help with equita pls

[robbox1]

hi having fun with equita at the mo for council tax arrears i send them a letter with a payment schedule for 24 months and a chq for first payment which they cashed, now had a letter saying that they have visited on numerous times, and still want all of the arrears,or they will remove my goods i asked for a statement of the account nothing yet.

 

what should i do next ?

Edited March 4, 2010 by robbox1

[ploddertom]

hi having fun with equita at the mo for council tax arrears i send them a letter with a payment schedule for 24 months and a chq for first payment which they cashed, now had a letter saying that they have visited on numerous times, and still want all of the arrears,or they will remove my goods i asked for a statement of the account nothing yet.

 

what should i do next ?

A good start would be an expansion of above.

 

PT

[loobyloo85]

Have you been making the monthly payments agreed? If so, they should not really go any further with the action. However, if not, or late, they can proceed with bailiff action, especially with it being council tax. It is probably best to write/contact Equita to find out exactly what is happening, and offer them a payment to keep the bailiffs away.

[robbox1]

i have only just set this up 10 days ago i have had 3 letters in all.

15/02/2010 for £1048.82 looks like a photocopy of a liability order failure to discharge this debt will result .......them calling round so on.

 

then 18/02/2010 removal notice all about recovery offices have been unable to contact me at home asking me to ring so they can come round to take my goods without further notice 8am to 8pm.

 

i then send a letter "the due to my circumstances i can pay 23 payments of £43.47 and the last payment of £49.01 to be paid on the 24 th month, they have cash that chq.

 

then another lettle dated 01/03/2010 despite numerous communications and bailiff visits i have still failed to pay the sum £1005.35and they still want to me to call or they will come round and take my goods.

 

any help pls

[ploddertom]

If you have only had letters from Bailiff so far you need to establish how much you owe. This can be done by ringing the Council and asking how much the Liability Order was for and how much is still outstanding. This may well differ from that the Bailiff says. You also need to ask them if the money you have sent the Bailiff appears on your account - it may not have been allocated yet or could just be for either £18-97 or £0-97 (depends on whether some fees have been paid).

 

I'm assuming that to date the bailiff has not been able to gain access to your home. It is imperative you keep him out at all costs. If you have a car parked outside you need to move it well away, collect any garden furniture or loose items in the garden and lock them away. The last thing you need is for the bailiff to be able to get a levy on any goods - if he does this the game changes.

 

There is no law that says you have to deal with or speak to a Bailiff - you can totally ignore him. He will lie, cheat and blackmail you in order to try and intimidate you. You do not have to pay him. You can pay the Council direct either using their website or automated phone. Are you sure you can keep up the level of payment you propose bearing in mind this will be on top of the new CT bills which are due out shortly.

 

PT

[ploddertom]

Forgot to mention about Bailiff fees. Providing the bailiff does not manage to get a levy on any of your goods then the most you can be charged is £42-50 consisting of 1st visit £24-50 & 2nd Visit £18-00 - doesn't matter how many times he comes this is the maximum you can be charged. If paying the Council direct you need to find out whether they pay the Bailiff fees - if so you would need to add the fees to the money you owe. If not then you pay the Bailiff directly - mind I might be tempted to get some change from the Bank.

 

PT

[RaeUK]

hi having fun with equita at the mo for council tax arrears i send them a letter with a payment schedule for 24 months and a chq for first payment which they cashed, now had a letter saying that they have visited on numerous times, and still want all of the arrears,or they will remove my goods i asked for a statement of the account nothing yet.

 

what should i do next ?

 

First of all, please follow advice from the likes of Ploddertom, I'm just passing by.

 

You seem to be complaining in the thread that you have a payment schedule agreement with the bailiff. But you don't from my reading so far. Has there been anything from the bailiff saying 'ok, we like that deal, thankyou we'll do it'. I suspect not but happy to be proved wrong.

So the bailiff is just doing what the bailiff naturally does. Hitting on you for as much as they can.

Agreements to pay bailiffs over time generally tend to be way way shorter than 24 months. And with the financial year end all but on the councils it could be shorter still!

Could i just ask why you feel the need to spread one years council tax repayments over two years? Just curious...

Best wishes.

Rae.