Please help my first post really scared about equita bailifs

[drew123]

HI EVERYONE

i set up a payment scheme with equita back in sept for council tax arears ,our buissiness had gone bump and we were struggling ,i paid sept and then every month so i thought, i rang today to make jans payment to be told that my debt had been given to a bailiff and now i had to speak to her direct,they informed me that i had missed a payment in oct,i was not aware of this and they never mentioned it in the numerous times i had spoke to them over the months ,when i spoke to the bailiff she said she had been out to my house ,knocked for a while and sat out side for an hour was in all day and never heard a thing i'm sure she never knocked ,she was unwilling to accept any form of payment other than full and has put a notice of seizure on my car,the car is mine but is in my husbands name in the buissness name ,but i did tell the bailiff it was mine,i have spoke to the councill and hey have said they are not willing to do any thing i did read on here that if you make a payment to he council on line then they have to accept the debt back i have just made a payment on line to them for £125 (this months payment)i have learnt lots from these forums, but i am really worried about standing up to these people and being scared to answer the door,i just want to be on a payment plan i can stick to ,my husband and i are unemployed however do not qualify for jobseekers because he works for a agency but ,is only getting one maybe two days a week, we are getting working tax and child tax credits,but are really struggling to pay our bills,the bailiff has also added a £181.00 bailif charge to our bill ,please help she said she will be back within 24 hrs

than you

[tomtubby]

HI EVERYONE

i set up a payment scheme with equita back in sept for council tax arears ,our buissiness had gone bump and we were struggling ,i paid sept and then every month so i thought, i rang today to make jans payment to be told that my debt had been given to a bailiff and now i had to speak to her direct,they informed me that i had missed a payment in oct,i was not aware of this and they never mentioned it in the numerous times i had spoke to them over the months ,when i spoke to the bailiff she said she had been out to my house ,knocked for a while and sat out side for an hour was in all day and never heard a thing i'm sure she never knocked ,she was unwilling to accept any form of payment other than full and has put a notice of seizure on my car,the car is mine but is in my husbands name in the buissness name ,but i did tell the bailiff it was mine,i have spoke to the councill and hey have said they are not willing to do any thing i did read on here that if you make a payment to he council on line then they have to accept the debt back i have just made a payment on line to them for £125 (this months payment)i have learnt lots from these forums, but i am really worried about standing up to these people and being scared to answer the door,i just want to be on a payment plan i can stick to ,my husband and i are unemployed however do not qualify for jobseekers because he works for a agency but ,is only getting one maybe two days a week, we are getting working tax and child tax credits,but are really struggling to pay our bills,the bailiff has also added a £181.00 bailif charge to our bill ,please help she said she will be back within 24 hrs

than you

 

I am pushed for time right now so will have to respond later. In the meantime can you ring the council and ask them to confirm the amount of the Liability Order passed to Equita and can you find out what charges have been added to your account since Equita have had the account.

 

How much is the car worth and is it on finance?

 

Sorry, to give you bad news but with council tax, but even if the Liability Order is is your name only, the debt is a JOINT ONE with your husband. Therefore, the bailiff can indeed levy distress against his car.

[drew123]

thanks have rang councill the liabillity amount was £1191 i have paid to equita not sure of amount but definatly £360 did the online payment for £125 on line to council last night,car is worth £5500 but currently no tax or mot so she said it will be sold as a non runner and wont cover the debt not on finance havn't signed anything though even for the car levvy

off to citizens advice now

[drew123]

ctizens advice only told me what i knew already ,they did speak to my bailiff but she frightened him so much he nearly paid for me ,the citizens advice swear that if the car is registered in my husbands name and to the buissnss that they can't take it ,i don't know what to believe!!!! have sent a letter like in another post to the head of revenue/local taxation officer,so wondering now can they take the car??is the debt back in there hands now i paid on line ?? i queried the balif charge and they said its because they came out twice in july ,which they did ,but i was applying for council tax benefit and they lost my claim so i had to do it again and the case was supposed to be on hold while i was assessed,i told the bailiff this when they came ,they rang head office and said oh yeah and went so i don't see why i should be charged for that,so just to sum up the

1.originalliability order was for £1191.49

2.£905.79 outstanding

3.it covers 2010/2011

while on the phone today and probably because i am moaning they have dug up another outstanding amount from 2008 for £400 and said i will be hearing about that now !!

was told by councill worker today to basically claim unemployment and then they will be able to call of the bailifs ,what a joke

[drew123]

any body out there i need help please

[ploddertom]

When was the levy made on the car? You say the car is yours but belongs to your OH in the business name - can you state who it is that actually owns the car - if yourself or husband then yes it can be seized, if it is owned by the business and providing that is registered elsewhere then I see an argument for the levy being invalid.

