Equita Bailiffs - RESULT!!

[Sneaky_1]

To cut a long story short, last October I got clobbered by Transport of London for not paying a congestion charge. An order was passed against me and Equita took over the collection of the Monies.

 

I received a letter from Equita around the 20th Feb this year asking me to pay £171 - I failed to contact them and about 3 weeks later received another letter stating that if I did not pay immediately a baliff would attend my property to remove goods. I called Equita on receipt of that letter to make payment and was informed that my file had been passed to a Bailiff who I should now contact directly.

 

I called the bailiff to make payment and he explained that he had not yet received my file so I should call back in a couple of days which I duly did. On calling back I was informed that I now had to pay £490.71!! I queried the amount and was told it was costs added by Equita - I expressed my horror at this but was told that unless I paid he would turn up with a van. I could not pay that amount at that time and explained that I could in a couple of days as it was close to pay day. The bailiff agreed that if I called back he would take no furter action.

 

I immediately contacted Equita and queried the amount and wrote a letter of complaint to them requesting a breakdown of the costs. A response from equita was not forthcoming prior to the date I had agreed to make payment and I was again told by the bailiff that I had to pay the full £490.71 and would have to query the charges later.

 

Not knowing what I do now, I paid in full and did not take my compalint further.

 

Thanks to this forum and with a couple of carefully worded emails I have today received confirmation from Equita that as a gesture of good will they are refunding £319.16!!........ quote

 

"

I have been passed your email in order to respond.

 

For your information I have detailed below a breakdown of the fees applied to your case, and the dates they were arrived at.

 

15.02.06 – Initial Notice £11.20

22.02.06 – DVLA Charge £2.50

22.02.06 – First Visit £47.01

21.03.06 – Attendance Fees: £225.00

 

VAT: £50.00

 

In view of your comment that no visit has taken place we queried the matter with the bailiff assigned to the case. Given the length of time that has lapsed since payment was collected he was unable to recall any specific details and has not retained any paperwork going back that far. As a result, on a goodwill basis, I have arranged to refund all visit and enforcement charges, totalling £319.61.

 

I will arrange for the card used in the transaction of the 21 March 2006 to be credited with the aforementioned amount."

 

 

I accepted their offer but took the liberty to point out that failure to keep propper records was a breach of their license!!

Thanks to Consumer Action Group and all those who post who have given me the knowledge to tackle people like bailiffs and reclaim our rights! A donation will be forthcomming! :grin:

[ivorbiggun]

Definitely make a complaint to Trading Standards and the OFT about these sharks. If enough of us complain then maybe someone will take action. (Holding my breath and turning blue).

[Sneaky_1]

Good idea... sorry not thinking straight as still basking and dreaming of what to spend the money on!!

 

As soon as I have seen the funds in my account I will drop a line to Trading Standards and copy in the OFT and Northampton court as well!

[Sneaky_1]

Hmmmmm, maybe I spoke too soon!! Have just checked through all of my accounts but cannot find trace of a credit. I emailed Equita on 22nd asking for confirmation of the last 4 digits of the card they were going to apply the credit to and the date of the credit but have had no response.

 

Have just sent another email requesting the info again and am awaiting read receipts.

 

Whilst waiting and perusing their letter I couldn't help but wonder what the following charge was for...

 

22.02.06 – DVLA Charge £2.50

Has anyone come across this before and what is it for??

[ivorbiggun]

The £2.50 DVLA charge is the enquiry fee that Equita pay to the DVLA to find out who is the registered keeper of a car/bike/van.

[Sneaky_1]

Thanks, that clears that one up - now all I need is the refund!

[Sneaky_1]

Have just received a reponse form Karen Fowler, Complaints Officer at Equita ....

 

"Mr Davies

The information you require will be sent to you once the reimbursement is authorised which is in the process of being done.

Regards

Mrs Fowler"

 

Is it me or did she say she was arranging it in her email of 16th Nov?? I don't understand why she cant tell me the card that they will refund on - surely thay have that information to hand?

 

Have just sent a response thanking her and informing her that I wanted to check which card they were using as I have had replacement cards with new numbers on some of my accounts and can't remember which one I used.

 

Will continue waiting........

[Sneaky_1]

Ok, so had an email this morning with part of my card number for me to verify and let them know it was correct. Replied and received another email saying that the refund would be made today (card was for my bank account).

 

Have been checking my bank all day but guess what..... No money and it's just gone 4pm!

[djweeble]

Give it time to clear in mate !

 

You know what the banks are like, it'll probably take at least 2 working days, maybe even 5

[Bailiffchaser]

Hi if it was a debit/solo card then it should show up either over night as crediting on monday or then will show on tuesday. Depends who you bank with. Credit cards can take 3-5 working days.

[Sneaky_1]

RESULT!! Money appeared in my account today!!

 

OK, to business... should I now complain to Trading Standards etc and if so, are there any standard letters for this?

[benjonesy]

Download Google Earth

 

Google Earth

 

This is Equitas Address

 

42-44 Henry Street

Northampton

NN1 4BZ

 

You can get streetview to see the premises.

[seanamarts]

point to this thread is ????? its over 3 years old!!!!!!