Equita Ltd(rogues?)

[taz1964]

Hi this is my first thread and I hope you can help.


I got a parking ticket in July 2011 after breaking down. I had legally parked and paid for an hour but when I returned my vehicle would not start so I left a note explaining this and that I had gone for help. I returned to my vehicle to find a parking ticket had been issued just 7 minutes after my paid for time had expired.

I wrote to the council explaining all this and waited for a reply, but nothing arrived. I went working abroad in the September and returned in May 2012.........fast forward to November and I received a letter from Equita Ltd demanding £95 for an unpaid offence. I rang them to explain I had not received any mail giving a court date or even a reply from the council in respect to my appeal. They were very unhelpful and said if I didn't pay I would be liable for extra charges.

My next step was to contact the ticket issuing department at said council and whilst I was awaiting a reply I got a visit from a bailiff demanding £329.44. I explained the situation but he wasn't interested so I paid him £50 to show I was willing to pay but didn't have the cash until January which he accepted.

Well, yesterday he arrived demanding the balance and I told him I was not happy and wanted a breakdown of charges, which he didn't have. He was still not having any of it even after I pointed out that the extra charges on top of the original charge of £95 was extremely high and disproportionate. He told me that there was a statutary charge of £200 that had to be added upon enforcement procedures.

I had removed the vehicle so he could not confiscate it and he got on his phone to report it as stolen and something about ANPR cameras. Foolishly(I think) I paid him the main reason being that I use my vehicle for transporting my disabled mother to hospital, shopping trips etc and didn't want to risk her getting upset and stressed about the situation.

Questions, finally I hear you mutter.

1) Is there such a thing as this 'Statutary £200 enforcement fee'?
2) Has this bailiff acted lawfully or within his powers, ie misrepresentation of the facts and wilfully depriving me of funds due to excessive overcharging and imaginery costs etc?
3) Do I have a right to claim back any fees if in fact I have been overcharged?

Below is my understanding of the costs that should have applied

Parking ticket £60
50% £90
Court fee £5
First visit/levy £28
Letter £11.20

Total £134.20

tia for your replies.

Taz

[Turboman]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Labman will be along soon

in meantime--see here

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...rking-Offences

[labman]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Hi,

Nothing more I can add really. Have a read of the link Turbo posted, and come back with any questions.

[bluebottle]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

The amount should be £142.04 as VAT @ 20% has to be added to the Letter Fee and Levy Fee.

The "statutory enforcement fee" is total nonsense and a deliberate lie on the part of the bailiff. Strictly speaking, he could and should face proceedings for Fraud by False Misrepresentation over it. There also appears to be evidence that he has committed an offence of Blackmail by his actions in that he has made an unwarranted demand and at the time of doing has used menaces as a means of enforcing the demand.

The only fees a certificated bailiff can charge are those permitted by relevant legislation. Equita have form for fee fraud and are currently under investigation by Northamptonshire Trading Standards over it. A formal complaint to your local Trading Standards Department and OFT Credit Fitness Team is something to which you should give serious consideration.

As Turboman and Labman have advised, check the link out.

Do you know if the bailiff had a valid levy on the vehicle involved? If he didn't, reporting it as stolen, knowing he had no valid levy on it, is a criminal offence per se. If the police were to find out he lied to them, they could report him with a view to prosecution for Making A False Report, Wasteful Employment of Police and/or Perverting the Course of Justice.

[taz1964]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Thanks for the replies so far, very helpful.

The form7 is Equita's own. I t has my mum's name and address, the vehicle reg, Bailiff's name and court that licencsd him Equita name and address and some legal jargon.

The bailiff never met or spoke to my mum, only me and on my drive. No forms or written material were handed to my mum, only to me. So technically could it be argued a form7 was never issued or delivered? That the debt was never discussed with the person owing the money so the levy is not legal?

I am just gaining ammo, I have already fired off an email to the council (a copy to Equita) using one of the templates requiring the council to return it to their administration and to investigate Equita etc. I am going to stop the cheque and forward the correct amoumt less the £50 (debit card) I paid on his first visit. Or should I just stop the cheque?

I have had a reply from the council re my email telling me an official complaint has been logged and the council will investigate the matters and I will hear directly from them within 20 days. I am still worried that the bailiff(Equite) may still try to levy the vehicle once they find out the cheque has been stopped.

Emails have also gone to Watchdog, OFT, TS's

I am also going to complain to the police in writing pointing out the offences that may have been committed etc.

