Equita bailiffs advice needed pleeease!

[michelle1981]

Hi

Im new to this site and deperatley need some advice so i can sleep!

Im gonna try keep it as short and simple as possible and any help would be much apreciated.

 

Ok.. my problems started June this year when i received a letter from Equita, it was a Final demand for an outstanding penalty charge demanding payment immediately or to leave my car keys and log book for them to collect. I called them up and found out it was from an unpaid parking ticket, one that i had appealed with the council and had not yet had any response. I set out to make a statutory dec and called the council for more details as Equita didnt have all the info needed. They gave me the info and told me there were also 3 other unpaid parking tickets against me and they were also wih the bailiffs, i knew nothing of these, had received no ticket on car (2 were camera issued) nor NTO's.

I filed stat decs for all 4 and faxed them to the TEC. This puts the bailiffs on hold. It was a friday and i confirmed with Equita and Hounlsow borough that all was on hold whilst the court process the stat decs.

Monday morn 5am i awoken by a bailiff clamping my vehicle, i told him i had made the decs and he had no right to clamp my car, he demanded thousands, refused to give me his name other than 'junior' and left saying a tow truck would be there shortly if i didnt make payment. He came back at 8am took off the clamp and left.

 

Ostober i received notice from the court that one fine had been revoked the other 3 refused, i appealed against this decision costing me £65 ( not a lot but i am a single mother of 3) spoke to Hounslow borough again who promised to keep it on hold whilst the court process the appeal.

 

I then receive another letter on 17/11/08 from Equita dated 13/11/08 that if i dont call them within 24hrs to make payment or reach an agreement they would start enforcment proceedings. I called them, they told me they cant discuss it with me because i didnt call within 24hrs, that further charges had been added and it was now with a bailiff. I called Hounslow who informed me a member of staff acidently took the case off hold and they contacted Equita to put the case back on hold.

Another letter arrived from Equita 18/11/08 again dated 13/11/08....Another Final Demandstating Warrant of Execution dated (no date, they claim a removal team had attended my property to remove goods and they would be back and further charges had been added!!!!

 

 

Now the bailiffs are on hold again but my queries are:

 

1. Is the above procedure of the bailifffs legal? the 24hr thing is ridiculous, and the 2 letters within 1 day of each other?

 

2. If i put the log book in a friends name (not at my address) but they find the car outside my address can they still take it and auction it?

 

3. I am in receipt of benefits and have 3 young children, I cannot afford to pay large amounts at once, Are they allowed to demand this or do they have to accpet a payment plan?

 

4. Do the bailiffs have set fees for these kind of things or can they just add what they like?

 

5. If i pay Hounslow borough what is owed to them (£155 for each ticket), will this stop the bailiff action?

 

 

I hope someone has had the patience to read this and is willing to offer some advice, I gave all the info because after reading other threads i realised the most info the easiest it is to help!

I am not trying to avoid my fines, i just want the chance to pay the normal amount of a ticket not the bailiffs ridiculous fees.

[Guest BURP]

A parking tickets expert might be better for advising on appeals and a councils failure to send NTO’s. Filing an out of time appeal immediately stops enforcement. Have you moved recently?

 

1. Letter fees are £11.20 per ticket. The regulations only allow one letter per ticket.

 

2. No just change the name of the registered keeper with DVLA quickly.

 

3. You might be classed a vulnerable person for the purposes of civil enforcement and you can have all enforcement action stopped. A vulnerable person means http://www.dca.gov.uk/enforcement/agents02.htm#part10 A letter is below so you must post it to every bailiff company involved and keep copies by your door.

 

4. Yes the regulations prescribing maximum bailiffs fees for collecting unpaid parking tickets is Schedule 1 of the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs)(Amended 2003) Regulations 1993. It prescribes a maximum of £11.20 a letter per ticket and 28% on the first £200 collected, 5.5% above £200. No walking possessions agreement signed £0.00. No goods have been transported in a van so Attending to Remove £0.00. Nothing else. In this scenario a £155 ticket carries maxumim bailiff fees of £54.60. None of this £150+ Attending to Remove and van fees malarky.

 

5. Yes but expect a fight with bailiffs wanting their fees. They will go hungry.

 

Follow this advice verbatim: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bailiffs-sheriff-officers/169360-help-bailiffs-coming-print.html and keep this letter handy in case more bailiffs turn up and send a copy to every council that has sent a ticket for enforcement.

