equita bailiffs,council tax

[egoshego]

hi

Few months ago we received a letter from Equita that we own around £500 for unpaid council tax.

I paid full amount same day but on the council website. Two weeks later the bailiff came to our flat and because my younger brother was not aware of that he let him in.He called me and I was trying to explain that we paid everything and we don't want pay again.

anyway,because we never had anything to do with this situation we decide to pay again to give us some time to sort out this "misunderstanding"

Next day we called council to check our balance which was £50 cr and then we've cancelled credit card payment.

I thought that it has been sorted but few days ago we received another letter form Equita saying that we still own some money ( no amount on the letter) and that they will take our staff without even asking us.I called them to check whats going on and to find out how much we own them. "Nice" Lady told me that it's £240 and all this money is their Fee.When I asked to send me brakedown she refused and told me that it is to late for that and if I not pay NOW someone will come on Saturday to take my goods.I told her what I think about all this situation and hang up.No one came on Saturday

but today I found another letter with the 24H notice that they will remove my goods even in my absence!!!.

I went to council to talk with someone.Nice lady from council office called them to check what is it and they told her that I need to pay £240 fee. She asked for the brakedown and they said that they will send it by email in 15 minutes but it's been 6 h now and still nothing.

Do you think I need to be worried that someone will come and break in to my flat when I'm at work?

please help.

[Tingy]

I would e-mail the CEO of your local council explaining exactly what has been happening, how you've paid the debt twice and yet for some reason are still running up fees. Ask if s/he will recall the debt from the bailiffs pending an investigation of your complaint and tell him that the bailiffs have refused to give both you and the council a full breakdown of fees. Until you get those fees which you are legally entitled to I would not pay the bailiffs anything. To put your mind at rest , they cannot use the original liability order to break into your house to levy against items so they can collect their fees.

[egoshego]

Thanks.i will do.

I was just thinking, why he came today and left this letter without even checkin if anyone is at home??? to charge even more for each visit?

I don't wont to find out soon that from £240 it can be £340 and then....etc

[Tingy]

Am I right in thinking that you've paid off your council tax in full? If unsure, phone them and ask how much of the actual council tax bill remains outstanding. As long as there is a CT debt outstanding, the bailiffs fees can and will keep rising.

 

If on the other hand all you owe is the bailiffs fees then don't rush into anything. Give me a minute and I'll post up what they are legally allowed to charge. From that you can work out exactly how much you owe them. that is what you then pay them and they can whistle for the remainder.

 

Back in a second.

[ploddertom]

Fees for Council Tax are listed in Schedule 5 of The Council Tax (Administration & Enforcement) Regulations 1992 as amended. This does not mean to say that Bailiffs strictly adhere to this and if they think you don't know they will try to screw you for as much as they can - simply put do not believe a word they say. Incidentally how old is your younger brother?

 

PT

[ploddertom]

Am I right in thinking that you've paid off your council tax in full? If unsure, phone them and ask how much of the actual council tax bill remains outstanding. As long as there is a CT debt outstanding, the bailiffs fees can and will keep rising.

 

If on the other hand all you owe is the bailiffs fees then don't rush into anything. Give me a minute and I'll post up what they are legally allowed to charge. From that you can work out exactly how much you owe them. that is what you then pay them and they can whistle for the remainder.

 

Back in a second.

 

Hi Tingy

 

I suspect what has happened is that the OP has paid at the same time the Council has passed it over & the Bailiff is chancing his arm!

 

PT

[egoshego]

I paid full amount for the rest of the year.

[egoshego]

he is 20 so it will not help...

[Tingy]

Are you sure the actual Council Tax debt is settled? If unsure phone them tomorrow and ask how much of the actual CT debt (excluding bailiffs fees) remains to be paid. Hopefully you'll have a zero balance meaning all that's owed is bailiffs fees.

 

These are quite simple as they're down in law. Here they are:

Council Tax

 

Fees

 

For each liability order where no levy is made, £24.50 for the first or only visit and £18 for a second visit can be charged. Despite any further visits, the bailiff is only permitted to charge a maximum of 2 separate visits.

 

For levying distress, the following fees may be charged (or a lesser amount if that would be reasonable):

 

£24.50 for the first £100

For the next £400 - 4%

For the next £1,500 - 2.5%

For the next £8,000 - 1%

For any additional sums - 0.25 %

 

Charges

 

Walking possession------------------------------ £12.00

Attendance with vehicle/removal/storage ---------Reasonable costs and fees incurred.

Valuation --------------------------------------- Reasonable costs, but no charge can be made unless the debtor has been advised of the charge and the manner of its calculation, beforehand.

Sale --------------------------------------------Reasonable costs and fees incurred.

Where sale does not take place ------------------£20 or actual costs up to 5% of the amount of the liability order (whichever the larger sum).

You can now work out easily what you owe the bailiffs (or shout if you need help). There is no rush over this. They are not allowed to add to them and it is important to pay only for what they have done. If they visited your house they should have left paperwork. Every visit there should be a paper trail. If that is not there, you don't pay it, simple as. They won't like it. They'll phone and make all sorts of threats, but as long as your CT bill is clear there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. I'm in the process of doing it with a bailiff firm local to me from 3 years ago before I knew any better and just paid as I was terrified. I've already claimed back over £500 and have today sent an invoice to my council for just over £200 of fees they cannot prove.

 

So, step 1 check CT is clear.

Step 2 Work out what you think you owe, either post up here or pm them to me and I'll check them

Step 3 Pay what, if anything, remains.

[egoshego]

I've checked three times.Last time today was in my council office.I have £42 credit which I leave for the next year...just in case...