All these will then be followed up by letters sent via post.

I am like a dog with a bone especially as he(Bailiff) knew my mum's age and her being confined to a wheelchair etc. he still persisted in defrauding her.

I wont stop, I am going to make this guy's life a living hell.

[bluebottle]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Your mother is probably classed as vulnerable, due to her health, under standards laid down by the Ministry of Justice to which both Equita and local authorities have signed up. It sounds very much that the bailiff may have breached the Data Protection Act 1974 by disclosing her personal information to you. Do the local authority know abut your mother's state of health? If not, they need to be told immediately. You might like to speak to the local media in your area. Stories like this tend to seriously embarrass local authorities and I don't think they'll take too kindly to Equita putting them in that position.

[taz1964]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Your mother is probably classed as vulnerable, due to her health, under standards laid down by the Ministry of Justice to which both Equita and local authorities have signed up. It sounds very much that the bailiff may have breached the Data Protection Act 1974 by disclosing her personal information to you. Do the local authority know abut your mother's state of health? If not, they need to be told immediately. You might like to speak to the local media in your area. Stories like this tend to seriously embarrass local authorities and I don't think they'll take too kindly to Equita putting them in that position.

Thanks once again.

Quick update.

Today I got in touch with my local councilor who was more than a little unhappy about the situation and has sent an internal email recommending this be brought back in to council administration, effectively taking Equita out of the loop. Fingers crossed.

Before I spoke to my councillor,I had contacted another local councillor by mistake. He told me to relay the events anyway. Surprise, he had someone with exactly the same problem from the same company.Which makes it more worrying because the manager in the parking division told me he had never had a complaint about Equita and they were totally professional. Strange how he didn't know about the case the councillor had asked to be returned to admin through HIS office.;

[bluebottle]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Perhaps it is time for the councillors to conduct a review of the Parking Division and offer the manager a compromise deal to leave before he lands the council with litigation or worse. Defending illegal conduct by a contractor may amount to Misconduct In Public Office, at the very least, on the manager's part.

[wales01man]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Would agree with Bluebottle these people paid for by the public should be investigted when they treat people with such contempt no excuse for bad behaviour after all the public pay their wages or are they on a bonus from somewhere?

[labman]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Councillors ......... bending the rules (or ignoring them) .......... surely not! My experience of my local Councillors has been appalling. One was handed an offical complaint against him made by me to write the response to himself - no investigation. I received from AN Other the words the Councillor had written. Another one just blatantly lied through her teeth and swore blind she'd never said something she said to my face.

I do not trust them!

[bluebottle]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Would agree with Bluebottle these people paid for by the public should be investigted when they treat people with such contempt no excuse for bad behaviour after all the public pay their wages or are they on a bonus from somewhere?

If any Crown or Public Servant is found to be taking any form of inducement or consideration from someone, depending upon what is expected in return, this can amount to Misconduct In Public Office. However, it will depend on what other offences are revealed during the course of any investigation that will determine the charges a Crown or Public Servant may potentially face.

[ploddertom]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Before I spoke to my councillor,I had contacted another local councillor by mistake. He told me to relay the events anyway. Surprise, he had someone with exactly the same problem from the same company.Which makes it more worrying because the manager in the parking division told me he had never had a complaint about Equita and they were totally professional. Strange how he didn't know about the case the councillor had asked to be returned to admin through HIS office.;

A FOI request to your Council asking about Complaints made about Equita should produce interesting results then.

[bluebottle]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

That's an excellent idea, PT. Should make interesting reading.

[IanM]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

Equita 'will re-attend your address with immediate effect and may REMOVE goods even in your absence' Bailiffs are scum of the earth wife beating bullies, only pick on women and the vulnerable! Must only employ the less well endowed applicants!

[labman]

Re: Equita Ltd(rogues?)

OK - let's get things clear here. We're talking about a parking ticket.

So far we have the following:
Fraud by False Misrepresentation
Blackmail
Possible theft
Making A False Report
Wasteful Employment of Police
Perverting the Course of Justice
Breach of Data Protection Act
Misconduct in Public Office x 2

In addition we have:

Email to Watchdog
Email to Office for Fair Trading
Email to Trading Standards
Complaint to the police
Suggestion to publicise through local press
A suggestion Councillors conduct a review of the Parking Division

Am I the only thinking this parking offence has been blown up into something which rightly lives in cloud cuckoo land? The above just is not going to happen. Sorry!