Equita - Council Tax

[Certified Platinum]

Cut a long story short - I share the exact same name as my father and when I left home 3 years ago, for some reason (I can only assume he forwarded them on to me) I started recieving his unpaid bills and bailiff demands. After getting in contact with various different persons', I have been able to sort all of them out bar one, and this happens to be his unpaid Council Tax.

 

No matter what I do or how many times I contact them, after a few months they keep coming back to this address but today, without warning, I received a 24 hour notice for the removal of goods if I don't pay them immediately and I've hit a loose end because I'm stuck as to what my next course of action is.

 

I've shown them tenancy agreements, my passport, even gave them my father's address (where he still resides so God only knows why they are harrassing me) and yet they are still being persistent.

 

What do I do now? I was only 18 when I started recieving these demands and hadn't even started paying Council Tax, which I have proven, yet they are still chasing me up on £1000 arrears.

 

Please, any help would be appreciated as I don't want them removing my goods when I'm not at home.

[RaeUK]

Hi Certified.

You'd have thought this would be such a straight forward thing to resolve.

Obvious question, have you contacted the council about this? They are in charge of the bailiffs and to whom the money is owed by your father. I would have thought they could easily verify what you are saying.

If they are not helpfull then I would make a formal complaint.

Best wishes.

Rae.

[skp27]

Hang in there, many wise people with advice will be along shortly....unfortunately I'm not one of them!

What I can say is don't panic about anybody coming round and taking your goods. They cannot do this.

[Certified Platinum]

Thanks for the replies!

 

Yes, the very first time I recieved a bailiff letter (about 2 years ago now) I arranged a meeting with the debt collector - showed him the relevant documents, which he noted and said that I needn't take any more actions. Second time around I got in contact with the local Council as before and since then I have received 2 final demands AND a letter from the Magistrates.

 

The last time I called them up, the lady from Equita insinuated that I was a liar. When I explained the situation AGAIN, I was met with the following response. "I find that hard to believe, if that was the case you wouldn't have left it so long to get in contact with us". Despite the fact that I had "supposedly" dealt with the situation 2 times previously.

[RaeUK]

My view, tbh, is to write to the CEO of the council marking the letter 'formal complaint'. Detail what has happened, what you have done to resolve the matter and why you are complaining. I would also use the letter as an excuse to complain about the bailiff company. Send recorded or hand deliver it and a copy to the bailiffs.

Also mention that if the matter is not resolved forthwith you will escalate it to the ombudsman.

Good luck.

Rae.

[Certified Platinum]

Thanks for your advice, Rae, I shall do that tomorrow!

 

Sorry if it seems a bit vague, it's just that I'm very naive with all of this stuff and feel like I'm in way over my head with it all. I've never been in trouble with the law and I've only recently discovered what a CCJ actually is so it's quite distressing being harrassed by Debt Collectors/Bailiffs and being sent Warrant of Arrest.

[ploddertom]

Sorry to ask the obvious but is there some history with you father as to why he would do this?

 

PT

[Certified Platinum]

Yes, there is! We haven't spoken in years...

[RaeUK]

Yes, there is...

 

I presume that when forwarded the letters had your old address crossed out and your new one written in. If that's the case, either he is deliberately trying to confuse the council / bailiff or he is himself confused and genuinely thinks the mail is for you...

 

Either way, it's not yours, you've tried to resolve matters and it's now time to complain.

 

Rae.

[ploddertom]

I presume that when forwarded the letters had your old address crossed out and your new one written in. If that's the case, either he is deliberately trying to confuse the council / bailiff or he is himself confused and genuinely thinks the mail is for you...

 

Either way, it's not yours, you've tried to resolve matters and it's now time to complain.

 

Rae.

 

Most Councils address their envelopes as not to be redirected but to be returned to Sender. If the OP's father has therefore sent these on as some sort of payback or similar then he himself is going to be found out at some stage, by the look of things very quickly and could land himself in some serious doo-doos.

 

Now may be a good time to let the past go and to try and resolve differences before this gets really messy, not easy I know but someone has to start to offer the olive branch.

 

If you were only 18 when you started receiving these and the family had lived at the same address for a number of years before "supposedly" moving that would mean you would have been responsible for the CT since the age of 5 for example, someone at the Town hall needs to do their maths.

 

PT

[Certified Platinum]

There's no doubt that he is deliberately trying to confuse the Council/Debt Collectors as some of the bills I've had cannot be confused.

 

For instance, I received debt letters from Virgin Media and the apartment I'm in isn't even wired up for Virgin, which is why I'm with Sky. That and the simple fact that when I left home, my father was with Virgin Media.

 

Maybe I should've also explained that my father is as bent as they come which is why I know he is doing it deliberately. He is using the fact that we have the same name to palm his debts off on me.

 

Funny thing is though, they aren't scribbled out addresses but actually addressed to me in print; which leads me to believe that he has in fact got in contact with the debt companies and told them that the bills were mine and given them my address.

