Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

[shazzyG]

Help needed urgently please!!! We received a letter from Equita on 15.01.10 although the letter was dated 05/01/10. saying that we owed £92.88 for an unpaid parking fine that we meant to pay but put in a drawer and forgot about. We rang the number on the letter that day and had to leave a message.
We heard nothing until we got a 2nd letter on 30.01.10 (this letter was dated 18.01.10 which is 3 days after we left our phone message). Again, we rang that day and again we had to leave a message. This 2nd letter did not have any amount owing on it at all. Again we heard nothing until today when they turned up on the doorstep demanding £342 to be paid in full or they will take the car.

I pointed out that we had left 2 messages trying to pay when the amount was £92 but he just said he didnt have any messages I had to pay £342 in full or they will take the car.

This is so unfair, we tried to pay twice, the letters never said it was going to be £342 and I still don't have anything in writing saying it is £342 and the office refuse to discuss it saying we can only speak to the bailiff. the council refuse to take payment and say they can't do anything about it.

any help would be greatly appreciated, I can't believe they are allowed to do this. i tried calling trading standards but got consumer direct who just said I have to negotiate with the bailiff!!!

[Amy]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

Have a read of this guide Bailiff Guide - Legal Beagles and send a Subject Access Request to the bailiff to explain how they have arrived at a figure of £342.

I can only muster a figure of £11.20 for the letter, which is only chargeable by the bailiff if it is sent before a visit and £28 for a levy.

[shazzyG]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

thank you Amy, I will do that. It just seemed odd that you never get anyone answer the phone on the number you are given and then they show up saying they didnt get your message and oh, by the way, the amount has tripled even though they haven't confirmed this in writing.

The other thing is, my partner (whose name is on the registration doc) bought the car from his employer and is paying him monthly. When he first got the car, his boss got him to sign an agreement to say that he was giving him the car on the basis that monthly instalments were deducted from his wages but if at any time he was more than 3 months in arrears, then the car and any monies paid would be kept by him (the employer). I don't suppose this can stop the car from being taken by the bailiff does it? i didn't think it did as it is not a licensed credit agreement is it? Grasping at straws I know but just thought I'd ask.

Only other thing I can think of is DVLA original spelt surname wrong on reg doc (now been corrected) so all bailiff paperwork in wrong surname, doesthis make a difference?

[Amy]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

thank you Amy, I will do that. It just seemed odd that you never get anyone answer the phone on the number you are given and then they show up saying they didnt get your message and oh, by the way, the amount has tripled even though they haven't confirmed this in writing.

It isn't odd at all, it is deliberate and as you've already spotted, they can then triple the amount you owe.

Is your husband's car a company car? Does he need it for work?

Only other thing I can think of is DVLA original spelt surname wrong on reg doc (now been corrected) so all bailiff paperwork in wrong surname, doesthis make a difference?

No, not really. Get the SAR send and we'll go from there.

[shazzyG]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

It isnt a company car but i am self employed and I need it for work but it is registered in hubbys name.

[Tia555]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

If you and your Husband ARE married, and not just common law the bailiff has the right to remove a vehicle for your debt even if the legal keeper is your husband and vice versa, remember a Bailiff who has come to your home with "the intention to remove" can legally charge a visitation fee, this fee is NOT set by the bailiff company, it is set by the Council in which you receive the parking fine, these fees can range from around £110, to over £200, and this has nothing to do with the Bailiff at all, Bailiff companies have no right to set the limits of their fees, the fee levels are set out jointly by the Court, and Council, so when you complain how much the Bailiff charges, Remember this is actually, what the local council consider to be appropriate. The only time this is different is when a Bailiff is hired privately IE: By a private landlord to retake possession of a premises in the case of non payment of rent. in this case the Bailiff is entitled to charge "any reasonable fee" which includes Levy fees, waiting fees, intention to remove fees

And please remember Bailiffs are people too, only the small minority of bailiffs are bad, and this like everything reflects on everyone else, they have a job to do and someone has to do it

Lastly: THE WORSE THING YOU CAN DO IS TO IGNORE THE BAILIFF, IF YOU INVITE HIM IN HE HAS THE RIGHT TO RE ENTER THE PREMISES BUT IF YOU TALK TO HIM ON YOUR DOORSTEP HE DOES NOT HAVE THAT RIGHT, IF YOU MAKE A REASONABLE OFFER OF REPAYMENT THEY WILL NEVER TURN IT DOWN AND REFUSING TO ANSWER THE DOOR TO THEM ONLY MEANS THEY WILL VISIT YOUR PREMISES OVER AND OVER AGAIN, EACH TIME THIS ENTITLES THEM TO CHARGE "ATTENDANCE TO REMOVE FEES" WHICH WILL MAKE YOUR BILL GO SKY HIGH

