Jacobs bailif wants to take my car..Please Help

[wideeyes]

Hi a Bailiff from Jacobs visited my house recently whilst I was out and left a Notice of Seizure in my letterbox.

He has written the details of my van and car on the notice and added fees of £172.50 on top of the amount that I already owe.

I did make an arrangement to pay him and have the money but have just been laid off from work, if I pay him I wont be able to look after my family until work starts again.

I rang him and tried to make a smaller payment but he would not accept it.

I have signed on this morning at the job centre.

I am due to pay him today and am really worried that if I dont pay he will come and take my van and car.

Can any one give me some advice.:sad:

[wonkeydonkey]

What is the debt for and to what value...council tax, court fine, utility etc.etc? has the bailiff had access to the inside of your home to levy on goods? is the van a'tool of the trade' ie: used and insured solely for your work and is it sign written?...are you the sole earner in your household?

Sorry for all the questions but there are never two situations the same so details are needed to advise in depth. Move both car and van away from your house (at least 10 minute walk away) for now ..when we get the info above we can help from there.

 

WD

[ploddertom]

What is this for - Council Tax? Are the vehicles on any finance?

[wideeyes]

Sorry yes the bill is for council tax £1425 plus his costs Make £1597.

The bailiff has not had access to the inside of my home.

I use the van to get get to work i am a delivery driver however i dont use my van to deliver

My partner works part time three days a week

The vehicles are not on finance

[wonkeydonkey]

If you cannot afford the previous agreed payment and the bailiff is refusing to allow reduced payment.....you will need to send the bailiff an income and expenditure sheet to show a need for minimum payment...... they will most likely ignore your letter but give them 7 days to reply in writing

 

Meanwhile workout what you can afford to pay and even if that is only £3-£5 per week start to make payments Direct to the Council using their online facilities,make sure you make that payment every eg: Monday without fail....if you do that the Council will find it extremely difficult to take action to committal proceedings.

 

If you get no agreement to the lower payments with the bailiff you then write to the Council explaining your circumstances (include a copy of I&E sheet)and notify them their bailiff is refusing payment to the Council Tax at a rate seen to both affordable and sustainable, to and by you. TELL them you will make the proposed payments direct to them at £xxx per week every Xday.

 

If you make the payments it will soon show a history to you attempting to satisfy the debt. You can tell the bailiff when he calls you are now paying the Council direct, print off and show him the receipts to those payments ...move both car and van (if possible into a garage but nevertheless well away from the house) he will huff and puff and spout the usual threats of police locksmiths etc etc but the reality will be you are not refusing to make payment to the debt and if he attempts to remove your vehicles he could find that hard to explain when a complaint is made to the powers that be.

 

WD

[wideeyes]

Thanks very much for your quick response i will let you know how i get on.

[brassnecked]

Try to hide the vehicles as Jacobs are clamp 'em merchants and will clamp a vehicle whatever the debt to pressure you to pay.

[RaeUK]

... but have just been laid off from work ... until work starts again ... I have signed on this morning at the job centre ...

 

I can only assume from your post that you have been temporarily laid off and expect to resume work with the same firm again in the not to distant future.

If not and you're likely to receive income related jobseekers allowance (as opposed to contribution based) then you can request that the debt is taken back by the council and a deduction from benefits is applied for the debt.

[wideeyes]

Hi guys just thought I would let you know how I was Getting on.

 

We got up yesterday morning to a letter posted through the letterbox, it goes something like this.

 

Notice of attendance to seize goods.

I have attended your property at 6.20 am to find that you were not in. (We were in we were just in bed asleep.)

You now have 24 hrs to contact me to make an arrangement to meet with me.

If you fail to contact me i will have no option but to make arrangements. If appropriate, for porters and removal vans to attend you premises with a view to removing goods.

Please note we may even remove goods in your absence.If we are unable to gain entry we will utilise the services of a locksmith.

If we do not recover the full amount including the costs then we will recommend that one of the following proceedings is taken.

Committal to prison.

Bankruptcy

A Charging order on your property.

 

How can he do this when he has not been into my house.

I have moved my van but have decided he can have the car it just failed its Mot.