 

The Omnipotent Bailiff Co, Plc

Their Address 1

Their Address 2

Their Address 3

Postcode

 

DATE

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re: Your visit to [1st LINE OF ADDRESS]

 

I write further to your visit by your bailiff and confirm I am classed a vulnerable person for the purposes of civil enforcement in the meaning of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents directives. I am a claimant of a prescribed benefit because I am living below the government's poverty threshold.

 

Where a debtor falling into a vulnerable persons category is discovered by an enforcement agent, the matter shall be referred back to the court and no seizure of goods may proceed.

 

This document is delivered by Royal Mail and I deem it good service upon you by the ordinary course of post under Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978. It is your responsibility and in your best interests this letter is handed to the relevant person within your organisation.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

 

YOUR NAME

 

Send this letter to every bailiff that has contacted you so far.

 

The Omnipotent Bailiff Co, Plc

Their Address 1

Their Address 2

Their Address 3

Postcode

 

DATE

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re: [YOUR NAME + REF]: Fee irregularities. Opportunity to compensate

 

I write following visits by your bailiff however there appears to be irregularities with your fees. I ask you to provide the following within fourteen (14) days:

 

1) The name of the certificating court and certificate number for the bailiff in charge

 

2) Written confirmation of a) your fees, and b) the original debt

 

3) Truthfully confirm in writing your fees are lawful and comply with regulations prescribing bailiffs fees

 

4) The name and address of the person or body you act for

 

If you cannot complete the above, please unconditionally pay me within fourteen (14) days a refund of all unlawful fees and unconditionally pay me compensation of £4999.00 for failure to comply with the law prescribing your fees and I will consider this aspect of the matter closed.

 

If I later find an irregularity with your fees within the statutory time limit of 6 years as prescribed under Section 2 of the Limitation Act 1980, I will enter no further correspondence with you and automatically file a Form 4 at court for dishonestly defrauding me with your fees. This may also involve a criminal investigation by police and your bailiff and firm's director(s) may receive a criminal record for assisting an offender, benefiting from proceeds of crime and committing offences under the Fraud Act 2006.

 

This document is delivered by Royal Mail and I deem it good service upon you by the ordinary course of post under Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978. It is your responsibility and in your best interests this letter is handed to the relevant person within your organisation.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

YOUR NAME

 

[michelle1981]

Burp I thank you so much for your advice, it seems that as a single mother on income support i am deemed a vulnerable persson and will forward the above letter tomorrow and also to be on the safe side register the car in my friends name.

 

Can you just clarify for me... should i send the letter tomorrow or wait for the outcome of the court appeal?

 

Hope fully i will have a better nights sleep now knowing there is some hope for me and my car!

 

Michelle

x

[michelle1981]

Sorry and do i not send the 1st letter to Equita as well as the council issuing the tickets?

[tomtubby]

Michelle

 

The ONLY letter that you need to write is to ask for a full and detailed breakdown of the fees and charges applied to your account.

 

The problems with the car being clamped after filing an Out of Time are sadly due to the dreadful delays at TEC not informing the local authorities.

 

Why have you only had to pay £65 to appeal. The amount is supposed to be £75 for EACH PCN. Can you let me know.

 

As things stand now....the matter is on hold waiting for your hearing. This can take around 2 months or even more. Have you received a Notice of Seizure of Goods and Inventory. If not, then your car has NOT been seized and you can therefore use this period of time to transfer ownership. This is very important.

 

For the N244 hearing. It is VITAL that you attend the hearing as most of these applications are successful. If so, you can request costs.

[Guest BURP]

Send the letter to the bailiffs now. No need to write to the council that issued the tickets. Tomtubby I understand is an expert on parking tickets appeals, but your post says you are in receipt of benefits. You can ask for Fee remission of the £75 fee. Download form EX160 http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex160.pdf and its notes http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex160a_e.pdf and return it with N244 with proof of benefits which must be: a) less than one month old b) have your name and address and postcode c) confirm benefit entitlement. Any DWP letter should suffice and TEC should vaive the £75 N244 fee.

[michelle1981]

I have not received a seizure notice so will transfer the log book immediately.

 

The fee could have been £75 i cant remember but i did only pay the one fee for the 3 tickets, I have also requested this to be returned in the proper way.

 

So i need to check all 3 are being processed with the TEC.

