help jacobs bailifss

[gemma1982]

hi, i urgently need help, i stupidly let jacobs bailiffs into my home and signed a walking posession order. i have been unable to keep up with the high payments due to being a working single parent on a low income . i received a letter today stating tha i have four days to pay £730.26 in full or a bailiff will attend for the purpose of removing goods for sale at public auction. i have contacted jacobs to try and sort this out but they wont help me. please help someone, im at my wits end and dont know what to do

[ploddertom]

What' s the debt for? What goods are listed on your Notice of Seizure?

 

PT

[gemma1982]

What' s the debt for? What goods are listed on your Notice of Seizure?

 

PT

 

Hi, its for council tax. Goods listed are, sofa, table an chairs, tv, tv unit, hifi, coffee table, freezer and microwave.

[king100]

Would say it's an invalid WP, due to table chairs freezer, do you have any other means of sitting down.? Someone like pt or hallo will be on and point you in direction on what they can an can't put down on wpa

[hallowitch]

don't worry about the letter giving you 4 days to pay outstanding balance or they will remove your goods (its not going to happen i can assure you of that ) standard stuff from bailiffs

 

can you tell me how many children you have

 

. Goods listed are, sofa, table an chairs, TV, TV unit, hifi, coffee table, freezer and microwave.

 

they cant levy your sofa table and chairs if this would not leave enough seating for the family

 

do you have a separate fridge freezer

is your TV old or the new flat screen type

you hifi is it an expensive one or a bog standard cheep one (I'm not trying to slate you goods I'm trying to get an auction value)

 

when a bailiff levy goods against a debt the goods levied when sold at auction must cover the costs of all bailiff fees auction fees removal fees storage fees and a portion of the debt

 

do you know how much the liability order was for

[hallowitch]

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/CertificatedBailiffs/ Is the bailiff certificated

what council is it

[gemma1982]

hi, the liability order was for £691 this had charges added and ended up over £800. i only have one child, the tv is a new flat screen which was bought for me and the hifi is a bog standard cheap one, i have no fridge freezer they are separate and only the freezer is listed, i know that these goods will in no way cover the debt. i explained this to jacobs when i rang earlier today to try and sort it out, they told me that the goods would be sold then i would be contacted again to pay the remainder of the debt. iam in no way refusing to pay i just cant meet there high payment demands and they now wont offer me any repayment plan so i really dont know what to do

[gemma1982]

its eden district council and yes the bailiffs are certificated

[hallowitch]

new flat screen which was bought for me

 

does the person who bought it still have the receipt is it on finance

[brassnecked]

If the other person has the reciept, they can claim ownership and say gemma1982 is merely borrowing it, bailiff cannot then take it, Is that right hallowitch?

[hallowitch]

If the other person has the reciept, they can claim ownership and say gemma1982 is merely borrowing it, bailiff cannot then take it, Is that right hallowitch?

 

yes

[gemma1982]

hi, thanks but unfortunately it was bought over a year ago and they dont have the receipt any more. looks like im just gonna have to do as they say, i dont think i have any other options

[brassnecked]

Just as a side issue, and the fact OP is on a low income just something to check whilst those who know help out it may be worth checking entitlements to other benefits at Turn2us http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx There may even be an entitlement to council tax benefit, if so it may reduce liability.

 

I hate bailiffs, they are part of the problem not the solution a 12th century method that is 900 years out of date. Adding charges is not the way forward

[newstarter]

Hi there,i dont usually post a great deal on this forum but as far as experience with bailiffs go,4 continual years of harrassment by B/S and beating them at their own game each year i think gives me enough knowledge to comment on your situation.First off although they have a walker this in my opinion would not even cover their costs as the table and chairs and the sofa is out for a start,that leaves the tele and stand,freezer and microwave and at auction we are talking what,150 tops?The first year i had trouble with them they levied on my car but did not have the walker and they threatened to collect it but didnt because it was not worth the hassle,thus i called their bluff,in fact i even said,"take it you like" but they didnt as it was,nt worth the hassle.I would be tempted to do the same here,they would need a court order anyway and let you know beforehand when they were comming.You need to be strong and determined with bailiffs,setting up agreements with them in my opinion is a waste of time because they engineer defaults by design,then add more charges,your never free of them until the debt is returned to the council and thats what you need to be looking towards as the end result here.You have already bent over backwards trying to come to some agreement and it hasn,t worked,i think its time you dug your heels in here and just dont answer the door when they turn up and start paying the council direct.

