4 congestion charge penalties (all being contested due to failure of TFL to register my car) bailiff tomorrow - after rejected TE7 & TE9

[JC101]

Hi - thank you for your help in advance!

Let me summarise where i'm at, and

please let me know if procedure has or hasnt been followed in this situation, it's time critical.

 

- 4 congestion charge penalties (all being contested due to failure of TFL to register my car)

 

- 2 had already gone to enforcement, 2 I'd received the Order for Recovery, but had not yet gone to enforcement

 

- I had already made an arrangement with one of them to pay half, which i had done to Equita

 

- All 4 were put on hold in August following a TE7 & TE9 declaration, this was back in August

 

- I kept phoning Equita to confirm things were on hold, last conversation was 2 weeks ago, they confirmed that 'it looks like 2 have been cancelled completely, and 2 are on hold'

 

- I received no further correspondence until a text on 12th October from a bailiff saying he was coming round to my property at 4pm the next day

 

- I was abroad, so nothing happened, spoke to him yesterday

 

- He said they were taken off hold on 5th October, he's been ordered to recover them all, and because there is a broken arrangement on one, he has to take everything, no further arrangements

 

- I called TFL who advised they were taken off hold on the 11th October

 

- I cannot have a normal conversation with this Bailiff, he's extremely rude, and says he's coming tomorrow to collect everything, or remove goods

 

- I have since checked and I received an email from TEC on Sunday 1st October (went to junk), with no specific PCN numbers, just saying that the appeals have been rejected, and I have 14 days to file an N244 if I want to take it further

 

So my questions are -

 

Does Equita have to send me notice that the appeal has been rejected?

 

Does TEC have to send a letter?

 

As 2 of the PCNs were at Order for Recovery stage when they went on hold,

would it not stay at that stage for a time,

prior to going to enforcement?

 

Is the 14 day period to file an N244 calendar or working days?

 

How do I get a reason for the TE7 & TE9 being refused?

 

Does a bailiff have to offer an payment arrangement option?

 

Thank you so much!

 

Jude

Edited October 17, 2017 by Andyorch
Name removed

[unclebulgaria67]

Suggest contacting Equita to make a complaint. Unless you know what is going on, you can't be expected to pay any arrangement.

 

You need to keep your car away from your house if you can until this is resolved. Otherwise it will be clamped and they will threaten to take it away to be sold unless the full amount is paid. Never allow a bailiff into your home. Keep all doors locked. You do not need to even open any door to them. They have no rights of entry for such issues. The mistake would be having your car outside, which will force you into coming out of the door.

 

Others on this site such as Bailiff Advice know much more on this and may reply later.

 

In the meantime take the precautions.

[JC101]

Thanks - I've been taking precautions for a few weeks, I've been stung before.

 

Problem is, Equita wont talk to me because they say all info is with the bailiff, so I cannot even get a manager to call me back!

 

I'll await further technical expertise!

 

Jude

[brassnecked]

Change your handle Capquita bailiffs do look in on here and yours looks too personal. so they might be able to identify who you are Definitely follow UB's advice and hide motor.

[JC101]

Hi - sorry this is a separate but partly related to the other post i raised, but I need to know -

 

I had originally made a payment arrangement on one of my outstanding charges, made the first payment, but then the case got put on hold by TFL. Equita are telling me that despite it being on hold, I should have made the second payment, and it's now a broken arrangement, and full force of the bailiff upon me.

 

Is that right? Surely if a new case is on hold completely and doesn't require payment during that time, one that has been part paid is also on hold?

 

Is there a legal precedent that I can actually prove to Equita? Again, this is relating to an imminent visit.

 

Thanks,

 

Jude

[unclebulgaria67]

Might be worth contacting TFL about this and registering a formal complaint. Equita are acting for them. I think it is TFL that have rejected your TEC applications.

 

If TFL did not register your car due to an error for the congestion charge payment system they run, they need to look into this. The TEC form you complete are mostly rejected from what i have read, as people do not state the grounds required.

 

Others know more about the process. Based on limited knowledge, i think that as soon as the 14 days are up for the TEC rejection, it goes straight back to enforcement stage and if you are not up to date with the previous arrangement, they will come out to enforce all penalties outstanding. But it seems a bit quick.

 

See if you can get TFL to intervene, so you can come to an arrangement while your complaint about the congestion registration is looked into.

[Bailiff Advice]

 

- 4 congestion charge penalties (all being contested due to failure of TFL to register my car)

 

- 2 had already gone to enforcement, 2 I'd received the Order for Recovery, but had not yet gone to enforcement

 

- I had already made an arrangement with one of them to pay half, which i had done to Equita

 

- All 4 were put on hold in August following a TE7 & TE9 declaration, this was back in August

 

- I kept phoning Equita to confirm things were on hold, last conversation was 2 weeks ago, they confirmed that 'it looks like 2 have been cancelled completely, and 2 are on hold'

 

- I received no further correspondence until a text on 12th October from a bailiff saying he was coming round to my property at 4pm the next day

 

- I was abroad, so nothing happened, spoke to him yesterday

 

I apologise in advance for asking so many questions but they are necessary in order to provide you with accurate advice.

 

You say that the 4 congestion charges were disputed as TfL had failed to register your vehicle. Can you explain more on this comment.