Ask for a break down of costs from Equita.

Insure i attend the hearing.

 

Anything else?

Shall i send the above letter about me being a vulnerable person to anyone?

 

REgards

Michelle

[Guest BURP]

Yes, you will need three lots of EX160's one for each appeal. You must be 150% sure you have grounds to have each ticket overturned. Get expert advice on partking ticket validity, there is a checklist of anomalies that can unravel a parking ticket - too many to list here. Print the following and keep it inside your door and memorise it. If you keep the bailiffs out long enough, the will move on and leave you alone.

 

DEALING WITH BAILIFFS ON YOUR DOORSTEP

 

 

1. ALWAYS! Keep your door LOCKED SHUT at all times. NEVER open the door to a bailiff - speak through a window or letterbox

2. ALWAYS! Hide your car - in the garage or park it well away

3. ALWAYS! Take a photo of the bailiff and his vehicle (better still use a video camcorder) and record everything

4. ALWAYS! Speak as little as possible to the bailiff

5. ALWAYS! Ask for his bailiff's certificate number

6. ALWAYS! Ask which court issued his certificate

7. ALWAYS! Ask for a full breakdown of his fees IN WRITING

8. ALWAYS! Ask who the creditor is (if you don't know)

9. ALWAYS! Pay using a credit card, avoid cash and debit cards if possible

10. ALWAYS! If you have grounds, get an appeal lodged immediately (parking tickets) - it stops enforcement

 

1. NEVER! Sign any documents handed to you by a bailiff

2. NEVER! Phone a bailiff (unless asking him which Court issued his certificate)

3. NEVER! Admit any debt

4. NEVER! Say or "confirm" your name address or date of birth

 

If you feel intimidated or threatened by a bailiff, call police on 999. Remember that door remains LOCKED SHUT until the bailiff is a safe distance from your property. You DO NOT have to open the door to police. If possible get EVERYTHING on video, it can be used in court: Example: YouTube - Rossendales Bailiffs

 

As for your letters: Keep this one inside your front door incase a bailiff turns up.

 

[DATE]

 

BY HAND

 

Dear Bailiffs.

 

Re: Parking tickets

 

[NAME OF] Council appears to have instructed you to collect unpaid parking tickets.

 

This notice directs that you are not being given entry to my home or to levy goods contained within and your entitlement to charge a Walking Possessions fee stands revoked. Please be advised that if your fees are found to contradict Schedule 1 of the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs)(Amended 2003) Regulations 1993 and you may be liable for criminal prosecution under the Fraud Act 2006. Without corresponding with you further I will also automatically file a Form 4 at court.

 

I confirm I am classed a vulnerable person for the purposes of civil enforcement in the meaning of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents directives. I am a claimant of a prescribed benefit because I am living below the government's poverty threshold. Where a debtor falling into a vulnerable persons category is discovered by an enforcement agent, the matter shall be referred back to the court and no seizure of goods may proceed.

 

Please be advised it is not a "criminal offence" for me to deny a bailiff entry to my property and it is an offence to threaten me with breaking and entering with "locksmiths".

 

Please provide me with a breakdown of your fees, put it through the letterbox and quietly leave the property.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

 

 

YOUR NAME

 

Now write the following letter sent it BY POST. ASAP

 

The Omnipotent Bailiff Co, Plc

Their Address 1

Their Address 2

Their Address 3

Postcode

 

DATE

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re: [YOUR NAME + REF]: Fee irregularities. Opportunity to compensate

 

I write following visits by your bailiff however there appears to be irregularities with your fees. I ask you to provide the following within fourteen (14) days:

 

1) The name of the certificating court and certificate number for the bailiff in charge

 

2) Written confirmation of a) your fees, and b) the original debt

 

3) Truthfully confirm in writing your fees are lawful and comply with regulations prescribing bailiffs fees

 

4) The name and address of the person or body you act for

 

If you cannot complete the above, please unconditionally pay me within fourteen (14) days a refund of all unlawful fees and unconditionally pay me compensation of £4999.00 for failure to comply with the law prescribing your fees and I will consider this aspect of the matter closed.

 

If I later find an irregularity with your fees within the statutory time limit of 6 years as prescribed under Section 2 of the Limitation Act 1980, I will enter no further correspondence with you and automatically file a Form 4 at court for dishonestly defrauding me with your fees. This may also involve a criminal investigation by police and your bailiff and firm's director(s) may receive a criminal record for assisting an offender, benefiting from proceeds of crime and committing offences under the Fraud Act 2006.

