I had 2 congestion charges that I got on my Brother's car from TFL on 04/12/09 & 28/06/10 which got to Equita 'auction notice' stage. I spoke to them after receiving the first 'auction notice' dated 16/11/2010, and arranged a monthly payment plan of £101 with a woman calling herself Christina starting 22nd Nov. ( I then pointlessly received exactly the same letter 2 days later dated 18/11/2010, which I'll no doubt be charged for). I started to pay off the balance of what I was told to be £294.32 on 22/11/2010 with a payment of £101. I then missed the next payment and paid late on 14/01/2011 with a payment of £132.10 ( a figure I can't explain as my balance was over £200 at the time, which can be seen in my bank statement along with all other payments to Equita ). Having no work at the time and having just made a payment along with a death in the family meant that I missed the next monthly payment. Now here's where they really sting me... On the evening of 04/02/11 (thankfully my Mum had gone to work and I was out of the country) my Brother, after work, finds 3 letters addressed to him (bear in mind it’s his car which I borrow for work and occasionally get and pay tickets on). The first is dated 01/02/11 and is exactly the same 'auction notice' as before. The second is also dated 01/02/11 but is a letter saying that they were "disappointed to find Congestion Charging Penalty Charge Notice remains unpaid". They then go on to give the opportunity to pay the outstanding balance of £98.16. (Which I would have settled, given a chance) The third letter however was a form 7 notice of seizure that was obviously hand delivered, as on the inventory of goods section he has written my Mum's car details in! (Nothing to do with me or my Brother's car) Despite arriving on the 04/02/11 the form7 is dated 05/02/11. The total amount if paid today reads £444.24 !!!!!! I obviously phoned Equita straight away to immediately settle the balance, by borrowing what I still believe to be £98.16. I am told that no-one at the call centre can speak to me about my account and I must now speak to A*** B*** the allocated bailiff assigned to me. After trying to speak to him he is obviously unmovable on the figure, which he believes to be £444.24, and constantly tells me he is well within his rights to take my Mum’s car. I then receive an undated ‘Delivered by Hand’ Bailiff Removal letter saying that called to execute a warrant on behalf of Northampton County Court. In the top right hand corner he’s written “paid £101, outstanding £444.24”. Through fear of this happening I set up a payment plan with him, after seeking advice from CAB, as I was completely out of places to borrow money and had no work at the time. They suggested I offer him whatever I could and he reluctantly accepted, taking £101 on 08/02/11 (even though I said £100). I then made a payment of £151 on 15/02/11 and then settled the balanced as agreed on 01/03/11 with a final payment of £197.16 ( a figure which at the time seemed about right but adding it all up just doesn’t work. I also asked for a receipt and breakdown which hasn’t arrived ). The bailiff was happy that the balance was clear and I was angry but relieved that the ordeal was over. Or so I thought... (For the record, if at this point if I were never to have heard another thing from them I wouldn’t have written this and probably just accepted that I’d let 2 congestion charges escalate to cost me £683.26 and the worry of my Mum and Brother). On the morning of the 30/3/11 I received two letters from Equita. The first was dated 29/03/11 and was a final demand notice but with a different reference number on it. The second, also with this new reference number, was another bailiff removal warrant to execute from Northampton county court . This had a new bailiff in charge whos’ mobile number was provided to me as my only point of call. I called him and explained that I’d already paid the other bailiff ,A*** B***, £449.16 on top of the £234.10 I paid to Equita’s call centre. He said that his records show I owe £415 but he’ll check with the office and get back to me. Meanwhile I called and text A*** B*** to get a receipt of proof of payment but got no response. I received no response from the new bailiff so called back the following day and he said the same about checking with the office, and again didn’t get back to me. I’ve since moved out of my family home but want to prevent these people terrorising my Mum’s house as that is where the car is registered. I truly believe that I’ve more than paid what I owe and if I pay the other £415 the total will come to £1098.26 which will ruin me. The reference number for all correspondence up to last week has been the same despite them telling me on the phone that they were dealing with two matters. This ‘new’ case has a new reference number with a new bailiff to go with it. Any advice on what I can do next would be great. I’d also like to know if this will affect my brother’s credit rating as it is his car I was driving. Many Thanks, Pierre

Hi, I received some documents yesterday found by next doors' landlord after the tenants skipped house and they gained entry. The documents include a 24 hr bailiff removal notice and a "Form 7- Notice of Seizure and Inventory of Goods" on which my car is listed. The car was parked on the road in front of their property (which also happens to be the closest parking space to my house). The debt was incurred from failure to pay council tax. I telephoned the bailiff today and he replied with "Oh we do that all the time, once the DVLA checks came back we wouldn't have done anything" and then instructed me to destroy the documents. I am 8 1/2 months pregnant and we rely heavily on the vehicle to make a living. I was just wondering if the bailiff if authorised to serve a notice of seizure without even checking who the vehicle belongs to?? Thanks in advance xx