Letter received from Council today: "I ankowledge receipt of your letter regarding the outstanding balance with Jacobs. Unfortunately we are unable to liaise with Jacobs regarding a payment plan and you will need to deal with them direct." Ideas?! (still nothing from Jacobs)

Update of sorts:Sent off my letter aksing for council's assistance with dealing with Jacobs but not heard anything, thought perhaps they might be waiting to see if I make my first proper scheduled payment (paying it on Wednesday though not due til Monday) before responding?Not heard anything at all from jacobs, not sure whether they've called again or not at any point when I've not been in.Next steps?Px

Do you think asking them that may antagonise them? Or I suppose I could ask if they suggest "I either contact my local MP and/or the Local Government Ombudsman to resolve the matter" with Jacobs who won't liaise a reasonable repayment scheme?Px

Oh blimey!really hope all that can be sort of understood, it doesn't seem to be showing paragraphs and formatting etc!Px

ooh yay fixed it!

ok so this is the body of the letter to the council so far - ideas, improvement all VERY welcome! With reference to the arrangement I have in place regarding some unpaid PCNs I would firstly like to thank you for your understanding and willingness to arrange a payment schedule so as I can pay these debts. I will make my next payment of £40 on 28th June. With regard to the PCN which has progressed further and is currently with Jacobs bailiffs, I have contacted them to try to arrange a payment schedule and also for a breakdown of their fees (see enclosed copy letter). However I am not hopeful they will accept my proposal as they seem to want much larger instalments, which I simply cannot afford. I would very much appreciate your input and assistance with dealing with Jacobs as they are pushing me to pay amounts which will jeopardise my ability to maintain my previously arranged agreement with yourselves. I feel that as a single parent on a low income I qualify as a vulnerable party and whilst the situation and harassment I am receiving from Jacobs is upsetting for me, it is absolutely terrifying for my young son. I was hoping that you would be able to encourage them to consider a smaller sum on a monthly basis as yourselves have done or in fact to take the debt back and allow me to settle the amount outstanding directly. Though I realise this situation is of my own making and that I have worsened matters by delaying sorting it out until it has reached this extreme stage I DO want to pay. However, the bailiffs company has added over £300 of fees which are making the possibility of resolving this debt seemingly insurmountable. Not sure how to end it either?! Letter going to Jacobs: - Dear Sir With reference to the above account, Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges. This includes: 1. the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee. 2. the reason for the fee. 3. the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged. 4. the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were certificated at. 5. the date of the Certification. This is not a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act S7 1998 so does not incur a fee of £10. You are obliged to provide this information. I require this information within 14 days. Please refrain from sending myself any further correspondence threatening to unlawfully force entry into my home. I am a single mother with a young child and as such I am vulnerable. As a result of my vulnerability I refuse to deal with any bailiffs you may send.I am in correspondence with the council I owe this money to and I have made them fully aware of your threats and of my vulnerabilities.I am more than willing to pay this debt but a suitable method of payment needs to be found and demanding the full amount is both unrealistic and impossible for me to carry out. Yours faithfullyPeaches

I thought perhaps there was a list of charges they can apply for each letter, visit etc to a maximum? If they saw my car on the street the first time they visited but did not clamp it or give me any sort of paperwork does this mean they haven't levied on it? I thought that to levy a vehicle they had to leave paperwork or have I misunderstood?Thanks for the reply... getting more and more upset as time goes along. I'm relieved the others have been put on a payment arrangement so at least I don't have to worry about them. I am drafting an email/letter and will post here when done to see what you clever people think.Thankyou P x

I am going to draft an email to the lady I've dealt with at the council this morning. My son is 10. Can anyone advise of the actual costs I should be being charged on an £82 ticket so I can include this in my email? Should I also copy in Jacobs?Thanks,P x

OMG - how and when will this happen? I really wnat to be able to arrange to clear the amount but their charges and fees are way too much I think (from looking at the fees allowable from other threads etc?) The original PCN was lodged at the TEC for £82 and now we're up to £403.84?! Does anybody know how much technically I should be up to at this point? If I can go to them and the council with a break down of their allowed fees (as compared to their vastly inflated ones) and a payment suggestion will this show willing in terms of showing an intention to try and pay? The other thing thats stressing me out is that my son is home from school before i'm home from work, he's really good at locking the door and doesn't answer anyway if anyone knocks but I'm worrying senseless again now. I know its all my own fault but can't sleep or eat and am sat here crying and worrying and I just wnat to have it fixed so I can pay my amounts to whomever and not worry anymore about coming home to men on my doorstep or our stuff gone. P x

I will email the lady I've dealt with at the council tomorrow. What do you mean by 'at the moment they cannot break into your property' - can they do this later?? There is nothing outside of any value and the car is elsewhere. I want to resolve the issue but would rather deal with the council direct, not least because the bailiffs have added on over £350 worth of charges. Thanks for all your replies guys, really appreciate it. P x

sorry all, not had chance to get on since last week. I'm wary of rocking the boat with the council in case they retract my payment agreement :S I haven't approached the bailiff yet with a payment proposal as the vast majority of spare money I have available will be going towards the council arrangement to avoid them progressing and things getting (EVEN) worse. The amount I'd be offering they would never accept in a zillion years! The car is coming to work with me daily and is parked elsewhere the rest of the time. Its not worth the total payable either... they'd certainly not get enough to cover costs from auction or scrappage! So, update: not had any return visits (as far as I know, been at work since no longer the school hols). Got home today to find 'REMOVAL OF GOODS' letter saying that: 'AS THERE WAS NO REPLY TO PREVIOUS LETTERS WE HAVE LEFT THIS FINAL NOTICE BEFORE REMOVAL ACTION'. Then it says: 'IF YOU DO NOT CONTACT THE OFFICE WE WILL RETURN TO YOUR PROPERTY WITH SUITABLE VEHICLE AND PORTERS TO REMOVE GOODS TO THE VALUE OF THE ABOVE DEBT AND ASSOCIATED FEES. NOTE: GOODS AND MOTOR EVHICLES MAY BE REMOVED IN YOUR ABSENCE' So where do you think I go from here? P xx

Ok so a mini update: the council have accepted my offer to pay by instalment the 9 tickets not yet with bailiffs instructed and I have made my first payment today to continue monthly until cleared. They have said I'll need to deal with the 10th ticket already with Jacobs separately which I'm not quite sure how to approach.... do I write with an instalment offer or wait for them to return it to the authority and then add this to my arrangement? many thanks all, Px

Incidentally, I have also checked the certificated bailiffs register and this chap's name doesn't appear on it, is that correct? Not heard back from the council as yet. Peaches x

Ok, so we've been out all day from about 10.30am, just got in now. Nothing through the door suggesting they've been... so I'm assuming they haven't? what do you think will happen now? What time can they call until on an evening? Dropped off my letter at the council this morning but am assuming they'll say no

Oh, no. In our area there are these parking disc clocks where you set it to the time you parked and then depending on the specific street/area you get 1, 2 or 3 hours before you need to move your car/update your disc.