bailiffs-can they send me to prison?

[ponygirl]

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting so hope its in the right place and following forum protocol.

 

I have outstanding debts of about £800 for outstanding council tax, this has been passed to Equita baillifs by my local authority.

I have had several letters and a couple of visits from the lovely people at Equita (note the sarcasm there!)

One letter was particularly unpleasant and hand delivered so I panicked and paid them £200 the next day, I didn't want this thug back at my house again so I rang their office.

They said that it had been passed to an individual baillif and the office could no longer deal with it.

I rang the National Debt helpline who were very helpful and advised me to basically just don't answer the door, if they turn up lock all doors and windows, park my car away from the house, lock garage and make it obvious that I have 2 large german shepherds loose in the house. They also advised that I write to the office with an offer of payment and also a request for a breakdown of charges.

I did this in November 2006, I posted a cheque for £100 and made it clear that I would pay no more until I had a breakdown of charges as I felt they had overcharged.

I sent this recorded and the cheque was cashed, but recieved no info from they re the charges. I fully intended to keep up with the payment plan but in December, one of my darling shepherd dogs became very ill and her vets bills became my priority and she was eventually pts in January (Sorry if anyone thinks my prioritys were wrong but I paid the vets not the baillifs)

Since then have had several standard letters from them, until yesterday when I received a letter with the title COMMITAL TO PRISON in red acroos the top. I can't remember exactly what was said in the rest of the letter as I was reeling in shock and shredded it:oops: but basically they said as I have refused to pay they are recommending my being sent to prison.

At the moment I am 7 months pregnant with 2 older children so obviously this is a huge worry for me and making me ill.

I am currently remortgaging for home improvement reasons so will have enough to pay them off, but the remortgage has been dragging on for ages so God knows when that will be sorted, in the meantime I am panicking.

Sorry for the long post, anyone know what I should do:-?

[Bailiffchaser]

comittal to prison is only after you have been ordered to appear before the magistrates to explain non payment. then and only then can you be sent to prison. Bear in mind that if this is the letter you have recieved then it means that the debt has been passed back to the council. read it again and confirm that the debt has been passed back to the council.

[121o121]

Thats going to prove a problem now seens its been shredded.

 

No sarcasm intended.

[mikeg41]

Hello ponygirl, I'm having the same trouble with these equita ****. I find what I read on this site reassuring for the most part, but a visit this morning has left me in shock too.

 

I hope we can both get this sorted and put these evil so and so's in their place.:-?

[Guest MizzPiggy]

With a liability order, if there is refusal to pay, yes they can send you to prison and do have that power, however it has to be total refusal.

 

Ponygirl I understand your dilemma at the time and fully appreciate your decision, however if you would have perhaps phoned them or made contact then I am sure they too would have understood, the biggest issue a Bailiff company has is the silence and belief you have no intent to pay.

 

For any one reading threads, it is important to keep in contact with the Bailiff and their Company, or it will be seen as no intent to pay and that is not what you are genuinly saying by this.

 

We do know and deal with people everyday, that do not have the money to pay and are on agreements that are harsh. Amounts need to be set up that are fair. All we try and say is, that if you have a circumstance such as Pony girls, please phone the Bailiff or Bailiff Company.

 

Don't hide behind the door or it makes it worse and you will incurr more fees that are added with justification with the Bailiff visiting. Rather than that, try to negotiate even if it seems hopeless, or just send a cheque with a letter showing your intent to pay even if a smaller amount than demdanded or expected.

 

Often Councils will listen and will under the circumstances of pregnany, take the debt back.

 

Intent to pay is not avoidance and communication is seen as good intent and you can avoid fees.

 

Whatever you do Ponygirl, don't hide behind the door or the fees just get worse. If you need any help to negotiate let me know.

 

Alison

[121o121]

Speak to the council first to see if the debt has been passed back to them. If so, write to them with a suggested repayment proposal and include the first payment (if possible). It may also help to include your income / expenditure for their review. This will prove to them your a "can't pay" and not a "won't pay".

