Hi, I am ex-employee of Jacobs. I have far too much to write here so sent pm...hope I can help.

Yoshiro, yes it is legal to charge these fees and the companies might get charged a small amount but do you really think it is £2?! It most definitely isn't, it might work out as a few pence that's all. It is basically put down as an 'admin' charge, there is no admin involved. Once the system is in place it is almost nothing so yes the fees are extortionate. Mrswestham, I look forward to hearing!

Hi, I'm an ex employee of jacobs. The CAB have an arrangement with jacobs so if they call jacobs then they have to take the case back from the bailiff and stop any action and also they have to accept a payment plan, the minimum is £5 per week. The fees seem unlawful to me. Can you tell me which bailiff it was and what council you're dealing with? I will give you some advice on exactly how to deal with jacobs. PM me if you need more help. thanks

will send PM tallulah, I need a few more details...

Yoshiro, The companies do NOT usually get charged for taking a debit card payment, and if they do then it is definitely not more than 50 pence. These fees are unlawful and should be banned. Good news though, a few more councils have abolished or reduced the fees! If you are willing to help and send an email or make a phone call to your local council to ask the fees to be abolished the please PM me! Thanks again

PM sent. We can sort this out, they can't break in but there is a lot more you can do about this too...

I can get you the details (phone numbers and email addresses) of the managers in your local council (council tax department) if you would like them. They are not available to the public. These are the people to deal with if you really want to be heard. I have them for most, not quite all but I will get them if I can. Oh and I need to know the council, obviously! Just let me know.

Excellent, thanks, it would be good to know what all the bailiff companies charge for taking a payment and also what council were you dealing with? Jacobs bailiffs charge a different amount per council because certain councils won't allow charges. Thanks

I am happy to give any information and a statement (I could get statements from at least 2 other people that I worked with too) but at the moment I am not willing to release my identity because I still have friends in the industry (not bailiffs). So as long as I don't have to give a full name and address then I am happy to provide anything you need. Let me know if you need anything. Thanks

And just to remind everyone, it doesn't matter what bailiff company you have dealt with, it is possible to stop all of them removing fees, I assure you.

Thanks for the replies. To be completely honest, when starting this thread, I didn't really care if it is 'ethical' or legal to charge a fee to make a payment by debit card...Jacobs bailiffs (my ex employer) charge a fee of £2 per transaction unless the council tells them to accept otherwise. This is the important part. Most councils don't even know they are charging this fee. The ones who have had complaints to them (Barnet, Sheffield, Chester Le Street, Durham...the list goes on) have told the bailiff companies to waive fees or reduce them significantly (50p on most occasions) I actually started this thread because I know how easy it is to have these fees reduced or waived for everybody. All it takes is a few phone calls or emails to councils and they will force the bailiff companies to do this. I have the email addresses and phone numbers for the back office for almost all councils in the uk, all I need is enough people to complain and the fees will be stopped. Remember that these companies take hundreds of payments per day so you can only imagine how much they make per year in fees...so we must stop them! If anyone is willing to help, even just by sending a quick email, then please help me know! £2 might not sound a lot, but for a family with children paying £5 p/w (there are lots of these cases) it would cost £104 per year, which makes me sick to be honest. Please get back to me. It is easier to stop these fees than you think.

I'm not surprised to hear you had problems with them! Glad to hear you got it sorted. I know all the little tips and tricks though if people have problems in future and very glad to help anyone.

I thought it was about time I just come out and say who I used to be employed by, otherwise some of my posts will be a little irrelevant. So, basically, if anybody has any problems at all with Jacobs or just needs some advice then let me know because I know their methods inside out. I'm happy to let anyone know anything they want to know. All I want is for people to stop getting ripped off by any company but obviously I know a lot more about Jacobs than any other. Oh and just to explain, it's not actually a company but a 'partnership' with three partners in control. I'm here should anyone need to know anything.

I agree, will do. I obviously want to avoid the place I worked for so what do you think the best course of action is? who should I go to first?

I've just heard that there are fees being added for HPI checks and they are adding £20 per check! I know for a fact that my ex company were charged £3.50 per HPI check as I have seen invoices so to add £16.50 on top for no reason at all is surely the epitome of 'unlawful'?? Any other companies adding this fee yet?