Bailiff Removal - Equita (5K)

[toucht]

Hi CAG'ers,

 

Following being away from my rented property and letting it to tenants over the past 5 years,

I came back to the UK in March 2010 and moved into my flat.

 

The council chased me for previous years CT and issued liability orders for those years.

 

I told them that I am keen to pay and

on receiving the Income and Expenditure Form said that I could afford £200 p.m.

 

They said that they wanted full and final payment due to the sum and as I could not pay fully,

they handed the case to Equita and they asked me to pay 400pm which I refused as I could not pay other exigencies at that rate.

 

I have been paying 200 p.m (to Equita) for the past 4 months and spoke to them on the telephone

and they said that I should continue paying, however the baliff action will still continue.

 

I have been receiving letters on a weekly basis with 2 site visits 'Delivery be hand - Payment due in full-24 hours' being the latest one,

 

however they stood outside and posted the letter through my box..

They cannot gain entry into my flat as the block (3 flats) is very secure,

however I do park my car about 15 mins walk away now.

 

However, I want to de-escalate the situation...

 

Can the baliffs force entry through breaking locks to gain entry, as the last letter said that they will 'remove goods in my absence' ?

Can I now start paying the Council directly instead of Equita?

Can I lobby the head of the Council re: attempting to agree a repayment schedule?

Can I take the issue to court and voluntarily agree a schedule of payments of £200 p.m?

 

Are there any other options in terms of debt arrangements that I can take up that will not adversely affect my credit rating?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Tony

[i hate bailiffs]

Can the baliffs force entry through breaking locks to gain entry, as the last letter said that they will 'remove goods in my absence' ? NO they can remove goods from outside, shed, garden or CAR

 

Have bailiffs ever gained entry to your property do they have a levy to date

 

as always payments can be made direct to the council online at a rate that YOU can afford

 

we need to look at what the balance is and what fees the bailiffs have charged you

[i hate bailiffs]

reading your post again are you saying the council have liability orders against you when you were not living in the flat and renting it out?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Just looked in on this you say the flat was rented to tenants, should they not have pay the CT??

[brassnecked]

Just looked in on this you say the flat was rented to tenants, should they not have pay the CT??

 

One would think so Brigadier, as surely the tenants were on the Register Of Electors, so would be the named debtor on the liability order.

 

Is this a Crapquita council? and if so have Capita and Equita colluded to data cleanse the liability orders into the landlord's (OP) name, or merely decided to get whoever is at the address to pay up irrespective, of whether they are liable or not?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

It is question to be answered before I would advise further.

[brassnecked]

It is question to be answered before I would advise further.

 

Definitely, as something smels here, so Op must contact council and ask

How many liability orders on the property

In whose name

what years

When obtained

When passed to bailiffs,

If they claim OP is liable for years when non resident, ask why should this be if premises were let to a third party and he was not resident in the Uk for the entire period up to 2010, so is not liable for anything previous to his return, and therefore is only liable the remainder of the tax year 2010-11 after he returned (Or a portion of 2009-10 if resident before April 2010

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Yes indeed care needed here!

[brassnecked]

Yes indeed care needed here!

 

Is the council in question one with Capita in the back office function? This could be critical to what advice is given, as if you phone the council you are talking to Capita, who will automatically deflect queries to Equita, so a Formal Complaint will be a first rather than second action once certain facts are established as per the questions I highlighted previously.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Is the council in question one with Capita in the back office function? This could be critical to what advice is given, as if you phone the council you are talking to Capita, who will automatically deflect queries to Equita, so a Formal Complaint will be a first rather than second action once certain facts are established as per the questions I highlighted previously.

 

Yes answers first please!

[citizenB]

Hmm, so the OP has a council flat which is rented - it was then sublet to tenants whilst the OP was out of the country ?

 

Was the OP permitted to sublet - if not, then the Council Tax would still be in his/her name.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hmm, so the OP has a council flat which is rented - it was then sublet to tenants whilst the OP was out of the country ?

 

Was the OP permitted to sublet - if not, then the Council Tax would still be in his/her name.

##

 

Quite possibly CB the scenario does not ''compute'' CB.

[i hate bailiffs]

Hmm, so the OP has a council flat which is rented - it was then sublet to tenants whilst the OP was out of the country ?

 

Was the OP permitted to sublet - if not, then the Council Tax would still be in his/her name.

 

may of been rumbled not answered any questions we may never know :suspicious:

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

We will have to see if the OP comes back, speculation is of n value at this point.

[toucht]

Big thanks for the swift replies..

 

.It is my own flat (via mortgage) so do not need permission from the Council to rent it out.

 

In terms of liability, the flat was rented out (with 3 sets of different tenants)..

.I sent them names of tenants at different times but as they have been unable to trace them,

they have said that as owner, the buck essentially stops with me.

 

In those years that I was away,

I cam back once or twice per year (two months total) and stayed with family.

I showed them rent agreements and receipts but they said it was not enough proof.

 

My council is Enfield and I have decided just to pay off what I can,

while I argue over particular periods and provide enough proof.

 

The case was handed to Equita and they have visited twice but I work so much that I am not often around.

 

LO's date back to 2008 and are in my name as they could not find the tenant's

(First set were there for 3 years and from Lyon, France - I think they went back).

 

LO's were all obtained in July 2012 and in my name.

Passed to Equita, 3 months ago.

 

Baliffs have not gained entry, very difficult to get in.

 

How can I get a list of the costs that they have charged so far?

 

On another thread, someone mentioned an SAR - could that be helpful?

 

Cheers again

[brassnecked]

"How can I get a list of the costs that they have charged so far?"

 

By sending Equita, the Acme letter adapted to suit below

 

 

"From:

My Name

My Address

 

To:

Acme bailiff Co

Bailiff House

 

Ref: Account No: 123456

 

Dear Sir

 

With reference to the above account, Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges.

 

This includes:

a - the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee.

b - the reason for the fee.

c - the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged.

d - the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were certificated at.

e - the date of the Certification.

 

This is not a Subject access request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. You are obliged to provide this information.

 

I require this information within 14 days.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Ripped off customer"

[i hate bailiffs]

The council make there own rules up cant see how you would be responsible if you are out of the country

 

letter time me thinks start with council copy in Local MP take things further if needed to local government ombudsmen

 

Protect the car from bailiffs deny them entry and little they can do

 

not your debt so you should not be liable

[toucht]

Big thanks for the proforma!

[brassnecked]

Big thanks for the proforma!

 

No problem, that's the one we try to get posted up first, no doubt i beat one of the other regulars to it:-)

 

When the info comes back post it up and Caggers can help dissect them for legality, and indicate which are payable and which come out of the Brothers Grimm fairytale fee Handbook, and can therefore be challenged.

[toucht]

Cheers brassnecked.

[wonkeydonkey]

Did you rent your flat out through an agency? ...then they should have all the application forms tenant was required to complete prior to the tenancy being granted, that along with copies of the tenancy agreement and history of rent payments should be enough evidence for you to fight your corner with the Council.

 

WD

[toucht]

Sent off letter last week

[toucht]

Equita called me 3 times on landline today, said reply will arrive tomorrow.

[toucht]

Heard that a Tomlin order might be helpful, can I voluntarily go to court to request a lower monthly payment than my current amount?

[toucht]

Made a payment direct to the Council this morning... trying to cut out the baliffs.