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2 unpaid London borough of redbridge PCN's - Equita want to Clamp My Car


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Hi I hope someone can advise me if there is anything

I can do?

Today my car was clamped by equita bailiffs for what they say was 2 unpaid parking fines, I question them over this as I had already paid £260 to them in may, & thought

That it was all over.

They said I had to pay£1200 to get my car unclamped, eventually they reduced the payment to £750, because

I said I had already paid £260, they wouldn't reduce the payment any more and said unless I paid they would remove my car for auction, through sheer panic I have managed to pay, on about 3 different credit/ debit cards, this has left me with nothing.

Is there anything I can do to get some of the money back, considering they said it was only £110

Help please

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Who were the parking fines owed to originally ?

We could do with some help from you.

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Contact the council. I presume the bailiff fees are subject to an agreement with the council.

 

http://www2.redbridge.gov.uk/cms/contact_pages/p/parking_management.aspx

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Also sorry for sounding a bit thick, but can you give some idea as what to say to redbridge? Thank you

 

Just tell them what has happened. Two unpaid parking fines of £110 each and bailiffs have just charged you £1200. Ask them for details of bailiff fees that Redbridge allow bailiffs to charge in relation to unpaid parking fines.

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Sorry I meant a charge back

 

If the amounts represented an overcharge by the bailiffs, the phone your credit card companies and ask for their help. I think for a credit card refund, you have to complete a form, before they will consider this. It would be a section 75 refund request.

We could do with some help from you.

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If it was a visa card, then yes. You can get a chargeback.

Any advice i give is my own and is based solely on personal experience. If in any doubt about a situation , please contact a certified legal representative or debt counsellor..

 

 

If my advice helps you, click the star icon at the bottom of my post and feel free to say thanks

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mizzbabyjess,

 

Could you please list the PCN fines and charges Equita have added. The charges are excessive and, I suspect, fraudulent. Fees relating to PCNs are regulated by the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debt (Certifcated Bailiffs) Regulations 1993-2003 which I am attaching to this post. Once you have posted up the fines and fees, it will be easier to see if Equita have ripped you off and by how much. What ever happens, you are likely to be claiming some of the money back from Equita and then making formal a complaint to the OFT's Credit Fitness Team.

Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) Regs 1993.pdf

Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) Regs 2003.pdf

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Thank you for your help.

I also emailed Redbridge yesterday to ask for details of bailiffs fees that Redbridge allow. They say they could take up to 28 days to get back to me.

I hope this is the info you need?

PCN fines to equita £110 each

I paid £260 to Equita in May.

They clamped my car yesterday and said it would cost

£1200 to have the car unclamped.

When I have checked equitas website, these fees are totally

Excessive.

I hope you can help me step by step of the way as I'm going to need all the help.

Also with regard to the charge back, what reason shall I tell the credit card company?

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Just one other thing, I have just looked through the list of

Certified bailiffs for my area and I couldn't see the bailiffs name listed.

 

If that is the case, the action taken and the fees are completely and totally illegal. By Section 135, County Courts Act 1984, it is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 7 years' imprisonment, to pretend to be acting under the authority of a court. A bailiff is acting under the authority of a court when enforcing warrants. If/she is not certificated, then any levies, fees, etc., are invalid and illegal. The most a bailiff company can legitimately charge for a wheelclamp is £100.

 

You need to contact Equita and ask them for a breakdown of fees, which they are obliged to provide within 14 days of the request being made, and the following details about the bailiff iinvolved -

 

FULL NAME

COURT AT WHICH THEIR CERTIFICATE WAS ISSUED

ISSUE DATE OF CERTIFICATE

EXPIRY DATE OF CERTIFICATE

 

Bailiff certificates are valid for two years from date of issue. If you have checked the Ministry of Justice's Certificated Bailiff Register and the bailiff's details do not show there, you need to report this to the MoJ's Bailiff Department by email at [email protected]. Insert the words PERSON ACTING AS BAILIFF WHEN NOT CERTIFICATED in the subject box of your email. Put the name of the bailiff and Equita's name in the body of your email and provide a clear and concise resume of what has happened. Once you have done that, you need to send an email to the OFT's Credit Fitness Team. Equita hold an OFT Category F Debit Collection Licence to enable them to collect non-public and public debt. Send an email to [email protected] and insert the words CREDIT FITNESS in the subject box of your email. You will need to quote Equita's CRN (Company Registration No.) which is 03168371. Give a clear and concise resume of what has happened. Also, report the matter to your local Trading Standards Department.

