Newbie and bailiff charges

[struggling]

Hello, I hope you can help after looking at advise here I sent a letter to Equita Bailiffs asking them for a breakdown of charges, it also took the council to contact them too to reply I might add.

Equita have charged me the following

1st visit fee ( not evena knock on the door just a letter posted with out envelope) £24.50
2nd visit fee (where the bailiff was trying to do above till I opened the door) £18.00
Levey fee ( was completley unknown till I phoned the council) £27.00
Attendance fees of a whopping £140 - THAT DOES NOT RELATE TO ANY OF THEIR DATES
oh and some card payment charges of now £5 as I have been paying what I can for fear of them taking my motor.
Now are they allowed to charge the £140 attendance fee when no one actually attened the house, just that they have "proof" of the satnav records giving longitude and latitude although I can assuse you on at least two of the three dates and time I was in and no one knocked on the door else I would have foolishly opened it.
I have complained abot the bailiff's behaviour as my toddler and my freind's toddler and also my freind were scared by him and I was extreamly intimidated and he would not come to an agreement saying I had to pay more, when in the end Equita have now agreed to £20 per month untill the debt is cleared half of what I offered on the doorstep!
Sorry to go on but hope someone can help as I am sure they can't charge the £140, not even the council where aware when they gave me a breakdown.

[struggling]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

It took me a while but Imanaged to find this link to check wether or not a bailiff is certified and when from
http://certificatedbailiffs.justice....catedBailiffs/
Just incase any one needs it

[ploddertom]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

The information you have been given is not enough. They also need to provide the dates all these fees were added. The excuse of using GPS to say someone called is very feeble as it is easy to do this, after all there is nothing to say that the Bailiff happened to drive by stopped to light a fag and they say that proves they called - I think not. Nothing wrong with the first 2 visits as you did at least receive a letter to say they had been.

As far as the levy & attendance fee are concerned then I'm afraid Equita have form for these. If when making a levy on goods it is a legal requirement that the Bailiff leaves a Notice of Seizure detailing the goods seized. The chances are that when challenged Equita will state they are only potential fees that could be made.

There is no law that says you have to speak to or deal with a Bailiff and in many cases you just pay the Council direct using online banking, Council website or automated phone. Another thing to be wary of is that Equita are owned by a company called Capita who run back office systems for many Councils, they are not known for being cooperative.

I note you have found the online register - is your Bailiff on that list?

[struggling]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

Thank you, yes all three bailiffs that Equita had claimed visited were on the list, but I couldn't retrive their certificate numbers. I wantedthe numbers to fill out the form 4 complaints about a bailiff, but I probably won't bother as I think bailiffs are doing what they are told to, it seems a kind of " see what we can get away with" attitude. I think the companies need to be changed not the individuals.
I shall put the notice of seizure question to Equita with a copy to the council and see what they come up with this time and I shall write as say the information they sent, yet again, isn't sufficent and does not prove the bailiffs knocked on my door.
I wonder if there's any CCtv down our street........
I should have just paid the council in the begining, can I start doing so after making payments to Equita? I know their systems are connected with the council after disscusions with the council previosly over Equita's fees and conduct -which the council still deny but the council did not tell me about the attendance fee charge so I think Equita are trying their luck!

[ploddertom]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

I would urge you to think very carefully about submitting a Form 4 complaint, particularly if it is relatively trivial. A better bet is to write to the certificating Court outlining your concerns and ask the letter lies on file to be taken into consideration at renewal time.

[struggling]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

I had discovered the seriousness of the Form 4 on this website after another had recomeded it, so that postponed it and I feel this bailiff in question was relativley new and guided if not "brain washed" by Equita. My complaints are that he did not show any ID or paperwork, was very demanding, would not bdgen or give me a correct amount due. He just bluntley dissagreed with every settlement offer and told me I'd better sort something out by Monday as he will be removing goods. He still wouldn't show levey or any thing. He walked away and never came back!!!
Even a visiting freind was scared as well as her toddler and mine. We had trouble settling them, the bailiff knew they were there and still continued to discuss my debt in front of them pushing me to "pay up now".
I do feel a letter would be far more preferable as repecussions on someone's job is ridiculas especially if they were acting as advised by their employer

[ploddertom]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

Well those grounds are definitely not for a Form 4.

