Help desperatly needed re Jacobs bailiffs

doodledoodle24

Hello,
I received a letter today from jacobs bailiffs basically saying that they are putting in an application to my county court for my unpaid council tax bill.

They gave me 7 days to contact them from the date of the letter, which is up tomorrow yet i only received the letter today!

After calling them and speaking to them today they have advised me to send them a 'statement of earnings' by email.

Does anyone know how to do a statement of earnings?
there is no way i can afford to pay this balance of in full, im so worried about being sent to jail like they have done on that bailiff programme!

please help

Lensman_2

1. You will not go to jail. You have to be unbelievably persistent - or stupid - to get this outcome.

2. Have a look at this. It is an online form to fill out that seems to be quite acceptable unless you have to fill out bankruptcy forms. http://www.makesenseofcards.co.uk/soacalc.html
Post it up here using the instructions when you press the MSE button. People here will fine tune it for you.

Honeybee_2

Jail is for won't pays hon, not can't pays.

MrsTinks

Also keep a track of all correspondance with with - if this is the first time they have contacted you then it's all threats at the moment

I don't know if there are other threads out there about your council tax but start at the beginning and give us the whole story - it makes it much easier to advise you In the mean time AGREE TO NOTHING and SIGN NOTHING and very importantly DO NOT LET THEM IN YOUR HOUSE!

If they turn up come on here before you do anything or call the number on www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk - it's run by Herbie21 who posts on here and she knows her stuff

debttornado

Jacobs are talking rubbish. The debt belongs to the council, usually they will bring in a bailiff company if you haven't paid. I think a liability order is granted by the court first - in my case that happened, but I'm not sure if all councils do this. The bailiff company will then try to collect. Don't let them in to your house, keep any cars parked away from the house, pay what you can afford. All the bailiff company can do is refer it back to the council for action. It is the council who decide the next step, not the bailiff.

If they send letters threatening jail, bankruptcy, breaking into your home it is just their way of trying to get you to pay, they don't have the power to do this. Some *lovely* :rolleyes: companies will do this even if you are paying! There are rules regarding what they can charge for and what they can legally do - Herbie21 is the expert and she really helped me.

I found that once I checked the legal situation and addressed the issue, in writing and only paying what I can afford, I felt much more in control.

As Mrs Tine, Lensman and HoneyBee say don't panic, they can't send to to jail. Decide a plan of action and then enjoy the long weekend!

RobertoMoir

doodledoodle24 wrote: »

Does anyone know how to do a statement of earnings?
there is no way i can afford to pay this balance of in full, im so worried about being sent to jail like they have done on that bailiff programme!

please help

The only grounds for jailing someone over council tax are willful refusal to pay, and (I forget the exact term used) negligence (e.g. spending all your money on a big holiday while leaving this debt unanswered).

rog2

doodledoodle24 wrote: »

I received a letter today from jacobs bailiffs basically saying that they are putting in an application to my county court for my unpaid council tax bill.

Very Strange

Council Tax arrears are, normally, dealt with by 'Magistrate Courts' and 'Bailiffs' act on the instruction of that court.

Before you commit yourself to any payment plan, please talk to your local CAB - If, as is often the case, they are busy, you can try a pm to Herbie21 as she is fully 'au fait' with the legal side of 'Bailiffs and Council Tax'.

You can, also, have a look at her website - www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/ - where you will find a full explanation of how they should be acting.

rog2

rog2 wrote: »

You can, also, have a look at her website - www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/ - where you will find a full explanation of how they should be acting.

Sorry I meant to add the following link, where you can see not only what rights you have in connection with bailiffs, but also how Bailiffs should behave:

http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/debt_basics/bailiff-guide.php

Krystaltips

I had a bailif visit regarding an old council tax bill from 2 addresses ago, no warning letter or anything... Thankfully the bailiff was a lovely man, he told me not to invite him in and said he would put it down as a 'no answer' call so I didn't get charged... He then told me to call the company up and discuss a repayment with them... I was on benefits at the time and the timeframe they wanted me to repay it at meant I couldn't afford the payments, so the fella on the phone recommended I called the council directly and agree an amount with them... The council accepted the smaller payments and I paid it directly to the bailiff company by standing order... I'm gratefull to the bailiff for making it a very unstressfull proccess... They're not all awful!

rog2

Krystaltips wrote: »

I had a bailif visit regarding an old council tax bill from 2 addresses ago, no warning letter or anything... Thankfully the bailiff was a lovely man, he told me not to invite him in and said he would put it down as a 'no answer' call so I didn't get charged... He then told me to call the company up and discuss a repayment with them... I was on benefits at the time and the timeframe they wanted me to repay it at meant I couldn't afford the payments, so the fella on the phone recommended I called the council directly and agree an amount with them... The council accepted the smaller payments and I paid it directly to the bailiff company by standing order... I'm gratefull to the bailiff for making it a very unstressfull proccess... They're not all awful!

I'm really pleased that you had a good experience with one particular bailiff, Kt. In fact, the advice that he gave you is, almost word for word, the same advice that we usually give - in the majority of cases it is possible, even desirable, for a debtor to come to a deal directly with the council.
Unfortunately, though, experiences such as yours are in the minority. :sad:. The letter that doodledoodle has received would certainly indicate that she is not dealing with the same 'Bailiff' that you were fortunate enough to encounter.
That said, it is certainly refreshing to know that there are still some ethical people in that 'profession'.