Enforcement Agent - Late Payment

rangout

Can anyone help with this?


I have a debt with my council that has been passed onto Jacobs Enforcement. I am working with a charity to pay off what I owe to them and others


So far, we agreed a set amount to be paid each month, which has been paid, BUT....the money was paid on the 26th of Jan, but they claimed it should have been paid on the 21st. In their opinion, I have broken the agreement (their words). They have given me 24 hours to pay up, or they will begin removal proceedings


As I said, I am working with a charity to pay off my debts and they are dealing with it on my behalf (I pay them a lump sum, and they pay my creditors with it). It's all going as agreed, but the Enforcement Agency won't listen to reason, and appear to only want to deal with me direct. They aren't listening either, they want the total amount in 24 hours or it's being escalated


I know about rights of access, etc. but can they start the process because of this? We were under the impression they were happy with the payment, and they have acknowledged the money was paid, just not when they claim they wanted it. I'm also concerned they're using this as an excuse to put another £235 onto the charge. Can they legally do this?


Sorry for the long winded post, but I think they are at it

National_Debtline

Hi rangout


Enforcement agents (also known as bailiffs) tend to be strict on the payment date, and if a payment is late they will say you have defaulted. What date did you actually agree with them the payment was due by?


You may now find it difficult to get a plan back in place, but as long as they haven't already listed any of your goods, they can't force entry. Keep your doors locked and car hidden (if you have one).


The £235 enforcement fee can only be added once, and no further fees should be added after that as long as they don't remove your goods. It's best to continue making your payment, even if they say they are not happy with it. As it's council tax, make sure you can show you are prioritising it over any non priority debts, like unsecured credit debts.


Susie
@natdebtline

rangout

Thanks for the response. The charity set up the payment agreement on my behalf, so I dont know what dates were set

The first payment was 27th December, but they have complained about the 26th January payment. They are ignoring the charities calls, and trying to speak to me directly

National_Debtline

Hi again


It's worth checking with the charity what the agreed date was. You can raise a complaint with the bailiff company directly if the payment was not later than agreed. Or if you prefer ask the charity to do it in writing for you.


Don't forget the council employs the bailiff and is responsible for their actions, so raise the same complaint with them too. Good luck with it.


Susie
@natdebtline

CIS

Where an outside agency/charity was used by a person to make payment then late payment was probably the main issue that would crop up. No matter how many times you told some of them they would still pay late every month and put the debtor at risk of further enforcement.

Ultimately the responsibility for payment rests with yourself so if the charity are apparently paying late then you need to go back to them and see what they have regarding the instalment dates - they should have a record of what was agreed.

rangout

Just got another text from them. They are threatening a second visit today, and will be adding more costs to the total. They did this before, failed to show but still added.the £235 on

CIS

rangout wrote: »

Just got another text from them. They are threatening a second visit today, and will be adding more costs to the total. They did this before, failed to show but still added.the £235 on

If a £235 fee has already been added then, unless they actually remove goods for a sale, there won't be any more fees for the same liability order.

System

Just to add that whilst most creditors will deal with a debt charting none of them have any legal requirement to so if some of them refuse to or the collection agencies refuse to then you will still have to deal with them direct so in this respect the enforcement agency are correct and within their legal rights.

I'm just pointing that out as many people seem to be under a mistaken belief that once you're in a DMP such as one arranged on your behalf by Stepchange etc that creditors have to abide by it and can only deal with whoever is managing the DMP.