business rates

[staffyloo]

hi some advice please

the brilliant ell-en is helping me with a repo hearing but i also have a problem with equita.a bailiff came to my shop last week(really nice guy)i gave him 2 post dated cheques 578 and 1700 the thing is the liability order is for 1740 so they have charged me over 500 in fees. He did not come in a van he parked his car outside my shop.are these fees justified the first cheque is dated 23 marh .

[scatz1972]

Hi

 

The following information was copied from a post by TomTubby (resident bailiff expert). The fees dont appear to be any different from the fees charged for domestic rates.

 

BAILIFF FEES FOR NON- DOMESTIC BUSINESS RATES

 

Source:

 

The Non-Domestic Rating. (Collection and Enforcement) (Amendments) (England) Regulations 2003. As amended by S.I. 2003 No 2210.Schedule 3 Charges Connected with Distress (as Amended) and 3395 of 2006.

 

EXPLANATION

 

First visit fee: £24.50

 

This is for a first attendance to levy but where a levydoes not takes place. (For example where you are not in)

 

The bailiff can charge a levy feeif theylevybut he cannot charge both amounts on the same occasion.

 

Second visit fee: £18.00

 

Despite any further visits, the bailiff can only charge for a maximum of 2 visits.

 

Attendance fee:

 

For one attendance with a vehicle with a view to recover goodsafter the levy has been made under this heading.

 

Levy Fee:

 

This is where the bailiff levies on goods and a Walking Possession is signed.

 

Under this heading the bailiff can charge £24.50 for the first £100, and 4% on the next £400 etc. For example: assuming your Business Rates bill is £1,500 the total amount that you should pay is as follows:

 

First £100 £24.50

Next £400 @ 4% £16.00

Remaining £1000 @ 2.5% £25.00

Walking Possession Fee £12.00

 

Total £77.50

 

 

So as you can probably see £500 is way over what they were due, so yeah a lovely guy!

 

Its up to you what you do now, you could stop the second cheque and and reissue one to include their legitimate fees or you could request a breakdown of the bailiff fees you have paid, and tell them that if you find any discrepancies between what they have charged and the statutory fee scale as set out in The Non-Domestic Rating. (Collection and Enforcement) (Amendments) (England) Regulations 2003. As amended by Si 2210 of 2003 Schedule 3 Charges Connected with Distress (as Amended) and Si 3395 of 2006 then you will require an immediate refund, otherwise you will issue a Form 4 complaint against the bailiff who attended your premises.

 

Here is a link to the wiki and the SAR you should send (there is a link for this letter within this link), you will need to amend it to suit your situation, the link also contains all the info you need to make the Form 4 complaint:

 

Bailiffs: Complaint about Certified Bailiff - Consumer Wiki

[staffyloo]

do you think i should stop both cheques and pay the council direct? can anyone help me draft a letter to equita i dont want the first cheque to go through cos thats almost their fees.

[scatz1972]

Its up to you....the advice is usually to pay the council direct but you will most probably end up with the bailiff back and I take it as you own a shop the bailiff has already been in and therefore already gained peaceful entry and can now come back and force entry.

 

I have been successful in reclaiming bailiff fees and mine was with Equita so its not that it cant be done. Firstly I sent the SAR for a complete breakdown of the fees, the bailiff company did argue and it took several letters and the threat of the Form 4 complaint but they did cough up 100% of the fees in the end. I also complained to my MP.

 

Its really up to you....others on here will tell you stop the cheques, and they will probably all bombard me now!

[scatz1972]

You can always try the national debtline aswell, far better than CAB in my opinion and the advice is free 0808 808 4000

[staffyloo]

he can come bak if he wants all the machinery belongs to my parents all the clothes belong to customers all i own in the dry cleaners are the debts

[scatz1972]

he can come bak if he wants all the machinery belongs to my parents all the clothes belong to customers all i own in the dry cleaners are the debts

 

 

As I say its up to you if you cancel the cheques.

 

You will need proof that the machines belong to your parents otherwise the bailiff can assume they belong to you.

