Equita are one of the largest and most established debt enforcement agencies in the UK.
Equita Ltd are a Nationwide Enforcement and Debt Recovery Agency who serve Local Authorities to recover debt. They collect Council Tax arrears for local councils, debts for private companies and rent arrears in communities across England. The company have a network of offices throughout the UK, 1,000 staff, hundreds of clients and handle millions of customer contacts each year. Their aim is to collect the debts, whether that be through a payment plan or through legal proceedings.
Equita Debt Collectors promise to strike a balance between treating people fairly, whilst also recovering debt efficiently and quickly. They will aim to be transparent with customers and let them know what happens if they don’t settle the debt, what the charges will be, and also what they can do to help customers as part of the process.
They provide a number of services around Civil Enforcement and High Court Action.
Civil Enforcement
- Sundry Debts – These include fairly small debts such as unpaid rents, overpayments of housing benefit, former tenant arrears. Collectively these can amount to huge sums.
- Civil Parking Enforcement – Including Unpaid Penalty Charge Notices which is a major revenue stream for local councils. There may also offer a payment plan.
- Commercial Property Debts – Issue the notice of enforcement the same day they are instructed and will visit the property within 24 hours.
- Local Taxation – They will collect local tax defaults
High Court Action
- If you’ve received an order for possession, a High Court Judgement or County Court Judgement of £600 or more, High Court Enforcement may be the one chasing you. They will also help private landlords, utility companies, private businesses or public sector bodies.
High Court Enforcement provides the following High Court Services
- High Court Writs
- Unpaid County Court Judgements
- Unpaid Employment Tribunal Awards and ACAS settlements
- Judgement Orders
- Recovering rent arrears and handling repossessions
- Transferring County Court Judgements
- Tracing tenants who may have moved around
- Evicting squatters, trespassers, protestors and travellers from private land
Can Equita send Bailiffs to my house?
In some cases, if court action has been taken and your debts are still due then the courts may appoint Bailiffs to recover property and assets to the value of the debt.
Can Their Bailiffs Break into My House?
The chances of Bailiffs being able to enter your property are quite rare. They can only do this if a Liability Order has been issued against you by a magistrate on behalf of the local authority. If you are a business then there would need to be an unpaid fine from a Magistrate, County Court or High Court.
Reasonable Force
It is the law that enforcement agencies are only able to enter a property if they have been inside the property before. They are then able to use what is known as ‘reasonable force’ to re-enter. This could involve the use of a Locksmith to help them gain entry. They can only try and gain entry during the hours of 6am to 9pm.
What Can Bailiffs Take?
There are restrictions on what can be removed from your property by bailiffs. If you have given them entry of they have gained entry by other means, then they can remove what is known as ‘Walking Possessions’. These are those which are subject to ‘Taking Control of Goods Regulations’. They will make an inventory of any of those possessions in your home and estimate the current value. You can enter into a ‘Controlled Goods Agreement’ with them which will give you time to pay the outstanding debt.
If you fail to pay them, then they can return to your property and remove items. There are certain items which these bailiffs cannot take. These include essential items such as bedding, refrigerators, medical equipment, cookers and other items.
