letter to council.

[peach]

Good evening,
Thank you for accepting me to this forum and hello everyone.
Sorry to jump straight in but i do feel i need to post straight away to halt any further unnecessary charges.
Today i received a letter through the door from a man in a van sat outside my house.
He did not knock nor wait after simply posting the letter.
I opened the letter to find a 'BAILIFF REMOVAL' letter from Equita.
It was about an unpaid PCN which i hold my hands up i do owe, but i am terrible at paying things promptly, and having the money available to do so.
It said on the letter:
IF YOU FAIL TO CONTACT ME WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS I WILL HAVE NO
ALTERNATIVE BUT TO REATTEND YOUR PROPERTY AT ANY HOUR OF THE
DAY OR NIGHT TO IMPOUND YOUR VEHICLE/REMOVE GOODS.
THIS WILL RESULT IN SUBSTANTIAL EXTRA COSTS OF AT LEAST £140
BEING PAYABLE.
It gave instructions to contact the bailiff in charge Mr. G Haggerty on his mobile number to which i did.
I asked what the letter was for and he replied it was for the parking fine so i replied ok how much is it please,
and thats when i was in shock when he replied £400 and something (was too confused to recall exact amount)
I asked how it came to this amount and he said due to his charges and for all the letters he had sent.
I did receive the standard letter from them requesting £125.44. (i imagine the court fine total of £110 plus their £11.20 +vat.)
I told him there is no way i'm in a position to pay that amount being in arrears with every single debt i have and my mortgage,
to which he replied i could pay up to a maximum of 8 weeks if it was accepted by Equita paying £50 something each friday by debit card.
I said i would have to think and to be honest can not remember the end of the conversation.
By the i crashed my van today so i'm not really thinking straight and not in a good mood.
I contacted National Debtline who explained their charges were extremely high and i should query it.
So I rang Stockport Council Parking Team who said i needed to speak to Equita direct, and "if i had no joy with them ring them back tomorrow"
JOY !!!!????? Anyway i contacted Equita who was not able to give me the breakdown of costs over the telephone, but would post it out this evening to me.

After about an hour on this forum of reading so many stories similar to mine, i have not found a letter template or an idea of a letter i can send to
Stockport Council Parking Team, asking them to call off the bailiffs as i believe Equita to be committing Fraud which is a criminal offence under.......etc.
I need to basically inform the council that i am waiting for a breakdown of costs, but given that they have only been and posted 1 letter in my post box, their
charges so far are illegal ?
I get the total amount so far to £163.07...is that about right going off what i've read on here.
I know i'm no angel and as explained i am useless at paying bills and get in so much debt with extra costs, it would work out cheaper for me to employ a PA,
than pay all my arrears charges each year! BUT.... i do not like being rush bullied into paying a stupid amount of money for no apparent reason but greed from
a company who are supposed to be certified and regulated.
I am panicking a lot now about either my kids or my missus just letting the bailiffs in, or them taking her old banger which is registered to me, before i get any letters back from the Council or Equita,
and before any action is taken to delay.
I therefore ask for help please as what to write, so something can be done First thing in the morning and not in a few days time.
Thank you for your patience in reading my long post, and i look forward to some suggestions.

[leclerc]

Re: letter to council.

Can you go back one step? When did you contravene parking regulations? When were you taken to court? Why is this the first you have heard from them?

[peach]

Re: letter to council.

Hi leclerc,
The parking ticket was from last year with a court order made at NCC (TEC) on 13/12/12.
I always say to myself, christ i forgot about that , i'll pay or do it tomorrow, than forgot and repeat.
The letter form Equita was from 25/01/2013 asking for £125.44.
I will be totally honest here so that others can learn from my mistakes of ignoring letters....
I have recieved another 3 'Take Formal Notice' letters since then requesting i contact them,
but none of the letters had any amount of money oweing on them.
Thank you.

[peach]

Re: letter to council.

