PCN, Equita & Warrant of Execution

[cricket67]

I recently received,(12/04/10), a Warrant of Execution (WoE) notice from Equita, regarding a PCN that was passed on to them to collect from my Local Authority (LA) - Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

 

The charge on the PCN is £123.16. I do not dispute this charge, and I accept that it is my fault that it has got this far.

 

I contacted Equita the moment I received this WoE (12/04/10), and told them that I would pay this sum off on 21st of the month the date I get paid. I have also written to Equita stating the same.

 

The person who took my call at Equita, (very polite), noted that I had made an offer to pay, and told me that they - (Equita) - would make a note of this on my casefile, and that any responsible bailiff(!!) would see this, and not take further action until after this date, and only should he/she be asked to!!!

 

As soon as I heard this I asked the obvious question: - " Equita sent me the WoE, I am going to pay Equita this sum on 21/04/10, so surely Equita is the bailiff dealing with this PCN?" - To be told that Equita had 'sub-contracted' out this PCN to a local bailiff/debt collector - (Can they do this?).

 

When I asked who this bailiff was, the person at Equita was unwilling to give me this information. Again, can they do this?

 

My worry is this: - that once I pay the £123.16 to Equita on 21/04/10; what is to stop another bailiff turning up and saying that they are after money for said PCN - pay up!

 

Once I have paid, is Equita obliged in anyway by Law, to tell all and sundry to leave off chasing me for the money because I've paid?

 

Can anyone help.

 

Many thanks,

 

Cricket67

[dx100uk]

pay the council direct! online banking or their payment phoneline

not these leeches.

sounds fishy to me

dx

[cricket67]

I recently received,(12/04/10), a Warrant of Execution (WoE) notice from Equita, regarding a pcn that was passed on to them to collect from my Local Authority (LA) - Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

 

The charge on the PCN is £123.16. I do not dispute this charge, and I accept that it is my fault that it has got this far.

 

I contacted Equita the moment I received this WoE (12/04/10), and told them that I would pay this sum off on 21st of the month the date I get paid. I have also written to Equita stating the same.

 

The person who took my call at Equita, (very polite), noted that I had made an offer to pay, and told me that they - (Equita) - would make a note of this on my casefile, and that any responsible bailiff(!!) would see this, and not take further action until after this date, and only should he/she be asked to!!!

 

As soon as I heard this I asked the obvious question: - " Equita sent me the WoE, I am going to pay Equita this sum on 21/04/10, so surely Equita is the bailiff dealing with this PCN?" - To be told that Equita had 'sub-contracted' out this PCN to a local bailiff/debt collector - (Can they do this?).

 

When I asked who this bailiff was, the person at Equita was unwilling to give me this information. Again, can they do this?

 

My worry is this: - that once I pay the £123.16 to Equita on 21/04/10; what is to stop another bailiff turning up and saying that they are after money for said PCN - pay up!

 

Once I have paid, is Equita obliged in anyway by Law, to tell all and sundry to leave off chasing me for the money because I've paid?

 

Can anyone help.

 

Many thanks,

 

Cricket67

[needhelp53]

i need help also (im new and not sure ehere to post)

i received a letter from equita balliffs today through the door (I DID NOT OPEN THE DOOR) stating that a warrent had been issued by northampton county court in relation to an unpaid parking fine from stoke-on-trent city council , i am aware i should have paid it at the time but i pushed it under the rug thinking it would go away (a big mistake).

I phoned the bailliff up and he said i owe £342 , i asked if i could pay in instalment to which he replied no, i then asked if any reduction could me made again he said no. I simply cannot afford to pay that amount in one go , and i'm really stressed about it as i dont know what to do ,i no longer have the car that it was issued to but do have a new one. any advice would be greatley appreciated.

[RaeUK]

Hi needhelp,

If you could start a fresh thread you will attract further help. Just click this link:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=168

 

Best wishes

Rae

[tomtubby]

I recently received,(12/04/10), a Warrant of Execution (WoE) notice from Equita, regarding a pcn that was passed on to them to collect from my Local Authority (LA) - Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

 

The charge on the PCN is £123.16. I do not dispute this charge, and I accept that it is my fault that it has got this far.

