Jacobs Bailiffs coming tomorrow -help needed

jeanhampton

I have debts with jacobs bailiffs from council tax and am unsure of how to handle this. This problem has been on going for the best part of 2 years and the debt seems to be getting bigger and i dont know how. They paid me a visit last october demanding £700 before they could set up a payment plan, I managed to pay this only to discover that the council tax place i originally owed this money to have no record of this payment.
I have contacted my bank to gt bank statements to prove this payment but in the meantime i still have jacobs threatening me to get another 320 by tommorow morning. I m reluctant to pay this as my last payment has not been taken off the debt.
I am the only one working in the household and am currently only recieving statuory maternity pay for my 3 week old baby therefore if i pay this i am unable to pay my rent which is priority. I have signed papers with jacobs in the past as they told me it was to confirm payment plans but apparently i have been giving them permission to remove things from my property if i dont pay.
I am stuck for what to do as I dont want to go to jail or have my furniture etc removed and I have a feeling that even if i pay this i will still have them on my back as I cannot afford my make payment arrangments, i have no disposable income at all at the moment. Any advice would be much appreciated as i have no idea what route to take, they are awful people to deal with, even citizens advice cant help as they are not open to negotiating.

please help!!!

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Hi Jean - welcome. Firstly take a deep breath. Everything can and will be worked out. It is very worrying at the first but with the amazing help you'll find on here and with national bodies it will be ok. The biggest thing is to face up to the problem and deal with it - you've already done that!

Have a read over www.bailiffadviceonline.co.uk and hopefully someone else will come along with futher advice. I also advise sending a pm (personal message) to Herbie.

Also worth contacting nationaldebtline to see if they can offer advice.

Ask the Bailiff to show you acceptance of the £700 and where this went.

Good luck - it will all be ok and you'll feel much better tomorrow night I'm sure.

GJ x

jeanhampton

Hi Jill, thank you.

I will read over the website you suggested and send a private message to Herbie like you suggested.

I have asked the Bailiff about the £700 but he said its from a different account (how that is even possible i don't know!!!). I am still waiting on recieving the bank statement to prove i paid it.

I can only pay him £200 tomorrow at the very most but i know he is going to intimidate me and say its not good enough, but theres nothing else i can do. I am trying to co-operate and pay what i can but they are being so harsh with me that its making it very difficult.

I ended up in tears the last time he came, and i am really really panicking about tomorrow.

I don't know if i will be able to phone the helpline you suggested as he is coming at 9am tomorrow.

Any more help would be greatly appreciated!

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Also read over this post http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1727247

you may be able to get some information that will help you from here.

you need to be shown where the 700 has been paid to - get him to show you records - don't be fobbed off with chat - you have a right to be shown.

stand firm and be strong.

jeanhampton

Hi Jill,

Easier said than done.They are SO intimidating. i have told them about the 700, he said it was a different account that he wasnt dealing with so basically just tough, and just wants the money.

I know this 200 quid tomorrow i am offering won't be good enough, and he will probably tell me he will have to come back to collect my stuff.

I'm so worried

jeanhampton

Hi again, i read through that website but i'm not sure if it will be any help for me tomorrow. I can only pay the £200 and as i said i don't think its going to be enough to keep this guy happy but i don't know what else to do

fatbelly

jeanhampton wrote: »

Hi again, i read through that website but i'm not sure if it will be any help for me tomorrow. I can only pay the £200 and as i said i don't think its going to be enough to keep this guy happy but i don't know what else to do

I am assuming he has not already entered your property & you have not entered into a walking possesion agreement. Even if you have, you should know that bailiffs only remove goods in something like 0.1% of cases. It's all about threats and harassment.

If no wpa, he has no right to force entry and my advice would be to have any discussions though the letterbox or an upstairs window.

Make any payments direct to the council. But your rent is a higher priority, so don't pay £200 if it's needed for your rent.

pm Herbie21 for specific advice. (hope she's still around - hasn't posted for a couple of weeks). Roberto Moir is also good on bailiff issues

aligerdie

Sorry to hear about your situation, I know you must be worried about tomorrow (I've been there).

You need to request a full breakdown of charges on this account, for all you know there could have been loads of charges added on.

Do you know what you signed? Did the bailiff make a list of goods in your house? They're only allowed to take property listed on the levy which you may have signed.

First thing tomorrow morning, I would ring the council and ask them to take the debt back from the bailiff. Explain your low income etc and financial hardship.
If they will not listen, take it further, and complain to your local councillor. They are able to sort things like this out quickly.

They have a duty of care towards you, and considering you've recently had a baby, they need to intervene.

I would recommend pm'ing Herbie21 as previously mentioned, she is fantastic. Whilst you've had a look at her website, I would also recommend her helpline (number on website). It may cost a bit, but she will definitely help you out, plus you have more chance of speaking to her before the bailiff gets there.

Robertomoir is also a bailiff expert on here, you could also try pm'ing him too.

Good luck tomorrow xx

Ames

Fatbelly, she said that the bailiff talked her into signing something.

We need to know exactly what you signed, do you have a copy?

aligerdie

jeanhampton wrote: »

Hi again, i read through that website but i'm not sure if it will be any help for me tomorrow. I can only pay the £200 and as i said i don't think its going to be enough to keep this guy happy but i don't know what else to do

Has he entered your property already? That makes a difference here.

jeanhampton

I didn't let him in my house the last time no.

When i signed a paper he gave me, he told me it was just confirming payments and a payment plan (which i told him i couldnt afford, he wanted £150 a month from me which i simply cannot do ) but the payment plan got cancelled as like i said i couldnt afford it. But having read round the internet apparently you arent supposed to sign anything, but he was just so intimidating it was like he left you with no choice.

This guy is coming at 9am tomorrow i'm not sure if il be able to phone any help numbers in time or even the council

Please help