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I'm sorry that this topic has been dealt with several times on this forum. I've spent the last few hours reading pretty much all the posts on it!
I'm just trying to gather some up to date info on Bailiffs and what they can & can't do and more importantly what I can do if anything.
In a nutshell.
I moved out of a property I own for a while. I neglected to inform the DVLA. I received a PCN for being 'Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force'. This notice was served on 2/08/13.
Fast forward. I picked up the mail from this property yesterday (7/1/14) and noticed I had received 2 letters from the city council about this incident.
The first letter is dated 8/8/2013 and is a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for the amount of £70.00 which will be reduced by half if paid within 28 days.
The second letter is a 'Charge Certificate for £105.00 plus an extra £7.00 court fee. Total = £112.00. Dated 26/09/2013.
As I picked up the mail late last night I wasn't able to contact the council to sort this matter out as I knew their offices would be shut. I rang them from work today (8/1/2014) to pay the fine. As much as the 'extra charges' are annoying, I fully accept it was my own undoing as I should have told the council I had moved.
I spoke to a male at the Parking Services section of the council. He informed me that the matter had been passed to a bailiff firm called Equita. I was told by this member of the Parking Services team that I wasn't allowed to pay the council directly but rather that I had to contact Equita. I asked how much I would owe Equita. He said that although his figures were only a guide that he would check the Equita website to give me an approx amount and did warn me that this might not be an accurate amount. He then went on to say that he didn't think it would be too much more as they had only referred the matter to Equita in December and he couldn't imagine that they had incurred that many charges relating to chasing my 'debt' yet.
He gave me the figure of £166.00 as at the time of our conversation, according to the Equita website.
With that in mind I rang Equita. I pressed option 4. After being on hold for approx 9 mins I spoke to a male who asked for my address details so he could find my account. Once he had found the details he said that I had to contact the bailiff directly and he would provide the bailiffs mobile number.
I rang the bailiff. His phone went straight to A/P when I called from a withheld number so I left a message.
I finally got through to him after numerous attempts. He was 'off' with me from the offset. I gave him my ref number and he clearly knew why I was ringing (to sort out the fine) but he asked me 'how can I help you?' in a somewhat sharp, impatient tone. I told him that he had the case details so OBVIOUSLY I was calling about the parking issue. I then explained this and that bla bla bla. I asked him how I would pay the fine so it was secure and he told me that he 'would take my card details over the phone, he would then ring them through to the office that would process the payment'. I asked him if it was secure and he said 'yes'. I then said that the council had told me that the fine was £166.00 ,which was what I wanted to pay, at which point he raised his voice and said 'YOU OWE £348'
I asked 'why? When a council member had told me moments ago that it was around £166.00 and he further raised his voice and said 'because we've dropped aletter round and put it in your mail box'.
I told him I had been speaking to the council earlier that day and he said 'well we dropped a letter in your post box at 13.01 hours today!' A bit of bemused conversation ensued on my part until I told him I would need to ring the council back and I ended my call with him.
I rang the Councils Parking Services back and asked to speak to the man I had spoken with earlier but he was on another call. I asked the older lady that I was talking to if he had made log of my earlier call to which she responded 'yes'. She told me the call was logged at 13.23.
I explained the situation I had just had with the bailiff and that within the space of an hour his fee had jumped from around £166.00 to £328 odd pounds (I forgot the amount in my blood boiling rage) and she genuinely seemed horrified and said 'Oh, give me a couple of minutes and I'll talk to my manger'. After 5mins she came back on the line and said ' I have spoken to my manager and he has been in frequent contact with Mr. XXXXXX (I’m not sure if I can mention his name) and the fine is correct and payable in full'.
Something unnerved me about the contact her 'manager' had been having with the bailiff regarding my case.
I suddenly became very aware that conveniently the bailiff had apparently posted a note through my mail box (while I was at work thus not enabling me to provide back up evidence to this claim or not) some 22 mins before I initially had called the Councils Parking Services dept to pay the fine! I told the woman that I thought it was all too conveniently convenient! The woman insisted that the matter was now in the hands of the bailiff, that the Council was absolved of all sins and that they would not be able to comment any further. I had to stop myself from asking her how much of a back hander the bailiff was giving her 'manager'.
I have spoken to a company that advertises they can help in these situations and I was quoted £150.00 for them to take on the case. It's not worth me spending more money on this but this company did tell me that actual amount owing should be £70.00 (initial fine)
+£28% taking it to £89.60
+£35.00 Bailiff fee for visiting the property
They also told me that they could seize my car so suggested that I park it away from the property as they 'can't take it if they can't find it' until the matter is resolved.
The problem with this is that some people are still in unresolved situations with Equita Bailiffs for months after they initially try to sort it out. It seems a bit impractical to hide our cars for months while the situations are ongoing.
I'm not really sure what my next move is. I have a feeling that the Bailiff will return to the property tomorrow so that he can try and charge me more money on top of the inflated amount he's already trying for and I'm sort of powerless to stop the bailiff visits (and the charges associated with them) unless I cough up his rip off fee.
There is so much conflicting information on this matter. I have read about Lawful Levy's but I have no idea whether this letter that was dropped round by the bailiff constitutes a lawful levy or not.
I'm sorry for waffling on and for making everyone repeat things they've said before but I'm unsure what to do from here. If anyone can advise me then it would be really appreciated.
