A Double victory over Equita and Marston explained..

[simonf1975]

I thought I would share my experience of dealing with Marston and Equita, and how I had a victory over them with the help of the caggers so as to give encouragement to others who find themselves in the predicament of having to deal with bailiffs!!

 

I'll start with Equita...after moving i ended up probably 2 years later with a letter from Equita regarding unpaid council tax, OK fair enough I owed it, so being naive at the time I entered into an agreement with the bailiff accepting their additional charges as par for the course...I paid my monthly payment for what seemed like an eternity, and I started to get the feeling I had more then paid back what I owed, so when I started to question Equita they would avoid giving me any figures...in the mean time the threats of removal of goods and adding more charges continued....after finding this site and posting my problem I was given some sound advice, firstly the stat declaration by my partner as to whom the goods in the house belonged to, then they gave me letter templates to start questioning Equita and requesting information I was entitled to...I sent the letters by email and recorded delivery...this back and forth of letters went on for about 8 months with Equita still swerving the questions asked and failing to provide the information required whilst trying to tell me their charges were justified and within the law....following this stalemate the caggers drafted me up letters to make a formal complaint to the head of the council, again this was done via email and recorded delivery...I was told that the matter would be investigated....a while later the letters started from Equita again, and it would appear that the council had just passed my complaint to Equita!!! so now right ****ed off I wrote a second letter titled unsatisfactory handling of my complaint stating that the council had simply passed my complaint to the company I was complaining about and that all the points I wanted clarification on and information requested had still not been received....about 2 weeks later I received a formal apology from the council, it would also appear that I had indeed paid far more than I should have and I was told that the charges would be removed and money I had overpaid would be returned...HAPPY DAYS. I came so close to giving in and just paying on so many occasions but thanks to the support of the caggers I fought on and won...so don't be disheartened and don't give up..persevere and you can win as well!!!

 

Now to Marstons:

 

I have been paying off some court fines for ages, and it was my own fault that I simply forgot to pay for 2 months, as soon as I realised I caught up the payments, but alas it had been passed to Marstons...I first realised when i got a hand delivered letter adding £275 to the account!!! and demanding payment in full etc etc...I consulted CAG again and listened to the advice..sent off my partners stat declaration by recorded mail, and then awaited..I received a letter saying my letter had been passed to the bailiff and I should speak to him direct..I didn't and followed the advice of the caggers and refused to enter into any dialogue and sat back and awaited the knock on the door armed with another copy of the stat dec and a letter to the bailiff offering an affordable payment and another letter for them to sign saying they wouldn't accept my offer!! unfortunately our paths never crossed as they came when we were out...I stuck it out and sure enough as I was advised the account was returned to the court minus all their added charges oddly enough lol

 

So this is for any of you out their finding themselves in a situation involving the bailiff's...listen to the advice given and follow it to the letter and you might just find yourself having a small victory like mine.

 

special thanks to wonkeydonkey, ploddertom, hallowitch, tomtubby and anyone else I have missed out..my life is again back to normal and I genuinely feel like a weight has been lifted.

 

Thank you

[seanamarts]

Excellent, Its good to see a really good out come, Thank you for sharing

[hallowitch]

good result well done and thanks for posting this it gives others in a similar situation hope

[tomtubby]

It is astonishing the number of people who are NOW taking steps to question the fees on accounts that have been paid and getting REFUNDS from the local authority...

[simonf1975]

a lot of it is down to the good people on this site...without their help I would have duly rolled over and paid whatever they were requesting...I just hope my stories will give others encouragement to fight on and not be pushed around