[Guest]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

If you and your Husband ARE married, and not just common law the bailiff has the right to remove a vehicle for your debt even if the legal keeper is your husband and vice versa, remember a Bailiff who has come to your home with "the intention to remove" can legally charge a visitation fee, this fee is NOT set by the bailiff company, it is set by the Council in which you receive the parking fine, these fees can range from around £110, to over £200, and this has nothing to do with the Bailiff at all, Bailiff companies have no right to set the limits of their fees, the fee levels are set out jointly by the Court, and Council, so when you complain how much the Bailiff charges, Remember this is actually, what the local council consider to be appropriate. The only time this is different is when a Bailiff is hired privately IE: By a private landlord to retake possession of a premises in the case of non payment of rent. in this case the Bailiff is entitled to charge "any reasonable fee" which includes Levy fees, waiting fees, intention to remove fees

And please remember Bailiffs are people too, only the small minority of bailiffs are bad, and this like everything reflects on everyone else, they have a job to do and someone has to do it

Lastly: THE WORSE THING YOU CAN DO IS TO IGNORE THE BAILIFF, IF YOU INVITE HIM IN HE HAS THE RIGHT TO RE ENTER THE PREMISES BUT IF YOU TALK TO HIM ON YOUR DOORSTEP HE DOES NOT HAVE THAT RIGHT, IF YOU MAKE A REASONABLE OFFER OF REPAYMENT THEY WILL NEVER TURN IT DOWN AND REFUSING TO ANSWER THE DOOR TO THEM ONLY MEANS THEY WILL VISIT YOUR PREMISES OVER AND OVER AGAIN, EACH TIME THIS ENTITLES THEM TO CHARGE "ATTENDANCE TO REMOVE FEES" WHICH WILL MAKE YOUR BILL GO SKY HIGH

There is a difference between fees and charges.

Fees are set down by law in The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiff) Regulations 1993 as amended by Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 1857 (L.31).

Bailiff charges may be set by agreement with the local authority, ostensibly in order to cover the costs apparently incurred by the bailiff company. These charges should be “reasonable” and can be “taxed” by the court if challenged. In practice, the bailiff companies charge what they feel they can get away with, which in most cases is as much as possible.

Thus it is not true to state that the sums the bailiffs attempt to obtain in the form of charges are set by either the courts or the local authority. They are not.

The bailiffs add charges for the "work" that they carry out and these are referred to, deliberately disingenuously as "Non-Statutory Charges" and are always inflated and therefore should always be challenged.

Finally, responsibility for a debt is not affected by whether or not someone is married and marriage in itself does not create liability.

[WendyB]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

If you and your Husband ARE married, and not just common law the bailiff has the right to remove a vehicle for your debt even if the legal keeper is your husband and vice versa, remember a Bailiff who has come to your home with "the intention to remove" can legally charge a visitation fee, this fee is NOT set by the bailiff company, it is set by the Council in which you receive the parking fine, these fees can range from around £110, to over £200, and this has nothing to do with the Bailiff at all, Bailiff companies have no right to set the limits of their fees, the fee levels are set out jointly by the Court, and Council, so when you complain how much the Bailiff charges, Remember this is actually, what the local council consider to be appropriate. The only time this is different is when a Bailiff is hired privately IE: By a private landlord to retake possession of a premises in the case of non payment of rent. in this case the Bailiff is entitled to charge "any reasonable fee" which includes Levy fees, waiting fees, intention to remove fees

And please remember Bailiffs are people too, only the small minority of bailiffs are bad, and this like everything reflects on everyone else, they have a job to do and someone has to do it. Well that's all very well and I suppose someone has to, but if only the small minority are bad then how come the nice ones never get any publicity?

Lastly: THE WORSE THING YOU CAN DO IS TO IGNORE THE BAILIFF, IF YOU INVITE HIM IN HE HAS THE RIGHT TO RE ENTER THE PREMISES BUT IF YOU TALK TO HIM ON YOUR DOORSTEP HE DOES NOT HAVE THAT RIGHT, however if you talk to him/her on your doorstep this could lead to them pushing their way in etc etc. If there is an open door they can walk through it, so if you must talk to them on the doorstep make sure the door is firmly shut behind you. IF YOU MAKE A REASONABLE OFFER OF REPAYMENT THEY WILL NEVER TURN IT DOWN sorry, but have you read the threads in this forum? Bailiffs defintions of what is reasonable tend to vastly differ from the definitions of the persons they are pursuing. AND REFUSING TO ANSWER THE DOOR TO THEM ONLY MEANS THEY WILL VISIT YOUR PREMISES OVER AND OVER AGAIN, EACH TIME THIS ENTITLES THEM TO CHARGE "ATTENDANCE TO REMOVE FEES" WHICH WILL MAKE YOUR BILL GO SKY HIGH I have pasted a copy of the charges relating to parking fines below, which clearly states that fees can be charged for a maximum of three visits.

Road Traffic (parking penalties)

Fees

For preparing and sending a letter advising the client that a warrant is with bailiff and requesting the sum due -----------------------------------------£11.20

For levying distress where the sum due is not more than £100----- £28.00
For levying distress where the sum due is more than £100 ---------28% on the first £200 and 5.5% on any sum over £200.

For attending to levy distress but where no levy is made------------ Reasonable costs, but not more than the fees that could be charged if a levy were made.

