Equita Bailiff on doorstep

[introublewithcash]

basic story

 

my partners name is on council tax bills and recently received demand for two outstanding council tax

 

rang equita bailiffs and proposed to pay £10 a week on each

they sent me 2 payment books 1 for each debt

 

decided it wasnt worth paying £2.20 post office charge for each so thought it would be better to pay £20 on 1 then pay £20 on the other the following week

 

first payment made at local p/o £20 and the p/o charge of £2.20

 

next thing ie today

bailiff on doorstep

we complained that we was on a payment plan with them and showed him the book (stamped at p/o)

his reply was you dont have an agreement and duly rang his office(equita) they agreed with him

when I originally rang them they didnt tell me my offer was not enough and if it wasnt why didnt they tell me why send out the books

 

so tried to ring my council who rang equita on my behalf they basically told the council no agreement has been made

 

the council wont recall the debt untill the bailiff has passed it back even though I offered to pay the council on direct debit to clear the debt

 

The bailiff has given me 3 days to come up with at least £725 which is totally impossible

 

The bailiff did not enter my home

My car was on drive can he take that(allthough bill in her name)

we have 4 small children oldest being 6

 

please can any one help on what to do next

 

should I pay the next installment,should we ignore his calls

 

 

please any help would be great

[Markiemark1]

Don't let him into your property as he cannot levy unless he has peacefully entered the property, and can't force entry unless he has peacefully entered either. However, he can walk through an unlocked door so keep your front and back doors locked and he can also enter through an open window, so best keep these closed too.

 

Has he left a notice of distress on the car at all?

[introublewithcash]

no distress on car

[Markiemark1]

If it was me the car would disappear rather quickly!!!!

[introublewithcash]

what do i do about everything else

[PizzaMaker]

If the car is in your name and the council tax bill is in your partners, then they can not levy on your car or remove it for someone else's debt.

 

I had the same problem. They assumed the car on the drive way was the defendants, it was not. Phoned the council and informed them what had happened. The levy fee and walking possession fee were removed.

[Billyhunt]

Firstly if the council tax bill is in your partners name and the car is in yours then they cannot levy on your car (if they turn up show them your log book, insurance details etc to prove this).

 

The bailiff does not have to agree to a payment plan but in theory, they should be open to negotiation. Are you on any benefits?

 

The bailiff may ask you to sign a walking possession agreement before agreeing to a payment plan. Dont sign anything and do not let them in under any circumstances as once they have entered peacefully and levied, they can return and enter without your permission. If you need to talk to them, do so outside with the door shut firmly.

 

If you do not deal with the bailiff at some point they should return the debt to the local authority so,

(a) You can continue to pay the amounts you can afford as you are doing

(b) ignore the bailiff and wait till the debt is returned to the local authority (allthough you will owe the standard charges to the bailiff).

© try paying directly to the local authority (can you pay online).

 

If you can continue to pay what you can afford, then this does show willing and demonstrates to the local authority that you are not avoiding paying. Have you completed an income/expenditure form to show your income and outgoings to show you are paying all you can afford? Have you checked the council tax amounts your partner is being asked for? Are they correct, were they entitled to any help with them at the time but maybe never received it, council tax benefit? single occupancy discount? someone living in the house with a disability? Make sure that what they say your partner owes, is really owed. Also there are discretionary housing payments in some cases to help with council tax payments in certain situations. So tackle the payments but also check the original amounts and situation leading up to the arrears.

 

Hope this helps