Advice about Equita

[Chrono]

Hello I am new to the site and as my first post i would just need some clarification.

 

My Mother is 73 years old and this year had her CTB reviewed well to cut a long story short she was found to be in arrears for this current years tax bill.

she was hesitant in what to do and instead of coming to myself or another family member she let it spiral into where Equita are now involved, even though she was calling to agree to pay the agreed sum Manchester City Council offered.

 

her LO is for £409.65p from the original £365.86p CT arrears.we got a letter from equity saying the usual pay before etc etc (as previously stated on your great site)

but she was contacted by their Bailiff and told my mother she would be at the home on the 5th of Dec and would accept the full amount. of £409.65p my mother waited in all day and nothing until 5pm when the bailiff telephoned saying she couldn't of come today she was stuck in Barnsley and now the fee would be £580 a letter was hand delivered the next morning with the dreaded Notice of collection within 24 hours. the Bailiff will not answer her phone, the company says she must deal with the baliff and the council say the same thing.

we spoke to our local Councillor who said we should e-mail the council tax office about reclaiming the debt for this years CT and pointing out she is willing to pay the complete debt of £409.65 off, but before he goes into bat for us he wants to hear their explanation.

 

both the Councillor and a very nice lady from the CT office (on our third attempt) was baffled and only usual fees were no more than the £40 odd mark

email was sent and via return auto mail says i should hear within 3 and via phone which said 7 days.(completely baffled)

but in the meantime the threat of the knock on the door is scaring my mother silly. I have taken time off work for the past 2 days to ease her mind on this but can't afford to take anymore time off.

we have done the following.

Locked all doors and windows and make sure the door is locked between 6 am and 9pm

told Equita that we have been in contact with the council about taking the debt back and can they call off their dogs whilst this is being done...i know they said they would but am highly suspicious they did this to get us off the phone.

kept in contact with the council tax office but not mentioned anything else just if my mothers case is being looked at.

 

my main questions are these...Because this is for this years tax bill can my mother still pay this off via online or automated telephone systems to stop Equita in their tracks?

and should we pay Equita the visiting costs or the council?

 

thank you in advance and many many thanks for all the great advice that has been offered on other threads as this has helped alot in the past couple of days and to all those in other threads i hope all your problems are quickly resolved

[ploddertom]

How many visits has the Bailiff made, 1 or 2?

[Chrono]

just the hit and run hand delivered through the door that is it. that is it all contact has been done over the phone and the initial equita letter

[tomtubby]

It is vitally important that your mother does NOT allow a bailiff to come into her home. Unfortunately, many bailiffs "claim" that they cannot agree a payment arrangement UNLESS they are allowed into the property to "discuss the account" and get "papers signed". There is NO LEGAL BASIS that states that a payment arrangement cannot be made without the bailiff coming into the property.

 

Does you mother have a car?

 

If so, there is a serious risk that a bailiff will "levy" upon her vehicle.

 

Always remember that the local authority are wholly responsible for the fees charged by THEIR AGENTS.

 

Make sure that a letter of complaint is sent to the Head of Revenues at the council.

[Chrono]

there is a car but it is a Disability benefit car which she pays monthly for. we have even resorted to having her great grandchildren around the house all under 12 as i read somewhere the enforce has to leave the property as soon as they are seen.

[brassnecked]

Pensioner AND disabled, Formal Complaint as to Equita ignoring the national Standards, regarding vulnerability. Is Manchester a Crapquita Council perchance? if so it is important that the Formal complaint is copied to CEO, elected leader, councillor and MP, as when you speak to the council you speak to crapita who own Equita.......

From the National Standards to which the council and bailiffs should adhere to:

Vulnerable situations

 

 Enforcement agents/agencies and creditors must recognise that

they each have a role in ensuring that the vulnerable and socially

excluded are protected and that the recovery process includes

procedures agreed between the agent/agency and creditor about

how such situations should be dealt with. The appropriate use of

discretion is essential in every case and no amount of guidance

could cover every situation, therefore the agent has a duty to

contact the creditor and report the circumstances in situations

where there is evidence of a potential cause for concern. If

necessary, the enforcement agent will advise the creditor if further

action is appropriate. The exercise of appropriate discretion is

needed, not only to protect the debtor, but also the enforcement

agent who should avoid taking action which could lead to

accusations of inappropriate behaviour.