The fee for sending a letter to the debtor can be charged only if the letter is sent before a first visit is made.

Bailiffs are allowed to charge the fees for a maximum of three visits only.

No one is advocating ignoring bailiffs, rather that everything should be done in writing, not via telephone, so that there is a record of all conversations, correspondence etc. Also to make surethat the fees that are being charged etc are legal and justified. Once you are satisfied that the bailiffs are chasing the correct amount of money from the OC and that any charges added are legitimate, then yes of course you should attempt to come to a reasonable arrangement to pay. Reasoable to both yourslef and the bailiff, taking into account your financial circumstances and the guidelines for debt collection etc.

[Tia555]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

Im sorry but the information given in this thread is not current,

Fee scales you have shown are not up to date

A BAILIFF WILL NOT PUSH INTO YOUR HOME IF YOU OPEN THE DOOR, THIS IS NOT PEACEFUL ENTRY AND IF UNLAWFUL, THIS ACTION WOULD COST A BAILIFF THEIR CERTIFICATE

Payment arrangements a general guide:
EXAMPLE:
If you owe £900 for council tax, a payment arrangement of £15 a week is NOT acceptable
A payment arrangement of £100 a month would be acceptable
as a general guide debts should be cleared up in full within 10 -12 months
So if you have a debt of £1700 divide it by 12 and this will tell you a rough figure of what would be seen to be an acceptable offer of payment

And as for: "If most Bailiffs were nice how come we never hear about them??" Who goes on a forum and puts: Oh i had a Bailiff from so and so company and they were really nice and polite and friendly, they sorted me on to an arrangement and hopefully i will be all sorted soon!!"

You only ever post on a forum if you are angry or scared and in these circumstances you would find most people intimidating

This forum is DIRECTLY advising people to ignore Bailiffs this is something done by the Citizens advice too and is an act of sheer idiocy, you cant say you are not advising people to ignore bailiffs when i have only been a member 24 hours and i have already seen more than 5 posts where members have advised each other to - never open the door or talk to the bailiff!!!

And finally for my rant:
LEVYS
Right a levy where a walking possession is signed is seen as an agreement to pay the amount outstanding as this amount is held against your goods, If someone refuses to sign a walking possession agreement and have their goods levied, this says to the bailiff that the person has no intention of keeping up with the arrangement as if you DID intend to pay, you would have no problem with your goods and chattels being held against the debt

[Amy]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

We only advise people to ignore council tax bailiffs because a debtor has no legal requirement to allow them entry and bailiffs, in this instance, do not have the power to break in.

Hence, if they are ignored they have no choice but to return the debt Nulla Bona" to the council.

The fees quoted are in relation to road traffic debts and not council tax. If you have an up to date scale of fees, please feel free to post them up.

Your final paragraph with regard to levies is a moot point because as I have explained, for the recovery of council tax (which this thread is not about) a debtor does not have to let them in. However, if you do let them in there would be little, if no point, in not signing a walking possession presented to you.

[shazzyG]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

Thanks guys for all the info although I am less confident now as I thoguht I could challenge the increase in the amount owed but if it isn't unlawful and just unfair then there's probably no point. Anyway, it has never been my intention to get out of paying something that I do owe, i did try to pay this twice. I am just annoyed that the bailiff can choose not answer his phone, forcing you to leave a voicemail and then deny all knowledge so he can then pluck an inflated figure out of the air because he says I have NOT contacted him. I still have nothing in writing to say that I owe £342. I can't hide the car forever as i need it to get the kids to school as it is not within walking distance for them.

[Amy]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

Thanks guys for all the info although I am less confident now as I thoguht I could challenge the increase in the amount owed but if it isn't unlawful and just unfair then there's probably no point.

You shouldn't be less confident. You are still on the correct track and their fees are too high. Did you send the SAR yet?

[shazzyG]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

Hi again,

Since I posted last I wrote asking for a statement of my account and that I was NOT making a SAR but they returned it saying that that WAS a SAR and would cost £10. I wrote back saying that I just wanted a balance and a breakdown of any fees/charges that had been added and that I did not have to pay for this info.

I got a letter back yesterday showing the following:

Parking fine £80.00
Initial letter £11.20
Visit Fees £62.00
Attendence fees £150.00
VAT £39.02

Total £342.22

Bear in mind that this total was the amount given verbally by the bailiff on his first visit.
They don't state how many visits they are charging for so I don't know if the charges are right. They are claiming an attendence fee. Does this mean they have made a levy on the car?

Any further help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks everyone

[Amy]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

Why didn't you just send a full SAR?

[shazzyG]

Re: Equita bailiff visit re parking fine

Sorry Amy, I thought that I had seen other posts saying that you didn't have to pay a fee for a breakdown of charges as they should advise you each time what they have added and for what reason.

Obviously, if you don't pay, they only advise you of the totals added and no more.

So am I back to square one now with the best way forward the SAR as you advised ages ago?

I realise that you can't help anyone if they don't follow your advice, I just got worn down by the whole situation and took the wrong path, obviously, the wrong one.

So...SAR then?

many thanks