 

In addition to this, you need to approach LB of Redbridge and inform them that Equita employed an uncertificated bailiff to do their enforcement work, which is illegal, and see what their response is. Do this after you have carried out checks with the MoJ. You need to stress to LB of Redbridge that you have checked the relevant statutory instrument - Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) Regulations 1993-2003 - and find that, apart from fees permitted by the legislation, Equita have charged £xxx in fees not permitted by law. Make it clear to them that they are 100% vicariously-liable for the actions of Equita and the bailiff and ask them to refund the unauthorised fees.

 

You will need to bring this incident to the attention of the Department of Communities and Local Government. The people you need to write to there are -

 

Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP (Secretary of State)

Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (Minister of State for Housing & Local Govnerment)

Sir Bob Kerslake (Permanent Secretary)

 

The DCLG's postal address is -

 

Eland House

Bressenden Place

London

SW1E 5DU

 

You should also contact your local MP and, if you live in LB of Redbridge, you local ward councillor, also.

County Courts Act 1984.pdf

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Oh my such alot to take in thank you for your help, interestingly I received an email back from Redbridge stating :-

"The records show that Equita Bailiffs had been passed 2 warrants for the following penalty charge notices that had not been paid to this Authority:

 

AF6356556A and AF65070127

 

This Authority is not able to assist you with regard to the bailiff's fees, but you can request a breakdown of the fees direct from equita"

 

I will take the steps that you recommend & contact equita to get a full breakdown plus the details of the bailiff.

Can I as is it common for them to use an uncertified bailiff?

Also one other question, what should I say the reason for the charge back to the credit card company?

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There have been a number of incidents recently where it has been found that Equita have used persons who are not certificated as bailiffs to execute distress warrants. As such, a distress warrant can only be executed by a certificated bailiff or a court bailiff. If an uncertificated person is used, any levy or fees are unenforceable, invalid and illegal.

 

What LB of Redridge has told you about the bailiff's fees is only partly-correct. As advised in my post above, you need to serve a Breakdown of Fees Request on Equita. They are legally-obliged to provide this and must provide the breakdown of fees to you within 14 days of receipt by them. Please be aware that Equita have a habit of making fees disappear when challenged. However, there are aggravating factors in this matter as an uncertificated person levied and, therefore, the fees are not enforceable. You need to make this clear to LB of Redbridge and of their 100% liability for Equita's actions.

 

What I have posted may seem a lot, but taking this approach is showing positive results. In one case on CAG, a person's MP is tabling a Parliamentary question about their case and in another case, on another site, the OFT's Credit Fitness Team are following up a serious complaint against a bailiff company.

 

Putting the Department of Communities and Local Government in the picture as to what is going on is going to have impact as once they see the malpractice is widespread, they won't have a lot of choice but to do something about it, especially if they've got electors giving them grief about it in one ear and MPs giving them grief about it in the other ear.

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I would be straight with them and tell them that the charges were fraudulent due to the person who levied not being a certificated bailiff. Take a screenshots of the MoJ Certificated Bailiff Register to prove the bailiff is not certificated. Use the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) Regs I posted for you to back this up.

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I thought there is a possible issue with the online version of the list of bailiffs not always being up to date and that people should ring the MoJ to ask if they have the person listed and to what company?

 

Feebee_71

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I have spoken to the MoJ's Bailiff Department about this on a previous occasion. According to them, if a bailiff's name does not appear on the Register, they are not certificated. You can also ask Equita to confirm the court where the bailiff was certificated and the issue and expiry dates of the certificate. If they are evasive, this is a pretty good indication the bailiff is not certificated. Equita know it is illegal to allow an uncertifcated bailiff to execute a Distress Warrant or any other type of warrant requiring a certificated bailiff to lawfully execute it.

 

You can also send an enquiry by email to [email protected], inserting the words BAILIFF ENQUIRY in the subject box.

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Thank you for all your valuable advice, first steps I have

Contacted equita to get a break down of charges, I await their response, second I have double checked the MOJs website of certificated bailiffs, this particular bailiff is def not

Listed, I will send the email just to double check. II am now in the process of contacting my credit card company to get a chargeback. My only concern with this is if equita try to come after me again once I have completed the chargeback.

 

I am currently out of the country at the moment, but trying hard to deal with this.

I will keep you updated.

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Thank you for all your valuable advice, first steps I have

Contacted equita to get a break down of charges, I await their response, second I have double checked the MOJs website of certificated bailiffs, this particular bailiff is def not

Listed, I will send the email just to double check. II am now in the process of contacting my credit card company to get a chargeback. My only concern with this is if equita try to come after me again once I have completed the chargeback.

 

I am currently out of the country at the moment, but trying hard to deal with this.

I will keep you updated.

 

Your credit card company will be partly responsible for getting your money back. They are party to the contract with the bailiff. They have two choices. Either refund the money or get involved in the dispute.

We could do with some help from you.

PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP THIS SITE RUNNING EVERY POUND DONATED WILL HELP US TO KEEP HELPING OTHERS

 

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