Jacobs Enforcement Agents Debt – Should You Pay?
For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.
For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.
Are you worried about a surprise letter from Jacobs Enforcement Agents? You’re not alone. In fact, over 170,000 people visit our site each month to make sense of debt problems.
This article is here to guide you:
- Discover if the debt truly belongs to you.
- Understand if Jacobs Enforcement Agents are real.
- Learn how to deal with them if you can’t afford to pay.
- Find out your rights, including if they can enter your home.
- Explore ways to reduce or clear your debt.
We know how it feels to be chased for money you might not owe or can’t pay. Especially when research shows that nearly half of the people who deal with debt collection agencies have experienced harassment or aggression1.
Don’t worry. We’re here to help you understand how to deal with Jacobs Enforcement.
Why are Jacobs Enforcement Agents contacting you?
Debt collectors like Jacobs Enforcement Agents are, unfortunately, not particularly unusual, and they may seem relentless in their pursuit to get you to pay up!
This is down to the fact that they buy the debt from the original creditor, sometimes for as little as 20% of the face value, and they need to make this money back.
Unless you make payments, they will have lost money, so they are on a mission to get you to pay up!
The contact from debt collectors can almost cross the line to harassment, and if this is the case, you can report them and get help with dealing with their tactics.
» TAKE ACTION NOW: Fill out the short debt form
Find out if the debt is yours
The first thing you want to understand is whether this debt is yours.
If it’s not, you should not make any attempts to pay it.
The best way to get confirmation, and peace of mind, is by asking Jacobs Bailiffs Debt Collectors for a copy of the credit agreement.
They should be able to provide this without any issues.
How a debt solution could help
Some debt solutions can:
- Stop nasty calls from creditors
- Freeze interest and charges
- Reduce your monthly payments
A few debt solutions can even result in writing off some of your debt.
Here’s an example:
Situation
| Monthly income | £2,504 |
| Monthly expenses | £2,345 |
| Total debt | £32,049 |
Monthly debt repayments
| Before | £587 |
| After | £158 |
£429 reduction in monthly payments
If you want to learn what debt solutions are available to you, click the button below to get started.
How to deal with Jacobs Debt Collectors
When dealing with debt collectors, it is important to keep a cool head, even if you don’t particularly like the way they are behaving.
In our experience, one of the worst things that you can do is to ignore them. Regular communication with Jacobs will help prevent any further legal action.
Keep in mind that Janine, our financial expert, explained that while debt collectors can visit your home for payments, they cannot come to your workplace, act threateningly, force payment, or discuss your finances with others.
If they violate these rules, you can complain.
Explain your situation
Jacobs Bailiffs Debt Collectors agents will probably try to talk you into making payments which you may not be able to afford.
It is important that you stick to your guns, and don’t end up leaving yourself without any money.
If they try to threaten you, you should not listen as the threats are usually empty. Make sure you explain what your finances are looking like and when/if you will be able to make payments.
Any negotiating with Jacobs Enforcement Agents is always worth a shot as you may be able to lower the final amount that you repay.
Debt collection agencies buy billions of debt annually at rock bottom prices – at an average of 10p to £12, which means that there’s a good chance that they’ll agree to negotiate with you as long as they can still make a profit from what you pay them.
Devise a suitable plan
Obviously, the best course of action is to pay the full debt off to get Jacobs Bailiffs Debt Collectors off your back, but that isn’t always feasible.
If you can’t pay it back, the next step is a partial payment, and following this, you can set up a repayment plan, where you pay a certain amount each month until the debt is fully paid off.
If you negotiate with Jacobs Bailiffs, you must ensure you get any agreement you make in writing before you make any payment.
Keeping hold of this agreement and maintaining good records of your dealings with them will put you in the best position should any disputes arise down the road.
If you are struggling to consistently afford monthly payments, you may want to consider a more formal debt solution.
The right solution could take years off your debt repayments but the wrong one could have your situation become worse.
What is abusive behaviour?
The debt collectors don’t need to be cursing and swearing at you for it to be seen as abuse, they may just keep calling you on a loop or fail to listen when you say that you can’t afford to pay.
This could still be seen as harassment, and you may be entitled to make a complaint.
Do not let debt collectors speak to you in a derogatory manner or try to make you feel like you need to pay when you can’t afford it. Behaviour of this sort is a clear breach of the OFT guidelines.
If in doubt, tell them that you will report them to the Financial Ombudsman.
The Financial Ombudsman is available to speak to on 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9123
Can they discuss your debt with others?
The long and short of it is no, they can’t speak to other people about your debt. If they do this, they are breaching both OFT guidelines, and other privacy laws.
If you are aware of this behaviour, and wish to report them, you can do this via the Financial Ombudsman on 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9123
Know Your Rights
Debt Collectors are bound to specific rules of behavior, and they don’t possess the same authority as bailiffs.
Knowing your rights and those of the debt collectors visiting you is key to having an edge over the situation and preventing being taken advantage of.
Please check out our related article on the topic and take a look at the summarized table below:
| Debt Collectors Can | But They Can’t |
|---|---|
| Contact you by phone or mail. | Call you after 9pm or before 8am. |
| Conduct home visits (on rare occasions) and knock on your door. | Forbily enter your home, or stay if you ask them to leave. |
| Threaten to take you to court by suing you for payment on a debt. | Harrass you, including threats of violence, repeated calls and visits, or abusive language. |
| Negotiate a debt settlement. Tip: make sure to get this new arrangement in writing. | Visit your workplace. |
| Access your bank account, but only after a court judgment has been made. | Take anything from your home or threaten to do so. |
| Sell your debt. | Speak to other people about your debt without your permission. |
| Contact you frequently. | Keep doing so if you request that they reduce communications. |
What if you can’t pay?
This most common dilemma for debtors is not being able to make the payment to Jacobs Bailiffs Debt Collectors.
They are contacting you relentlessly, but what if you need to tell them you can’t pay?
If this is the case, just ask them to set up a repayment plan and make monthly payments at an amount you can afford, until the debt is cleared.
Thousands have already tackled their debt
Every day our partners, The Debt Advice Service, help people find out whether they can lower their repayments and finally tackle or write off some of their debt.
Natasha
I’d recommend this firm to anyone struggling with debt – my mind has been put to rest, all is getting sorted.
Reviews shown are for The Debt Advice Service.
What is the difference between bailiffs and debt collectors?
On the surface, bailiffs and debt collectors seem similar but are actually very different.
The biggest difference is that a bailiff has the legal authority to collect a debt, but a debt collector does not.
A bailiff usually collects debts like council tax or child maintenance arrears, parking fines, or any County Court Judgements (CCJs). A debt collector, on the other hand, is an agent from a debt collection agency.
They do not have the authority to enter your home unless a CCJ has been brought against you.
Jacobs Enforcement agents are both debt collectors and certified bailiffs. This means that they have can have the legal authority to collect your debt on their own.
Bailiffs cannot force their way into your home and they cannot use a locksmith to let themselves in.
While they cannot force their way in, it is important to communicate with Jacobs Enforcement in some way. In our experience, they won’t come back if you arrange a repayment plan and stick to it.
Jacobs Enforcement Contact Details
References
Schedule 12, Tribunals, Courts and Enforcements Act, 2007
Part 1, Regulation 10, Certification of enforcement agents, 2014.