 

I suspect that within the bailiff charges s/he has charged you for 2 dubious vists, a levy fee and an enforcment fee aka attending to remove/van fee (even though they came in a car and never wrote a detailed levy). However, the only way you will know for certain what fees have been charged is if you request a breakdown of the fees, and if a levy took place the items that the bailiff levied on, plus the name of the bailff and the court which certificated s/he. If it comes back that the bailiff has levied on the machinery etc then you can request to have the levy fee removed and the associated enforcement fee as the items do not belong to you.

[scatz1972]

Also have you checked that the bailiff is certificated, do you have the name of the bailiff ?....if you do then call the ministry of Justice on 020 3334 3555 and ask for details of the certificate, the list is not always up to date but if they do find their details they willl be able to tell you which court certificated them, so you will be able to contact the court direct to see if their certifcate is up to date.

[staffyloo]

ill do that thanks .i think ill cancel the cheques pay the 1740 directly to the council and write to the bailiffs about the charges if they can justify them ill pay ill also tell them the chequs have been cancelled and not to bother to bank them.

my parents have the reciept for the dry cleaning machine but the hoffman press is about 30 years old so they havent got the receipt .should i write all that in the letter?shall i get my parents to write a letter? i cant really afford to pay their costs and then try to claim them back.

[scatz1972]

ill do that thanks .i think ill cancel the cheques pay the 1740 directly to the council and write to the bailiffs about the charges if they can justify them ill pay ill also tell them the chequs have been cancelled and not to bother to bank them.

my parents have the reciept for the dry cleaning machine but the hoffman press is about 30 years old so they havent got the receipt .should i write all that in the letter?shall i get my parents to write a letter? i cant really afford to pay their costs and then try to claim them back.

 

It may be a good idea to state that none of the equipment belongs to you and provide copies of reciepts, statutory declartion (for the hoffman press) etc to show that your parents own them.

 

This is a statutory declaration it will cost about £5 if sworn before a commissioner for oaths/solicitor who signs and stamps it.

 

 

STATUTORY DECLARATION

 

 

 

To: (the bailiffs) (their address)

 

 

 

 

I (your name)

 

 

of (your address)

 

 

Do solemnly and sincerely declare that:

 

 

the items listed (list them) are not the property of (your friends name) and (reason why they were there) and have always been my sole property

 

 

And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835 and Section 5 of The Perjury Act 1911.

 

 

Signature:

 

 

 

Declared at

 

 

On the day of two thousand and

 

 

Before me

 

 

 

A Commissioner for Oaths, or Notary Public/Justice of the Peace/Solicitor having the powers conferred on a Commissioner for Oaths

 

 

 

Hopefully Tomtubby will be along later and she will be able to give you more advice.

[staffyloo]

thank you im not very good at letter writing

[scatz1972]

Forgot to say remember to send everything recorded, send a copy to the local authority with a covering letter explaining and remember to keep a copy for your records.

[scatz1972]

thank you im not very good at letter writing

 

Just keep to the facts, here is the bailiff SAR from the Wiki. The SAR will cost you £10 BUT it will give you everything and its something that the bailiff company HAVE to respond to. They have 40 days. Remember to send copies of everything to the council.

 

Dear Sirs,

 

SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST ( S.7.)

Dear Sirs,

Re: (Enter you reference details.)

The purpose of this letter is to make a Subject Access Request pursuant to Section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998, as I object to the level of fees that have been applied to my particular case.

Accordingly, I require a full and detailed breakdown of the fees and charges that have been applied to my account. In providing this information, could you ensure that you provide a true copy of the screen print/computer record of my account.

With regards to van fees and attendance fees, please state the date and precise time of the attendance and the type of vehicle used.

Could you also confirm the name of the Certificate Bailiff dealing with my account and the date and court details where he gained his certificate and confirmation also that his certificate provides from him to work for your company.

Please find enclosed a cheque for £10.00 payable to (relevant bailiff company). Could you please confirm that this request has been received. I am enclosing a stamped addressed envelope for this purpose.

I look forward to receiving this information as soon as possible, but in any event, within the strict time limits imposed under the above Act.

 

Yours Faithfully.

[staffyloo]

should i attach my bits on as well about machinery,paying council direct or should i write a seperate letter

sorry if i sound stupid

and thanks for your help:)

[scatz1972]

should i attach my bits on as well about machinery,paying council direct or should i write a seperate letter

sorry if i sound stupid

and thanks for your help:)

 

I would write a separate letter.

[staffyloo]

thanks will do it tomorrow