Council Tax Vultures

hallowitch

I will put something together for you tonight to send to the council so don't send them anything yet

who did you agree to pay the council /equita ?

I don't suppose by any chance you know amount of the liability order (how much you owed the council without bailiffs fees)

you said you paid £420 thinking this was the debt paid in full

Equita took £235 n fees
debt of £297 was passed back to the council.
you still owe the council £297

that gives a total of £532

this makes no sense why did equita pass the debt back to the council after you paid £420 if the debt was £532 (including bailiff fees)
I wonder why they did not continue to pursue you when you stopped paying


you have until 28 June to get any correspondence sent out ? who said this and what do they intend to after this date ?

SMB1982

Thanks Hallowitch that is very kind of you. I agreed to pay Equita in the first instance as a was living away from the property recovering from an operation whilst the arrears were building up. I then returned to the property with the housemate having done a runner. I left my
Parents address as a forwarding address with the landlord as subsequently, I moved out. Equita then obtained my details from the landlord and this whole business came as a shock. I was then bullied and intimidated by Equita therefore wanting them gone ASAP, I made arrangements with them to pay the debt. They did not ever visit the address, there was only ever contact by telephone.
I'm afraid I don't remember the amount owed without the bailiff fees. I threw all correspondence away as this happened 5 years ago.
You've hit the nail on the head with the figures as they simply do not add up. It is completely illogical. Why would I not have been persued for the entire amount? This is what I stated to the member of revenue staff I spoke to on the phone today, to which she had records saying the bailiffs could not get in contact with me. This not true, my number was the same and has been up until 3 years ago. She admitted it did not make sense! The same member of staff said she would give me until 28 June, for getting any letters out to the ombudsman or councillors and then I will have to start paying installments of £24 over 12 months to clear the debt.

It's almost as if the £297 has been pulled out of the air!

hallowitch

are you working at the moment

when did you receive the inital letter from the council asking for the £297

EDIT

did you own a vehicle in 208

SMB1982

Yes I am working, I received the first letter on 4 April 2013 and no, I didn't own a vehicle in 2008.

hallowitch

who is the head of revenues at your council
what council is it

hallowitch

Name

Address

Bailiff ref

Council tax ref

Dear Sir,

I received a letter on 4/4/ 2013 stating their was an outstanding balance of £297 for the above account

I was rather surprised to receive this letter as i believe this debt had been paid in full to your contractor Equita in 208

A phone call was made to xxx council querying this debt and requesting further information regarding the outstanding balance

This was received on 14/5/213

The letter states the outstanding balance of £297 is due because Equita deducted £235 bailiff’s fees from payments made it does not state what fees were charged

I had no knowledge of any bailiff fees being added to my account as all correspondence was conducted by telephone the bailiff was given my forwarding address by my then landlord

(((((( you may want to fill in the details yourself for how the bailiff got in contact with you )

As Equita have taken £235 in bailiff fees and legislation caps the schedule 5 changes at £42, 50 if there is no levy on your goods I can assume I have been charged a levy and an attendance to remove fee

I understand to levy goods the bailiff must leave a notice off seizure/distresslisting the goods levied

At no time at any stage of enforcement did a bailiff enter my property I did not own a vehicle I was never left a notice of seizure

I am therefore bring the fees charged at the time into dispute and to carry the matter forward I request xxx council carry out a full audit of my account and furnish me with the following financial information



1 - How many Liability Orders do have in my name?

2 - The dates they were obtained

3 - The addresses they are 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 in 208

8 - The dates &amounts of all payments received from Equita

9- The Date Equita returned the debt



Information required to confirm fees already charged and paid :

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 theCertification.

f- a copy of theNotice of seizure

G- The screenshot showing all bailiff/enforcement activity on my account



An early reply to the above would be appreciated as would the halt to any further enforcement while the debt is in dispute as I am4 months pregnant

I understand that I still have to make payments while this debt is in dispute I therefore propose a payment agreement of £20 per month to be paid by standing order before the end of each calendar month

Please confirm if this is acceptable and provide me with the details to set up the standing order



Yours faithfully

SMB1982

Thank you for this Hallowitch! I really, really appreciate your time and help. I will get the letter completed and posted off today. I really couldnt have done this without any of the guidance received on this forum, so sincerley, thank you so much.

hallowitch

it should be sent by e-mail and followed up with a letter sent recorded delivery
try and find out who the head of revenues is and address it to him/her

SMB1982

Okay, I will do that. Do you think it is worth attaching copies of all previous correspondence? I had sent a letter and bank statements (proving payment) previously.

hallowitch

SMB1982 wrote: »

Okay, I will do that. Do you think it is worth attaching copies of all previous correspondence? I had sent a letter and bank statements (proving payment) previously.

no just send the letter