Newtoforum and worried council tax and bailiffs

[ClareMacca77]

Hi,

 

Apologies if i have not done this correctly but im hoping that somebody will be able to help me.

I have bailiffs on my case for council tax that i owe for last year totalling £295.00

 

Could somebody confirm if I have understood previous postings correctly in that if the bailiffs have only posted me two letters stating that they have tried to visit ( I think not, as the letter come through normal post not pushed through the door, but they have never been into my property am i right in thinking that the most they can charge me is £24.50 and then £18.00 and no more as they have not gained entry to make any sort of levy

 

I want to confirm that i am understanding everything correctly as when I spoke to bailiffs today they told me i now owe £492.00, I have asked them to write to me with details of what they have added on in the way of fees which they have agreed to do but I just wanted to treble check the fee issue before I take up issue with them and the council? Many thanks in advance for any advice. BTW - the bailiffs firm is Equita.

[regan11]

ok. I'm no expert and hopefully someone with more experience will

turn up soon to give you advice. The golden rule is do not let them in no matter how much they scream or weep.To my untrained eye their fees

do seem excessive and I think you are right in asking for a breakdown

of their charges. It is to your advantage to only communicate with

them in writing, they will tell you all sorts of porkies over the phone

but they can't deny anything thy have written in black or white.I'm afraid thats all I can offer for the time being.Good luck.

[seanamarts]

If they have never visited your home then you owe nothing to them at this stage, first visit £24.50 2nd visit £18.00. they cannot charge for a levy as no levy has been made and if a levy has been made they need to show proof before they charge you for this. They cannot charge a levy fee and a visit fee on the same day they have visited.

Do as regan suggested.. do not let these crooks in..at all!!! If you have a car I suggest you hide it for the time being, try and make payments to the council online for the time being whilst you are waiting for a reply from the bailiffs, this will prove you are willing to pay and not just sitting on your hands doing nothing.. Pay it all off if you can.

[lets fight bailiffs]

Please also keep the enverlopes as they will be franked and this shows what company sent them and when so if you have to attend court at any time you can prove that they have not attended.

 

when you receive your break down of fees post back and let us know what they are for it would appear by the amount they have charged you may be looking at a van fee.

 

LFB

[ClareMacca77]

many thanks for your replies and help I have sent them a letter today confirming the telephone conversation in which i asked for a breakdown in charges. I will definately not be letting these people into my home if they do come knocking, am i right in thinking that if they have not entered your home then they are unable to make a levy?, and as such unable to charge me any fees other then 2 visits?

[lets fight bailiffs]

I can confirm that you are correct in that if they have not gained entry then they CAN NOT force entry therefore they cant make a levy on goods in the house, However please do remove anything outside as they can levy on this and then charge a levy fee this includes a car.

 

LFB

[ClareMacca77]

many many thanks for this help its much appreciated

[thewakers7]

i would add also in the meantime ask the bailiff company for a screenshot of your account ud be suprised how many irregularities might be on there then ask your council to send you details on how much the liabilty order is for, send everything recorded. bailiffs can be very devious mine caught me on the hop with 5 kids running around adn asked if we could go somewhere quieter me being non the wiser and not knowing about this site stupidly let him in. you might not need all of the above just yet but it doesnt hurt to get a head start, theyl eventually get fed up with not gaining entry they should pass the debt back to the council. whats your personal circumstances if you dont mind me asking do u have a partner/dependents and do u work?

[ClareMacca77]

Thanks for this, yes have a partner and we are both working...now! Just at the time he wasnt and we fell behind as people do. We did try to pay the council direct the full amount owed to them on Tuesday but they said that they couldnt take any payments as it is now with the bailiffs. but they have said that they will send a letter to the bailiffs reconfirming the liabiliity owed so that should stop them claiming they had the wrong details. I have also written a letter to the council explaining that I will pay in full the amount owing to themselves but am having real problems with the bailiffs adding unofficial charges ( from what I can see) so ill see what they say tot hat letter. I have read that other people have had there account transferrred back to the council after complaining about bailiff charges. As well I was thinking that this also indicates that i fully intend to pay im not shirking it. i was suprised that they wouldnt take any payment though!

[lets fight bailiffs]

Rubbish, I approached the Chef Exec of one of the council about this and his responce was that if he found that a member of staff refused payment for any rieson he would have to consider there employment.

 

you would be supprised that if you go to there offices ask to speak to there manager and request they take the payment then if he refuses ask them to put it in writing that they will not accept payment then send the refusal to the Chef Exec of the revinues department and watch heads roll.

 

LFB

[thewakers7]

do it online its less likely to get rejected, ask the council to send u a copy of the liabilty and make sure the bailiff company send u a screenshot of the account, there has been cases where incorrect levys have been made, charging for 1st and 2nd visit on the same day etc, unfortunately some bailiffs and companies rely on the fact that you dont no what ur doing (half the time its them that dont know what there doing) i got mine transfered back to the council after a huge battle and a lot of leg work. my advice at this point is take copies of everything, dont speak to the bailiffs direct always write and send recorded, adn dont let them catch u out at the door. if they do come in the meantime take pictures(they hate that) and record conversations if you can on ur mobile. from what ive heard on here it works wonders.

