I have paid the bailiffs over £2400 - council still asks for it though?!

[dankat]

I will have to go to the bank and ask me to provide with bank statments from 2010-2014.

 

According to the councils data, I made only 3 paymentsdirectly to them in 2013, and no payments at all between summer 2010-summer 2013, which I cannot imagine to be true.

 

There is not much I can do before I have all my payments together to get a clear picture.

 

I have 2 outstanding debts that are currently listed for a committal (means) hearing .

 

1 outstanding debt that is with Equita bailiffs, who I did call to set up a payment plan as I did not want to appear as someone who refuses to pay but the guy yelled naughty stuff at me. I was smart enough to record it.

I told Equita thst their bailiffs do not want to talk to me, but they send me a letter asking me to get in touch with them to avoid further escalation in recovery action.

I will not get in touch with them anymore and will send the recorded bailiff to the CEO's council and MP, hoping it will at least stop the bailiff action.

[dankat]

So to sum it up:

3 different cases.

 

I have thought about it - and I will have to make payments- no excuses. Even if one of the cases needs further investiagtion.

 

What is however clear is that the bailiffs did charge me unlawful fees of around 400£ in 2010/2011.

 

How hard is it in general to get these deducted? If these 400£ were deducted from my debt, I would pay £700 (my financial situation has massively improved this month as my partner has found a well paid and stable job) to clear my debt for one of the commital hearings. Leaving me with "only" 2 cases to deal with, but it will be easier on me.

 

I should not forget that I have 2 cases that are my fault (even though the reason for this is that I lost overview due to the bailiffs) and need to sort them out the quicker the better.

 

It tookl me 3 years to finally get hold of the breakdown of my debt from the bailiff's company...3 years!!! And now I finally have an overview of what was happening, at least to some extent.

 

So what I am asking: Will it be hard to get these deductions in order to close one case?

[tomtubby]

dankat.

 

Given that you now have a COMMITTAL hearing this is a serious matter and it is vital that you have all of your information as factual as possible.

 

The starting point must be the obtain the PRECISE amounts of each Liability Order. Without this, you will not be able to reconcile the accounts.

 

Next, you have confirmed that NEITHER Phoenix or Equita have previously gained entry into your premises and that you do not have a car. Accordingly, the ONLY fees that you should be liable for for each Liability Order are £24.50 for an initial visit ( to attend where NO levy was made) and a second such visit where a charge of £18 may be applied.

 

Thirdly, can you confirm whether or not you have ever received a Notice of Seizure for ANY of the debts?

 

Next, you say that one account had initially been with Phoenix and then transferred to Equita. Whilst there is nothing wrong with this happening ( normally due to new contracts being awarded) one worrying point is that debtor need to make SURE that the 2nd company ( in this case Equita) have not duplicated the fees previously charged by Phoenix. For example, if Phoenix had charged you £24.50 and £18.00 and then returned the debt to the council when the contract ended, Equita cannot then charge you a fee of £24.50 and £18.00. Such sums may ONLY be charged ONCE.

 

Have you obtained a FULL and DETAILED breakdown of all accounts from both company with details of each payment made?

 

What date is your committal hearing?

[dankat]

-I have not yet a commital hearing date.

All the council says is that I am currenlty listed for a commital hearing, but I did not receive any letter stating a date.

 

-I do not recall that I ever received a notice of seizure. The only letters that I have ever received from the bailiffs usually only threatened that they will come and remove my goods, but they never been inside my flat and made no listings of my belongigs. I do not own a vehicle either.

 

-The council provided me on Friday with the 3 sums of which I owe to the council. Together around £4000, a very high amount.

 

-I did after 3 years receive the breakdown from Phoenix, it shows the dates I paid and their fees.

I am only with Equita for a few months and they did send me a letter that shows no unlawful charges have been made (so far).

[tomtubby]

If you read my post carefully I have stated that you need to contact the council and get from then confirmation of the PRECISE amount of EACH Liability Order issued by them and passed to their bailiff companies.

[dankat]

yes the council provided me with this information on Friday. Each year the precise amount which I owe them for each year, and how much I have paid to them.

[tomtubby]

Can you post details please.

[dankat]

12/13 Tax Year

£1416.20 = council tax charge

-£538.20 = the amount of payments credited towards the current tax year

£97.00 = court and local authority costs

£975.00 = the summonsed balance (excluding bailiff fees) passed to Equita Bailiffs for collection

 

12/11Tax Year

£1419.92 = council tax charge

Nil = the amount of payments credited to the tax year

£97.00 = court and local authority costs

£1516.92 = the summonsed balance currently listed for a committal (means) hearing

 

11/10Tax Year

£1888.02 = council tax charge

-£492.00 = the amount of payments credited to the tax year

£97.00 = court and local authority costs

£1493 = the summonsed balance currently listed for a committal (means) hearing

 

 

just saw that i got an email from phoenix who say that apparently they seizured a bike?! i dont have a bike so....?

I also emailed the council an asked them for strict proof but they usually take up to 10 days to respond.

They have chared me a van twice and never took anything from me.

Should I email the council stating that?

[tomtubby]

What "sort"of bike. Is this is pushbike or a motor bike. If a motor bike, have they provided a vehicle registration mark?

[dankat]

push bike

[dankat]

never bought a push bike

[dankat]

What shall I do now? It is/was not my push bike. Do I need to contact the council stating that the levied good was not mine?

[new-me2010]

Have you got your bank statements yet?

 

I think you need them next so you can tally up the payments to the bailiffs and you need a breakdown of the bailiffs fees in full detail

[tomtubby]

It is vitally important that you get copies of your bank statements asap.

 

From what I can understand, a levy has only ever been made on a bike (pushbike) and that this item does not belong to you. Accordingly, the MAXIMUM bailiff fees that SHOULD have been charged to your account would be £42.50 for each accounts.

 

It would seem from the above that there are SERIOUS discrepancies and they need to be sorted out very quickly but as I have said....it is vital that you get proof of payments made.

[Squirrel Nutkin]

As some of you know, I had real problems with bailiffs and our council. After a suggestion here, I did go to our MP and, after a bit of time, it was sorted and the council apologised, shock, horror & surprise! The councils letters to the MP showed blatant untruths, they had to apologise. Is it worth dankat going to his/her MP? Just a thought.

[renegadeimp]

its ALWAYS worth going there. its why they are there and what you pay them for

[Squirrel Nutkin]

Dankat, please go to your MP. You will have to have everything logically written/typed up so they understand fully your side of the story and what has happened. It is worth it!