Jacobs removal notice....

helenbc

Hi,


about 2 weeks ago I had a hand delivered letter that was a 48hour removal notice and the next day I had a 24hour one, this is in relation to outstanding council tax, I rang the council and they refused to discuss the matter and said you have to speak with Jacobs as the debt has been passed to them.
The letters said to contact the agent in charge immediately, I tried ringing several times, no one answered so I sent a text asking for them to contact me and again no reply so I just left it at that.


I then had a good read through many of other peoples problems on here and all said not to contact Jacobs and wait until it is passed back to the council to deal with it.


Today I have just had a letter that says 7 days removal notice and will be enforced with a warrant.


Do I continue to wait until the debt is sent back to the council or do I ring them as I don't want them breaking into my home.


I only work part time however I am seeking full time everyday looking and applying and have no way of paying a lump sum or even £50 off the debt at present, I've even resorted to applying for housing benefit today to stop the next lot of council tax ending up like this!


any help or advice will be greatly appreciated


many thanks in advance

sourcrates

Hi,
They cant break into your home, they can only enter if you let them in, something you should never do !!!!


They will attempt to collect a couple of times, if they cant, it usually gets passed back to the council.

helenbc

Also the amount has increased from £375 to £657.45 due to the debt being passed, is there a way to just pay the initial debt or will I have to pay Jacobs their charges?


I have a car not worth much a couple of hundred quid probably £50 at an auction, can they seize my car?

dancingfairy

See here: https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/02%20EW%20Council%20tax%20recovery/Default.aspx
for a factsheet on what bailiffs can and can't do and what they can and can't charge.
They can seize cars so it's best to move it as far away as you can until you get things sorted.
I'd be inclined to write (hard copy in the post) to the bailiffs asking for a breakdown of all charges on the account. Send a copy of the letter to the council as well. In it you should make it clear that you are not a 'won't pay' but that you can't afford it all in one go and can only afford a payment of x amount per month.
I think it is better to take the intiative and get writing rather than waiting for something to happen. It shows you are not hiding from the debt and are wiling to deal with it in a responsible way.
When setting out your payment proposal you will need to try and get it all paid off by April next year if you possibly can or else there is a danger you will get behind with next years payments and then get more charges and have to deal with the bailiffs again etc etc. If you have other debts it's worth consulting National Debtline or Stepchange or another free charity/institution as they can advise you on what debts need to be prioritised and can help you negotiate payment plans.
Good Luck
df

antonic

The statutory fees that Jacobs cab charge you are :

£75.00 for the enforcement letter

£235.00 for attending to remove goods under the T(aking) C(ontrol) of G(oods) Regulations.
(If the debt is over £1500.00 they can then charge 7.5% fee on the amount over £1500.00).

If they start removing goods its then a further £110 removal fee.

These are the statutory fees, they CAN charge more if they want.

The last thing they want to do is take your car (and any of your other goods) as it causes to much aggravation for them.

As DF has said negotiate a payment plan with them that you can stick to.

Good luck !.