[hallowitch]

you always have options remember Jacobs must get permission from the council to re-enter property the council have to get permission from the court

 

It doesn't happen that easy

 

this is an exercise to get a van/attendance fee and to bully you into trying to find the money (ask family Friends borrow it etc) and of course it looks good when the get another debtor to pay up prompt

 

at the end of the day they really don't want your goods its to much hassle for them and they know that they wont cover the fees

 

 

was the letter you received today hand delivered

how have you been paying this debt

by debit card over the phone by standing order etc

have you tried to make a payment and been refused

[seanamarts]

For goodness sake dont give in to these cretins there are ways round them. First off there is no reason why you cannot pay direct to the council as long as you inform them that this is what you are doing. You can pay them online via their website as long as you use the year that is owed, account number.

They cannot put white goods on the levy, they cannot place sofa and chairs on a levy either. They have to get an order to force entry into your home and have to give you a time and date to do this. Inform the council that the bailiffs are being unreasonable and not giving you an affordable way of paying the debt off. Inform them that you are on a low wage and a single parent living on the bread line as it is and what the bailiffs are demanding is not an amount you can afford, You are potentially vulnerable because of this situation and you are asking the council to either intervene with regards to the bailiffs threats and unlawful levy or take back the debt where you will pay them a reasonable weekly/fortnightly/monthly amount. Make an online payment to them and let them know you have done this and that you will make all future payments to them.

[gemma1982]

Hi, thanks for all the advice. I will get in touch with the council first thing monday an start paying direct to them. I used to get a small amount of council tax benefit which is really what got me in this mess in the first place after they apparently over paid me. So really dont want to go down that route again. Ill try dig my heels in with the bailiff when he comes although the letter i received wasnt hand delivered off him but direct from jacobs but they say the matter is out with the bailiff an refuse to speak to me. I asked them for a contact telephone number for the bailiff which they say they cant give me because they dont know which bailiff is dealing with it, i find this very strange

[hallowitch]

Hi, thanks for all the advice. I will get in touch with the council first thing Monday an start paying direct to them. I used to get a small amount of council tax benefit which is really what got me in this mess in the first place after they apparently over paid me.

 

did you ask them to provide proof as to why this overpayment happened

 

So really don't want to go down that route again. Ill try dig my heels in with the bailiff when he comes although the letter i received wasn't hand delivered off him but direct from jacobs but they say the matter is out with the bailiff an refuse to speak to me. I asked them for a contact telephone number for the bailiff which they say they cant give me because they dont know which bailiff is dealing with it, i find this very strange

 

keep the envelope to charge a fee a letter has to be hand delivered

[gemma1982]

Hi, yes it was explained to me why i had been over paid technically it was through no fault of my own although was still liable to pay it back. After trying to repay it on top of my normal council tax i just couldnt manage it and the council obviously werent very sympathetic to my case. Ill wait and see what happens, i was under the impression that once theyd gained peaceable access and a walking posession order they could reenter my property at any point after that .

[wonkeydonkey]

Hi Gemma and welcome to Cag.

 

Easy for us to say but don't worry about this. The advice you have been given is sound but I understand (don't we all )how cloudy everything is for you Lets try to get you on a plan of action to make it a lot clearer for you.

 

First off you need to establish how many Liability Orders the Council have against you. You may find they have done one for last year and possibly another for this year. On Monday morning you need to ring the Council and ask:

 

1- how many Liability Orders the Council have against you

2 - how much each one is for

3 - How much is still outstanding

4 - what periods of time they cover

5 - when they were passed to the Bailiff

 

OK when you get that info come back to caggers and they can work out if you have been charged improper fees by the Bailiff, it is very often the case they will end up owing you. A few more questions for you to help us all get the bigger picture:

 

Did you ever receive notification that the Council were going to take you to Court?

How many reminder notices have you had that you had missed a payment?