 

Usually if a payment plan is made with a bailiff they have made a levy at that time. If this is the case and they have purposely left an unpaid bill so they can add extra fees there may be a case to say they have abandoned the levy. I think you should send off and ask the Bailiffs for a current breakdown of their charges.

 

PT

[drew123]

on the log book to the car it has my husbands name and the buissness adress,no bailiff has ever entered my house to do any levy ,when i spoke to the bailiff i did tell her it was my car as i drive it,but the citizens advise said if the original liability was in my name only and if the notice of seizure is in my name they cant touch the car

[wonkeydonkey]

Hi Drew and welcome to cag:

Lets pause and rewind:

 

You must first contact the Council; preferably by telephone with pen and paper at the ready and ask again:

 

 

1. how many liability orders are there

2. what period/s do they cover

3. when were the liability order/s passed to the bailiff

4. how much was each for.

5. how much is outstanding

 

Ploddertom has asked questions regarding the car which will allow caggers to see if the levy is valid.

Have you aslo checked that the October payment left the account it was sent from?

 

Then send the following: to the Council and a copy to the bailiffs. continue to make all payment online direct to the Council.

 

 

Chief Executive Officer

Revenues Department

xxx Council

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

I submitted an application for Council Tax Benefit to xxx Council on xxx xxx

 

While awaiting your reply I continued to make payments under an agreement reached with xxx bailiffs and advised you of this. It later transpired xxx Council had "misplaced" my application and I was made to re apply, however, acknowledging they accepted blame for the lost application, I was given the assurance all bailiff activity would cease until such time as the application was processed.

 

That this has not happened and I have been subjected to a further visit from xxx Bailiffs which, compounded by the fact that not only have they added further charges for the said visit they have overstepped their remit by placing a levy on our car, I can safely conclude xxx Council appear have both a breakdown in internal communications and apparently no control of the Bailiffs they employ. That I contacted the revenues department to voice a complaint in respect of this matter to be told " go unemployed and things will move quicker" will be of interest to the Ombudsman should I have need to escalate matters to them.

 

I advise xxx Council that as the bailiffs they employ cannot act within the guidlines for the collection of Council Tax it is my intention to make all future payments to xxx Council direct, I accept a fee of £42,50 as given in statute for the collection of Council Tax is to be paid to xxx bailiffs.

 

Yours sincerely

Edited January 26, 2011 by wonkeydonkey

[drew123]

Thanks for replying,i have done the letter and have gon e through my bank statements and there wasn't an october payment but my argument is why didn't they tell me why put me through all this when they could of told me in ,november or december

[wonkeydonkey]

Easy answer to that question Drew...say nothing and then we can bump the charges ...typical bailiff mentality.

[drew123]

exactly ,i'm still up typing letters ect and i am confused because on one hand because the above mentioned car usually has a value of £5500,but due to lack of cash i havn't taxed or mot it so bailiff said it would be auctioned as a non runner and so would probably not cover the debt,so if thats the case can they levvy it ??

but then on equitas own web site it says they can't remove vehicles that are needed for work or employment so can i go down this route ,but bailiff knows theres not tax and mot so i can't be using it for work also knows i am unemployed does looking for work count ,but car is in hubbies name and buissness address

[lordsugar]

Hi the bailiff can remove "joint chattels and goods" to cover you debt so basically what you have as a couple can be seized however if the vehicle is used for the buisness then it can be classed a tool of the trade and they cannot seize it. For example i builders truck would prevent him working and could not be seized.

 

i assume the council have taken the account to court prior to your monthly arrangement in that situation when the arrangement is broken they normally send it to the bailiff forthwith.

 

Ultimately do not sign any paperwork or allow any access to you property and park you vehicle away from you house to prevent it being clamped or removed.