How do I know how many times they've been here.

I received first leter 6 months ago ,then I paid full amount...

week ago another letter ( from the bailiff's office)

and today the last one (from Mr X)

is that mean that it will be 3 visits?

[Tingy]

I've checked three times.Last time today was in my council office.I have £42 credit which I leave for the next year...just in case...

How do I know how many times they've been here.

I received first leter 6 months ago ,then I paid full amount...

week ago another letter ( from the bailiff's office)

and today the last one (from Mr X)

is that mean that it will be 3 visits?

 

No. A visit means they come to your home and leave a slip of paper saying they have called.If you have proof you paid the full £500 on that day, you owe the bailiffs not one penny. Ignore them, refer them back to the council. Complain to the council they are still harassiing you illegally for fees which are fabricated as they have never visited your house while you owed the council any money. They cannot claim a payment for visiting to collect a debt of £0.00. Send all this to the CEO, ask he calls the bailiffs off immediately as his council is vicariously liable for the behaviour and charges of their appointed bailiffs who are laying the council open to litigation. Personally I would do this via e-mail direct to the CEO, nobody else and await the reply. As long as what you have said is accurate you owe the bailiffs nothing. If they do come don't let them in, but ask for a breakdown of fees (point that bit out to the CEO as well).

 

Let us know how you get on.

[egoshego]

That what she've send me.

 

Stage

Amount

Debt

£414.23 ---- That was paid before the first visit!!!!

1st Visit

£24.50

2nd Visit

£18.00

Levy Fee

£38.00

Attendance/Enforcement Charges

£160.00

Card Payment Fee

£1.00

Total Balance

£655.73

Payment Received

-£655.73

Refund of debt amount as per your instructions due to direct payment

£414.23

Chargeback by defendant

£241.50

Balance Outstanding

£241.50

[hallowitch]

That what she've send me.

 

Stage

Amount

Debt

£414.23

1st Visit

£24.50

2nd Visit

£18.00

Levy Fee

£38.00

Attendance/Enforcement Charges

£160.00

Card Payment Fee

£1.00

Total Balance

£655.73

Payment Received

-£655.73

Refund of debt amount as per your instructions due to direct payment

£414.23

Chargeback by defendant

£241.50

Balance Outstanding

£241.50

 

 

did they give you the dates these fees were charged

did they leave you a notice of seizure listing the goods levied

[egoshego]

no nothing.I will send them another email to send me more details.

[ploddertom]

Do you have the date this was paid - receipt, bank statement etc & agree with HW above you need the dates they applied these fees.

 

PT

[ploddertom]

Didn't read the rest properly, do not put the date you paid on here as you never know who else is watching & although I'm positive they would never do it they may make the dates fit otherwise.

 

PT

[Tingy]

Unusually I'm not sure I agree with you. If the OP is sure the payment was made in full to the council before the bailiffs' first visit and this can be proven. It is not his duty to inform the bailiffs the debt is settled, it is the councils.

 

Why then can he not write to the bailiffs (copy to the CEO of the council) along the lines of:

 

Dear Sir,

 

Thank you for your recent breakdown of fees. They were to say the least vague as they contained no detail of dates etc.... However, I believe this does not matter.

 

As I had already paid the council in full before your first visit, please could you inform me why you made that and any subsequent visits? What debt were you collecting? As far as I am aware there was no debt to collect.

 

If the council who employ your services failed to mention that to you, with respect that is not my problem, it is the council's problem. May I respectfully suggest therefore that instead of pursuing myself for fees, none of which could be legally applied as there was no debt for you to collect, you pursue the council who employ you.

 

I trust this resolves the matter and that no further correspondence will be forthcoming.

 

If you do write again and I have to reply, please find attached a letter outlining my fees for time taken responding to and administration of your correspondence.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

LETTER 2

 

Account No: 1234 1234 1234 1234

 

I write with reference to the above numbered account. I would like to point out that this account is formally in dispute with (insert company name) and has been since they failed to acknowledge my Consumer Credit Agreement (CCA) Request, in line with s.77-s.79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA1974).

 

As you are no doubt aware, your continual harassment not only breaches the Consumer Credit Act (1974), but also the Data Protection Act (1998-), the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations (2008-) and the Office Of Fair Trading's debt collection Guidelines. Being that the Original Creditor is now in default of my CCA Request and OFT Debt Collection Guidelines, I consider this account to be in serious dispute, especially due to the fact that whilst my CCA Request remains in default (outstanding), enforcement action is not permitted in line with s.127(3) of the CCA1974.

 

Consequently, any legal action you pursue will not only be fully and vigorously defended, it will also be averred as both unlawful and vexatious. As such I respectfully suggest that this account is returned to the original creditor for immediate resolution prior to my seeking legal advice; due to the fact you cannot lawfully pursue any enforcement activities as the account was already in dispute at the time you became involved.

 

If (insert name of company) has chosen not to advise you of a dispute then that is between you and them. The OFT advise in their guidelines that you should ensure that there is no dispute before embarking on your collection activities.

 

I accept that this matter has now reached an impasse with both parties apparently having equally strong views about the merits or otherwise of the case.

 

Therefore, other than a summons, or your appropriate response to this complaint indicating the immediate closure, if you contact me again on this matter then I will invoice you £35 administration fee for my time-consuming response. This fee will be applied for every letter written. Any pre-litigation action including issuing an N1.

 

Should you fall outside of my fourteen day terms of settlement of such an invoice then I will seek remedy in the small claims court against you, without further notice where any further costs incurred will then be claimed.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[egoshego]

Tingy!!!

you are a star!!! thank you very much!!! I'll send this letter asap!!!!