Equita Bailiffs - Advice needed urgently please

denspar

Hi all

After a dispute with the council over last years council tax my bill was passed by on to Equita. The amount requested was £791 including plus £75 for the liability order totalling £866. I began regular payments to get rid of this debt. On the 10/6/15 I received a bill informing me of £656 still to be paid. By the 29th of that month I had paid £660 so I assumed the debt to the council was now paid. In all I paid £870 for the £866 requested.

Then at the beginning of this month I paid £140 to Barnet Co Council towards council tax payable for Apr-Sept this year. It turns out that Equita have taken this payment even though this was paid through Barnet Councils online system. When I rang Equita to ask why I was told it was for "enforcement fees". I was making regular payments and therefore I'm pretty sure that enforcement was proceeded with in order to milk some money out of me. It turns out that on the 26/6/15, 3 days before my last payment to clear the council tax a bailiff attached a letter to the front door of my building, not my house in particular just the front door of the actual complex. I am also shocked that Equita can actually take money that was paid through Barnet Councils system without so much of a question being asked.

I'm now receiving letters demanding an extra £93 pounds to cover these enforcement fees (235 minus the £140 taken). My question is if this is legal? And also can more enforcement fees be added to an existing enforcement fee? Also today I received a letter demanding aforementioned money for "unpaid council tax" despite me clearly paying it off with the regular payments. This is clearly a scare tactic and I have every online receipt of payment paid as proof. I've also not received one breakdown of fees letter or any response to online correspondence from Equita.

Any advice is much appreciated.

sourcrates

Hi,

Written complaint to the council and equita should be the way to go, explain what they have done, although they may be able to do this, you should request a statement of account, they may be entitled to charge you as well, details on fees here :

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/bailiffs-fees-and-charges/fees-bailiffs-can-charge/

CIS

Where the council have instructed an agent to collect the council tax they will also authorise them to collect any monies in respect of this, this will also include any monies towards this being notified to the enforcement agent so they can be offset. This will either be a physical transfer of the monies or the enforcement agent passing an invoice to the council for the equivalent value and the council then offsetting the monies against this.

The enforcement agent can charge £235 where they have attended the property to enforce the debt - at this stage making payments without a formal payment arrangement does not stop action as the full amount is legally due.

The £310 fees are the most that can be added at this stage unless goods are removed and sold at auction

denspar

Thanks for your advice, I have emailed the council but still awaiting a reply so I will send it in writing tomorrow. I just do not want a bailiff turning up on my door for £93 and then him maybe adding more costs to the enforcement fee.

antonic

When any fees are incurred by bailiffs following enforcement action (as per the amounts specified by CIS), these fees (which are due to the Ministry of Justice) *should* be paid first and then the balance of the payment allocated towards any debt.

Therefore any money balance outstanding after the legal fees have been deducted is due.
(It sounds like you have been charged £75.00 for a Notice of Enforcement Letter and £235.00 for an Enforcement Visit - is this right ?)

Please provide a list of payments you have made and fees charged so I can check if the balance due is right.

Here is a link to the TCoG Regulations

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1894/contents/made

fatbelly

denspar wrote: »

Thanks for your advice, I have emailed the council but still awaiting a reply so I will send it in writing tomorrow. I just do not want a bailiff turning up on my door for £93 and then him maybe adding more costs to the enforcement fee.

No more costs can be added unless goods taken, which they won't be.

Part payments like you made, are split pro-rata between bailiff and council.

http://bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/latest-news/can-i-avoid-bailiff-fees-by-paying-the-council-or-magistrate-court-direct

denspar

antonic wrote: »

When any fees are incurred by bailiffs following enforcement action (as per the amounts specified by CIS), these fees (which are due to the Ministry of Justice) *should* be paid first and then the balance of the payment allocated towards any debt.

Therefore any money balance outstanding after the legal fees have been deducted is due.
(It sounds like you have been charged £75.00 for a Notice of Enforcement Letter and £235.00 for an Enforcement Visit - is this right ?)

Please provide a list of payments you have made and fees charged so I can check if the balance due is right.

Here is a link to the TCoG Regulations

I'm sorry but I do not know if the £75 is for the compliance stage or a charge for a notice of enforcement letter because every request for a breakdown of fees has been ignored. I have seen a template of what a notice of enforcement should look like and I didn't receive anything like it. The enforcement fees are arising from the bailiff sticking a piece of paper with "removal notice" in red letters to the doors of my complex.

The £791 plus the aforementioned £75 (£866) were paid with payments online of £110, £100, £280 and £380 (£870) all made within a five week period. So as far as I was aware the debt was paid and when I rang equita regarding the £140 they took from an online payment to Barnet Council they told me on the phone the remaining £93 they were now demanding were for fees.

antonic

£75.00 is the Fee for the Notice of Enforcement Letter ( as per the Regs).

7 days after the NoE Letter is issued the Bailiff can visit to try and get full payment - this visit costs £235.00 even if they dont see you.

My maths is as follows :

Original debt £791
Notice of Enforcement +£ 75
Enforcement Visit +£235
Total £1101

Less Payments made £1010 (£110 + £100+ £280 + £380 + £140)

Balance Due £91 ( £1101 - £1010).

As I said earlier the Ministry of Justice Fees *should* be paid first and the bailiffs paid afterwards.

Hope this helps

denspar

antonic wrote: »

£75.00 is the Fee for the Notice of Enforcement Letter ( as per the Regs).

7 days after the NoE Letter is issued the Bailiff can visit to try and get full payment - this visit costs £235.00 even if they dont see you.

My maths is as follows :

Original debt £791
Notice of Enforcement +£ 75
Enforcement Visit +£235
Total £1101

Less Payments made £1010 (£110 + £100+ £280 + £380 + £140)

Balance Due £91 ( £1101 - £1010).

As I said earlier the Ministry of Justice Fees *should* be paid first and the bailiffs paid afterwards.

Hope this helps

I have just rang Equita asking to know whats left on my account, they are telling me they don't know plus I need to pay directly to some bailiff whose name does not come up on the certified Bailiff register. Once I pay this £91 to Equita I am covered am I not?

National_Debtline

Hi denspar


There is no reason that you should have to make the payment in person to an enforcement agent/bailiff. A cheque in the post to Equita would be perfectly adequate, as indeed would a payment via their website www.equita.co.uk providing that you have a valid reference number (this can normally be found on any correspondence you have had from them).


Assuming that the above calculations are correct, then yes, you would have covered everything. As fatbelly advises, no further fees can be added on top of those already charged now if goods are not removed and sold (which won't happen as you should not let them in to your home!)


Dennis
@natdebtline