[struggling]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

I had discovered the seriousness of the Form 4 on this website after another had recomeded it, so that postponed it and I feel this bailiff in question was relativley new and guided if not "brain washed" by Equita. My complaints are that he did not show any ID or paperwork, was very demanding, would not bdgen or give me a correct amount due. He just bluntley dissagreed with every settlement offer and told me I'd better sort something out by Monday as he will be removing goods. He still wouldn't show levey or any thing. He walked away and never came back!!!
Even a visiting freind was scared as well as her toddler and mine. We had trouble settling them, the bailiff knew they were there and still continued to discuss my debt in front of them pushing me to "pay up now".
I do feel a letter would be far more preferable as repecussions on someone's job is ridiculas especially if they were acting as advised by their employer

On this day I have receive another note through my oor this morning - no knocks!

[struggling]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

So I paid all of my council tax bill to the council direct last month as Equita's online payment service wasn't working and you can't get through on the phone. The council told me I had a balance with Equita of £84 WHICH INCLUDES THEIR FAKE VISITS. Their website still won't accept payments even though I get a receipt from their website.
This note today tells me I owe them a whooping £392 - this is hand written in - else they will seize goods in the next 24hrs!!!
Stressed out and already sick single mums must be easy prey

[Wombats]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

So I paid all of my council tax bill to the council direct last month as Equita's online payment service wasn't working and you can't get through on the phone. The council told me I had a balance with Equita of £84 WHICH INCLUDES THEIR FAKE VISITS. Their website still won't accept payments even though I get a receipt from their website.
This note today tells me I owe them a whooping £392 - this is hand written in - else they will seize goods in the next 24hrs!!!
Stressed out and already sick single mums must be easy prey

Firstly can you expand on 'sick single mum' please, this may or may not put you into a potentially vulnerable category. Also, could you say when (rough date will do) you were told you owed £84 bailiff fees still please.

You should also ask for a breakdown of the debt, including any fees owing :

1 - the dates and nature of any visits by bailiffs (now Enforcement Agents)
2 - any costs incurred in these visits
3 - any other costs incurred
4 - any other relevant amount making up the £392

If there were any lawful bailiff fees outstanding, unfortunately it is likely you will have incurred a further £235 charge now.

[struggling]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

HI there Wombats and thank you for your reply, I had previously asked for a break down which they only gave me minimal information. I had also sent a letter of complain to them and the local council.
I was told on the 9th June by the Council that the balance due to Equita would be £84 to which I had been trying to pay via their website as I had no other contact ue to their failing website and telephone systems.
I have a permanant illness and to top it off an additional problem leaving me in imense head and face pain making it very difficult to concentrate or do any thing realy.
Why are they now called enforcement agents is this to get round ledgislation?

[Wombats]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

Forgive the replies in red below if they sound harsh - it is simply what the EA's would say (the law changed massively on April 6th so nearly all bailiffs are now called Enforcement Agents):

HI there Wombats and thank you for your reply, I had previously asked for a break down which they only gave me minimal information. You need to send another to the EA's asking for the detailed breakdown.

I had also sent a letter of complain to them and the local council.

I was told on the 9th June by the Council that the balance due to Equita would be £84 to which I had been trying to pay via their website as I had no other contact ue to their failing website and telephone systems. Do you have any proof of this? Why did you not phone Equita directly to make a payment?

I have a permanant illness and to top it off an additional problem leaving me in imense head and face pain making it very difficult to concentrate or do any thing really. If you believe this may have made you fall into the vulnerable category, did you tell Equita about this so it could be taken into account? If you didn't, they're not mind readers.


Why are they now called enforcement agents is this to get round ledgislation?

As I say, the red parts are what they would say. People need to realise now that they need to actively engage with the EA's to resolve the problem. The pattern which is sadly emerging is that while the public are being told this, the EA's seem reluctant to change their methods to fit in with the new legislation.

We're undoubtedly going through a transitional period which will, I'm sure, see some changes being made. In the mean time the best way forward usually is to engage with them at the earliest opportunity in order to avoid further costs.

Please try to get a breakdown of yours though as while I can work out £319 of it, but not £392.

[struggling]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

Just an ending note on this one, my account was closed by Equita with out having to pay the mysterious £84 but recently I received a parking fine so here we go again

[Wombats]

Re: Newbie and bailiff charges

Excellent result on the previous one. Re the parking fine, if it is a Penalty Charge Notice as opposed to a Parking Charge Notice you need to try to pay it within the discounted period to stop things escalating - it's the cheapest way! If it's a Parking Charge Notice, post up in the relevant section of this site and you'll get the help you need to challenge it.