[drew123]

i have spent another 5 hours in citizens advice today and achieved nothing,councill keep giving who ever calls them different figure ,how are you supposed to pay when you don't even know the actual bill, they have had dealings with my bailiff and wouldn't even try ringing her because of her reputation, so the offer from the council is £3oo by friday and then £1100 by march or when i sell the car ,so i presume if i agree to this i will have to sign something,even though the court original liability order was for £1191 and i have paid £510,advise from citizens aadvise was to start claiming benefits , and the advise from my local councillor was a good ticking of for getting in this situation and get my car sold to pay walsall council GREAT any useful help or advise appreciated

[wonkeydonkey]

Wow ...that your councillor made such remarks is ammunition in itself. Write to the Leader of the Council and your MP expressing your disgust that an elected member of office can be seen to have little regard to the constituants that put him there.........

 

I had a run in with the Council many years ago in that the house was so damp it would have doubled as an aquarium., I eventually got it to a commitee and was invited to attend to put my complaint forward. On the due day I arrived at the Council Office to a round table of councillors and made my pitch, one of the knights of the round table had nodded off (poor soul was a good age) but on raised voices awoke and became attentive... he turned to me and said " M xxx if you do not like the way we maintain your Council house you don't you buy one of your own!!!! well.... there was an immediate shuffle of feet and the codger was escorted out of the meeting...the remaining knights tried everything to cover the gaff but I was sharp enough to grasp the implication (I was a lot younger then) and used it to my advantage....... I was rehomed three weeks later to a very nice semi detached with all mod cons and the council kindly paid for the removal van!!!! Oh nearly forgot to mention ......it was a Labour Council

 

WD

[drew123]

lol my councillor was labour also i will be writing a strong letter ,because of allthis letter writing i have discovered some thing that i have tried ,i don't know if it will help or hinder but its worth a try, equita are a member of a governing body called the ESA in their rules of conduct that every member should abide by is rule number 6 which states that

 

6. Members should on each and every occasion when a visit is made to a debtors property which incurs the debtor in a fee, leave a notice setting out in detail how the fee was made up and retain a record of the said issue of the notice for a minimum period of 12 months, after the date of issue

 

i for one have never received any kind of explanation of costs ,never mind a detailed one ,and from what i have read on here nobody ever does thats why we all have to write and request them,hope this helps

[ploddertom]

Regardless of circumstances your Councillor is there to help you and is bang out of order on his stance. I would escalate to the Leader of the Council and/or your Councillor's Party Leader. Do you have more than 1 Councillor and if so are they of a different persuasion, no reason to not play one off against another.

 

It appears to me you seem to have paid a great deal in fees, has the Bailiff given you a list of charges they have applied. If not you should ask for a breakdown ASAP.

 

PT

[brassnecked]

i have spent another 5 hours in citizens advice today and achieved nothing,councill keep giving who ever calls them different figure ,how are you supposed to pay when you don't even know the actual bill, they have had dealings with my bailiff and wouldn't even try ringing her because of her reputation, so the offer from the council is £3oo by friday and then £1100 by march or when i sell the car ,so i presume if i agree to this i will have to sign something,even though the court original liability order was for £1191 and i have paid £510,advise from citizens aadvise was to start claiming benefits , and the advise from my local councillor was a good ticking of for getting in this situation and get my car sold to pay walsall council GREAT any useful help or advise appreciated

 

Complain complain complain, telling you to sell your car is as abhorrent as the bailiff telling you to borrow money (as has hapenned ) to pay them A letter to the Chairman of the council, asking the standards committee to investigate may be an option. Again is Walsall Council a Capita/equita stitch up, as there could be grounds for these cosy arrangements to be investigated. possibly under EU legislation.

Edited January 26, 2011 by brassnecked

[lordsugar]

What i would do asap is register the vehicle in somebody elses name as once that is done they cant touch it. The councils response is totally ridiculous write to the chief executive complaining abut the unrealistic offer and maybe include an income and expenditure form and what you believe to be a reasonable offer of payment.

[drew123]

i have done exactly that lord sugar ,thank you

[drew123]

so i had my appointment at the cab and they managed to negotiate a deal, which was holding off the bailifs for two weeks as long as i provide them with proof that my car is up for sale because this is how i intend to oay off the bill and pay the bill in full by end of march,i was thinking of selling the car any way so this has just made my decision for me so like i say a slight result because i feel under pressure to sell the car quickly rather than for the best price but oh well.However i still intend to put in a complaint with the following points that i have come across while researching on these forums and websites,so if any one could let me know if the points are valid let me know please

 

 

1.firstly on checking out my bailif ,she is self employed and certificated but she also works for equita,can equita sub contract and does she have to certificated to work for equita??