 

I confirm in writing I am classed a vulnerable person for the purposes of civil enforcement in the meaning of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents directives. I am a claimant of a prescribed benefit because I am living below the government's poverty threshold. Where a debtor falling into a vulnerable persons category is discovered by an enforcement agent, the matter shall be referred back to the court and no seizure of goods may proceed.

 

This document is delivered by Royal Mail and I deem it good service upon you by the ordinary course of post under Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978. It is your responsibility and in your best interests this letter is handed to the relevant person within your organisation.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

YOUR NAME

 

 

Dig out your cars V5 and change the name of the registered keeper. Make your car safe or park it well away until this matter is resolved. You don't need to write to the council that issued the parking tickets - yet.

[michelle1981]

Hi

Just a quick update for you... I went to court for the appeal hearing and the magistrate upheld my stat decs for all cases. So now i believe that the council has to re-issue the NTO's and call off bailiff action.

 

I am waiting for the NTO's, do they have a deadline to issue them?

[tomtubby]

WELL DONE!!

 

BUT..this is really worrying because in every case that we have seen these applications are being ACCEPTED by the District Judge which means that he has not only overruled the local authorities refusal of the Out of Time late Statutory Declaration..but more seriously, he has overruled also the decision of the Court Officer at TEC who's role is to make an "impartial judicial decision" of the council's rejection.

 

What is also disturbing is that TEC have imposed a fee of £75 to seek to review !!

 

Did you ask the court for your costs (ie: £75) If not, then you cannot now claim this back.

[lamb to the slaughter]

its all very well the op here now transferring the car in to someone elses name, however if the bailiffs are worth their salt then surely they would have done a dvla check on the registered owner of the car and if so then it would have come back in ops name, a quick check would show that transfer of ownership had happened after bailiff involvement, would that not be evading distrain and if they have the docs from DVLA could they not still seize the vehicle as they have proof it was in her name at the time, thus then making the matter a civil one???????

 

just wanting to make sure said op does not fall foul of any sort of recrimination here, we must be careful to cover all aspects.

[chris600uk]

That doesn't matter, as has been said before, until goods are seized the owner has the right to do with them whatever they want.

 

Anyone who doesn't take advantage of that, risks losing their stuff

[fwog]

That doesn't matter, as has been said before, until goods are seized the owner has the right to do with them whatever they want.

 

Anyone who doesn't take advantage of that, risks losing their stuff

 

I didnt know that.

 

I think a sticky with 'Bailiffs tactics' is in order, this being the first post.

 

The reason I say this is - there's a basic framework a bailiff has to adhere to. A lot of the posts on there are an imaginative interpretation of that framework by Bailiffs. Ergo, there are only a few points a bailiff can get you on. The rest of their shmooze is mostly smoke and mirrors

Just mho

 

Fwog

[chris600uk]

Framework or not, the problem is what happens in practice.

 

Regardless of what the law says, the bailiffs will often do whatever they think they can get away with - that applies to some councils too.

[fwog]

Framework or not, the problem is what happens in practice.

 

Regardless of what the law says, the bailiffs will often do whatever they think they can get away with - that applies to some councils too.

 

Well the 4% charge is evidence of that;)

 

I just htought that your post was a great bit of info.

 

A 'did you know' or 'bailiff tactics' thread would be apt. A lot of the posts are repetitive questions, just post it all in a sticky to outline the basics if ,say ,your due a visit tomorrow, as many new posters are. I know most of the info is on the site if you search.

 

Just trying to be helpful:D

 

Fwog

[chris600uk]

sorry fwog I didn't mean my post in that way,

 

Actually you're right, the problem is stress.

 

Most of the time people are too stressed to look around them.

 

They need contact more than anything else, few are able to do the research under stress, in fact I was unable to to begin with until some very kind people pointed me in the right direction.

 

Reading the threatening letters from the council, bailiffs, dca's, is a very lonely experience, and listening to a bailiff ranting on the other side of your front door is even worse, that's the power of this kind of forum, it takes away that awful loneliness at a time of enormous stress.

[michelle1981]

hey tomtubby

yes my cheque was returned uncashed, probably because i sent with it proof of the fact i am receiving income support.

 

just waiting for the dreaded NTO's to arrive now!