I'm just trying to gather some up to date info on Bailiffs and what they can & can't do and more importantly what I can do if anything.
In a nutshell.
I moved out of a property I own for a while. I neglected to inform the DVLA. I received a PCN for being 'Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force'. This notice was served on 2/08/13.
Fast forward. I picked up the mail from this property yesterday (7/1/14) and noticed I had received 2 letters from the city council about this incident.
The first letter is dated 8/8/2013 and is a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for the amount of £70.00 which will be reduced by half if paid within 28 days.
The second letter is a 'Charge Certificate for £105.00 plus an extra £7.00 court fee. Total = £112.00. Dated 26/09/2013.
As I picked up the mail late last night I wasn't able to contact the council to sort this matter out as I knew their offices would be shut. I rang them from work today (8/1/2014) to pay the fine. As much as the 'extra charges' are annoying, I fully accept it was my own undoing as I should have told the council I had moved.
I spoke to a male at the Parking Services section of the council. He informed me that the matter had been passed to a bailiff firm called Equita. I was told by this member of the Parking Services team that I wasn't allowed to pay the council directly but rather that I had to contact Equita. I asked how much I would owe Equita. He said that although his figures were only a guide that he would check the Equita website to give me an approx amount and did warn me that this might not be an accurate amount. He then went on to say that he didn't think it would be too much more as they had only referred the matter to Equita in December and he couldn't imagine that they had incurred that many charges relating to chasing my 'debt' yet.
He gave me the figure of £166.00 as at the time of our conversation, according to the Equita website.
With that in mind I rang Equita. I pressed option 4. After being on hold for approx 9 mins I spoke to a male who asked for my address details so he could find my account. Once he had found the details he said that I had to contact the bailiff directly and he would provide the bailiffs mobile number.
I rang the bailiff. His phone went straight to A/P when I called from a withheld number so I left a message.
I finally got through to him after numerous attempts. He was 'off' with me from the offset. I gave him my ref number and he clearly knew why I was ringing (to sort out the fine) but he asked me 'how can I help you?' in a somewhat sharp, impatient tone. I told him that he had the case details so OBVIOUSLY I was calling about the parking issue. I then explained this and that bla bla bla. I asked him how I would pay the fine so it was secure and he told me that he 'would take my card details over the phone, he would then ring them through to the office that would process the payment'. I asked him if it was secure and he said 'yes'. I then said that the council had told me that the fine was £166.00 ,which was what I wanted to pay, at which point he raised his voice and said 'YOU OWE £348'
I asked 'why? When a council member had told me moments ago that it was around £166.00 and he further raised his voice and said 'because we've dropped aletter round and put it in your mail box'.
I told him I had been speaking to the council earlier that day and he said 'well we dropped a letter in your post box at 13.01 hours today!' A bit of bemused conversation ensued on my part until I told him I would need to ring the council back and I ended my call with him.
I rang the Councils Parking Services back and asked to speak to the man I had spoken with earlier but he was on another call. I asked the older lady that I was talking to if he had made log of my earlier call to which she responded 'yes'. She told me the call was logged at 13.23.
I explained the situation I had just had with the bailiff and that within the space of an hour his fee had jumped from around £166.00 to £328 odd pounds (I forgot the amount in my blood boiling rage) and she genuinely seemed horrified and said 'Oh, give me a couple of minutes and I'll talk to my manger'. After 5mins she came back on the line and said ' I have spoken to my manager and he has been in frequent contact with Mr. XXXXXX (I’m not sure if I can mention his name) and the fine is correct and payable in full'.
Something unnerved me about the contact her 'manager' had been having with the bailiff regarding my case.
I suddenly became very aware that conveniently the bailiff had apparently posted a note through my mail box (while I was at work thus not enabling me to provide back up evidence to this claim or not) some 22 mins before I initially had called the Councils Parking Services dept to pay the fine! I told the woman that I thought it was all too conveniently convenient! The woman insisted that the matter was now in the hands of the bailiff, that the Council was absolved of all sins and that they would not be able to comment any further. I had to stop myself from asking her how much of a back hander the bailiff was giving her 'manager'.
I have spoken to a company that advertises they can help in these situations and I was quoted £150.00 for them to take on the case. It's not worth me spending more money on this but this company did tell me that actual amount owing should be £70.00 (initial fine)
+£28% taking it to £89.60
+£35.00 Bailiff fee for visiting the property
They also told me that they could seize my car so suggested that I park it away from the property as they 'can't take it if they can't find it' until the matter is resolved.
The problem with this is that some people are still in unresolved situations with Equita Bailiffs for months after they initially try to sort it out. It seems a bit impractical to hide our cars for months while the situations are ongoing.
I'm not really sure what my next move is. I have a feeling that the Bailiff will return to the property tomorrow so that he can try and charge me more money on top of the inflated amount he's already trying for and I'm sort of powerless to stop the bailiff visits (and the charges associated with them) unless I cough up his rip off fee.
There is so much conflicting information on this matter. I have read about Lawful Levy's but I have no idea whether this letter that was dropped round by the bailiff constitutes a lawful levy or not.
I'm sorry for waffling on and for making everyone repeat things they've said before but I'm unsure what to do from here. If anyone can advise me then it would be really appreciated.
. 
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