Council Tax: Bailiff Charges Query

BS007

Dear All,

Apologies if this has been asked before however:

I have several council tax debts which the council have deferred this to the Equita bailiffs. I have obtained the full breakdown of charges as I could not understand the amounts they have quoted. I have two questions;

1) What is a levy charge? No bailiffs have entered my property, infact I have not spoken/seen any.

I have only recieved 1 letter hand delivered, another was sent via post but MARKED hand-delivered!!

2) Can bailiffs charge visit charges against EACH outstanding debt?

I am willing to pay all of the charges via direct debit £220.00 per month, however the council have refused to deal with me. I am loathe to contact the bailiffs directly as I had a very bad experience with one 3 years ago. All my dealings so far with equita have been via post/letter.

On 31st October I will pay the installment online (Islington Council)

I would appreciate any insight.

Thank you.

BS007

hallowitch

have you been in touch with the council regarding the fees

NO bailiffs cant charge for each liability order when collecting more than one debt

can you list the fees exactly as they have put on the breakdown including the outstanding debt amount



when a bailiff levies goods he must leave a notice of distress/seizure listing the goods levied and the fees charged

as you have been charged a levy they will more than likely claim they have levied on a car they will also claim that they left a notice of seizure

if there is a possibility it cant be your car (the levied car was probably parked in your street but not directly outside your house) they wont leave the notice of seizure in case you contest the levy
and if you hadn't asked for a full breakdown of fees you would never have known you had been charged the fee and possibly associated fees such as an attendance to remove fee

big bucks for the bailiff and the debtor doesn't have a clue because most pay up and don't question the fees

and because this is equita your council more than likely use Capita as back office providers to administrate your council tax because Equita are part of the Capita group of company's

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?168-Bailiffs-and-High-Court-Enforcement-Officers

BS007

Hallowitch - thank you very much for the information, I thought they were trying to pull a fast one, which is why i asked for a full breakdown... I am glad I did now..I only got this letter this morning.

I do not own a car. The following has been listed as owing on the letter from Equita:

Debt 1: £428.79
Statutory visit fees: £42.50
Levy fees: £38.00

Debt 2: £417.22
Statutory visit fees: £42.50
Levy fees: £38.00

Debt 3: £791.75
Statutory visit fees: £42.50
Levy fees: £48.00

Debt 4: 1,076.44
Statutory visit fees: £42.50
Levy fees: £55.00

As i say i have not met the bailiff yet, infact i haven't even spoken to him, so i am not sure what on earth these levy charges are for.

BS007

hallowitch wrote: »

have you been in touch with the council regarding the fees

NO bailiffs cant charge for each liability order when collecting more than one debt

can you list the fees exactly as they have put on the breakdown including the outstanding debt amount



when a bailiff levies goods he must leave a notice of distress/seizure listing the goods levied and the fees charged

as you have been charged a levy they will more than likely claim they have levied on a car they will also claim that they left a notice of seizure

if there is a possibility it cant be your car (the levied car was probably parked in your street but not directly outside your house) they wont leave the notice of seizure in case you contest the levy
and if you hadn't asked for a full breakdown of fees you would never have known you had been charged the fee and possibly associated fees such as an attendance to remove fee

big bucks for the bailiff and the debtor doesn't have a clue because most pay up and don't question the fees

and because this is equita your council more than likely use Capita as back office providers to administrate your council tax because Equita are part of the Capita group of company's

hallowitch

You need to send off for a proper breakdown of the fees they are claiming. you should have had the dates the fees were added here's an example use and adapt as you see fit and send by email [EMAIL="info@equita.co.uk"]info@equita.co.uk[/EMAIL] mark it for the attention of Karen Fowler

also send a copy to the revenues department of your council

"From:
My Name
My Address

To:
Acme bailiff Co
Bailiff House

Ref: Account No: 123456

Dear Sir

With reference to the above account, Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges.

This includes:
a - the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee.
b - the reason for the fee.
c - the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged.
d - the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were certificated at.
e - the date of the Certification.

I believe a levy fee has been charged on each of the above accounts as there has been no notice of seizure left at my property please provide me with a copy of the notice of seizure for each account where a levy fee has been charged

This is not a Subject access request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. You are obliged to provide this information.

I require this information within 14 days.

Yours faithfully

Ripped off customer"

Also always advisable to ask the Council.
1 - how many Liability Orders they have against you
2 - the dates they were obtained
3 - the addresses they were for
4 - the period of time each covers
5 - how much each one was for
6 - how much is still outstanding
7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement

BS007

Hallowitch: Your help has been invaluable.

Thank you very much, I have emailed K Fowler, and the council. I will also send the email via recorded delivery to equita and islington council.

I will still pay the monthly installment of £220.00 online. I did a search for the bailiff's name on the bailif register, but could not find him under equita or islington council.

I will post any replies in due course.

Thanks again,


Regards,

BS007

hallowitch wrote: »

You need to send off for a proper breakdown of the fees they are claiming. you should have had the dates the fees were added here's an example use and adapt as you see fit and send by email EMAIL=info@equita.co.uk, mark it for the attention of Karen Fowler

also send a copy to the revenues department of your council

"From:
My Name
My Address

To:
Acme
Bailiff House

Ref: Account No: 123456

Dear Sir

With reference to the above account, Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges.