2.i havn't received a code of practice from walsall council but have looked at other councils and theres a coupl of points

a.distress can not be levied unless the debtor is home

b.all correspondance left should provide a contact number ,other than that of the individual bailif,in order for debtors to queery the debt

3.Both my bailif and equita are members of ESA and on ther code of practice its says all members should "on each and every visit which incurs afee,they should leave anotice detailing why the fee was made up"

any one believe these to be valid points for a complaint ,let me know please

[ploddertom]

1.firstly on checking out my bailif ,she is self employed and certificated but she also works for equita,can equita sub contract and does she have to certificated to work for equita?? She has to be Certificated to enable her to legally collect on the debt, if she self employed however you need to ask the Council if they allow their Contractor (Equita) to sub contract - many do not. It may also pay you to ask the Council for a copy of their Bailiff Code of Conduct and their Service Level Agreement with same, if they refuse or are reluctant then serve a FOI request on them.

2.i havn't received a code of practice from walsall council but have looked at other councils and theres a coupl of points

a.distress can not be levied unless the debtor is home - wrong

b.all correspondance left should provide a contact number ,other than that of the individual bailif,in order for debtors to queery the debt - should and do are 2 different words and it is only an advisory

3.Both my bailif and equita are members of ESA and on ther code of practice its says all members should "on each and every visit which incurs afee,they should leave anotice detailing why the fee was made up" - yet again an advisory only but for some purpose this must be done particularly if goods have been levied.

any one believe these to be valid points for a complaint ,let me know please

 

PT

[drew123]

just to post the end to my story for anyone in the future, i could not negotiate a deal, other than agreeing to sell my car before the end of march to pay my bill, they were putting alot of pressure on me to do so, and still demanding £400 a month ,i had almost given up when i received the code of practice for the bailifs from the council and one of the points on there is that they should notify customer of any missed payments and give them 7 days to pay, so i wrote another letter to the chief exec informing him of this and explaining that if this had been done i would not be in this situation,and saying due to the incompitance of there collectors (equita) they should take back my account,the next day i had a phone call from the head of recovery ,agreeing to a affordable paying plan and to take back my account ,this counts as a victory to me so good luck to everyone else hope this helps

[hatesdwp]

Ive had this situation myself. Firstly move your car!! they cant take it if it used for work or bussness but the buggers will clamp it if they can! Secondly do NOT let a balliff in you have a right to tell them to leave your property and you DO NOT need to let them in, if you have made payments and have "significant hardship" you can ask the court who issued the order to call off the balliffs and you can be heard in court. Quite frankly you have a nasty balliff there and they should accept another payment arrangement, if they have not done a walking possesion yet (means they theroreticaly seize what they see if you dont pay)

I just refused to even speak to them at all wouldnt respond or open the door, they called me to court where i explained id made payments and offered more however i was being bullied by the balliff and the court sorted out a new more realistic payment arrangement with me. The balliff company left me skint! and remember they are only people dont be afraid of them stand your ground and get some decent legal advice about setting up an arrangement, you cant get out of council tax im afraid, but you do have rights when theres no money

[wonkeydonkey]

just to post the end to my story for anyone in the future, i could not negotiate a deal, other than agreeing to sell my car before the end of march to pay my bill, they were putting alot of pressure on me to do so, and still demanding £400 a month ,i had almost given up when i received the code of practice for the bailifs from the council and one of the points on there is that they should notify customer of any missed payments and give them 7 days to pay, so i wrote another letter to the chief exec informing him of this and explaining that if this had been done i would not be in this situation,and saying due to the incompitance of there collectors (equita) they should take back my account,the next day i had a phone call from the head of recovery ,agreeing to a affordable paying plan and to take back my account ,this counts as a victory to me so good luck to everyone else hope this helps

 

How omn earth I missed this I do not know ......WON and well done drew you should give yourself a huge pat on the back ...another success for the little people against sharp practice incompetant bailiffs and ignorant local authorities WELL DONE

 

wd