Jacobs , REMOVAL 24 HOURS....Council Tax Bill.What can i do ? info please ?

[capone1]

Hi

Received a letter today hand posted from Jacobs Enforcement Agents Saying pay bailiff or Removal of goods in 24 hours....Its regarding council tax

 

I had made offers to Jacobs but they refused my 2 offers

 

I rang bailiff and he spoke to me with a bully attitude saying he wants full payment or removal of goods.....I cant afford to pay in full

 

I rang council tax office and they told me they could do nothing its now in hands of bailiffs.

 

What can I do ?

Will he return ?

Will he take our goods ?

How can I get out of this mess ?

 

Any help/info very welcome

 

Thanks

[Bailiff Advice]

It is very difficult to provide an accurate response without knowing a bit more detail.

 

For instance:

 

How much was the Liability Order for?

 

Was the Liability Order issued after 6th April (when new bailiff regulations came into effect)?

 

You should have received a Notice of Enforcement from the bailiff company before a personal visit took place. Did you receive such a notice?

 

The time when a payment proposal should be made is at the 'Compliance Stage' (which is the period outlined in the Notice of Enforcement) and trying to get a payment proposal accepted when a personal visit has taken place is more difficult. What sort of 'proposal' did you make?

 

If you have a vehicle outside of your property this can make a payment proposal more difficult as the bailiff may consider it more worthwhile to seize the vehicle for sale. However, if the vehicle is 'necessary' for self employment etc and is valued at 'less than £1,350' it is possibly considered 'exempt'.

[capone1]

Hi thanks for the quick response

The debt on 14/7/14 was for £1109.00 (Enforcement amount due) I offered them on the 22/7/14 a monthly payment of £15.00 which they refused

I then offered them on the 12/8/14 a monthly payment of £50.00 which they refused (I told them that's all I can afford)

I now had hand posted letter today.

 

What can I do ... very worried

[ploddertom]

Is there a reason your repayment offer is low - benefits, illness, disability etc?

[i hate bailiffs]

Are you working

Is there anyone living in the househols vulnerable

 

There is no right of entry for the bailiffs

What council tax year does the liability order cover

[capone1]

Thanks again for the reply

Both of us are working but have young family and had hard time years ago just managing to get back on our feet

The council already take money out of my wages per week for previous debt

None of us are vulnerable

The council tax year if for this current year with jacobs

 

You state "There in no right of entry for the bailiffs" what you mean by that.... they haven't got the right to enter our home ?

 

How the hell can I get out of this mess ?

[i hate bailiffs]

 

You state "There in no right of entry for the bailiffs" what you mean by that.... they haven't got the right to enter our home ?

 

Correct

No entry by force

 

You need to treat council tax as a priority debt

There will be bailiff fees added to the account increasing the debt

 

You need to make arrangements to a payment plan

[ploddertom]

Have you given Jacobs an I&E to prove you can pay no more. Council Tax is a priority debt and the Council would insist the likes of credit cards are reduced to minimal payments, they would also frown upon a Film & Sport package with Sky. I'm not saying you are extravagant but you may need to look closer at your outgoings.

 

Is the money the Council get at present the result of an Attachment of Earnings?

[capone1]

Hi Again

I spoke to Jacobs direct and they told me I can only speak to the bailiff, I phoned him and asked if I could make an arrangement plan and he said no he requires full payment in 24 hours which I cant afford or take our goods.

 

Is he going to be constantly coming to the house ?

 

What can I do ??

[capone1]

Have you given Jacobs an I&E to prove you can pay no more. Council Tax is a priority debt and the Council would insist the likes of credit cards are reduced to minimal payments, they would also frown upon a Film & Sport package with Sky. I'm not saying you are extravagant but you may need to look closer at your outgoings.

 

Is the money the Council get at present the result of an Attachment of Earnings?

