Am I entitled to reclaim charges

[keef82]

I apologise in advance if these issues are explained in other areas of the site but I could not find the particular information. I'll keep this as short as I can.

I moved into a new home recently, after a few weeks I received a court summons for unpaid council tax on a previous address. I phoned the council and they explained that I had two unpaid bills, both for £150. They still had one but they sent the other to a bailiff. I immediately paid the bill they had and requested the bailiff information. The council gave me a phone number and account number for Equita. The next morning I phoned Equita and quoted my account number, they said I had a bill but they didn't know how much. I tried to pay it there and then but the phone operator said he couldn't process payment. He gave me a mobile number for some man called Greg and said I had to pay him. I phoned this mobile number repeatedly for two days with no answer every time. Then when I was at work this Greg showed up at my door and threatened my wife saying that he was going to come in and take all our stuff. When I got home I phoned him on the mobile number and he answered. He said i had to pay £300 that day or he would come back and take my car the following day. I paid the money and asked for a receipt breaking down what the extra £150 was for. He said the company would post one to me. 1 month later and I have received a letter from them that simply states: Original bill: £150. Bailiff charges £150. Not exactly a breakdown?? Can I reclaim these charges, I get the impression the are illegal, they deliberately avoided me when I tried to make payment so they could extort this money from me. Where do I stand?
Many thanks for any advice
Keith

[ploddertom]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

Sounds to me as if Equita have beeen up to their usual tricks. I assume from what you say you had contacted them before they had even visited offering to pay but they were in turn being obstructive. If that is the case then in my view you owed them nothing, getting it back may be more problematic but not impossible.

Send them Letter 1 from http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...Useful-Letters

If they drag their heels or become obstructive then to me that is in your favour and all can then be dumped in the Councils lap. When you rang the Council to pay did they tell you they couldn't accept payment and you had to contact the Bailiff instead.

Have you checked to see who runs the back office procedures on your Council, if not sure let us know the name of which authority it is as we can usually look them up.

[IanM]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

I apologise in advance if these issues are explained in other areas of the site but I could not find the particular information. I'll keep this as short as I can.

I moved into a new home recently, after a few weeks I received a court summons for unpaid council tax on a previous address. I phoned the council and they explained that I had two unpaid bills, both for £150. They still had one but they sent the other to a bailiff. I immediately paid the bill they had and requested the bailiff information. The council gave me a phone number and account number for Equita. The next morning I phoned Equita and quoted my account number, they said I had a bill but they didn't know how much. I tried to pay it there and then but the phone operator said he couldn't process payment. He gave me a mobile number for some man called Greg and said I had to pay him. I phoned this mobile number repeatedly for two days with no answer every time. Then when I was at work this Greg showed up at my door and threatened my wife saying that he was going to come in and take all our stuff. When I got home I phoned him on the mobile number and he answered. He said i had to pay £300 that day or he would come back and take my car the following day. I paid the money and asked for a receipt breaking down what the extra £150 was for. He said the company would post one to me. 1 month later and I have received a letter from them that simply states: Original bill: £150. Bailiff charges £150. Not exactly a breakdown?? Can I reclaim these charges, I get the impression the are illegal, they deliberately avoided me when I tried to make payment so they could extort this money from me. Where do I stand?
Many thanks for any advice
Keith

Did you go to court for either of the bills?

Did the council obtain a liability order for either bill?

[Sir Vere Brayne d'Emmidge]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

Did you go to court for either of the bills?

Did the council obtain a liability order for either bill?

Even if there was a liability order equita truly shafted the OP, I wonder if The OP had the presence of mind of taping the call with Equita, saying that they should have done, and a written request to them asking for a copy of the telephone conversation would really help his case!

[keef82]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

No I didn't go to court, I paid the bill before the court date. I wish I had the presence of mind to tape the call but before making it I didn't think this would be the outcome, I foolishly assumed that I would just be able to pay the bill. I know the bailiff couldn't legally enter my home to take my stuff if I don't allow him access and I would have ideally taken this time to fight it, but he threatened to take my car, which is absolutely essential for my job, I was not in a position to do anything but pay the fine there and then.
Thanks for the advice, I will send them the letter and hope for the best. I guess it will be a battle.

[keef82]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

If they drag their heels or become obstructive then to me that is in your favour and all can then be dumped in the Councils lap. When you rang the Council to pay did they tell you they couldn't accept payment and you had to contact the Bailiff instead.

Have you checked to see who runs the back office procedures on your Council, if not sure let us know the name of which authority it is as we can usually look them up.

When I phoned the council they said once the debt has gone to bailiff they cannot accept payment from me. It was Manchester City Council

[IanM]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

Even if there was a liability order equita truly shafted the OP, I wonder if The OP had the presence of mind of taping the call with Equita, saying that they should have done, and a written request to them asking for a copy of the telephone conversation would really help his case!

If it didn't go to court and there is no liability order then why was it sent to the bailiffs in the first place?

[bizzybob]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

If it didn't go to court and there is no liability order then why was it sent to the bailiffs in the first place?

Probably because Crapita infest the council.

[bluebottle]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

When I phoned the council they said once the debt has gone to bailiff they cannot accept payment from me. It was Manchester City Council

Who at Manchester City Council fed you that load of crap? It is unlawful for them to refuse to accept a payment.

[bluebottle]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

If it didn't go to court and there is no liability order then why was it sent to the bailiffs in the first place?

If there has been no court hearing and there is no Liability Order in existence, any bailiff involvement is unlawful and, potentially, illegal. By the sound of it, Capita has really excelled themselves by pursuing such a course of action.

[keef82]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

Who at Manchester City Council fed you that load of crap? It is unlawful for them to refuse to accept a payment.

It was just whoever the woman on the phone was I never got a name or anything. She said they can't accept payment, I wish I'd have known this at the time.

[keef82]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

I have just recieved an itemised bill from Equita. It goes as follows:
Debt - £158
First Visit fee - 24.50
Levy Fee - £27.00
Attendance Fee - £140
Total - £350


He attended once to give my wife a letter, this was after I had tried to pay over the phone at the head office.
I made efforts to pay the original debt but Equita were deliberately obstructive. Is there any action I can take to attempt to reclaim these fees?

[ploddertom]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

Usual letter from Equita which is incomplete. Now ask them to put dates on it when each was charged. Usual levy fee & Attendance fee, they will then claim these are potential fees.

1 - have you involved your local Councillor(s)
2 - have you checked to see if Bailiff is suitably Certificated
3 - time to write to Certificating Court about "overcharging"

[Guest]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

It looks like the bailiff has charged for a 1st visit fee, levy fee & ATR fee all on the same visit.

Tut tut Greg-very naughty.

Did Greg leave an inventory of goods seized? ie your car. Did your wife sign any agreement with Greg? Was a car actually outside when he called or were you out at work with it?

No wonder Equita don't want debtors to settle their debts straight away like Keith attempted to-Why would they when there is a potential to charge £200 for a 10 minute visit? Nice work if you can get it.

[keef82]

Re: Am I entitled to reclaim charges

Usual letter from Equita which is incomplete. Now ask them to put dates on it when each was charged. Usual levy fee & Attendance fee, they will then claim these are potential fees.

1 - have you involved your local Councillor(s)
2 - have you checked to see if Bailiff is suitably Certificated
3 - time to write to Certificating Court about "overcharging"

Again thank you very much for this advice. I will get on to my councillor. And send a letter requiring dates, and to the council. I really appreciate this.