 

I made an online payment to the council of £107 which is all the money we could afford

 

I rang the council yesterday and explained my situation to them they where very sympathetic and said they would get in touch with Jacobs to consider a lower payment plan they would not take the debt back of Jacobs because I had some fees on the account for visits they have made so it seems I will still have to deal with them.

 

I did not ring the bailiff yesterday as i have read on here that is not such a good thing to do.

 

The threat of the bailiff coming around is making my wife ill she was up at three o'clock this morning looking out of the window for any sign of him then every five minutes untill seven.

Should I ring the bailiff to explain or should i just ignore him.

 

Many Thanks

[seanamarts]

I doubt very much that he will take the car, it wouldnt be worth his while.

 

I would carry on paying the council, email them every time you make a payment. Keep it at the same time each week and about the same amount.

 

If the bailiff has not made a levy then all you would owe so far is £42.50 visit fee's. Do you know if the bailiff has made a levy yet, if they have then they should of made you aware of this.

[biggeorge]

I always thought that this line in his letter was not possible and very misleading since he has not gained entry to the property.

If so then a complaint should be made to the relevant authories

 

Please note we may even remove goods in your absence.If we are unable to gain entry we will utilise the services of a locksmith.

 

 

George

[brassnecked]

The remove goods in absence, would be garden furniture and anything lying around outside isf of value, a patio set, patio heater, ride on mower in an insecure shed. they may well clamp any car in a drive or outside on the street; this clamping is standard MO for this bunch. Even with a levy they cannot just turn up with locksmiths and force entry at this stage.

 

Do they have a levy, on a vehicle perhaps, as they may well claim they have when challenged?

[Uk_Guy]

It is not really clear if he has detailed your vehicles on a levy of distress form or just just noted their details on your letter. If he has put the goods on a levy of distress to hide the vehicle may land in hot water as the goods have been seized on paper and belong to the local authority or issuing court. All you can really do is renegotiate with them as your probably not in receipt of income support your not classified as a vulnerable. I would get an income and expenditure generated and supply the bailiffs with a copy to prove financial hardship. As long as you keep making reasonable payments and have supplied this info this will reduced the possibility of the bailiff returning. But please remember the pressure maybe re asserted if and when the court order is nearing its expiry date.

[seanamarts]

But please remember the pressure maybe re asserted if and when the court order is nearing its expiry date.

 

This is for council tax UK_Guy.

 

The OP is vulnerable if he has no income coming in. This needs to be addressed by the council, not the bailiffs.

 

UK_Guy, it really is a good idea that you read the thread before giving out advise.

[wonkeydonkey]

The Council will SAY they will not take the debt back...but they are in a position to do so. Personally I would be sending off for a full breakdown of the fees this moron thinks he is entitled to see below) and continue to make set regular payments direct to the Council on the grounds you have no confidence to their appointed agents being fit to collect, due to the improper fees being made to the account by them. Write to the Council do not phone them, this will give you a paper trail to making a for

To:

Acme Bailiff Co

Bailiff House

 

Ref: Account No: 123456

 

Dear Sir

 

With reference to the above account, Can you please provide me with a breakdown of the charges.

 

This includes:

a - the time & date of any Bailiff action that incurred a Fee.

b - the reason for the fee.

c - the name(s) of the Bailiff(s) that attended on each occasion a Fee was charged.

d - the name(s) of the Court(s) the Bailiff(s) was/were Certificated at.

e - 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.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Ripped off customer"mal complaint at a later date.

 

 

 

WD

[Uk_Guy]

May i point out that even taking in to account the new guidelines proposed this week for Bailiffs the Council is still under no obligation to take the debt back in house as passed to the Authorised Enforcement Agency. The burdon of proof of vulnerability does lie with the debtor if proof of vulnerability has been provided then the case may be referred to the welfare team if there is one. This weeks announcement of putting everything in black and white is welcome to the industry but until it is the rules are still open for interpretation until such time.

 

PS

 

If you dont want them in your house to provide proof contact your local advice centre like CAB take to them and get them to provide info as independent witnesses.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Uk_Guy
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[wonkeydonkey]

'the rules are still open for interpretation' ....surely the rules are already laid down in black and white and it is simply a matter of these firms being unable to conform to them?

 

WD

[brassnecked]

If the rules are in Black and White, why do they still ignore them and make them up as they go along?