Equita in Southampton and how to deal with them.

EQUITA IN SOUTHAMPTON AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM IF THEY COME BANGING ON YOUR DOOR.

These notes apply specifically to any action initiated by “Local Taxation Services” in Southampton under a ‘Liability Order’ threatening ‘bailiff’ action.

“Local Taxation Services” is a cover name used by Capita Group used to hide their real identity.

Equita Ltd., with a head office in Northampton, are appointed by Capita to act as debt collectors.  Equita is a sister company to Capita so a very neat earning circle is established where Capita can make a random and unproven demand, Equita collect it and the profits are shared.

You should read the notes at the end to find out more about the process used by Capita and Equita.

FIRST CONTACT

*Do NOT wait in for them to arrive.  Go about your life as normal. Equita do not rush to proceed and it may be two months after you receive a Notice of Liability before someone bangs on your door and you can talk to them.  After that, red type letters may continue to arrive for three months but, provided you have given a clear message to the ‘door banger’, you can ignore these letters.

*You may get more than one visit but usually only one ‘bailiff’ will come each time.  Your word on subsequent events is as good as his.

*Be confident in your dealings with them.  The law is on your side if they do not follow the very strict guidelines governing them.  Your home is your castle.

*Do not let them into your house.  Say NO if they ask to come in.  If they push their way in, call the police and say intruders have entered.

*Do not open your door if you can talk through a window.

*If you do open your door to talk to them, take a notebook and pen and a camera, step through the door and close it behind you.  If you leave the doorway to go back into your house, close the door behind you and leave the ‘bailiffs’ outside.

*Don’t pretend you are not home – they will only come back.  Much better to get information from them you can use later.  Be firm but polite – they are expecting you to be frightened and angry and they get confused if show no sign of either.

 

 

INFORMATION TO OBTAIN

*Demand to see their identity cards and make a note of their names.  Do not assume that any official stamp you see on their ID card is true.  Check their names against the Certificated Bailiffs Register on the justice.gov.uk website using an internet search engine – look for the alphabetical list.  Only certificated bailiffs can cross a property boundary.

*Take photographs of their faces and vehicle.  They will be useful if you need to make a complaint.

* Demand to see the Liability Order they should be carrying.  Take a copy if you can.  Ask them to show you the name of the court that issued it and the name of the person who signed it.  They will say that the Order was issued by the “Liability Court” and signed by “a magistrate”.  The Magistrates’ Court have no official record of such a court!

*Keep any letters they put through your letter box and make a note of the date you received it and whether you were home at the time it was delivered.  They may be useful as evidence.

INFORMATION TO GIVE.

*DO NOT say you will not pay.  Tell them, for example, you will pay;
When your benefits have been sorted out.
Or when your new job starts.
Or when a loan comes through from a friend.
Or when your lease expires and you have your deposit back [but be careful here because your landlord might find out and withhold your deposit.  Ultimately, he will have to pay the tax.].
Or when your Local Authority gives the information you have asked for about the amount owed because you think you have been overcharged.
Or you are not liable for the tax [but be careful unless this is true].

 

ACTION TO TAKE

*Demand that they step back off your property.  Tell them you will only talk to them after they have retreated.  ‘Escort’ them to the boundary using minimum of force but maximum of clarity as to your intentions.  Unless they are Certificated Bailiffs, they are trespassing on your property and you can call the police for help after you have asked them to leave.

*If they threaten to call the police agree with them that they should do that.  They won’t, provided you stay within your own property boundaries.

*Do not give them any money.  If you agree you owe money it is to Southampton City Council and not Equita.

*Do not pay any more than the amount of tax you may owe to the City Council.  Ignore any surcharges.

*If you have been making regular payments, keep doing so.  That renders the Liability Order invalid.

*Do not, under any circumstances, agree to using Direct Debit for future payments of council tax.

*You might call the number on the ‘bailiff’ letter (Beware of premium rate numbers landlines.  Better, send a text message so you have a record of what you said) and put your defence to them.  They will not accept it but they cannot say you didn’t tell them.

*Avoid writing to the address on any ‘bailiff’ letter in anything other than the simplest of language and only say exactly what you have already told the ‘bailiff’ (unless you have considerable experience in dealing with financial/legal matters).

NOTES

Equita do not admit to having a Southampton office but two persons claiming to be employees operate locally using mobile phones.  Their names are LEE CATLING and PAUL ASHWORTH.  Neither of these two are Certificated Bailiffs. In all probability they are not employees of Equita but are self-employed contractors.  They will hammer on your door in a manner intended to draw the attention of your neighbours (tell your neighbours what is happening so they know not to pay attention). They will demand cash in a menacing manner and claim to be bailiffs with a right of entry.  Repeat, they are not certificated bailiffs.  They have no right of entry and no right to even cross your property boundary lines.  [True bailiffs can only operate with the permission of a court and when a debt has been demonstrated in open court.]

They deliberately cold call, hoping to embarrass you.  If they won’t make an appointment, and they won’t, then it is entirely their risk if you are not at home.

Because the legal process leading up to action is of dubious validity, Equita use psychological warfare, inflating their noise levels to make them appear important and using invalid legal terms such as ‘Liability Court’.  They ‘cold call’ in the hope that you are not at home and that they can then increase the amount of charges to be paid.

Remember that these ‘bailiffs’ prefer to bully you into giving them cash rather than taking goods from you – selling goods onward is a cumbersome process for them and they cannot take goods if you do not allow them in.

Equita employees/contractors are paid on commission.  If they do not manage to collect cash (or equivalent in goods) from you they do not get paid.  They will give up and go after easier prey if you stand up to them.

No reputable private company is allowed to declare you owe them money when you may not and send round in-house debt collectors and apply extra charges. 

Council tax is not a personal tax.  It is a tax on property.  Responsibility for paying council tax lies with the property owner.  If a tenant does not pay this tax although the lease terms say they should, the owner will have to pay it.

WARNING – While you have battled Equita to a standstill, if you are the property owner and do owe council tax, the problem has not gone away.  But you have gained time to sort it out.

You have no contract for services with Capita or Equita and are thus not obliged to enter into any written correspondence with either company.  Use the telephone if you want to contact them.

If you want to write a letter complaining about either Capita or Equita, write to the Southampton City Council Chief Executive or Director of Corporate Services.

The Citizens Advice Bureau website has a section given over to ‘Bailiffs’.  Use it to circulate the names and behaviour of anybody banging on your door.

If you Google ‘equita’ a whole series of websites will pop up describing how to send Equita away with a flea in their ear.  You may find it useful.