 

 Enforcement agents must withdraw from domestic premises if the

only person present is, or appears to be, under the age of 18; they

can ask when the debtor will be home - if appropriate.

 

 Enforcement agents must withdraw without making enquiries if the

only persons present are children who appear to be under the age

of 12.

 

 Wherever possible, enforcement agents should have

arrangements in place for rapidly accessing translation services

when these are needed, and provide on request information in

large print or in Braille for debtors with impaired sight.

 Those who might be potentially vulnerable include:

 the elderly;

 people with a disability;

 the seriously ill;

 the recently bereaved;

 single parent families;

 pregnant women;

 unemployed people; and,

 those who have obvious difficulty in understanding, speaking or

reading English.

[nuttyburd]

They dont have to leave just because children under 12 are present but must if there is no adult present and ONLY a child who appears to be under 18.

 

The guys on here will give you all the advice you need, they are very good. But for now the important thing is to keep the baliff out. Tell mum not to let him in or better still dont open the door, if need be speak to him/her through the letter box.

 

If a payment can be made direct to the council via online payments or automated phone system, this would be a good idea, to show willingness to pay.

[Chrono]

i have just gotten off the phone from my mother...she has one of those paypoint cards where you can pay at a post office and get a receipt there and then and she has the full amount of the LO already at hand. Any extra costs the family will pay the the £48 for the 2 visit fees also through the same method...i know she has only had one visit but hell its Christmas after all plus this way she doesn't have to fear them making up how many visits they actually have made.

 

would this be the right course of action?

[brassnecked]

i have just gotten off the phone from my mother...she has one of those paypoint cards where you can pay at a post office and get a receipt there and then and she has the full amount of the LO already at hand. Any extra costs the family will pay the the £48 for the 2 visit fees also through the same method...i know she has only had one visit but hell its Christmas after all plus this way she doesn't have to fear them making up how many visits they actually have made.

 

would this be the right course of action?

 

That should sort it pay the £42.50 in for 2 visits, and tell the council and crapquita that this is what you have done,, but the bailiff may call speculatively anyway but as long as the LO plus the visit fees are paid he can go whistle dixie, in fact be prepared to film him even with a mobile phone if and when he returns, no matter what he says or claims he cannot, nor can the police stop you filming him in your mothers garden or on the doorstep.

[Chrono]

TomTubby, Nuttyburd and Brassnecked I would like to thank you wholeheartedly for helping answer the questions last night it helped my Mother out and i owe you one!

 

This morning she paid on her CT pay point card for the full LO and she called the council brief transcript of the convo

Mum - "i have paid the LO in full"

CTO - "you shouldn't have paid us you should of paid the Baliliff!"

Mum - I couldn't pay the bailiff as she would never answer her phone or return messages, alsoEquita would always say they couldn't bring my details up on their computer even after asking for me to quote my Acct# and verify my address"

CTO - "this is irregular, how much have you paid?"

Mum - "410 pounds"

CTO - "but your bill was only 365!?!"

Mum - "yeeeeeeeeeeeeees but the liability order was for 409 and odd pence"

CTO - "well ok i will put it on file you have paid and contact the bailiff"

 

Well thats pretty much it the Equita call was snotty towards my mother along the similar lines, but once you have some knowledge and apply it they buckle and squirm and if it wasn't for you guys and gal and this wonderful site i wouldn't have the knowledge to fight them at their own game...:whoo:thank you thank you thank you you all of you just rock :rockon:

[brassnecked]

Glad your mum is sorted, last thing she needs is a chancer bailiff ignoring the National Standards, well done both.

 

Now one way to help is to keep watching the site, learn what's what, and you will be able to help others here yourself

[zydeco]

So the bailiff couldn't make the appointment cos' s/he was stuck in Barnsley so sent some scrote the following morning to do a hit and run in order to bump up the fees by £170?

Happy days.

The CT is paid, sod the bailiff. do the math, they owe you money.