Help please urgent advice needed

[superman123]

Hi all after advice any will be greatly appreciated.

After a hard year I am in a bit of a bad way. I have gone through a divorce and was stopped from seeing my kids all of which took a strain on my finances and to top it off I had to take a pay cut at work.

I have two dca's chasing me 1 is equita for council tax the other is Phillips for a magistrates fee which is around £480 which to me sounds like thir fees have been added. Is there anyway I can get these debts passed back to the original council and magistrates to pay at a more suitbale rate? Both agencies have sent bailiff letters and I missed a call off Phillips earlier today.

I also have some payday loans I have failed to clear. Quickquid and poundstopayday have passed them onto dca's whilst Payday UK and Wageday Advance are still trying to conatct me. I know looking back I was stupid to take these out but at the time it seemed my only solution to help my situaton. What would be the best way to deal with these. i have spoke to the national debtline and they are sending me some template letters to send detailing my intention to clear these once the two priority debts above have been cleared would this be the recommended route to take?

Finally I cleared a debt with Bristow Suitor two months ago but ended up paying around £600 in bailiff fee's following two doorstep visits even though no itmes were ever removed from my property. They also only had a list of my goods due to looking through windows etc would I have a case for asking these to be refunded?

As said before anyadvice would be appreciated greatly as it is putting a huge strain on my life, just wondering if speaking to CAB could help?

Many thanks in advance

Adam

[Caspar]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Hi and sorry to hear of your situation.

First of all your priorities here are the Council Tax and the Magistrates Court. Payday loans etc.... can wait till later.

It would be worth inveting £10 in sending an SAR Bailiff - SAR - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

to Bristow and Sutor as it is hard to see how they could arrive at these fees, and yes you can reclaim any excess charges. What was this debt for?

As regards your current circumstances have a good read of the Bailiffs Guide Bailiff Guide - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum and come back with any remaining questions.

[Amy]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

You need to understand the differences between DCAs and bailiffs. A DCA cannot collect for unpaid council tax or a Magistrates' fine - this would be a bailiff.

How much council tax (actual council tax, not the amount the bailiff says you owe) to you owe and how much was the magistrates' fine and what for?

[superman123]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Hi both and thanks for replying.

The bristow suitor was for last years council tax they applied the charges basically because on two occasiosn a bailiff rang from outside my property saying either pay in full or removal of goods however on both occasions neither event happened. Again is not wrong to get list of good by looking through windows?

The magistrates fee was for using a phone whilst driving which i tried to dispute I think it was only around £110 before getting passed on. Could I contact Phillips to see a breakdown of the fees?

Equita is this years council tax which is the full amount with a 25% dicount I think. So far I have only had one conversation with their call centre apart from a couple of hand delivered letters which I have ignored is this the right thing to do?

Thanks again for your help

[CleverClogs]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Yes, yes and yes. Only deal with the buggers in writing, as bailiffs are inherently disingenuous or even dishonest.

If Bullcrap and Sooty added £600 in bailiff fees merely for peering through a window, they have certainly overcharged; their "levy" is invalid and they may have committed fraud.

The scale of charges a bailiff may lawfully add to a council tax debt is set out in the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (as amended) - PDF link

If they do not have a walking possession agreement signed by the debtor (or his/her agent) they cannot lawfully charge for a van to remove the debtor's goods; if they have a "global" or otherwise invalid levy, they cannot lawfully charge for a van to remove the debtor's goods.

For merely making two visits, even though they may have pretended to make a levy each time, the most they could lawfully charge is £43. If you were forced to pay more, I would suggest you contact Consumer Direct (0845 4 04 05 06 and/or your local plods, as fraud by misrepresentation is a serious crime and the culprits and their abettors, accomplices and/or accessories should be prosecuted and gaoled.

[superman123]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Hi thanks for your reply. Basically I noticed someone taking note of the registration of my car (company vehicle) so went outside to ask about it. I informed him it wasnt my vehicle etc we agreed a payment plan mainly so I could get rid of him as I had kids with me at this time. I was then presented with the list of goods obtained through looking through windows. I did ring the office explaining I couldnt afford agreed sum would pay whatvi could next day a bailiff is ringing me saying he has come to seize goods and his fees had been added I managed to stall him on that occasion. A month later same again different bailiff same conversation and I ended up paying him £300 (plus card fees) for him to leave but again these only covered his fees. So even though they twice turned up to seize goods no action was actually taken. Should I email them and ask for a breakdown of fees etc?

Thanks for advice could you provide any info on current situation?

[nesfulo]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

I had a similar situation with Equita over the last two years with council tax. I found that they will talk and to be honest, the actual bailiff was not unreasonable but I guess they all behave differently.
In the end, I asked my local council to take the debt back. They resisted at first, said it could not be done etc and Ok so it was a massive exercise in grovelling but they did take it back and came to an agreement with me which is manageable. To me it means going one step back in the enforcement process.
Try it, you have to have a massive slice of humble pie, but at least you remove the treat of a bailiff visit.

[superman123]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Thanks for that nesfulo atleast I got some hope then. Any chance you could pm me a rough draft of something like you said so I can get it over to the council?