 

Yes the money the council gets is a attachment of earnings

[i hate bailiffs]

If the bailiffs are refusing to set up arrangements to pay you can sent a formal complaint to the council about there agents the bailiffs

 

The bailiff is relying on fear to get his money and taking your belongings is putting the pressure on you

 

But there is no right of entry

No locksmith

[capone1]

If the bailiffs are refusing to set up arrangements to pay you can sent a formal complaint to the council about there agents the bailiffs

 

The bailiff is relying on fear to get his money and taking your belongings is putting the pressure on you

 

But there is no right of entry

No locksmith

 

Is that 100% right ????

Has anyone else been in my situation and had a resolve?

Are the bailiffs using bullying to scare us ?

How long will this go on for,people knocking our door,looking over our shoulder,dont like it at all with 2 young kids and wife in house

[ploddertom]

When the Council send a debt out for enforcement then the Enforcement Co are obliged to issue a Notice of Enforcement - £75 - which is your chance to contact them to make an offer of payment. In the majority of cases instalments if agreed are spread over 3/6 months (this is usually dictated by the Council). There has been talk recently of some Enforcement Co's/Agents refusing all offers of payments on the basis they can then charge the Enforcement Fee (£235) and thus further increase the debt owing. Now I'm not saying this is the case in your situation but it does make you wonder although at best your offer of £50 is going to take the best part of 2 years to pay it off and the chances of you defaulting on payments could be high.

 

If the Agent does call at your home he has no automatic right of entry and it would be a seriously bad idea to let him in. As long as you have nothing of value outside - a car perhaps - then to put it bluntly he is stuffed and can do nothing. Any more visits he makes he may charge no more. If however you do allow him in he will make an inventory of your goods and issue a Controlled Goods Agreement which must be adhered to. If you then break the agreement he may return and remove the listed goods and it may give him the right to force entry.

 

As the Council already have a AoE then they could have applied for another without all the hassles of the Bailiff. Have you contacted your local Councillor(s) and asked if they will intervene or negotiate on your behalf. Best initial contact is by phone up until approx 9pm.

[brassnecked]

Once councillor on board ask the council why they sent bailiffs vastly increasing tyour debt when there was already an AOE in place. Council Tax has now become a complete albatross, as now people have multiple debts for different tax years, add in even the new fee structure,., and the debt may well last a lifetime and the debtor dies before it is discharged, as they never clear the Tax year on year due to income and job loss, disability etc. All in all a nice little earner for the bailiff.

[Bailiff Advice]

When the Council send a debt out for enforcement then the Enforcement Co are obliged to issue a Notice of Enforcement - £75 - which is your chance to contact them to make an offer of payment. In the majority of cases instalments if agreed are spread over 3/6 months (this is usually dictated by the Council). There has been talk recently of some Enforcement Co's/Agents refusing all offers of payments on the basis they can then charge the Enforcement Fee (£235) and thus further increase the debt owing. Now I'm not saying this is the case in your situation but it does make you wonder although at best your offer of £50 is going to take the best part of 2 years to pay it off and the chances of you defaulting on payments could be high.

 

If the Agent does call at your home he has no automatic right of entry and it would be a seriously bad idea to let him in. As long as you have nothing of value outside - a car perhaps - then to put it bluntly he is stuffed and can do nothing. Any more visits he makes he may charge no more. If however you do allow him in he will make an inventory of your goods and issue a Controlled Goods Agreement which must be adhered to. If you then break the agreement he may return and remove the listed goods and it may give him the right to force entry.

 

As the Council already have a AoE then they could have applied for another without all the hassles of the Bailiff. Have you contacted your local Councillor(s) and asked if they will intervene or negotiate on your behalf. Best initial contact is by phone up until approx 9pm.

 

EXCELLENT response !!!

[Bailiff Advice]

Is that 100% right ????

Has anyone else been in my situation and had a resolve?

Are the bailiffs using bullying to scare us ?