Just an update.
I have spoken to Equita today stating that their bailiff Mr. Haggerty is trying to get a monthly payment from me today, without me seeing any paperwork with detailed cost breakdown which i requested both from Equita and Mr. Haggerty on Tuesday.
They said its not up to them as all the information is dealt with Mr, Haggerty and he alone makes the charges and deals with everything.
At no time until today have i recieved any information through the post or from them via telephone about costs incurred by Equita.
So i rang Mr. Haggerty today and he gave me a breakdown over the phone :
Total to pay is £421.84 over 8 weeks
1st letter was £112 plus their first letter charge of £11.20 + vat + £125.44
2ndletter charge of £35 plus vat
3rd letter charge of £45 plus vat
Calling at my house to post a letter £167 plus vat (i queried this amount and he said thats what Northampton court allows him to charge)
Total of charges £296.40 inc.vat

Do these charges seem reasonable and are they within the regulations please?
thanks.
PS. One more thing i can not find Mr. G. Haggerty on the justice certificated bailiff register, or under the Equity file on the justice website.
Is there any reason why he would not be on the register if he is authorised by the court under the enforcement of road traffic debts (certificated bailiffs) regulations 1993 (amendments 2003)?

[Inca]

Re: letter to council.

Hi and ,..Firstly..NEVER speak to a bailiff,,they lie and you can tell they are lying because there is noise coming out of their mouths. I can't really help you but am sure someone will pop along .

[bluebottle]

Re: letter to council.

Right. The letter charge of £11.20 + VAT can be charged once and once only. So, the charges should be -

PCN = £112.00 (including court costs)
Letter charge = £11.20 = VAT
1st Visit Fee = £31.36 + VAT
2nd Visit Fee = £44.51 + VAT
3rd Visit Fee = £55.75 + VAT
Sub Total = £254.82
VAT @ 20% = £28.56
TOTAL = £283.38

VAT is not chargeable on the PCN and court costs. The £167.00 the bailiff is trying to charge is unlawful and Northampton Court has not told him to charge it. It's either Equita or a figment of his imagination. £283.38 over 8 weeks is £35.42 per week.

My advice is to report Equita to OFT Credit Fitness Team and Trading Standards. They are currently under investigation by Northamptonshire Trading Standards over their fees and overcharging. Tell Equita you will only pay what the law allows, not what their bailiff claims, which is not in accordance with the law. Expect them to argue otherwise. £283.38 is all they are entitled to collect. As for the bailiff not being on the MoJ Register, ask Equita which court issued his certificate and check with that court. Expect them to be evasive and claim not to be obliged to give that information to you. They are obliged to tell you which court issued a bailiff their certificate, as is the bailiff themselves.

[bizzybob]

Re: letter to council.

Bluebottle, I think knowing Crapquita as we do the OP's "i could pay up to a maximum of 8 weeks if it was accepted by Equita paying £50 something each friday by debit card. " they would be charging £15 as a card or transaction fee, and claim this was allowed, just my opinion.

many of these fees are open to challenge, and do as BB suggests report them to OFT, AND Trading Standards. You could also send an email to the VAT Man at HMRC stating you have been charged VAT by Equita, for a non VAT item.

Incidentally I spoke to a Capita person, in the arm that supplies housing management software, the other day, he was shocked when I told him how hated and vilified his buddies in the back office provision, and bailiff arms are due to their treatment of people. told him Equita and Ross & Roberts should be shut down, as they are under serious investigation in places like Birmingham council, and Coventry amongst others; made me feel better at least

[peach]

Re: letter to council.

Thanks for your replies.
I sent the letter 1 off to equita and a letter of complaint off to TEC early this morning before reading your comments.
I will send a letter of complaint to OFT and TS today.
I did not pay the £52.73 last night and received a text message from Mr. Haggerty around 6.30pm asking to contact him regarding my unpaid warrant.
I do have the phone calls i made to him and equita and my council and TEC all recorded from yesterday too, which you can hear Mr. Haggerty say that Northampton regulate him to charge £167.
Northampton TEC was very nice to me over the phone and said to ask Mr. Haggerty for the name and phone number of the person who told him he could charge that amount.
As far as TEC was concerned no one in their office has the knowledge of the regulated fees Mr. Haggerty was claiming.