 

I contacted Equita the moment I received this WoE (12/04/10), and told them that I would pay this sum off on 21st of the month the date I get paid. I have also written to Equita stating the same.

 

The person who took my call at Equita, (very polite), noted that I had made an offer to pay, and told me that they - (Equita) - would make a note of this on my casefile, and that any responsible bailiff(!!) would see this, and not take further action until after this date, and only should he/she be asked to!!!

 

As soon as I heard this I asked the obvious question: - " Equita sent me the WoE, I am going to pay Equita this sum on 21/04/10, so surely Equita is the bailiff dealing with this PCN?" - To be told that Equita had 'sub-contracted' out this PCN to a local bailiff/debt collector - (Can they do this?).

 

When I asked who this bailiff was, the person at Equita was unwilling to give me this information. Again, can they do this?

 

My worry is this: - that once I pay the £123.16 to Equita on 21/04/10; what is to stop another bailiff turning up and saying that they are after money for said PCN - pay up!

 

Once I have paid, is Equita obliged in anyway by Law, to tell all and sundry to leave off chasing me for the money because I've paid?

 

Can anyone help.

 

Many thanks,

 

Cricket67

 

What we ALWAYS suggest is that you also send a letter to the local authority to confirm that you have paid the PCN in full.

 

Sadly, there have been an awful lots of reports of bailiffs being sacked by their employer for marking on their records that they were unable to collect when in fact the debtor had paid in full.

 

We have also heard of cases where the bailiff company failed to pay the local authority.

 

For this reason, I will always say to everyone that they MUST write to the local authority to confirm that they have paid the PCN .

[cricket67]

Further to my earlier post, I have now finally found out the name of the bailiff/debt collector who is dealing with my case - a week after making contact!!

 

Surprise, surprise, the amount I am being asked to pay is now £391.06.

 

Needless to say, I am not a happy bunny!!. I have just come back from the CAB, who were very nice and sympathetic...

 

They did say; "why not contact the Trade Organisations who Equita claim to belong to?" - I had not the heart to tell those nice people at the CAB, that I had already rung these organisations up, to be told, please don't phone us - write to us instead - oh, and by the way, we are not able to advise on any of the following points as far as Bailiff Companies are concerned:- Bailiffs and the Law, Fees etc. etc. (Not much use there then..)

 

What I find amazing, is the brass neck that this comapny Equita has. I have attached a copy of the 'so-called' charge list, Equita claims to be following when dealing with parking notices. If anyone can tell me how £123.16 can go to £391.06, by following the charges on this list, please let me know.

 

I intend to send this list to Equita along with a formal complaint, that I will also send to the council.

 

However, I need to get some time - can anyone suggest how I might be able to slow Equita down, for long enough for me to sort my defence out, and be able to counter any moves they might make?

 

Finally - Does anyone think it might be a good move, if I was to offer to pay the council?

 

And if I did pay the council, what happens then?

 

Cheers,

 

A very angry and frustrated Cricket67!!

scan0001.pdf

[fork-it]

CAB will pass you from pillar to post. you will achieve nothing by complaining to a bailiffs trade association. Your action must be addressed to the council, or if you are appealing against a ticket then contact TEC Info about - County Court Bulk Centre - Traffic Enforcement Centre

 

The only way to slow a bailiff is never answer the door and NEVER let them in. Just make yourself and your goods unavailable to them. the charges are something like 28% of the fine. there is consensus the other fees are not legal unless you voluntarily agree to pay them, dont quote me on this, been reading other posts.

[hallowitch]

JBW Group Ltd v Westminster City Council [2009] EWHC 2697 (QB) (03 November 2009)

[cricket67]

:idea: Update:

 

I have received the 'dreaded' hand delivered note with the usual threats...

Car is hidden, I'm out at work all day - The house is locked and all windows closed. Short of posting a person outside my house 24 hrs a day, (they wouldn't do that, would they?) - I feel relatively confident that the bailiff will not get access to my house or car...

