how to answer questions 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8, is that something you can help me with please

Thanks again for your help

Hello Andy,

Thanks for your reply.

all is not lost from what you're saying.

I don't think there will be enough time for me to find a solicitor & Health & Safety Exec do their investigation before this claim for rent arrears goes to court,

I have all the evidence I can get,

it's a case of giving it all to HSE. And I'm sure they'll find even more.

I sent in the DQ today,

not sure if I've done it right,

I rang the clerk & they said I could send in an update.

I've attached a letter & the email I received from Which Legal, saying landlord is in breach of regs.

I'm unclear if the judge will give me more time under the circumstances or if I have to apply for more time? How do I apply for more time?

I really can't afford to get a CCJ, so I appreciate any advice to how I should proceed.

Thanks again

Hello Ganymede

Thanks for your reply.

Yes to both of your questions,

The landlords did fail to meet the legal obligations, not just for gas but electrics also,

however it was the gas negligence where they are in breach of gas safety regs & much more has come to light recently.

I don't mean to be vague but there are too many details to list.

I should imagine if I'd been able to get legal confirmation earlier.

the claim for rent arrears wouldn't be happening.

Everything has been documented & recorded.

What do you think the judge is likely to do re the rent arrears?

I'd hoped it could be put on hold while they are investigated by Health & Safety Executive.

Thanks for your time

yes to mediation

1 wit you

the rest is obv

 

 

1 copy to court

one to the LL sols

 

 

dx

I'm ever so sorry I don't understand your reply.

I was hoping I could get this claim delayed whilst the Health & Safety Executive investigate the landlord. But it looks like this will all still go ahead.

Thank you

I think it would be helpful if you would post up your defence in PDF format please

I don't think I can do this as I sent 60 pages & documents, relating to everything the landlord failed to do over the time at the property They didn't maintain the gas boiler or gas hob or electrics. Thank you for your help

Thank you for the replies.

I am the entirely innocent party & have been treated appallingly.

The landlords very nearly killed us, it is due the the landlords negligence that I became so ill. Once ill I couldn't work & keep up with the rent.

I have submitted the defence,

I've just sent all the paperwork I had,

pages & pages & listed all of the things the landlords failed to do.

I also said that I was in the process of getting legal advice, as new extremely serious things have come to light recently.

I was hoping I could get this at least delayed while the Health & Safety Executive investigate the landlord?

Thanks again for the help.

Hello,

The landlords had started court proceedings for rent arrears, £3,500 although they have submitted incorrect amount to court

I put in a defence providing as much info as I could & telling the court I was getting further legal advice.

In the meantime I've sought legal advice from Which Legal who confirm that the landlords were in breach of Gas Safe Regs.

I've then spoken to Gas Safe Register,

I luckily got to speak to an Incident Investigator who said I must definitely report the landlords to HSE.

We were in grave danger the entire time we lived at the property & the landlords failed to meet even the very basics of their legal obligations. The only reason there are rent arrears is because I became so ill I couldn't work for a year, still struggling now.

Not sure what to do about this claim for rent arrears

as I've been sent a Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track to be returned before 7th July.

Which Legal can;t help as it's already at court,

they told me to contact Shelter,

Shelter say thay can't help any further because it's already at court?!

Is there anything I can do?

Get it delayed in any way?

Should I update the court with the info that the landlords were in breach of Gas Safe Regs & further action is starting against them?

What do you think would be the best way forward?

Will I have to pay the arrears when the landlords were the cause of the arrears?

I'd really appreciate any help or advice.

Thank you reading my post