Equita Bailiffs for Council Tax

[twinmommy81]

Hi, im hoping someone can give me some advice.

 

I had a liability order against me, which i then agreed a repayment plain with the council directly,

 

at the end of last year i missed two months payment,

due to my husbands hours at work being cut, and having two toddlers to feed and clothe.

 

I have today received a letter from Equita bailiffs saying if i dont pay

or enter into a satisfactory arrangement then they will visit to remove goods.

 

I have rung the number on the letter,

and they have given me the mobile number of a bailiff

and told me i need to ring him directly as he has my case.

 

I know people on here say not to contact the bailiffs,

but i really dont want this escalating further,

 

i have left a voicemail message with this person asking for them to ring me back.

I cannot pay the full amount of £731.50

i am hoping he will agree to an arrangement plan.

 

My question is,

at what stage of the whole bailiffs procedure am i at?

the letter didnt mention imminent repossesion

(it only mentioned it if i didnt pay or enter into an arrangement)

 

what are my chances at this point of them agreeing an arrangement?

on a total of £731

what would be the amount they would accept?

 

The fact that the equita office wont deal with me

and they want me to ring him directly has scared me

and makes me think a visit is imminent.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[wonkeydonkey]

Regardless of the bailiff intervention you have every right to pay the Council direct,

there is no law to say you have to deal with any bailiff.

 

As a suggestion...

..work on an income and expenditure plan and decide what are both affordable and sustainable payments for you to meet,

then set up a regular payment date/day and make your payments direct to the counci

l using your reference for the year in question online.

 

If a bailiff attends you do not have to let him in or even speak with them

(regardless of all the threats he will spout forth) other than to open a window

(preferably upstairs) and inform him you are dealing direct with the council,

 

remove any goods from outside your property (garden furniture etc)

and if you have a car make sure you park it at least a 10 min walk away from the house.

 

If you ensure the bailiff cannot access goods to do a 'paper seizure'(known as a levy)

then the most that can be added to your account are two visit fees

( total £42.50 and you will need to budget your payment plan to take these into consideration.

 

If you follow the above it would be advisable to ensure all payments are made without fail on the due date

, it is very rare for a council to take matters further if there is a history of regular payments

as that shows you are not refusing to pay.

 

WD

[twinmommy81]

If the council tax is solely in my name, and the family car is registered in my husbands name, can they still take it??

[Leakie]

Hi Twinmommy81

 

Welcome to CAG

One of the experts will be along shortly with advise,

First thing,

If the Bailiff turns up you do not have to let him into the property, what ever he says at this stage,

if you have a car on the drive either put it in the garage or move it away from the property,

this is so he can not place a levy on it.

 

I would also pay the council direct via the internet, even if it is not the full amount.

 

Leakie

[Leakie]

Wonky Donkey beat me to it

you are in good hands now

 

Leakie

[twinmommy81]

thank you both, so are you recommending that i continue to pay the monthly amoun

t i was paying directly online to the council?

 

I was paying £69 on the 3rd of every month,

 

i missed decembers and januarys payment,

 

if i carry on paying that amount on the 3rd feb?

 

my balance is £731 though,

will the bailiffs continue to write and visit until its cleared?

 

i really dont want them visiting for that long.

[Leakie]

Yes carry on paying the council

The Bailiff will carry on trying to collect,

until you can persuade the council to take it back.

 

Leakie

[ploddertom]

Have you asked the Council to confirm what is actually owing? You may find it is different to what the bailiffs claim. You need to speak to someone at the Council and ask the following questions:

1 - how many Liability Orders they have against you

2 - the dates they were obtained

3 - the addresses they were for

4 - the period of time each covers

5 - how much each one was for

6 - how much is still outstanding

7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement

8 - the dates & amounts of any payments

[wonkeydonkey]

If the council tax is solely in my name, and the family car is registered in my husbands name, can they still take it??

 

Because you are married and live at the same property your husband is seen to be jointly liable and class 'ownership' of the car to be joint, they can take it unless it is on finance (not a bank loan) or used solely by your husband in the course of his employment (not merely travel to and from place of work)

[twinmommy81]

Because you are married and live at the same property your husband is seen to be jointly liable and class 'ownership' of the car to be joint, they can take it unless it is on finance (not a bank loan) or used solely by your husband in the course of his employment (not merely travel to and from place of work)

 

Thank you,

 

i am going to try and clear the full amount as soon as i can,

but any payments will be made directly to the council,

 

i noticed earlier when trying to ring them that they tell equita about any payments made directly to them,

so im guessing if they are told ive paid it off (eventually)

they should stop writing/visiting? apart from any fees they add on?

[ploddertom]

One thing to be aware of since Equita are involved. It might be your Council have off loaded some of their admin functions to a firm called Capita, who in turn own 2 Bailiff Co's one of which so happens to be Equita. Therefore if you ring the Council you may be talking to a Capita emploee rather than one from the Council & they are noted for being very unhelpful.

[twinmommy81]

One thing to be aware of since Equita are involved. It might be your Council have off loaded some of their admin functions to a firm called Capita, who in turn own 2 Bailiff Co's one of which so happens to be Equita. Therefore if you ring the Council you may be talking to a Capita emploee rather than one from the Council & they are noted for being very unhelpful.

 

This maybe the case, as i tried to ring the council to ask for the info recommended above, and it put me straight through to the same equita office from earlier today.

Can i ask, regarding my husbands car, his father lives right next door to us, if we put the car on his driveway, would they know it was our car?

[ploddertom]

This maybe the case, as i tried to ring the council to ask for the info recommended above, and it put me straight through to the same equita office from earlier today.

Can i ask, regarding my husbands car, his father lives right next door to us, if we put the car on his driveway, would they know it was our car?

 

Possibly, can you lock it in a garage?

[dx100uk]

you might also want to try and clear this a bit quicker

they wont want it to rollover passed march

as the new CTAX starts then.

 

dx

[wonkeydonkey]

This maybe the case, as i tried to ring the council to ask for the info recommended above, and it put me straight through to the same equita office from earlier today.

Can i ask, regarding my husbands car, his father lives right next door to us, if we put the car on his driveway, would they know it was our car?

 

The danger is they will clamp the car and you are then left to prove it is not to your household.....best to keep it well out of sight.