[Certified Platinum]

Most Councils address their envelopes as not to be redirected but to be returned to Sender. If the OP's father has therefore sent these on as some sort of payback or similar then he himself is going to be found out at some stage, by the look of things very quickly and could land himself in some serious doo-doos.

 

Now may be a good time to let the past go and to try and resolve differences before this gets really messy, not easy I know but someone has to start to offer the olive branch.

 

If you were only 18 when you started receiving these and the family had lived at the same address for a number of years before "supposedly" moving that would mean you would have been responsible for the CT since the age of 5 for example, someone at the Town hall needs to do their maths.

 

PT

 

What are you insuating by saying "supposedly"? I lived at home with my father and moved out when I was 18. Do you think I'm lying?

[RaeUK]

There's no doubt that he is deliberately trying to confuse the Council/Debt Collectors as some of the bills I've had cannot be confused ... Funny thing is though, they aren't scribbled out addresses but actually addressed to me in print; which leads me to believe that he has in fact got in contact with the debt companies and told them that the bills were mine and given them my address.

 

That's why I asked, rather suspected you might say that

 

I am no lawyer. But if there is no love lost between you and, as PT suggests, no olive branch to extend, then perhaps it's a job for the police? Clearly there is - a rather silly - attempt to defraud?

It would be interesting to ask the council when they had a change of address for 'you'...

 

Rae.

[RaeUK]

No, Certified, PT won't be insinuating that. He's one of the more upstanding contributors here! He was speculating how the council were thinking...

Rae.

[ploddertom]

There's no doubt that he is deliberately trying to confuse the Council/Debt Collectors as some of the bills I've had cannot be confused.

 

For instance, I received debt letters from Virgin Media and the apartment I'm in isn't even wired up for Virgin, which is why I'm with Sky. That and the simple fact that when I left home, my father was with Virgin Media.

 

Maybe I should've also explained that my father is as bent as they come which is why I know he is doing it deliberately. He is using the fact that we have the same name to palm his debts off on me.

 

Funny thing is though, they aren't scribbled out addresses but actually addressed to me in print; which leads me to believe that he has in fact got in contact with the debt companies and told them that the bills were mine and given them my address.

 

Appreciate what you say but if he has had the Virgin account prior to you leaving home at 18 then you probably could never have signed up to them because you would have been too young. One way of doing this is to ask them to compare signatures.

 

You could also make a Statutory Declaration to all this, reason being that if you were telling porkies then you could be done for perjury I believe. Your father by wilfully doing this therefore runs the risk of a Committal Hearing for deliberately evading paying ie won't pay as opposed to can't pay.

 

PT

[ploddertom]

What are you insuating by saying "supposedly"? I lived at home with my father and moved out when I was 18. Do you think I'm lying?

 

No you've picked that up wrong. What I meant by it was that if you were the bill payer that has "supposedly" moved to a new address, whereas he has actually stayed put and is trying to place the debt on the yourself.

 

PT

[Certified Platinum]

That's why I asked, rather suspected you might say that

 

I am no lawyer. But if there is no love lost between you and, as PT suggests, no olive branch to extend, then perhaps it's a job for the police? Clearly there is - a rather silly - attempt to defraud?

It would be interesting to ask the council when they had a change of address for 'you'...

 

Rae.

 

I've been tempted to report it to the police in the past but as much as I detest him, I don't want to cause anymore family riffs so I'm caught between the proverbial rock...

 

I know it seems rather silly but the combined amount of all the debts forwarded to me runs into the thousands.

[ploddertom]

That's why I asked, rather suspected you might say that

 

I am no lawyer. But if there is no love lost between you and, as PT suggests, no olive branch to extend, then perhaps it's a job for the police? Clearly there is - a rather silly - attempt to defraud?

It would be interesting to ask the council when they had a change of address for 'you'...

 

Rae.

 

Hi Rae

 

I think in this day and age it may be termed Identity Theft.

 

PT

[Certified Platinum]

No you've picked that up wrong. What I meant by it was that if you were the bill payer that has "supposedly" moved to a new address, whereas he has actually stayed put and is trying to place the debt on the yourself.

 

PT

 

OK sorry, I undersand what you're saying now! Something's surely amiss for them to even send me the bill in the first place when they know full well that he still lives there.

 

Saying that though, it's been so long since I heard form/about him that I'm not even sure he still does live there. Though I know he did when the letters started coming to me.

 

Anyway, thanks for all the help/advice, it has been reassuring!

[RaeUK]

... I think in this day and age it may be termed Identity Theft...

 

I really must keep up with the times ... *sigh*

 

Rae.

[ploddertom]

I've been tempted to report it to the police in the past but as much as I detest him, I don't want to cause anymore family riffs so I'm caught between the proverbial rock...

 

I know it seems rather silly but the combined amount of all the debts forwarded to me runs into the thousands.

 

Is your father on his own or do you have access through other family members. It needs someone to tell him what is happening and the consequences it could have.

 

This appears to have gone on too long and may have serious repercussions for him and you as it could well be viewed that you have known about it for a long time. If there is no one else then maybe you have to do what you to do regardless of distasteful it may be. If not stopped he will just carry on and you will end up carrying the can for him.

 

PT