Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

[WTF1962]

I fell behind my Birmingham Council Tax for 2010/11. The council issued a summons and liability order adding £65 to the total bill. The bill was then sent to Equita Bailiffs a Capita Company (Capita are also the outsourced contractor running the council). i paid the full amount over the next 18 months. So I was surprised to learn that Equita still had a balance of £274. I asked for a breakdown of charges but received none. In January 2013 I asked the Birmingham council for breakdown - they referred me back to Equita. In Decamber 2013 I eventually received a breakdown, showing lots of fees, including a charge for a bounced check, despite the fact that I have not used a cheque for over ten years! The council assure me that the charges are correct and that they do not intend to take my complaint any further. My argument is that Equita never visited my home let alone levied on my good and therefore a Van fee should not be charged. My question to the forum is, is it worth taking Equita to the County Court to try and recover what looks to me like scam charges?

Here is the breakdown provided by the council:

The bailiff costs incurred on your account are as follows

First Visit	£24.50
Second Visit	£18.00
Levy Fee	£43.00
Van Fee	£150.00
Card payment fees x 8	£1.50
Bounced Cheque fee	£32.64
Total	£280.14

Any advice would be extremely welcome

[Amethyst]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

How did you become aware your account was with Equita originally?

Who did you pay the full amount to and how to make make the agreement to make those payments ? Also by what methods did you make those payments?

[bizzybob]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

Hi and welcome to LB The Crapita stitch up in BCC is well known on here, and I think there are serious questions that need to be asked of Birmingham Council. Do you have receipts for all your payments?, You should start by sending a Formal Complaint to the Head of Revenies, the CEO, elected leader and a copy to your MP, higlhighting the fact that the bailiff has never had a levy on any of your property and that there are several fees that are therefore unlawful, .

You should put Equita on strict proof as to what they have levied, if they haven't levied your car, then they may claim to have a (unlawful) levy on a random car.

Other beagles will be along soon.

[WTF1962]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

They sent a letter via the postman! I called them and arranged to pay £10 per fortnight. I was unable to come to this arrangement with Birmingham as my JSA had not been precessed at the time. In 2012 my benefit payment was late and the DD was rejected, this prompted Equita to royal mail letter. I called them but they said that I would have to speak to the the bailiff, David Hunter, and arranged to maintain my installments. After a final payment in December 2012 Mr Hunter stopped calling me, so I assumed that he agreed with my calculations. Late In January 2013 I received a text to say that money was still outstanding. I spoke to the texting bailiff and was then told that charges had been added but that he couldn't give me a breakdown, Irefused to pay stating that if he couldn't tell me what the charges were for then he couldn't charge them. His replay was a text saying OK.

The case was returned to the council in November 2013.

[WTF1962]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

They have not levied on my car, they haven't levied at all! But Birmingham/Capita advise me that the charges are OK. All payments were made via my bank and I can produce statements. I asked the council to obtain proof of the alleged visits and the customer services manger told me:

We are not required to request or retain date stamped, photographic evidence of all bailiffs’ visits, so this evidence cannot be provided to you. However, I can confirm that visits were made by Equita Bailiffs on the following dates:

• 2 August 2011 - Costs of £24.50 charged
• 9 August 2011 - Costs of £18.00 charged
• 4 September 2012 - Levy Fee of £43.00 charged
• 14 September 2012 - Van Fee of £150.00 charged

I assume that the use of the term "I can confirm" by this person is not literal - she can't possibly saying that she was there can she?

[bizzybob]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

They have not levied on my car, they haven't levied at all! But Birmingham/Capita advise me that the charges are OK. All payments were made via my bank and I can produce statements. I asked the council to obtain proof of the alleged visits and the customer services manger told me:

We are not required to request or retain date stamped, photographic evidence of all bailiffs’ visits, so this evidence cannot be provided to you. However, I can confirm that visits were made by Equita Bailiffs on the following dates:

• 2 August 2011 - Costs of £24.50 charged
• 9 August 2011 - Costs of £18.00 charged
• 4 September 2012 - Levy Fee of £43.00 charged No proof no levy
• 14 September 2012 - Van Fee of £150.00 charged No levy no van fee as nothing to remove

I assume that the use of the term "I can confirm" by this person is not literal - she can't possibly saying that she was there can she?

If they cannot produce a legitimate Form 7 accurately itemising what they purport to have levied, then BCC are talking from their bowel bugle, include the fact that the council (most likely a Capita minion) are insisting a levy on blue mist or thin air is being condoned, no proof no levy and their word without evidence is unacceptable and actually fraudulent misrepresentation to gain a pecunary advantage. Bluebottle will be able to pinpoint the actual crime, for that is what it is criminal behaviour by Crapita aided and abetted by BCC. I suspect that you have not been dealing with any council employee at all, but have been engaging with Capita solely throughout. This is why the Formal Complaint is muost important.

[WTF1962]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

Thanks for that. I didn't want to commit to the expense of a county court fee if the council had a slight chance of being right.

[bizzybob]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

Were you on JSA at the time of the debt becoming due, and was it a shortfall in the Council Tax benefit?

[WTF1962]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

Were you on JSA at the time of the debt becoming due, and was it a shortfall in the Council Tax benefit?