[tevion]

first of all stop panicing, i know its easier said than done. its apity you shredded the letter because you dont know whether its off the council or the bailiff company. anyway it doesnt matter cus your not going to prison.

wont pays get sent down not cant pays. if the letter was from the council then it means the debt has been pulled back which is good news.if you have to go to court, dont worry, you will be allowed to pay what you can afford. they cant have what you havent got and as you said you have been trying to pay. as far as bailiffs are concerned if you dont want to answer your door to them or talk to them then thats your right. ok if might **** them off but so what they **** enough people off. bailiffs dont usually give a toss about peoples circumstances they just care about being paid. as far as racking up charges, council tax recovery charges are set by law. nothing can be charged for letters and no more than two visits (check national debtline website) and realistically he will have to have gained access in to your property before these charges can be enforced. if a bailiff turns up and you pay him then he will come back for more and try and rack on more charges.

if he knows he isnt going to get any money off you or that he wont gain entry, then its more likely that the debt will be passed back to the council. just as if you make a bailiff aware that you know what the legal charges are, he cant screw you. council tax can be paid online and as far as i am aware, it doesnt refuse payment like bailiffs or the council.

contact the council and explain your circumstances and see if you can set up a payment plan. dont be bullied into an agreement you cant afford and remind them that a magistrate will not take kindly to court time be wasted due to them not offering assistance and refusing your offer to pay what you can afford. you could also make a formal complaint if you are unhappy. make sure you inform them that you are pregnant and the stress that this is having on you as an expectant mother and ask if they would like to contact your midwife to explain to him/her how they can justify this. then ask them about their discrimination policies regarding the treatment of women and pregant women. what i am trying to say his dont be fobbed off.

[Bailiffchaser]

Use every available resorce you have be it your pregnancy. You may not know this but you are holding a ace in your hands. Use your pregnancy and also tell them that god forbid anything happens to your baby you will hold them resposible for this. This should be enough to pull it back from them.

[FixBeatz]

wow, im shocked, or rather actually im not. did a search for equita on the net and there's so many people being screwed over by them evident by posts like this in forums all over the net! something really needs to be done!

 

how they screwed me was:

 

they sent 3 letters which i ignored (not a priority debt, i knew they wouldnt except an offer of zero so thought id wait till i could offer something), it was for a £60 parking fine which increased to £89 now equita have it.

 

i phoned them after the 3rd, and was only able to offer £5 per week which they agreed too. i informed them the only means of paying i had is cash, so they sent me a payment book out to pay at the post office.

 

i got the payment book 2 weeks later and started making payments. i had paid over half the amount at the agreed limit and out the blue i got a new letter - a removal notice! i got the letter through my door 6 DAYS after it was written and in the letter it states i must ring immediately to stop bailiff action.

 

how can i do that when they're sending the letters out 2nd class??

 

so i spoke to the bailiff as the office will now not speak to me - and he says the bill is now over £280, for a parking fine. he's not interested in my case, and said "they never would have agreed to a payment that low" - well they did mr washington you weirdo. when i asked how i was supposed to stop this action when the bailiff was put onto the case before i even received the letter, mr washington replied "thats how we make our money".

 

i sent a long long letter detailing all of this to the company addressed the bailiff manager as recommended by the CAB.

 

they sent a letter back, saying "your letter has been noted, contact the bailiff".

 

disgusting behaviour, they've picked on the wrong person! i have less than £30 to pay back, i will continue making the £5 payments on the book until that is cleared then i will stop paying them. i will make it obvious using my fully grown trained german shepherd that he will never gain access. i no longer have a car.

 

what do you think they will do?

 

thanks people. im going to do some research using all the info ive found about equita on forums and try to get some people together against them. who do they think they are?

[Saffronflowers]

FB - I would coopy and paste this into a new thread and you should get the help you need. There are loads of threads on her re PCN's so in the meantime take a look and see if that is of help.

 

SFx