Jacobs bailiff - council tax please help

N1xsta

Please help and not judge.

I failed to keep to a payment plan with Jacobs over two accounts with them for council tax

I received a 48 hour removal notice then a collection by 5pm I emailed Jacobs to reset up a payment plan and have phoned them and they have refused and said I need to talk with enforcement officer.

He is refusing to take part payment or set up a payment plan I have moved my car away from the house but I saw on his pad he already had the details.

I got up this morning to find a note saying that they have listed my car and I phoned him he said I have 24 hours to make payment or will take my car.

I cannot afford the whole balance but can afford to make part payments

sourcrates

N1xsta wrote: »

Please help and not judge.

I failed to keep to a payment plan with Jacobs over two accounts with them for council tax

I received a 48 hour removal notice then a collection by 5pm I emailed Jacobs to reset up a payment plan and have phoned them and they have refused and said I need to talk with enforcement officer.

He is refusing to take part payment or set up a payment plan I have moved my car away from the house but I saw on his pad he already had the details.

I got up this morning to find a note saying that they have listed my car and I phoned him he said I have 24 hours to make payment or will take my car.

I cannot afford the whole balance but can afford to make part payments

Ring National Debtline, no good posting on a forum as you need urgent advice on this.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org

National_Debtline

Hi N1xsta,

sourcrates is right, you should try and call us for detailed advice ASAP. If for any reason you cannot get through to us then there are a few key things you should know.

Bailiffs for council tax can only come inside your home through open or unlocked access or by your invitation, so if they have not been inside at this point – do not let them in. If they have listed your car then this could be a Controlled Goods Agreement – if this has been done correctly then the car does now belong to the bailiffs and by hiding it you could be committing an offence. If this has happened you MUST get free advice ASAP.

However, if neither you (nor someone you have authorised) have signed the Control Goods Agreement (CGA) then it is not valid. It must bear a signature for the item to have been taken into controlled correctly – without a signature on the agreement they cannot take the car. (However, if they find the car on a public highway they could clamp it, so you do still need to be careful)

If they have not gained entry and do not have a valid CGA then you will be in a better position to negotiate going forward. Do a SOA and send this to the bailiffs with a letter or email to make an offer of payment. Do not try and negotiate over the phone or face to face, if possible. If they still refuse your offer, then save the money you can afford to one side at home and send it when you have enough. I hope this helps you today, we do have a factsheet about this that may also help - https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/02 EW Council tax recovery/Default.aspx

Laura
@natdebtline

chanz4

Also if on finance the car cant be taken

Herbie21

chanz4 wrote: »

Also if on finance the car cant be taken

Unfortunately, this may not be correct and this was proven in court a week ago after a debtor had been encouraged by one particular forum to apply to court for an injunction as his car had been clamped and the bailiff refused to remove the clamp.

The debtor gave the bailiff 24 hours to remove the clamp. The bailiff refused and the following day the debtor applied for an injunction. The forum owner 'drafted' all the legal documentation for the debtor (naturally for a fee).

He was 'advised' to include in his injunction that his vehicle was used to transport a disabled person and was considered 'exempt' given that the debtors used the vehicle for his employment and most importantly; that the vehicle was subject to hire purchase.

As with all injunctions, (which are emergency applications) the court agreed to the request for the bailiff to remove the wheel clamp and then listed the case for a full hearing 3 weeks later.

At the hearing (last week) the enforcement company and local authority were represented by solicitors. The judge dismissed the point about the car being used to transport a disabled person given that the car had not been displaying a blue badge at the time of the clamping. The Judge also dismissed the point about the vehicle being used for self employment.

On the important point about the car being on hire purchase the Judge stated that he was satisfied that the debtor still had an 'interest' in the vehicle.

PS: A bad decision by the judge but the decision to take such a case to an injunction was even worse.

The debtor was ordered to pay the the debt to the enforcement company of £1,100 and he was also ordered to pay the enforcement company and local authorities legal costs of £3,200.


Bailiff Advice Online

sourcrates

Herbie21 wrote: »

On the important point about the car being on hire purchase the Judge stated that he was satisfied that the debtor still had an 'interest' in the vehicle.
Bailiff Advice Online

The debtor must of already paid off a considerable amount of the finance in order for the judge to rule in this way, so his interest must of been more than the finance companies, you would assume.

Herbie21

sourcrates wrote: »

The debtor must of already paid off a considerable amount of the finance in order for the judge to rule in this way, so his interest must of been more than the finance companies, you would assume.

Correct, but the Judge did not see it that way at all !!!

The decision is a crazy one (but so too was the decision to issue an injunction). The debtor had made a downpayment of about £4k and had only made payments under the hire purchase agreement for 6 months.

He will not be appealing given that he risks further costs.

jsr85

Hi, sorry to jump on your thread! If a CGA for a vehicle is not signed but they take down the details anyway what would be the next steps? Can they clamp it on a driveway or just a public road? Currently trying to sort out with the council direct but had a visit off a bloke while out today and neighbour witnessed him entering back garden by semi secure gate so becoming alarmed now! Only thing of value is my car which I need for commuting