Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

[jasey2009]

Hi,

Ive had trouble out of Equita for sometime now. I owe Birmingham City Council £142 and I wrote and told them that I couldn't afford all of this in one go and agreed to pay it off in installements but they wrote and told me that it was in the hands of Equita and I should contact them instead.

Well basically, I had a hand delivered letter from a bailiff this morning; the usualy, threatening one about coming to take my goods but also with this letter was something stating that the bailiff is going to take my car. It even had the colour of my car on it and my registration number. The bailiff had actually come sometime before 8am this morning as i park my car on my drive all night and i leave at 8am to drive to work so my car wouldnt be on the drive after 8am. I've not signed anythin but could he still come back and take it or does this give him the right to break into my property?

the letter he put through the door, also has a part on there for my signature but obv i will not sign it.

please help.

thanks.
jason

[Amy]

Re: Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

What is this debt for?

With regard to your car, a vehicle is an easy target as it causes maximum upset and inconvenience and as such will usually result in a payment for the bailiff. So job done for them.

You should move your car away just to be safe. Although it should be noted that if the vehicle does not belong to you, for example if it is on finance - then the bailiffs cannot touch it, but you will need to provide proof of this.

[jasey2009]

Re: Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

debt is for council tax owing to birmingham city council for 2 months last year.. now they know the car is mine, can they take it if its parked on the road outside or in my locked garage? the car is mine but not on finance. just a cheapo car really.

also, now can they enter my propery forcefully, tho ive not signed anythin at all?

thx.

[Guest]

Re: Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

Read this, it will answer a lot of your questions, then come back and ask if anything else is not clear. Bailiff Guide - Legal Beagles

They cannot enter your property by force for Council Tax debt unless they have previously gained peaceful entry.

[jasey2009]

Re: Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

yeh ive had a look. many thanks.

no they havent previously gained entry. just worried about my car even if i leave it on the road outside cos they do know its mine now.

i thought by now they wud have given up and handed the case back to birmingham city council. its sorta been goin on for nearly a year now.

jason

[Guest]

Re: Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

If you lock your car in the garage, they would commit an offence if they entered the garage in order to try to take it.

If you are waiting for them to give up and it has been going on for almost a year, how long are you prepared to keep waiting? They do this for a living and can simply wait it out.

On what basis should the debt be handed back to the City Council?

What was put through your door this morning for you to sign, was it by any chance a Walking Possession Order?

[jasey2009]

Re: Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

yeh it was a walking possession order. on the left it said "inventory" and they had put down my car reg number on it and the colour of my car.

this is where i am stuck, i offered to pay the money each month in installments to Birmingham City Council but they refused and said i had to contact the bailiffs.

(im not paying the bailiffs or contacting them ever again as they have high fees and lie too much. when i first had trouble off Equita early last year because i had moved in and hadnt received a payment book for a few months, despite phoning Birmingham City Council on numberous occasions, and i started to pay each month but i had a letter off Equita, completely out of the blue sayin there was 3 months council tax owing which came to over £400 with their costs and they sent me a payment booklet and i missed a payment because of losing hours at work and they took it to court and i had a threatening letter off equita saying about removing my items. i made the mistake of phoning the named bailiff up and he told me i had to pay £459 otherwise i wud be imprisoned once i went to court. i said i cudnt pay it till a few days later when i got my monthly money from work and he finally agreed to that but when i rang up on the friday, it had suddenly gone up to over £500 and i paid by debit card and i was skint that month and had to borrow money off people.)

i was told that eventually they pass the case back to City Council and i did have a letter from the Bailiffs about that about 3 months ago, saying as they could not gain access to my property or levy distress on my goods, the case would be handed back to the city council, but a few days later. i had another Equita bailiffs letter through the door.

i just dont know what to do.

jason

[Amy]

Re: Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

yeh it was a walking possession order. on the left it said "inventory" and they had put down my car reg number on it and the colour of my car.

A posted walking possession order is not valid, so don't worry about this. However, you should still think carefully about moving your car.

(im not paying the bailiffs or contacting them ever again as they have high fees and lie too much.

How much have they charged you in total and how much have you paid in total. Detail is necessary here as what a bailiff can and cannot charge for the recovery of council tax is quite clear.

Also, have you checked to see if the bailiff is certificated? Certificated Bailiff Register - Legal Beagles

[jasey2009]

Re: Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

my cars locked in the garage.

on the walking possession order (Notice of seizure and inventory of goods) , its says £142 owing to birmingham city council and underneath its got bailiffs charges £157. what looks funny tho is the bit that says underneath that - total amount if paid today £299. so that means if i dont pay that str8 away, it will be a lot more? i mite just fone this bailiff up tomorrow and see how much its gone up by, tho hes not gettin a penny out of me.

shud i try and send a cheque each month in installments to Birmingham City Council?

jason

[Amy]

Re: Equita Bailiffs...a quickie, bit of advice please

The walking possession is not valid, so it doesn't matter what it says.

I think you should formally request a breakdown of what you owe and fees charged. This will go a long way in proving to the bailiff that you are aware of your rights and that he cannot make up fees which is common practice for them.

You will find a link to this in the bailiff guide already posted.

Yes, definitely pay the council direct although they will protest.