equita bailiff

[gavalaff]

hey im new on here,
iv got an equita bailiff coming around on friday, he says i owe £557
this is a council tax bill for £306
when the letter came panic set in, and i phoned equita office, they told me that they could not deal with my account, and passed me onto the bailliff, i told him i could pay it on the 8/10/10.
i then recuived letters that my housing and council tax benifit was being stoped, i phoned the bailiff and told him i could not afford to pay him but offerd him £200 then £100 4 3 months after, he refused and said he would remove goods,
which p%$$£d me off, because i thought this was a reasonable offer, and it would hav skinned me,
now i dont relly want to give the shark anyting, but dont no what i can do, iv been to the council and they said they wont take the debt back and to deal with the bailiff, they did say tho that i dont have to let him in, and only offer him what i can afford,
i am quite nervous about friday, because i dont like confrontation, and i will have my 1 year old daughter with me,

i need help about what i can do, what i can say to him and how to say the things to him

im not trying to get out of what i owe, i just dont want to pay over the odds and leave myself with no means to pay the rent and the council tax, i dont want to be in this situation for the same silly thing again

please help if you can

thank you

[Amy]

Re: equita bailiff

What have you been charged £251 for? Have they visited you previously? Have they levied on your goods?

Presuming you have had no contact other than a letter and some telephone calls with the bailiffs, then you have every right to insist the council take this debt back, since the bailiffs (who they employ) have lied and defrauded you.

Have you read the bailiff guide yet? If not, you really should Bailiff Guide - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

[gavalaff]

Re: equita bailiff

thank you very much for the reply
iv been to the councill in person and took a letter in explaining what was goin on, that i couldnt afford to pay him and i took the bailiff letter with me, (which incidentally dosent have the amount i owe on it) they said there is no chance they would take it back because i had made no effort to pay before,

the bailiff has been around once, i wasnt in. iv had a couple of letters, £251 seems a lot to much for 1 visit, and phone calls (which i made)

what can i do when he comes around on friday,
im not to sure what to say to him

what can i say to the council to make them take it back.

im not going to let him in 4 a start

[Amy]

Re: equita bailiff

The amount a bailiff can charge for a first visit is £24.50. So my advice is the same as it was before, the council don't have a choice in this - they must take the debt back given what the bailiff has charged you.

[WendyB]

Re: equita bailiff

If he comes, do not let him in. Do not even open the door, if you feel you must speak then do it from an upstairs window. If he has not previously gained peaceful entry then he has no levy on your goods and cannot force his way in. He knows this, but he hopes that you don't.

Write to Equita telling them that you want a complete breakdown of the account, you need to send the SAR you can find this in the bailiffs guide. The council should also be able to tell you how much you owe. Which council is it? And which branch of Equita? Also write to the council. direct to the Council Tax Recovery Office not just the general council address. Tell them you will be paying the arrears directly to them at xxx per month. But ifd you make an arrangment then you MUST stick to it otherwise the bailiffs will be back, so don't arrange to pay any more than you know you can afford.

The council will not want to take the debt back because its more hassle for their staff, but the staff know sod all about the law and will just tell you what they want you to know.
Equita bailiffs will lie and mislead you. You need to be firm and not let them bully you into paying them sums you do not owe them. See my thread Wends Mate v Equita/Bham City Council.

[gavalaff]

Re: equita bailiff

its rochdale council, not been able to print a SAR off yet, i spoke to rochdale council on the phone, but they were having none of it,

the bailiff is coming around 2day, can i just tell him to go away and that the council are dealing with it

[Amy]

Re: equita bailiff

Have you read the bailiff guide link that I gave in post #2?

[Amy]

Re: equita bailiff

If he does visit you today, do you have any way of recording the conversation?