Bailiff are trying to over charge me for council tax

[bluebottle]

Re: Bailiff are trying to over charge me for council tax

Equita are noted for preloading fees for work they haven't done, so you should write a Formal Complaint marked clearly as such to the head Of revenues, copied to the council CEO, the elected leader and your local councillor, and your MP. state that you are unhappy with the fees charged by their agents Equita, as there is no valid levy in place, no notice of seizure listing any goods has been provided, so, you can only assume that Equita are unlawfully frontloading fees for work not done contrary to the Regulations, and fee scale, (provided by CleverClogs)

Adding to Bizzybob's sound advice, Trading Standards Departments regard the frontloading of fees as what is known as "Upfront Fee Fraud" which is a criminal offence. Also, Equita hold an OFT Category F Debt Collection Licence which, if the number of complaints to OFT Credit Fitness Team in the last 12 months is anything to go by, they are at risk of having requirements attached to their licence at the very least, refusal to renew or revocation at worst.

If you decide to make a formal complaint to OFT - strongly recommended - post up and I will attach some files to a post that takes you through the process of making a complaint to OFT Credit Fitness Team.

[chrislaurent]

Re: Bailiff are trying to over charge me for council tax

Hi Guys

Thanks for your help so far , i did follow your advice and I send a letter to ask for more clarification about the charge fee , as i sent it a couple of days ago I m not entirely sure that they receive the letter.

However this morning i did receive the following :

" I have attended today with the intention of removing your goods and chattels as are necessary to discharge the outstanding Council Tax liability order and any additional enforcement cost incurred"

I called the bailiff in charge but as usual he has not been helpful at all

Should i wait for an answer from them about my correspondence

As always thanks for your help

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiff are trying to over charge me for council tax

Usual claptrap from the Bailiffs. The only thing you have done wrong is contacting him, don't unless you record the call. If they are only chasing for fees alone then they have to prove they are entitled to them. You can of course ignore Equita and make the Council provide the information that the Bailiffs are refusing to.