 

You also state that 2 of the Congestion charges had gone to warrant state and the other two were at OfR stage. Did you file an 'in time' witness statement for the two charges that were at OfR stage?

 

You say that you received a response to your witness statement from TEC by EMAIL on 1st October advising that your applications had been rejected. I am wondering why the response came to you by email? This is very unusual indeed???

 

It is not for Equita to inform you that your OOT application's had been rejected. It is for the Traffic Enforcement Centre to notify you.

Edited October 17, 2017 by honeybee13
Removing old username

[Bailiff Advice]

 

1). Does TEC have to send a letter?

 

2). As 2 of the PCNs were at Order for Recovery stage when they went on hold, would it not stay at that stage for a time,

prior to going to enforcement?

 

3). Is the 14 day period to file an N244 calendar or working days?

 

4). How do I get a reason for the TE7 & TE9 being refused?

 

5). Does a bailiff have to offer an payment arrangement option?

 

JC101,

 

In answer to your 5 questions:

 

It is usual for TEC to send a letter (and not an email) to advise that an Out of Time witness statement (or Stat Dec) had been rejected.

 

If you had responded to the OfR in the specified time frame by submitting either a Witness Statement (TE9) or Statutory Declaration (PE3), then the penalty would automatically be 'rewound' to the earlier stage. As mentioned in my earlier post, I am confused as to what happened to the two penalties at the OfR stage.

 

The 14 day period to file an N244 is calendar days. That said, you may still submit an N244 after this period but you will be required to outline on N244 the reason for making the application LATE.

 

It is the local authority (in this case, TfL) who decide whether or not to accept or reject an OOT application. It is sadly the case that local authorities are failing to provide the respondent with a copy of their Statement of Truth (as in your case).

 

This subject has been a bone of contention with me for a number of years and is a serious matter which is once again the subject of a Formal Complaint from me to various agencies. That said, I have always found that TfL are one of the better authorities for providing a copy of the Statement used to reject an application. I am surprised to hear that it was not provided to you.

 

In answer to your last question; a bailiff does not have to accept a payment proposal.

Edited October 17, 2017 by honeybee13
Removing old username

[lookinforinfo]

Complain to TFL-it is possible they have not informed Equita that the case is on hold. Do you know why TFL put it on hold?

[Bailiff Advice]

Hi - sorry this is a separate but partly related to the other post i raised, but I need to know -

 

I had originally made a payment arrangement on one of my outstanding charges, made the first payment, but then the case got put on hold by TFL. Equita are telling me that despite it being on hold, I should have made the second payment, and it's now a broken arrangement, and full force of the bailiff upon me.

 

I made two very detailed posts yesterday on the other thread that you started. If you can respond, that would really help us to answer your questions.

 

In relation to the above question (which you have raised on a separate thread) the 'hold' that had been applied was because you had filed Out of Time Statutory Declarations. As those applications had been rejected, the hold was removed.

 

There is no precedent that you can rely upon. Instead, common sense should be applied by Equita. As far as I am concerned, you have not defaulted.

 

You have not mentioned (as least I don't think that you have), whether a personal visit has ever taken place in relation to to these penalty charge notices?

[JC101]

Sorry I haven't updated, I spent most of the afternoon on the phone!

 

it turns out that the bailiff I was dealing with, who was refusing to go into further details about the payment arrangement I had apparently made, was lying through his teeth.

I had originally spoken to another bailiff, prior to it going on hold, and had simply said that it's going on hold, let's see what happens later.

He had then just postponed everything, with NO payment arrangement in place.

 

I called this bailiff, and he confirmed that to be the case.

I then called Mr New Aggressive Bailiff who again huffed and puffed, refused to listen and put the phone down

- but then had to agree that I was right!

It's now back with the original bailiff, and an arrangement in place.

No apology of course.

 

I have now raised a formal complaint against Mr New Aggressive Bailiff, and am claiming costs for every phone call and email I've had to make, and for the stress I've had over the last week

- I literally have been up at night thinking there is going to be a knock at my door at 6am from this bully who I cannot even have a reasonable conversation with.

 

He refused to speak to me properly, and Equita were no help of course.

If Equita do not respond within 14 days, I'll go the small claims court.

I've done it before, and won.

 

I will not be bullied into submission by somebody who clearly just revels in the abuse of power he has.

 

I'll keep you all posted!

 

Thanks,

 

Mr J

[ploddertom]

 

 

Instead, common sense should be applied by Equita.

 

 

 

 

Common sense & Equita should never be mentioned in the same sentence.

[dx100uk]

threads merged

[Bailiff Advice]

I apologise in advance for asking so many questions but they are necessary in order to provide you with accurate advice.

 

You say that the 4 congestion charges were disputed as TfL had failed to register your vehicle. Can you explain more on this comment.

 

You also state that 2 of the Congestion charges had gone to warrant state and the other two were at OfR stage. Did you file an 'in time' witness statement for the two charges that were at OfR stage?

 

You say that you received a response to your witness statement from TEC by EMAIL on 1st October advising that your applications had been rejected. I am wondering why the response came to you by email? This is very unusual indeed???

 

It is not for Equita to inform you that your OOT application's had been rejected. It is for the Traffic Enforcement Centre to notify you.

 

Any news?

[brassnecked]

Common sense & Equita should never be mentioned in the same sentence.

Greed and cheating is also their stock in trade