[mr.ton]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Hi thanks for your reply. Basically I noticed someone taking note of the registration of my car (company vehicle) so went outside to ask about it. I informed him it wasnt my vehicle etc we agreed a payment plan mainly so I could get rid of him as I had kids with me at this time. I was then presented with the list of goods obtained through looking through windows. I did ring the office explaining I couldnt afford agreed sum would pay whatvi could next day a bailiff is ringing me saying he has come to seize goods and his fees had been added I managed to stall him on that occasion. A month later same again different bailiff same conversation and I ended up paying him £300 (plus card fees) for him to leave but again these only covered his fees. So even though they twice turned up to seize goods no action was actually taken. Should I email them and ask for a breakdown of fees etc?

Personally i would have called the police - bailiffs or no bailiffs and complained that someone has been snooping around your property looking in and eyeing around etc...
I would have told the idiot to get lost and called 999 if he did not.
Disgraceful that you paid money just for them to leave - demand that money back asap and threaten legal action if they refuse.
I would also contact what ever court these clowns are working for and make official complaints etc..
Contact your local MP as well if need be.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Try it, you have to have a massive slice of humble pie, but at least you remove the treat of a bailiff visit.

I dare say that is a treat that most of us would willingly forego. :rofl:

[CleverClogs]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Hi thanks for your reply. Basically I noticed someone taking note of the registration of my car (company vehicle) so went outside to ask about it. I informed him it wasnt my vehicle etc

As it was not your property, the oaf could not lawfully clamp it or remove it for sale; this is not to say that he might not try to do either or both of those, but that any distraint against that vehicle will inevitably fail.

we agreed a payment plan mainly so I could get rid of him as I had kids with me at this time. I was then presented with the list of goods obtained through looking through windows.

As the jerk had not entered the property, the levy is invalid.

I did ring the office explaining I couldnt afford agreed sum would pay whatvi could next day a bailiff is ringing me saying he has come to seize goods and his fees had been added

Bailiffs tell lies as easily as they breathe.

Perhaps the reason for their remarkable disingenuity or dishonesty is some lesion or malformation of the pre-frontal cortex which, in most people, seems to be concerned with that part of the mind responsible for our morality. It may be due to the way their mothers dropped them on their heads when they were still only babies, or it may be due to their forehead being insufficiently high to accommodate the normal amount of grey matter - as far as I know, there has been little or no research done into this.

Whatever the reason may be for his fibs, he cannot lawfully seize goods based on an improper levy, nor can he lawfully charge any fees for a removal van.

I managed to stall him on that occasion. A month later same again different bailiff same conversation and I ended up paying him £300 (plus card fees) for him to leave but again these only covered his fees. So even though they twice turned up to seize goods no action was actually taken.

No action could be taken lawfully and, furthermore, I would suggest that the buggers knew as much.

By the way, they are also not permitted to charge any "card fees" when they accept payment by card.

Should I email them and ask for a breakdown of fees etc?

That would be one way to proceed and, if they think they can dupe you, they may actually comply with such a request.

Alternatively, a Subject Access Request made under section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and accompanied by a payment of £10 (the statutory maximum fee) should compel them to disclose all the data they hold on you, subject to certain restrictions concerning third parties.

A third way would be to try to get the police involved, as one or more offences of blackmail and/or fraud by misrepresentation would appear to have been committed. The trick there is to get past the indolent, doughnut munching slobs who'll cheerfully misinform you by claiming "it's a civil matter" even though it is nothing of the sort.

[superman123]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Hi all and thanks for replies. As an update I have emailed bristow and suitor asking for a breakdown of all the fees i paid. I have emailed my council asking them to consider recalling the debt from equita. The problem though is Phillips who on Friday left me a hand delivered letter saying I had to pay now to prevent further action. This was for the magistarte fee apparently I have 455 to pay however I think the fee was only around half of this. I am thinking of emailing and offering around £30 a month as it is all I can afford right now would this be the right way to go?

Finally had a text off CRS saying to contact them as further action cannot be delayed. I think this will be towards one of my payday loans I mentioned. What would be the best way to handle this? Thanks in advance

[Caspar]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

If you have multiple debts, you may be better off going to a FREE source of advice. Payplan and CCCS both give good advice over the phone.

Payday loans are pretty insignificant compared to the court fines - these need sorting as if you don't you could potentially end up in jail!

[superman123]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Ok B&S update. Have received a statement and an e-mail both posted below

Dear Sir,

RE: Outstanding Council Tax due to Walsall Council

We acknowledge receipt of your email, the contents of which have been duly noted.

Please find attached a full statement of your account showing all fees incurred in accordance with The Council Tax (Administration & Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (as amended) which we trust is sufficient.

Please contact us if you have any further queries in regards to this.

Yours faithfully,

Mr S Clarke
Recovery Officer
Bristow & Sutor


As you can see the debt was for £655 and I ended up paying £1172 plus £32 in card fees. If cr means credited I never received any of that money back. Am I entitled to request the refund and how would I go about it?

Thanks in advance

[superman123]

Re: Help please urgent advice needed

Apologies my copy and paste didnt work will post link