I was on JSA for a few months in 2010 and received council taax benefit, then I tool a low paid temprorary job for the rest of that tax year. The bill council then updated their records just as the temporary job ended and the bill landed in my letter box sometime in 2011 when I was back on benefit. I had probelms with the DWP and didn't receive my JSA for some time. During this period the council obtained their liability order. I can not dispute the amount of tax all I am disputing is the charges that have been added.

[WTF1962]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

There is a link on the right here to an organisation called "What do they know" I checked a freedom of information request in connection with distress orders for bailiffs in 2011. There were over 12,000 households affected but only 27 removals of goods. This means that if Equita added a van fee for each then they have made £1.8m. Could this be a case for the SFO?

[ploddertom]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

Equita are well known for front loading all fees and if challenged will refer to them as "potential fees" that may have been charged. I would guess that those that don't know will just pay up whereas if challenged they tend to disappear.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

They sent a letter via the postman! I called them and arranged to pay £10 per fortnight. I was unable to come to this arrangement with Birmingham as my JSA had not been precessed at the time. In 2012 my benefit payment was late and the DD was rejected, this prompted Equita to royal mail letter.

If no visit was made, Equita are entitled to precisely bugger all.

I called them but they said that I would have to speak to the the bailiff, David Hunter,

His certificate - last granted at Worcester Combined Court - is up for renewal on 16^th May 2014.

As the council seems to have a serious Crapita infestation, writing to the Council officers is unlikely to have any effect other than to save you money on haircuts after you've torn out your hair from frustration.

You could write to your local, elected councillors and MP - https://www.writetothem.org - and get them acquainted with what is being done. If you take this route, you could point out that, after you have exhausted the official Council complaints procedure (which, alas, you'd have to do) you would refer the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Alternatively (or additionally) you could email strobes@private-eye.co.uk, tel: 020 7437 4017

Lord Gnome does not like Crapita.

[WTF1962]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

Thanks fro the detailed information. I've checked this David Hunter, he used to be a chip shop manager in Kidderminster and still lives at the shop address although the chip shop ltd company has been dissolved. I guess ripping people off with fake charges is an easier way of making a living than selling Doner Kebabs!

It's good to see private eye on the case, I used to be a avid fan but haven't bought a copy of that organ for ages.

[bluebottle]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

Thanks fro the detailed information. I've checked this David Hunter, he used to be a chip shop manager in Kidderminster and still lives at the shop address although the chip shop ltd company has been dissolved. I guess ripping people off with fake charges is an easier way of making a living than selling Doner Kebabs!

It's good to see private eye on the case, I used to be a avid fan but haven't bought a copy of that organ for ages.

By the sound of it, he'd had his chips. Lol!

On a serious note, I do not think it would do any harm for you to ring the court office at Worcester Combined Court and enquire as to whom the civil court judge is there and whether they are a Circuit or District Judge. As the bailiff's certificate is due for renewal in May of this current year, the court may need to know that the bailiff has been somewhat "creative" in accounting for fees, visits, etc., if you catch my drift.

Send a letter to the judge. Something along the lines of -

District Judge/His/Her Honour Judge .........
Worcester Combined Court
...........................
...........................

Your Honour,

Mr **************, Certificated Bailiff
Employer: Equita Limited
Certificated at Worcester Combined Court on [date]

I beg to draw your attention to the following matters involving the abovenamed person -

The circumstances are -

[Describe what the bailiff has done and keep emotion out of it, no matter how much you would love to shake the bailiff warmly by the throat]

It is my understanding that Mr *************'s certification expires on [date] and I respectfully ask that the above be taken into consideration when his certification falls due for renewal.

Thanking you for your kind attention in this matter.

I remain, yours truly

WTF1962

The above may sound as if you are crawling up the judge's backside. However, it is simple etiquette and if you can show you have gone to the trouble to make an effort to use that etiquette, in my view, a judge is more likely to give it their attention than a letter addressed -

Dear Judge,

I want to complain about your scabby bailiff.....

Hope this helps.

[bluebottle]

Re: Capita / Birmingham Council Collusion

If they cannot produce a legitimate Form 7 accurately itemising what they purport to have levied, then BCC are talking from their bowel bugle, include the fact that the council (most likely a Capita minion) are insisting a levy on blue mist or thin air is being condoned, no proof no levy and their word without evidence is unacceptable and actually fraudulent misrepresentation to gain a pecunary advantage. Bluebottle will be able to pinpoint the actual crime, for that is what it is criminal behaviour by Crapita aided and abetted by BCC. I suspect that you have not been dealing with any council employee at all, but have been engaging with Capita solely throughout. This is why the Formal Complaint is muost important.

The offences of Obtaining Property by Deception and Obtaining A Pecuniary Advantage by Deception were abolished with the coming into force of the Fraud Act 2006 and replaced by -

Fraud by False Misrepresentation (Section 2)
Fraud by Failing to Disclose Information (Section 3)
Fraud by Abuse of Position (Section 4)

If a person commits one or more of the above offences on their own, then they commit those offences. If another knows they are committing an offence and aids, abets or assists them in the commission of the offence, they commit an offence, also. However, if two or more persons agree on a course of conduct which, if followed, amounts to an offence at law, they commit the offence of Conspiracy to Commit An Offence At Law (aka Conspiracy to Commit An Indictable Offence). In the case of offences involving criminal dishonesty, such as fraud, the offence would be Conspiracy to Defraud. The penalty for such offences is a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or that prescribed by Statute, whichever is the greater.

Hopes this clarifies matters.