Equita Bailiff Fees Please advise

troubled1981

Hello,

I posted previously about Equita and after a third letter they finally gave me a breakdown of the fees.

Debt £489.88
Statutory Visit Fees £42.50
Levy Fees £35.00
Enforcement fees £160
Card charges £5.76

Total £733.14


I have paid over £250 so far which gives me a balance of £482.14


I am only aware of one visit that has been made by a bailiff. Where do the levy fees come from if no levy has been made? Also, what on earth are the enforcement fees? I don't understand what they are and if they are justified.

Any advice would be greatfully received

DarkConvict

A levy can be done on a car, however they need to have provided proof this was done. A letter should have been hand delivered to your house.

The one visit the bailiff has done, did they gain access to your property?

Bailiffs can charge for council tax (you have not specified the reason) £42.50 for 1 visit and 2 letters. After that they need to make a levy, this can be a car on driveway or road, or a if you gave them peaceful entry then a walking possession order.

If you do not know of any levy been made i could challenge the levy and enforcement charges - http://www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/

troubled1981

Thanks.

This is for council tax.

On the visit that was made they had made a levy on a vehicle that was parked on my drive. This isn't my car. I called to tell them that this wasn't my vehicle and that I don't drive and that this could be checked with the DVLA.

They have not and will not gain peaceful entry into my home.

The other thing is that when I spoke to the council about a month ago, they had told me that I owed £280 and had paid off over £800. They have even got the debt amount wrong on this list.

troubled1981

Also, they had put the posession order through the door but this obviously hasn't been signed.
I wasn't sure if this was important or not but thought I should let you know anyway

RAS

Hi

get hold of your local councillor and they will probably get the bailiffs sorted for you.

Xplosive

Hi everyone (big fan here, I never had to register as there is such a vast amount of good info on this forum that I always find the answers to my questions before needing to register :j)...

However a quick one here (I'm sorry I know this might need a new thread but I can't create one...), could you please help with the following?

My gf wants to know if a Bailiff from Equita has left a note (as in visited the property, not entered, etc.), does that mean a CCJ has already been issued against her name? (naturally affecting her credit adversely...)?

Thanks a bunch everyone

NorthernLas

Not neccessarily, she could have a council tax debt which are often enforced by Equita

Xplosive

Thanks for the quick response NorthernLas

I'm sorry for not mentioning this earlier, it is Council Tax arrears to Manchester CC. Can this eventually progress into a CCJ (if unpaid, etc.)?

Also on their website, Equita have a contact us form which asks for a National Insurance number amongst other details, should she provide that to them (she has had no luck ringing them as their rep puts her through to the baillif's VM!?)

Cheers

DarkConvict

No, a council tax bill is collected by a liability order. These LO's are not entered onto the credit file. Neither will a LO become a CCJ.

If bailiffs have not gained peaceful access to the property or made a levy on a car outside/nearby etc. Then the max the bailiffs can charge is £42.50 for 2 visits.

Did she know about the council tax been due, the council does have a duty to inform the resident about it before going for a liability order.
If she can afford to pay the CT tax due i advise she pays it off asap.

RobertoMoir

On the one hand... good news, a CCJ isn't issued for council tax as you've already been told by DC.

On the other hand... bad news, the consequences of a council tax liability order can in theory be worse.

DarkConvict

Why is a liability order worse? I am aware you can goto jail, but you have to be a won't pay not a can't pay.