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Good morning,
Apologies in advance if this babbles on or lists irrelevant information, but I had a visit from a couple of Equita bailiffs yesterday chasing a Council Tax debt for the current year and after a good view hours of trawling around the 'net, I am unsure of the best way forward.
A a brief outline is that:
1) I have Council Tax arrears (solely in my name) for the current year, of £700 that are subject to a liability order.
2) I previously have spoke to the Council's CT dept (who I believe are Capita) and agreed a repayment schedule.
3) Repayments were not adhered to.
4) Referred to Equita via bailiff letters etc, the Council would no longer discuss or re-arrange.
None of the above is in dispute.
5) In December I had a Form 7 pushed through the door while I was out, listing a car parked on my driveway in the 'inventory of goods' box along with a charge of £70.50.
6) I telephoned the number on the accompanying letter and spoke to the bailiff, pointing out that the car wasn't mine (it's not, but has been parked there for some time).
7) No dispute from the bailiff, they said they wouldn't take the car but the minimum they could offer was that I had to clear the arrears by the end of the financial year at £250 a month.
8) As I am in receipt of JSA, this payment simply did not happen, so today a couple of different bailiffs turned up.
As I was unable to pay the outstanding amount in full, they told me that they would take the vehicles on the drive. At the time there were 3 vehicles on the drive:
Car 1 - the car on the first Form 7 - is accident damaged & belongs to a relative, no T&T, on SORN, pretty much scrap value - parked here as owner does not have off-street parking.
Car 2 - Belongs to my son, who lives with me. Engine blew up last week, and he can't afford repair or replacement. Again pretty much scrap value.
Car 3 - Belongs to another relative - I borrowed it today to run lad to work and attend an interview.
I pointed out to the bailiff that the vehicles were not mine, at which point he demanded to see the log books. I pointed out that I only have sons log book here - as the other two owners do not live here, but I would be able to get copies of the others in due course.
The bailiff then told me that log books were not enough, as they are not proof of ownership (I know that, but strange how he changed his mind) left me another Form 7 listing the charges at £228.50 [see note 1] and said he would be back this morning to seize the vehicles unless I can also produce: Copies of relevant insurance certificates, receipts for the purchase of the vehicles, evidence of the flow of monies for the purchase (ie seeing that son paid for his motor out of his bank account into the sellers bank account) and something else that now escapes me.
For car 1 I now have a copy of the log book, a copy of the old insurance certificate, and screenshots of the Paypal transaction used to buy the car (from about 15 months ago).
For car 2 I have a copy of the log book and a copy of the insurance certificate. Son paid for it in cash, so no bank records, and cannot find the receipt.
For car 3 I have a copy of the log book and a copy of the insurance certificate. The owner bought it for cash a couple of years ago for £300 and does not have a receipt.
So the situation is that while I have *some* proof that the vehicles are not mine, I do not have *all* the proofs demanded by the bailiffs.
Car 3 will not be on site any more, as I only had use of it for today.
Cars 1 & 2 will remain, as 1 has no tax and 2 is immoveable - and I have nowhere else to shift them to.
I called a helpline for advice and they said that as the levy is invalid the bailiff charges should be removed and replaced with a maximum of £42.50.
I tried to call Equita this evening (the call centre, as the other office was closed), but once I said that I believed the levy to be invalid they would not discuss further and said I have to call the Northampton office tomorrow (today).
As I don't have all the required proofs I think I have to:
a) go and get a statutory declaration done (hoping that the local magistrates court will be able to witness it?) first thing in the morning
b) then call Equita head office and tell them
c) email or post them copies of the docs I have
d) make an offer of payment that I *can* afford and is sustainable - if they refuse then I wait for the bailiffs to come back again.
Have I got this right? Anything else I've missed or need / can do?
Regards
D
[Note 1]
The original Form 7 had the vehicle's correct registration number on it. On closer inspection, the Form 7 they left me today only lists 2 out of the 3 vehicles - and the reg number is definitely incorrect for one vehicle (the one that was on the original Form 7), and possibly for the second vehicle (that one was hand written and is not too clear).
The cynic in me says this is deliberate so when they return they can levy against the correct registrations and charge more fees?
Oh, and nothing has been signed by me - certainly not a walking possession order, and they did not, and never have, entered my house.