If it is agreed by TEC and Northamton CC, that Mr. Haggerty is overcharging should i not press to have all the bailiffs charges dropped bar the 1st letter fee of £11.20?
One thing that struck me yesterday, was the amount of passing the buck i heard from so many departments.
The people who actually want the money is my local council, and after having a lengthy conversation then asking to speak to a supervisor from the parking team,
they still wanted me to believe that its out of their hands when it is stated on Equita letters that Equita is working on behalf of Stockport MBC.

So until i hear back from my letters sent, i take it i must carry on with doors/windows locked and all vehicles out of sight and ignoring my mobile
I will post back as soon as i hear anything new and thanks for your help so far.

[bluebottle]

Re: letter to council.

You could also send an email to the VAT Man at HMRC stating you have been charged VAT by Equita, for a non VAT item.

The VAT Equita are trying to charge is incorrect, bb, but your advice to the OP to report to HMRC VAT Section is brilliant. It may be sufficient to have VAT Inspectors sniffing round Equita's Accounts Department or their accountants' offices.

[bizzybob]

Re: letter to council.

The VAT Equita are trying to charge is incorrect, bb, but your advice to the OP to report to HMRC VAT Section is brilliant. It may be sufficient to have VAT Inspectors sniffing round Equita's Accounts Department or their accountants' offices.

Especially if this is a regular practice to charge VAT on the exempt elements, by listing them collectively with the VAT liable services, and charging VAT on the grand total All debtors should report Crapquita to HMRC if billed in this way, and copy the council into the email. It is fraud. I would also say that if a bailiff is phoning constantly, and texting threats daily and more than once a day, i would be logging them, and archiving the texts to use as evidence in an allegation of Criminal Harassment, of a debtor, to apply undue duress, to force payment which is tantamount to torture.

[peach]

Re: letter to council.

I never got a chance to open my mail yesterday, but i have just read the reply from Equita with the breakdown of charges.
Bearing in mind Equita's enforcement office, Mr. Gareth Haggerty demanded i pay £52.73 for 8 weeks to him every Friday,
Equita's latest breakdown of amount owed after me complaining on the phone and emails is as follows:
Debt. £112.00
Initial Letter £11.20
Visit Fees £34.49
V.A.T. £9.14
TOTAL: £166.83
Payments recieved £0.00
Balance £166.83

The letter says i should contact Mr. Haggerty to 'negotiate' payment.
To be honest, why should i contact a man who can not be trusted and has tried to rip me off.
I will be making a formal complaint to Equita, Northampton TEC, and my local council about this enforcement officer who is a fraud.
Is there anyone else i should make a complaint too? and i will be ringing Equita to tell them i will make a payment direct to them only as their employees are on the fiddle.

I find this very shocking and disturbing how people like Mr. Gareth Haggerty can try to rip people off, i wonder just how much fraudulent money he has made for himself.

[bizzybob]

Re: letter to council.

Copy your MP in and Council CEO, Elected Leader, and local councillor, along with report the first bill with illegal VAT to HMRC VAT section, however the VAT has been applied only to the fees on this bill.

looks like they are doing a quick back off having been caught with their chance it arm outstretched.

[wales01man]

Re: letter to council.

Can i suggest only the debt is paid and the bailiffs informed that as illegal fees have been charged the matter needs investigating and the council are informed they are liable for the actions of their bailiffs?

[bizzybob]

Re: letter to council.

Can i suggest only the debt is paid and the bailiffs informed that as illegal fees have been charged the matter needs investigating and the council are informed they are liable for the actions of their bailiffs?

It's a possibility, but back it up with that Formal complaint, however Equita may well keep calling on the strength of their fees and keep adding more whether lawful or not, they are stupid, as well as lying chancers you see!

[peach]

Re: letter to council.

I will be ringing my Council first thing to ask if i can pay them the Debt amount of £112 only, and that i have evidence of illegal fees with recorded telephone conversation.
With the bailiff company they use being scammers i will request i only deal with the council and if they refuse and tell me to pay Equita, i will make a complaint to them saying that
they are aiding fraud and will end liable to investigation them selves.
Does that sound ok?