Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

[Guest]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

£3.65 is the maximum that can deducted from benefits. There is no maximum if a debtor offers to make monthly payments.

Of course there is a maximum. In practice, it will usually be deducted fortnightly (£7) but you would have to be extremely pedantic to refuse £14 per month, especially if charges are being made for card transactions.

You would have no grounds for a formal complaint if the council refuse to take the debt back either. In fact, I will tell you now, there is no chance whatsoever of the debt being taken back so that is something else the OP can save themselves a lot of trouble.

There is no need for an I&E breakdown at this stage either. Proof of receipt of benefits should be enough to secure payments of £14 per month. All that needs to be done at this stage though is a short letter to Jacobs, as per post #10. If they want to waste further time asking for proof of benefits then that's up to them.

[bizzybob]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

Jacobs will do all they can to add the £235 before an attachment to benefits can be arranged. They are a particularly nasty bunch of bullies, so send that short letter as suggested by LB ASAP.

[suicidal]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

Ok people update on whats happened today -

I visited council - A new governing section to the council from 12pm 10/02/2014 - Council can now take the debt back from debtors with attachment of earning. This was explained to me by a council agent it applies for whole of UK. She simply requested debt back and made an attachment to earning their and then. It's weekly pavements of 5% of your monthly benefits entitlement for original liability order debt.

Additional interest if anyone wishes to request their data from council, emails/addresses can be found on there .Gov site under FOI.

And lastly this section posted by Big Al is extremely useful-

13(a) of the Local Government Finance Act which says:
(1) Where a person is liable to pay council tax in respect of any chargeable dwelling and any day, the billing authority for the area in which the dwelling is situated may reduce the amount which he is liable to pay as respects the dwelling and the day to such extent as it thinks fit.
(2) The power under subsection (1) above includes power to reduce an amount to nil.
(3) The power under subsection (1) may be exercised in relation to particular cases or by determining a class of case in which liability is to be reduced to an extent provided by the determination.

This is basically a discretionary hardship payment for people in exceptional circumstances which may come in useful for some people, your local council will give you a 3 page form to fill out and apply.

I would just like to say thank you for everyone's help!

[Guest]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

That is good news-Well done.

I have one question for you, you state that you will be paying back the original liability order debt. Does this mean that you are not paying the £75 compliance fees?

[bizzybob]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

I have a feeling the £75 will stay, as it is automatically applied when the account is sent to a bailiff, if sent erroneously I believe it can be removed, but even under vulnerability when an account is recalled and the £25 Enforcement fee removed, the Compliance fee is still payable. Other Beagles will know more.

[Guest]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

I agree in principal, but the wording in the post suggests that its just the amount of the original liability. Obviously, this subject has been the focus of great scrutiny in recent weeks and I believe that it is commonly accepted that there is no provision for fees to be added once the enforcement power has ceased. This is why it is so rare for a debt to be taken back. I'm sure you are aware that even in cases of great vulnerability, councils usually refuse to take debts back.

Technically, Jacobs could ask for the council to reimburse them the compliance fees but I don't think they will somehow. A very interesting (and also very rare) scenario.

[suicidal]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

I was told by council agent I would have to pay back original LO, I was given a stamped receipt saying "Request to return from bailiff deduct from benefits. I will update when I receive next letter with breakdowns.

I'm not sure how the compliance charge will stay on if the debt collectors bought LO for pennies & adds compliance, if the council then buy debt back with added compliance does this mean the debt collector has made the compliance as profit??? Seems like a profiteering merry go round to me with the council handing out free money to debt collectors....Because I was told the debt goes back to council anyway after debt collectors give up chasing....So the debt was always going to go back to council so begs the question why do councils even sell the debt in first place.

[Guest]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

The council did not sell the debt. They asked Jacobs to collect it on their behalf. It was always the councils debt which is why any complaint should have been addressed to them-They are always responsible for it and also the actions of any agents collecting it.

Jacobs would argue that they have done the work that has prompted you to contact the council and set up a plan. They are lawfully entitled to charge £75 for each account that they have written to you about. They have processed both accounts and written to you more than once regarding them. It would not be unreasonable to expect payment for this work, especially as the law states that they should be paid.

It is almost unheard of for a council to take back a debt without very good reason. There is no provision for adding the bailiff charges to the AOB. I don't think they can add the fees so look out for this when you get your breakdown.

[suicidal]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

Ok update.

Very underhand approach by Jacobs yesterday, they sent me a letter ` Removal 7 day notice`. Considering I live a mile away from their office the letter was dated 5 days before it arrived at my address.
I sent them a Email/letter and phone call making them aware the council are asking for debt to be returned.
I was told by Jacobs representative the compliance charge stays on debt when returned to council.

I suppose my next question, can I ask for council to remove compliance charge....As the two debts have now quadrupled from original sum taking into account court costs liability costs and compliance fees.....Talk about beating someone down and keeping them down...Dreading how I'm going to manage paying my next council tax demand...

[Big Al]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

I was told by Jacobs representative the compliance charge stays on debt when returned to council.

I suppose my next question, can I ask for council to remove compliance charge

Bunch of shysters. Not true - when the warrant is returned, the fees are removed. No if's, no but's. Just let them play their boring little game. Don't even respond to them.

[Guest]

Re: Jacobs are going crackers over council tax i owe.

That would explain why the council took the debt back so readily. However, they have told you that they are seeking only the amount that was on the original liability order. I would ignore anything Jacobs say from this point onwards-They are no longer involved in this case and their input is meaningless.

I would contact the council in writing and ask what the total amount to be repaid under the order is. If it includes fees, write back asking what regulation permits them to include the fees. If there is still a problem after that, post back the details.