This includes:
a - the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee.
b - the reason for the fee.
c - the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged.
d - the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were certificated at
e - the date of the Certification.

I believe a levy fee has been charged on each of the above accounts as there has been no notice of seizure left at my property please provide me with a copy of the notice of seizure for each account where a levy fee has been charged

This is not a Subject access request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. You are obliged to provide this information.

I require this information within 14 days.

Yours faithfully

Ripped off customer"

Also always advisable to ask the Council.
1 - how many Liability Orders they have against you
2 - the dates they were obtained
3 - the addresses they were for
4 - the period of time each covers
5 - how much each one was for
6 - how much is still outstanding
7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement

hallowitch

send the bailiff a text and ask him to confirm his date of certification and the name of the court

If he has nothing to hide (he is certificated) then there is no reason why he shouldn't provide you with this info


and phone
Ministry of Justice Public Register of bailiffs on 020 3334 6355 and ask them to confirm his date and court of certification

also e-mail the council and ask them to provide the certification details of bailiff Mr xxxxxx

BS007

Bailiff - swore at me over the phone and threatened to "do me" when i asked about his certification.... Islington council say it will take 10 days to respond. Equita have not acknowledged my request.

Tomorrow I will pay the £220 online against the council tax...

I will post more info when/if I receive it.

BS007

I have paid the £220.00 online, this afternoon I received a letter from Equita, which is basically has the same contents as details specified in my thread reply #3, with added dates and liability dates. They confirm that the bailiff was certified on 3/9/2012 at northampton court... I have checked this on the bailiff register and there is an entry for this bailiff with the details as specified by Equita.

They did not provide me with copies of the levy letters. My question is if this bailiff was not certified until 3/9/2012 and his visits were before this date... how can their charges be vaild? Also how can levys be charged if he has not entered the premises?

They have ignored the my letter contents regarding that they can not charge a visit fee against each account.

Please see below the details of the letter received:

**Liability Order: 22/3/12
Debt 1: £428.79
Statutory visit fees: £42.50 **24/7/12 & 23/8/12
Levy fees: £38.00 ** £18/10/12

**Liability Order: 4/3/10
Debt 2: £417.22
Statutory visit fees: £42.50 ** 24/7/12 & 23/8/12
Levy fees: £38.00 ** 18/10/12

**Liability Order: 5/6/08
Debt 3: £791.75
Statutory visit fees: £42.50 ** 24/7/12 & 23/8/12
Levy fees: £48.00 **18/10/12

**Liability Order: 14/6/12
Debt 4: 1,076.44
Statutory visit fees: £42.50 ** 24/7/12 & 23/8/12
Levy fees: £55.00 ** 18/10/12

Hallowitch, you have been immensely helpful so far and if I could trouble you again, as to how I should proceed ?

Any other recommendations from other site users would also be immensely appreciated.

Thank you.

hallowitch

OK sod the monkeys you need to go to the organ grinder the CEO of your council is Lesley Seary

can you tell me the date of the hand delivered letter ?

is there a bailiffs name on the letter that was delivered by post ?

If yes is it the the bailiff was certified on 3/9/2012 at northampton court



do you still have the envelope the letter came in ?
whats the date on the letter ?

the bailiff that was certified on 3/9/2012 at northampton court can only be responsible for fees 18/10/12

I can do you a letter /email but it wouldn't be till Monday (it could be before this but i cant promise)

don't put the bailiffs name on here in fact you can PM me the info if you want

Its not uncommon for bailiff to read these sites so we don't want you identified

Equita are are getting bad for being economical with their info and the info they give is designed to confuse the debtor

The facts are if you have been changed the fees you should already have the information you are requesting

every time a bailiff visits a debtor he should leave a letter giving you the time/date name of bailiff reason for the visit fees charge for the visit and the amount of the debt

to levy goods they must leave a notice of seizure listing the goods levied the fees charged name of bailiff time date

If you have a car please do not park near you house for the time being

ONLY if you can record the calls i would phone Equita and ask them to tell you what goods were levied on the 18/10/12 ask them why the have not sent you copy's of the notice of seizure's you ask for as legally they should have been left at your property at the time of the levy

they will fob you off with speak to the bailiff they don't know etc but they should bailiff use digital pens and Equita receive the info almost instantly

Then phone the bailiff and ask him if his previous comment's are anything to go by he will shoot himself in the foot

if you cant record the call don't phone there is no point as your bailiff will lie

to say Equita bailiffs are well known is an understatement especially when the council use Capita

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/search.php?searchid=2702529

BS007

Hallowitch you are a god send! I will pm you the details as specified in your reply post... To make matters worse, I have just been told my contract will not be renewed at my current job... I have a week to go... Am feeling a bit sorry for myself, but I will have to get over it and plough on... Thanks so much for your help so far - much appreciated.

BS007

Last day at my current job tomorrow... I am then officially unemployed! I have been applying for jobs online, and someone left me a message late this evening, but when I called back they were out of the office. I will call them back tomorrow. I have sent Hallowitch the information asked for in post #9.