 

Now your plan to keep the Bailiff in his kennel:

 

The Bailiff has levied on goods he is not allowed to, this makes his levy invalid and he knows that to be the case. That his levy is invalid means he lost the right to return and gain peaceable entry, of course he isn't going to tell you that. What will happen is he will return and of course you will not open the door to him under any circumstances, it is his mission to threaten, bully lie and intimidate you into paying money you do not have. Should he have a heart attack on your doorstep go and have a cuppa while you decide whether or not to call an ambulance. Keep doors and windows locked, do not even speak to him, there is no law that says you must. As his levy is invalid should he threaten to force entry then he could see himself before the court.

 

Meanwhile if you can, use your Councils own online payment system and make a payment that you can comfortably afford each week. When caggers get to see your reply from the Council questions you will get help to write to both Council and Bailiffs.

 

Hope this helps to reassure you and realise you do not have to beg or borrow money to pay this debt and that there are other avenues open to you.

 

WD

[gemma1982]

Thanks for that, its reassuring to know that i can deal with this. I will contact the council first thing monday morning but to my knowledge there are 2 liability orders and only 1 with the bailiff the other im paying directly to them

[wonkeydonkey]

Get that confirmed by the Council and the rest of the info. as I said do not worry you can deal with this and you will get all the help you need along the way.

 

Lots of very knowledgeable people on here so untie the knot in your tummy and sleep easy tonight

 

xx

[gemma1982]

hi, the liability order was for £771.76 charges added put this up to £880.36 , so roughly £110 charges, i have been in touch with council and payed £10.00 over the phone which they werent too happy about but took never the less. i also asked council about good exempt from wpo they told me the list is vague and basically they can take what they want. still iminently awaiting the bailiff to return and sieze goods at any moment. what do i do next?

[gemma1982]

im also paying £50 a fortnight direct to council for another liability order of £530.00

[hallowitch]

i also asked council about good exempt from wpo they told me the list is vague and basically they can take what they want.

another council employee who knows nothing the list is not vague they cant take what they want have you been in touch with your local councillor or/and your MP if not do it now

 

 

 

 

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR ENFORCEMENT AGENTS may 2002

 

 

Those who might be potentially vulnerable include:

• the elderly;
  
• people with a disability;
  
• the seriously ill;
  
• the recently bereaved;
  
• single parent families;
  
• pregnant women;
  
• unemployed people; and,
  
• those who have obvious difficulty in understanding, speaking or reading English
  

List A

 

1) The following articles belonging to a debtor shall be exempt from distress at the instance of a creditor in respect of a debt due to him by the debtor-

a) clothing reasonably required for the use of the debtor or any member of the debtor's household;

b) implements, tools of trade, books or other equipment including a car or van reasonably required for the use of the debtor or any member of the debtor's household in the practice of the debtor's or such member's profession, trade or business, not exceeding in aggregate value £1,000 or such amount as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Lord Chancellor;

c) medical aids or medical equipment reasonably required for the use of the debtor or any member of his household;

d) books or other articles including a computer reasonably required for the education or training of the debtor or any member of the debtor's household not exceeding in aggregate value £1,000 or such amount as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Lord Chancellor;

e) toys for the use of any child who is a member of the debtor's household;

f) articles reasonably required for the care or upbringing of a child who is a member of the debtor's household.

 

2) The following articles belonging to a debtor shall be exempt from distress if they are at the time of the distress in a dwellinghouse and are reasonably required for the use in the dwellinghouse of the person residing there or a member of the household-

a) beds or bedding;

b) household linen;

c) chairs or settees;

d) tables;

e) food;

f) lights or light fittings;

g) heating appliances;

h) curtains;

i) floor coverings;

j) furniture, equipment or utensils used for cooking storing or eating food;

k) refrigerators;

l) articles used for cleaning, mending, or pressing clothes;

m) articles used for cleaning the dwellinghouse;

n) furniture used for storing-

(i) clothing, bedding or household linen;

(ii) articles used for cleaning the dwellinghouse; or

(iii) utensils used for cooking or eating food;

 

o) articles used for safety in the dwellinghouse or of household articles

3) The Lord Chancellor may by regulations add to the list set out in subsection (2) above, or delete or vary any of the items contained in that list.

We consider that under 1(b) and 1(d) the preferable aggregate value might be £1500.

 

List B

 

Such tools, books, vehicles and other items of equipment as are necessary for use personally by the tenant in their employment, business or vocation and such clothing, bedding, furniture, household equipment and provisions are as necessary for satisfying the basic domestic needs of the debtor and his family.