 

My question is this - according to all the info that I have read about bailiffs and PCNs, the bailiff can only charge a fee for 'levying distress' on the first three visits to a debtor. What happens then? - If he can't charge a fee for a visit - what interest is there for a bailiff to continue chasing, and how long before he boots the whole thing back to the Council?

 

If someone could advise me on this.. much appreciated..

 

Cricket67

[Zamzara]

And if I did pay the council, what happens then?

 

As long as they haven't already levied goods then they must accept payment of the original debt, if you pay the exact amount in cash. In this event the right to levy distress is lost and the fees no longer exist.

 

They will probably try to claim that 'it's gone to the bailiffs' but this has no legal meaning, as the bailiffs are levying distress as the agents of the local authority so in law they are the same person.

[RaeUK]

If you pay the sum off in total to the council for the council tax alone then do check what state your account is in. Councils should pay bailiff fees out of monies they receive from the debtor. In practice this doesn't seem to be uniform. However, what can happen, is that the bailiff has visited twice and claims £42.50 in fees. You pay the council what you believe is the total council tax owing. They pay the bailiff and, hey presto, there is still £42.50 council tax owing that the bailiff can carry on trying to collect. Get an accurate statement of your CT account in writing..

Best wishes

Rae

 

[EDIT: Note to self: Learn to read hunni, this is a parking ticket thread not council tax! doh!]

Edited April 22, 2010 by RaeUK

[Zamzara]

The problem there is caused by confusion between what the law says the debtor is liable for, and what the concil contracts to pay the bailiff.

 

The fact that their contract may say £42.50, and that this happens to be the same amount as the fee regulations state can be retained from the proceeds of distress is coincidental. The council could, if they wanted, agree to pay £5 to the bailiffs or £500. The debtor is not a party to this contract and it is purely an internal arrangement.

 

The debtor is still liable for what the laws says they are: the amount on the liability order (which incidentally already includes an enforcement fee of £70.)

[cricket67]

From reading the very helpful replies to my original post - the one point I have registered, is that having to deal with a Bailiff over a Pentalty Charge Notice (Parking Fine, in other words), does not seem to be the same as having to deal with a bailiff over Council Tax arrears/debt, (re: Bailiffs powers etc.)

 

However, my original point still stands and that is - if I am reading the regulation/rules correctly - that a Bailiff can only charge a fee for visiting a property for three visits. Once he has visited a property 3 times - he cannot charge any further fees for visiting that property.

 

What constitutes a visit? - So far I have had two hand delivered letters through the door - both badly spelled and rather tatty looking. To my mind, that is 2 visits.

 

Finally - and I'm looking ahead here - said Bailiff turns up at my door again - and gets no joy. He delivers another of his letters through my letter-box - his calling card you might say - rather like a dog marking his territory by cr*pping in the corner.. Bingo! - 3 visits no joy. I've heard that a WoE lasts for a year - but what incentive has he now got to keep coming round if he cannot charge, and in the experience of those who have been here before - how long before he says - enough is enough - sends the WoE back to the Council and says - you deal with it?

 

Any ideas?

 

Cricket67

[Zamzara]

Bingo! - 3 visits no joy. I've heard that a WoE lasts for a year - but what incentive has he now got to keep coming round if he cannot charge, and in the experience of those who have been here before - how long before he says - enough is enough - sends the WoE back to the Council and says - you deal with it?

 

Any ideas?

 

Cricket67

 

The incentive presumably is that he may gain entry and seize goods, and get paid the earlier fees to release them.

 

But eventually they will give up.

[cricket67]

I have just returned home to find a letter waiting for me from the Certified Bailiffs dealing with my PCN. This was in answer to my 'first contact' letter - asking for the name of the Bailiff who is actually going to call round and see me - (he has already done so twice -but I wasn't there)

 

It is a model of brevity.

 

I have since sent a letter asking for a complete, transparent and clear breakdown of fees, as well as a screenshot of all the details they have on me - not a Subject Acess Request, so not liable to a £10 fee - not that I would mind paying that...

 

If the first letter is anythig to go by - then all I am likely to receive is a rather loud raspberry from the Bailiff Company.