How long will this go on for,people knocking our door,looking over our shoulder,dont like it at all with 2 young kids and wife in house

 

The problem that you have is that the new regulations have introduced an 'initial stage' that must be followed called the 'Compliance' stage and this commences when the statutory Notice of Enforcement is sent by the bailiff company. This notice includes a Compliance Fee of £75 and if a sensible payment proposal is outlined at this stage the matter will not progress to a personal visit.

 

If payment is not made of the full amount or a payment proposal accepted then the matter will progress (as it has done in your case) to the 2nd stage which is called the 'Enforcement Stage' and the purpose of this visit is to attempt to 'take control of goods' to settle the debt and bailiff fees. It is at this stage that a fee of £235 is payable.

 

Trying to get a payment arrangement agreed at the 2nd stage is much more difficult and even more so if the bailiff is able to identify when he makes a 'doorstep' visit that you have a motor vehicle that could be worth taking. A further problem is that as the debt is a 'joint' one the bailiff can seize vehicles belonging to both you and your wife.

 

It is possible that the vehicles are 'exempt' but without knowing more details this is difficult to advise on.

 

PS: Personally....an offer of £50 per month is not an attractive proposal but may well be accepted if you can provide a detailed Income & Expenditure. Have you provide a breakdown to the company?

[capone1]

Hi All

 

Thanks for all your help

 

Update:-

 

I rang the council tax office and I was amazed how helpful they were (Wife rang last night and got nowhere)

 

I told the man at tax office that I rang the bailiff to make a improved offer of £*** and his reply was not interested I will be back tomorrow to collect the full amount or take goods from my home. Also told the tax office about his aggressive / bully attitude to me..The tax office put me on hold for 4-5min.

 

When he returned he told me that "he" (the tax office) have contacted Jacobs and told them to except my new offer and to tell the bailiff not to call back..... HUGE RELIEF but not 100% happy as I wanted it from Jacobs themselves.

 

Phoned Jacobs 2 min later and they confirmed that the tax office had just contacted them telling them to accept my offer of £*** followed by them also telling me the bailiff has also been informed not to call to the house again.... We then went through a payment plan i.e:- dates etc etc.

 

Now a HUGE relief.

 

A massive lesson learnt

 

Thanks again for all the help on this website.

[Bailiff Advice]

Hi All

 

Thanks for all your help

 

Update:-

 

I rang the council tax office and I was amazed how helpful they were (Wife rang last night and got nowhere)

 

I told the man at tax office that I rang the bailiff to make a improved offer of £*** and his reply was not interested I will be back tomorrow to collect the full amount or take goods from my home. Also told the tax office about his aggressive / bully attitude to me..The tax office put me on hold for 4-5min.

 

When he returned he told me that "he" (the tax office) have contacted Jacobs and told them to except my new offer and to tell the bailiff not to call back..... HUGE RELIEF but not 100% happy as I wanted it from Jacobs themselves.

 

Now a HUGE relief.

 

A massive lesson learnt

 

Thanks again for all the help on this website.

 

Excellent outcome. I am assuming that the bailiff fees of £235 have remained on the account.

 

The problem that is very evident is that the bailiff company will not have any 'history' of the debtor and this is where there is fault with local authorities. In this case the council would know that an Attachment of Earnings Order was in place etc.

[mikeymack2002]

Great result. But do not miss a payment or they will then possibly add further fees and/or remove items

[lookinforinfo]

That is good news. However there still could be a problem. Bailiffs are a devious bunch and may well follow the agreement to the letter. By that I mean if your payment

arrives the day before you said would pay, that is often deemed by them that you have not kept to the agreement! Likewise if you are a day late and payment means

cleared funds in their account, not a cheque or credit card payment on the day. Bear in mind too that if you are repaying over a number of months that some date

may occur on a weekend or Bank holiday when payment cannot be made.

 

To avoid this you should avoid stating a specific date but rather go for "by the last day of the month" for example which should make it more difficult for them to

find loopholes to jack up their fees.