Apologies in advance if this babbles on or lists irrelevant information, but I had a visit from a couple of Equita bailiffs yesterday chasing a Council Tax debt for the current year and after a good view hours of trawling around the 'net, I am unsure of the best way forward.
A a brief outline is that:
1) I have Council Tax arrears (solely in my name) for the current year, of £700 that are subject to a liability order.
2) I previously have spoke to the Council's CT dept (who I believe are Capita) and agreed a repayment schedule.
3) Repayments were not adhered to.
4) Referred to Equita via bailiff letters etc, the Council would no longer discuss or re-arrange.
None of the above is in dispute.
5) In December I had a Form 7 pushed through the door while I was out, listing a car parked on my driveway in the 'inventory of goods' box along with a charge of £70.50.
6) I telephoned the number on the accompanying letter and spoke to the bailiff, pointing out that the car wasn't mine (it's not, but has been parked there for some time).
7) No dispute from the bailiff, they said they wouldn't take the car but the minimum they could offer was that I had to clear the arrears by the end of the financial year at £250 a month.
8) As I am in receipt of JSA, this payment simply did not happen, so today a couple of different bailiffs turned up.
As I was unable to pay the outstanding amount in full, they told me that they would take the vehicles on the drive. At the time there were 3 vehicles on the drive:
Car 1 - the car on the first Form 7 - is accident damaged & belongs to a relative, no T&T, on SORN, pretty much scrap value - parked here as owner does not have off-street parking.
Car 2 - Belongs to my son, who lives with me. Engine blew up last week, and he can't afford repair or replacement. Again pretty much scrap value.
Car 3 - Belongs to another relative - I borrowed it today to run lad to work and attend an interview.
I pointed out to the bailiff that the vehicles were not mine, at which point he demanded to see the log books. I pointed out that I only have sons log book here - as the other two owners do not live here, but I would be able to get copies of the others in due course.
The bailiff then told me that log books were not enough, as they are not proof of ownership (I know that, but strange how he changed his mind) left me another Form 7 listing the charges at £228.50 [see note 1] and said he would be back this morning to seize the vehicles unless I can also produce: Copies of relevant insurance certificates, receipts for the purchase of the vehicles, evidence of the flow of monies for the purchase (ie seeing that son paid for his motor out of his bank account into the sellers bank account) and something else that now escapes me.
For car 1 I now have a copy of the log book, a copy of the old insurance certificate, and screenshots of the Paypal transaction used to buy the car (from about 15 months ago).
For car 2 I have a copy of the log book and a copy of the insurance certificate. Son paid for it in cash, so no bank records, and cannot find the receipt.
For car 3 I have a copy of the log book and a copy of the insurance certificate. The owner bought it for cash a couple of years ago for £300 and does not have a receipt.
So the situation is that while I have *some* proof that the vehicles are not mine, I do not have *all* the proofs demanded by the bailiffs.
Car 3 will not be on site any more, as I only had use of it for today.
Cars 1 & 2 will remain, as 1 has no tax and 2 is immoveable - and I have nowhere else to shift them to.
I called a helpline for advice and they said that as the levy is invalid the bailiff charges should be removed and replaced with a maximum of £42.50.
I tried to call Equita this evening (the call centre, as the other office was closed), but once I said that I believed the levy to be invalid they would not discuss further and said I have to call the Northampton office tomorrow (today).
As I don't have all the required proofs I think I have to:
a) go and get a statutory declaration done (hoping that the local magistrates court will be able to witness it?) first thing in the morning
b) then call Equita head office and tell them
c) email or post them copies of the docs I have
d) make an offer of payment that I *can* afford and is sustainable - if they refuse then I wait for the bailiffs to come back again.
Have I got this right? Anything else I've missed or need / can do?
Regards
D
[Note 1]
The original Form 7 had the vehicle's correct registration number on it. On closer inspection, the Form 7 they left me today only lists 2 out of the 3 vehicles - and the reg number is definitely incorrect for one vehicle (the one that was on the original Form 7), and possibly for the second vehicle (that one was hand written and is not too clear).
The cynic in me says this is deliberate so when they return they can levy against the correct registrations and charge more fees?
Oh, and nothing has been signed by me - certainly not a walking possession order, and they did not, and never have, entered my house.
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