Bailiff Support Team is not affiliated with Jacobs Enforcement and this page is not their official website. It describes the rules that apply to any enforcement agent in England and Wales.
- On the ECB register
- Yesaccredited since October 2023
- Notice before a first visit
- 14 clear daysrequired by law
- Forced entry to a home
- Court fines onlynot for council tax or parking
- Fee for a first visit
- £247set by regulations
Who Jacobs are
Jacobs Enforcement is one of the three companies GOV.UK names as Approved Enforcement Agencies for magistrates’ court fines in England and Wales.
Companies House shows Jacobs Enforcement Limited registered at 6 Europa Boulevard, Birkenhead. The Enforcement Conduct Board’s register lists Equita Limited and Ross & Roberts Limited at the same address.
Jacobs also collects council tax. South Ribble Borough Council and Chorley Council both say they use Jacobs to recover unpaid council tax, and Windsor and Maidenhead lists it among its enforcement agents.
The Enforcement Conduct Board lists Jacobs Enforcement Ltd at 6 Europa Boulevard, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH41 4PE. Jacobs Enforcement Limited is registered at Companies House under company number 15480247.
Is a Jacobs letter genuine?
Jacobs Enforcement is a real company. That does not make every message carrying its name real. HM Courts and Tribunals Service has warned about fraudsters who pose as enforcement agents and ask for payment by bank transfer.
- Contact details on a letter or text can be checked against the company’s own website, jacobsenforcement.com, before they are used.
- A genuine Notice of Enforcement is in writing. It names the creditor, identifies the debt, gives a reference number and sets out the amount and the fees.
- An individual agent can be looked up on the Certificated Enforcement Agent Register.
- The creditor named on the notice, such as the council or the court, can confirm whether it has passed a debt to the company.
How to check a bailiff is genuine
What Jacobs collects
The Notice of Enforcement names the creditor and the type of debt in each case.
What Jacobs agents can and cannot do
Jacobs’s agents have exactly the powers the law gives every enforcement agent in England and Wales, and no others.
The rules allow them to
- Visit between 6am and 9pm on any day, after a Notice of Enforcement that gave at least 14 clear days.
- Come into a home through an unlocked door, or if someone lets them in.
- Take control of goods and vehicles that belong to the person named on the order.
- Use reasonable force to enter a home when enforcing a magistrates’ court fine. GOV.UK describes that as a last resort.
- Add the statutory fees.
The rules do not allow them to
- Force entry to a home for council tax, a parking penalty or a court judgment on a first visit. That power is limited to court fines.
- Come in when the only person present is a child under 16 or a vulnerable person.
- Take protected household items, or work equipment worth up to £1,350 in total.
- Take goods that belong to someone else.
- Refuse to show identification and their authority when asked.
What bailiffs can and cannot do
Rather talk it through with someone? Request a call
The fees Jacobs can add
For council tax, traffic penalties, business rates and court fines the statutory fees are £79 when the Notice of Enforcement is sent, £247 on a first visit and £116 if goods are removed for sale. On debts above £1,900, 7.5% of the amount over £1,900 is added at the visit stage and again at the sale stage.
These figures are set by regulations and are the same whichever company is instructed. They rose on 1 May 2026. Work out the fees on a debt
Contacting Jacobs
| Published details | |
|---|---|
| Number given by South Ribble and Chorley councils | 0345 601 2692 |
| Website | jacobsenforcement.com |
| Address on the ECB register | 6 Europa Boulevard, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH41 4PE |
Bailiff Support Team is not Jacobs and cannot take payments or discuss a case on its behalf.
Complaining about Jacobs
To Jacobs
Every accredited firm has to have a complaints procedure. Jacobs’s is available from the company.
To the creditor
The council, court or other body that passed the debt on remains responsible for how it is collected, and can be complained to at the same time.
To the Enforcement Conduct Board
Because Jacobs is accredited, a complaint that the firm has not resolved can go to the Board. Its time limit is 3 months from the incident, or 1 month from the firm’s final response.
How to complain about a bailiff
When the debt cannot be paid in full
- An enforcement firm can agree a payment arrangement. It does not have to.
- The creditor can take a case back, for example where someone is vulnerable.
- A debt advice provider can ask for the notice period to be extended to 28 clear days, if it asks before the first 14 run out.
- Breathing Space covers most debts but not magistrates’ court fines.
Which of these fits is a question for a debt adviser. The ways enforcement can be paused or ended
Common questions
Is Jacobs a real bailiff company?
Yes. Jacobs Enforcement Ltd appears on the Enforcement Conduct Board’s register of accredited firms, with accreditation dating from October 2023. Jacobs Enforcement Limited is registered at Companies House under number 15480247. That confirms the company exists. It does not confirm that a particular letter, text or call is really from it.
Can Jacobs force entry?
Only when enforcing a magistrates’ court fine, where reasonable force can be used to enter a home as a last resort. For council tax, parking penalties and other civil debts there is no power to force entry to a home on a first visit. The £247 enforcement stage fee is added on that visit all the same, and a vehicle outside can still be clamped.
Are Jacobs court bailiffs?
No. Jacobs is a private company. It is approved to enforce magistrates’ court fines for HM Courts and Tribunals Service, so its agents may be acting on a court warrant, but they are not court employees.
What happens if a Jacobs letter is ignored?
The same as with any enforcement firm. Once the notice period has passed an agent can visit, and the £247 enforcement fee is added on the first attendance whether or not anyone answers. Goods outside the home, such as a vehicle, can be taken into control.
What time can Jacobs bailiffs visit?
Between 6am and 9pm, on any day of the week. Those hours are set by regulations and apply to every enforcement company.
Want to talk it through with someone?
Tell us where things are up to and one of our team will call to talk it through. A debt adviser then explains the options. There is no obligation to go any further.
Speak to someone now on 0161 660 0876
We do not charge for speaking to you. If you choose a debt solution, you are referred to one of our trusted debt solution providers, and we receive a fee if you enter into an agreement with one of them. A debt solution may have fees, which are explained before anything is agreed.
Free debt advice is available
These organisations give free, impartial debt advice and are independent of Bailiff Support Team. Nobody has to use a paid or commercial service to get help with their debts, and using one of the free services does not reduce the options available. Their advisers can also ask an enforcement firm to extend a notice period or apply for Breathing Space where it fits.
- MoneyHelperGovernment-backed. Finds a free debt adviser nearby or online.
- StepChange Debt CharityFree debt advice online and by phone.
- Citizens AdviceDetailed help with bailiffs, online and in person.
- National DebtlineFree advice and sample letters, run by the Money Advice Trust.
Sources
- Enforcement Conduct Board: Accredited Firms Register
- Companies House: Jacobs Enforcement Limited (15480247)
- South Ribble Borough Council: Council Tax enforcement (bailiffs)
- GOV.UK: Bailiff powers when they visit your home
- Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12
- Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, Schedule (fee tables)
- HM Courts & Tribunals Service: Guidance on bailiff and enforcement officer scam
- Enforcement Conduct Board: Making a complaint