Help with Equita Baliffs :(

A question about : Help with Equita Baliffs :(

Ok I know it was foolish of me to get into arrears with my Council Tax, but I really am trying to get on top of my debts.

On Tuesday this week I recieved a letter from Equita staing that they had been trying to contact me but I had not replied, this is a lie I have never recieved any letter from them previouly the letter was however dated the 3/4/12.

On wednesady this week whilst I was out a baliff attended my house, I was at work so they handed a letter to my landlord who was at the property doing some repairs. It said I have 24hr to pay and also has a notice of seizure inside listing my landlords car that was on my driveway at the time.

I rang the baliff who said the minimum he will accept is Ј64 per month apid direct to him ( total is Ј768.13). I also asked him about the seizure notice and he said they handed the letter to the guy doing repairs on my house and listed the car as it was on my drive but he was aware it was his...are they allowed to do this?

My question is can they list my landlord car as my property and remove it? also will they contact him regarding my debts? plus there is a Ј220.50 cost added on for baliffs costs do I have to pay this? as I read they were only allowed to charge around Ј25

I really need some advice as this is stressing me out, I am willing to make a payment plan but I dont want to pay charges that are unfair and for my landlord to know about my debts as they are embarressing enough as it is.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Best answers:

• Hi
  fairly typical equita - front loading fees to which they are not entitled and levying on property that they know you do not own.
  Did the levy include any property that you do own?
• Thank for replying, been pulling my hair out here
  Mo the only thing was the Var as it was on my drive, they didnt go in my house.
• Hi,
  I had a similar situation happen a few years back with my Council and had being paying monthly, missed two months and they wanted the entire amount.
  Many Councils go straight to Court to register the debt and you should have been served the papers for this at least two weeks prior to the Court date.
  Once the debt is registered you should have received a letter initially from the bailiff asking you to contact them to either settle the debt or to make a payment plan.
  I rang the Council, spoke to the Council Tax department (not the general number) and said that I could not afford to meet a high repayment and suggested the amount I could pay.
  It will help you to produce a Statement of Affairs so you can demonstrate what is affordable. However, this is classed as a priority debt so should be paid with the same priority as your rent or income tax.
  From what I have learned, the Bailiffs like to clear these debts in 12 months or less, but with assistance from the Council Tax department, they will authorise the Bailiff who is effectively an Agent for the Council to extend this if you can demonstrate hardship.
  You need to ask the Council if they are aware the Bailiff is adding on charges as these are extortionate. I am aware that if an agreement with a Bailiff is broken, then you may be liable for more costs. But, the costs you face are only as outlined on the Court paperwork for now and you need to quickly verify this with your Council. If the Bailiff has overstepped the mark, you need to point out to the Council that they are breaking the law under the 1997 Harassment Act and that you are within your rights to report them and the Council should the matter not be redressed very promptly.
  In the same manner it is an offence under the Harassment Act for a Bailiff to disclose to another party your debt, to cause humiliation etc...it is also in total breach of the OFT guidelines and case law has in the past dealt harshly with this. The Bailiff can lose his licence if he breaks the rules and too many of them know that the general public do not know the law.
  If this is the case, write to the Head of Finance for the Council and demand an urgent inquiry. This at the very least will suspend any action the Bailiff can take and give some breathing space to negotiate a fair amount that you can afford.
  I do not like these firms bullying tactics and it is very common for them to claim they have called or sent letter's. Get them to prove it!
  Good Luck!
• Ok
  Read this thread. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=3825573
  The e-mail contact for equita is info@equita.com
  Equita are owned by capita who probably run the back office for CT collection at your Council, so you will find them less than co-operative.
  Can you make payments into the Council's account on-line?
• Ok great thanks, so at least they cant touch my landlords car.
  I can make payments online, but wont those go toward this years bill and not last years?
• Your CT Bill account NO works like this
  Account No: Never changes
  Property Ref: Never changes
  Reference No: Changes from year to year and it is this reference that identifies the Year/Account that any payments are allocated to.
  So if you have a look on the notice of seizure left by the bailiff and you look at your new council tax bill you will see the ref NO are different(or they should be) us the ref no on the notice of seizure when paying this debt
  Please inform the council revenues department and Equita (byemail)that there bailiff has levied on a car that does not belong to you tell them a DVLA check will confirm you do not own the car in question and ask them to remove the levy and any fees associated with levy from your account
  If/When (and believe me they do try this) they write back and ask you to provide proof (log book insurance etc.) simply inform them asyou are not the registered keeper /owner of said car you do not have such information however if they are refusing to remove the fees associated with this levy you will send a FORMAL COMLAINT to the CEO of the local authority and will take it as far as the ombudsman if necessary
