JBW Group Ltd.
Any action with a bailiff or enforcement agency can be both stressful and worrying. If you’ve recently received a letter from JBW Group about a forthcoming visit to your home or work, you should be prepared by understanding your rights and what you can expect from their visit.
We can explain what a bailiff can and can’t do, what they can take and can’t, and some of the things you can do to protect yourself.
The best advice we can give you, though, is to deal with the debt issue and remove the stresses of a visit altogether.
Our resident debt expert, TAD, is ready and waiting to help you get out of debt and stay out of debt too.
The golden rule when dealing with the bailiffs
Never give bailiffs access to your home or your belongings.
In simple terms: DON’T LET THEM IN.
The bailiff’s main priority is going to be get access to your home and belongings. Only when they’re inside can they start cataloguing your valuables.
Your best plan of attack is to keep them outside until you’ve come to an agreement that’s suitable for everyone involved, which means dealing with your debt problem.
Until you’ve got things under control, here are some useful contact details and a few tips of how to deal with the JBW bailiffs.
JBW Group contact details:
Company Name: JBW Group Ltd.
Other Names: JBW Group, JBW Judicial Services Group, JBW Enforcement, JBW Collection, JBW
Address:
Suite 12b The Beehive
Lingfield Point
Darlington
DL1 1YN
Main Contact Number(s): 0330 107 0023
Fax: 0844 576 3621
Website: www.jbwgroup.co.uk
Email: info@jbwgroup.co.uk
Opening hours:
Monday–Sunday: 8:00am–8:00pm
Who is the JBW Group?
The JBW Group was founded in 2004. They are a trusted collections and enforcement partner to the UK Government. They are also unpaid penalty recovery experts for councils and commercial debt.
The JWB Group includes Collect Services, Court Enforcement Services, Phoenix Commercial Collections and Rundles & Co., each of which is a specialist in their field.
The Ministry of Justice regulates all bailiffs and enforcement agencies.
Why would JBW contact you?
JBW is employed to recover debts for local authority and commercial clients.
Those include:
- Council tax
- Non-domestic rates
- Parking and traffic debt recovery
- Former tenant arrears
- Housing benefit overpayment
- Commercial rent arrears
- Forfeiture of commercial leases
If a JBW enforcement agent or bailiff is employed to recover money that you owe, they have the right to remove things that belong to you, if they think they are worth selling to pay towards your debt.
They can’t take anything and everything though. They are bound by law only to take specific items.
They must leave you with the day-to-day items that you need to live. This includes your ‘white goods’ appliances: cooker, fridge, freezer, washing machine, etc., clothes and food, your landline and mobile phone.
They can take your TV and luxury goods though; this includes your jewellery, designer clothes and shoes, antiques, games consoles and electrical items that aren’t considered a necessity. They can also take any cash you have.
For a full guide of what they are allowed to take from you, talk to TAD today.
What happens to the goods JBW Group take from you?
If you manage to organise a suitable way to repay what you owe, you should get all of your belongings back. If you don’t, then your items will be sold as part payment towards your debt and the costs of its recovery.
If you want to keep your belongings safe, your best option is to work with the bailiff to repay the outstanding money.
If the bailiff’s terms are too high for you, we can help find you more manageable terms. There are several ways to do this, and TAD knows them all.
In the meantime, and you’ve got until the visit date shown on your notice letter, if you can move your valuables and treasured items out of the house to be stored at another location, the bailiffs won’t have access to them.
They’ll need to make a list of what they plan to take before removing anything you own. This is called a Controlled Goods Agreement, and it can only feature the things they can find.
What happens when JBW Enforcement want to take your car?
The bailiff in charge of your case will go to whatever lengths they need to, to confiscate your car. Our cars are often our most valuable assets and can go a long way to paying off problem debt.
However, that doesn’t mean you should hand it over willingly.
There are a few things you can do to keep your vehicle out of the bailiff’s hands.
They will only have access to a car on your property or in public access spaces. If you can park yours on a neighbour’s drive or in their garage, this should prevent the bailiff from taking it. If they do remove it from private property, you could be entitled to prosecute them for breaking the laws that govern them.
They can’t take a disabled driver’s car (one with a Blue Disabled Badge), nor can they confiscate any vehicle still under a hire purchase agreement.
Whatever you do, you must never try and remove a clamp that the bailiff has fixed to your car. You will be subject to fines for breaking the law; you could even face prison time.
Bailiff’s fees
Enforcement agencies issue charges as outlined by the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014.
They are considered relatively high for the work they involve. For example, as soon as the court allocates your case, you will receive an enforcement notice that comes with a fee of £75. If the bailiffs visit you, you will be charged another one-off fee of £235.
As you can see, those fees will soon add up to make your debt even harder to manage and take much longer to repay.
The best way to avoid additional costs is to deal with the problem as soon as possible and find a method of repayment you can comfortably afford.
If you’ve been contacted by JBW Group and need some help or advice, talk to TAD today. Support from our trusted debt advice partners will help you determine the state of your debt to be certain you do owe the money, or if it has been statute barred.
If they can challenge the debt, they will make sure you don’t have to pay them a penny.
If, however, the debt is live, then they can help you find a debt solution that suits your circumstances to help regain control of your finances.
Your debt solution will allow you to repay what you owe with monthly payments based on what you can realistically afford each month.
For help dealing with your debt, talk to TAD to be connected with one of our trusted debt partners.