[thewakers7]

there seems to be a difference of £155 sounds like a bit of a van fee on there as well! theyl be someone knocking about soon to give u a breakdown of charges, do u have a car?

[ClareMacca77]

No No car thank goodness otherwise id have to park it miles away. yea I was really shocked that they would not take payment I will try and get them to put that in writing. I presume the council are going to eventually get the case back anyway because there is no way in hell the bailiffs are getting in to my property.

[thewakers7]

well thats one saving grace then, just be a bit more vigilant when going in and out of your property, but to be honest if theyve sent u a letter by mail theyve more or less invalidated there charges i would have thought, if you can pay a little bit online before you pay it off do that it shows willing and should go in your favour, ws given that good advice when i was going through it

[ClareMacca77]

I will do Again many many thanks for everyones help on here you are all fantastic

[josephbloggs]

when you speak to the council, tell them equita are posting the 1st and 2nd visit letters instead of calling, this is an illegal act, its amazing how they get away with it, they will be illegal fees, and you should then be able to pay in full with no fees on.

[ClareMacca77]

Thanks Josephbloggs I have more or less told them that in a letter today. I am absolutely appalled at what they think they can get away with, thanks for your help.

 

clare

[ClareMacca77]

Hya, Looking for bit more advice. I have written to the council offering to pay them there outstaning debt of £295 direct and they have refused stating that I have to pay to equita baliiffs. Equita Baliliffs are stating that the amount owed is £490. I have written to Equita and asked them for a breakdown of charges and they have totally ignored the letter just sent one asking for the full £490.They have not entered my house, nor do I beleive they have ever physically been to the property to make a visit. All correspondance has been through normal post(i.e nothing put through the door to say they have called but there was no answer). Im just a bit stuck on what my next move should be- apart from continually never answering the door and shutting all the window!Appreciate any advice from anybody

[ploddertom]

If you can prove they have never visited you - if you kept the postmarked envelopes where the alleged "visits" took place then you owe the Bailiff nothing. You could pay what you owe either online or using the automated phone service the Council have. It may be the advice you are getting from the "Council" is in fact coming from their service provider Capita who just happen to own a company called Equita - the only language they understand is Bailiff.

 

Have you sent the Bailiff a letter similar to this for a breakdown of their fees:

 

"From:

My Name

My Address

 

To:

Acme Bailiff Co

Bailiff House

 

Ref: Account No: 123456

 

Dear Sir

 

With reference to the above account. Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges including Computer Screenshot. This is not a Subject access request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. I also require the name of the attending Bailiff and the name of the Court he was Certificated at. You are obliged to provide this information.

 

I require this information within 14 days.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Ripped off customer"

 

You should send by both email and Signed For letter.

 

Have the Council confirmed what you actually owe. You should also contact your local Councillor(s) ASAP as they have direct access to those at the Council who can put this right - in particular you should mention their refusal to take any payment.

 

PT

[ClareMacca77]

Many thanks PT, the letter was similar to that but not exactly so will send that to them today cant do any harm and i will try the other things you have advised. many many thanksclare

[tomtubby]

Hya, Looking for bit more advice. I have written to the council offering to pay them there outstaning debt of £295 direct and they have refused stating that I have to pay to equita baliiffs. Equita Baliliffs are stating that the amount owed is £490. I have written to Equita and asked them for a breakdown of charges and they have totally ignored the letter just sent one asking for the full £490.They have not entered my house, nor do I beleive they have ever physically been to the property to make a visit. All correspondance has been through normal post(i.e nothing put through the door to say they have called but there was no answer). Im just a bit stuck on what my next move should be- apart from continually never answering the door and shutting all the window!Appreciate any advice from anybody

 

 

By e-mail to:

 

[email protected]

 

 

Miss Kayleigh Collins.

Equita Ltd

 

April 16th 2010.

 

 

Dear Ms Collins,

 

Reference Number:

I am writing in relation to the above account relating to a Liability Order for £295.

 

Your company are stating that the amount now due is £490 and yet you are refusing to provide to breakdown of charges applied to my applied to my account.

 

As you will know a bailiff from your company has never gained entry into my property and neither has a levy been made on any goods of mine. I understand that the maximum fees that can be charged are £42.50 for two visits.

 

From advice that I have received it would appear that your company are attempting to charge me an "enforcement fee" of £150 . There is no provision within the statutory fee scale for such a fee and in reality, this charge is really an "attending to remove" fee but in order to charge this a "previous" levy would need to have been made. As stated above, no such levy exists.

 

I have attempted to make payment to your company but you have stated that you will only accept payment of £490 which includes the disputed "enforcement fee".

 

Accordingly, due to the seriousness of this attempted overcharging I wish to advise your company that in this instance, I have decided instead to make payment of the Liability Order and two visits fees direct to the council.

 

I am providing a copy of this letter to the council with my payment.

 

Yours sincerely

[ClareMacca77]

That is brilliant, thank you