  What figures has the bailiff put on the form 7 as in
  Outstanding balance council tax Јxxx (have you confirmed with council the amount of the liability order)
  Visit fees Јxxx
  Levy fee Јxxx
  Any other made up fee Јxxx
• Hi guys im a newboe to this site but have been reading up for the last 10/11 months since the cretins at equita started bothering me. Im a single mum to an 8 year old and currently 27 weeks preganat, i work part time and have always struggled with my council tax payments as rent, electric food ect takes up most of my wages. I have had an AOE in place for council tax arrears which has been fine as they get there money. Then last year i had 2 liabilty orders come dated 2009/10 and 2010/11. Equita had them.. to cut a long story short they wouldnt accept any payment plan and in the end i went to the council who along with equita agreed to me paying Ј100 per month. i made 3 payments totalling Ј300 then missed a payment (my own fault iknow) thats when the bombarding started again, letters threats of commital, vans, locksmiths, removal of goods wether i was present or not ect ect.. (they have NEVER and will nEVER get in my home) i dont own a car either. Then last week a lovely lady (NOT) hand posted a letter saying i had 24 hours to pay the whole amount or she was coming back to takemy stuff. I rang her to say i would pay the Ј100 per month again but she flatly refused saying if i paid the smallest liability order off she would think about a payment plan fir the other amount, She said the smallest amount was Ј730.. WHAT... i'da already paid off Ј300 . She said they had added over Ј200 pound in baliff fee's. I said she couldnt do that and that she could only charge for 2 visits, she said i was wrong. Ok i then told her i would deal with the council and wait till they pass the debt back again she said i was worng and that they wont do that. I have now started paying the council online.. BALLS to the baliff she can swivel for her money.
  I just want some advice as to if they can charge all those fee's and if they will eventaully return the debt back to the council.
  Sorry to drag it out.
  Thanks :-)
• I REFER TO YOUR EMAIL ON THE EQUITA WEB SITE AND AM DESPERATELY SEEKING ASSISTANCE.
  I was 2 days late on an agreed payment and during that time Eqwuita have instructed a bailiff to visit me for obtaining Ј500 that I don’t have.
  This appears strange as their letter dated 2/1/2013 which I received on the 7/01/2013 stated Ј415.
  I on 8/01/2013 commented on their website that I would pay the originally Ј150 this week and payed Ј40 on line that day.
  I spoke to the Equita office this morning, and the girl there said there would be no problem but she would put me through to the bailiff, but was answer phone
  I have eventually after 4 hours contacted the bailiff who refuses to accept and said she would be at my property demanding Ј500 and would gain entry.
  I have advised that I have read your web site and as it is rented fully furnished, we would discuss it when she visited.
  I again tried to reiterate what the office had said but she slammed the phone down
  Please can you help
• Hi
  you need your own thread but in the mean-time send this e-mail - snaffled from hallowitch.
  has the bailiff ever been in your house?
  Ok
  This is hallowitch's message for bailiff
  send this to your council and Equita by recorded delivery letter or e-mail to info@equita.com
  make sure you include the Council in your message.
  Name
  Address
  Bailiff Ref: Account No: 123456
  Council Ref No: 435672
  Date
  Dear Sir,
  With reference to the above account please provide me with a breakdown of all fees charged and payments made for the above account
  This includes:
  a - the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee.
  b - The reason for the fee.
  c - The name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged.
  d - The name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were certificated at.
  e - The date of the Certification.
  This is not a Subject access request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of Ј10.
  The National Standards for Enforcement Agents state that if a written request is made an itemised account of fees will be provided.
  Please provide the information requested within 14 days of this E-mail /recorded delivery letter
  Yours faithfully
  Ripped off customer"
• When dealing with Equita just follow the advice given by Hallowitch and Ras to the letter and do nothing else. Equita, like many others, always try and stretch the rules and scare you into paying, even if you have to get the money from elsewhere. Even though you legitimately owe the money you have rights about how they can collect it and what fees they can levy. I know it is hard but do not let them bully you, the law is on your side.
• Equita will at any and all opportunities try to stretch the law (often illegally)
  Equita sends their mail through TNT post which often takes 5-7 days to deliver. You haven't stated who your debt is from. Is it from a council? If so, council's have a contract with Bailiffs to act within a certain manner. You can file a Freedom of Information request to the council, hopefully in that way, the contract might state what the bailiffs should have sent the letters by.
  Also Equita are a member of CIVEA and as of such, they MUST abide by these rules:
  civea.co.uk/code-of-practice.htm
  Have a read and think of anything they might have stuffed up on.
  If it's a council debt, write an email to your local Councillors and Member of Parliament outlining your concerns. There might be something they can do hopefully, if not, at least they can take note and hopefully raise this issue in parliament at a future date.
  While you may have to pay up, make sure they have to work for their money