 

What should I do next, if this is the case? (By the way I enclosed a copy of the Table of Fees, Charges and Expenses - under the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Regulations 1993 - that the company has the bare-faced cheek to say it uses on its web-site - and I told them bluntly to justify the extortionate fees that they are charging me compared to this list of fees they say they charge!!!)

 

Going back to my main point - should I not receive a satisfactory answer, what should my next play be? Go back to the Council and ask them to take over this case? Is there anything else I can do?

 

Any ideas would be very helpful..

 

Grim faced, but determined..

 

Cricket67

[cricket67]

Can anyone help?

 

I have certain questions regarding the current action that Certified Bailiffs, Equita, are taking against me in relation to a PCN

 

I have attached a 'Table of Fees Charges and Expenses' - that they claim they abide by...(really?)

 

My first question relates to the following:- what constitutes a visit to levy distress? - For example: the bailiff comes round - I'm not there - and he shoves a threatening letter through the letter box - stating that he will be around again - any time of the day or night (charming) to enforce this warrant - Is this attending to levy distress?

 

I have had two such visits - and according to the note appended to Section 3, he can only charge in respect to levying distres for three attendences to my property.

 

Can the bailiff then turn round and say - these 2 visits to drop letters off, were not for the purpose of levying distress, but to make contact - and that he has not yet started to levy distress?

 

Once he has made three visits to levy distress, but got nowhere - what charges does he now add on - I cannot see this from this charge sheet?

 

Mnay thnaks,

 

Cricket67

Fees.pdf

[Zamzara]

My first question relates to the following:- what constitutes a visit to levy distress? - For example: the bailiff comes round - I'm not there - and he shoves a threatening letter through the letter box - stating that he will be around again - any time of the day or night (charming) to enforce this warrant - Is this attending to levy distress?

 

It's a visit if it's a genuine attempt to levy distress. Turning up solely to put a note through the door is not an attempt, but I don't know how you could realistically tell the difference.

 

Once he has made three visits to levy distress, but got nowhere - what charges does he now add on - I cannot see this from this charge sheet?

 

None until a levy is made. If no goods are ever levied then you are not liable for any fees.

[cricket67]

Well would you believe it! I spoke to a colleague at work and they are also fuming at having received a PCN..

 

My colleague is thinking of apealing using a PE3 - however, am I right in thinking that these forms have been replaced by the new TE forms (3 or 7), that require a fee?

 

If someone could enlighten us..

 

Many thanks,

 

Cricet67

[cricket67]

If you have been following my posts, you will know that my LA has set the bailiffs onto me regarding a PCN.

 

I have been in touch over the telephone with the bailiff, stating that he won't get a penny off me, until I have a clear and tansparent breakdown of fees - and even then I will challenge anything I believe to be wrong..

 

I also wrote informing the bailiff of this. I gave them 14 days to reply. This runs out mid-week. If I have had no reply from the bailiff by then, does anyone have template letter I can send to said bailiff and/or LA stating that I want the LA to take over the administration of my debt?

 

Are there any template letters dealing with LA PCNs that I might be able to use?

I have looked on this site, and the template letters are very helpful - but they mostly deal with private car parks.

 

In my case it was my LA doing me for being parked on a single yellow line near to my home. They have an 8am-6pm (Monday to Friday) no parking sign. I have to park somehwere! I parked after 6pm the night before - but gone done at 8.20am the following morning...

 

If someone could point me in the direction of the template letters, I would be very grateful.

 

Cricket67

[cricket67]

On returning home from work today, I found two letters from Equita waiting for me. One was the most irrelevant reply to a polite but firm enquiry that I have ever received, the other was a Warrant of Execution (WoE).

 

Now this last letter confused me. I had a WoE put through my letter box, (hand written), in the middle of last week.

 

Why send me another WoE, for the same PCN, through the post? - Can someone make sense of this for me? By the way, both the date of the hand written and the posted WoE are the same - should I read anything into this or not?

 

As for the first letter that, quite frankly, is not worth the paper it is written on - all it has done is reinforce my suspiscion that Equita are a bunch of cowboys. As a result of their lack of co-operation, I am writing to my LA, as well as the organisations that supposedly 'regulate' these [problem] merchants.

 

Let's see where this gets me...

 

Cricket67