ANOTHER council tax dodger has been jailed – this time for 29 days – after failing to pay more than £3,900 in council tax.
Grimsby Magistrates Court heard that Deborah Jacombe, 38, of Willingham Street, Grimsby, had been given repeated chance to pay, but locked her up after she failed to pay off her debt of £3,902, which she racked up during the period between November 1996 and March past year.
As reported, Jacombe's jailing is the latest in a clampdown on those who fail to pay their council tax, which has seen seven people jailed in the last year.
Among the latest cases are those of Paul Sharp, 46, of Brereton Avenue, Cleethorpes, who was jailed for 23 days last month after failing to stump up £1,300 in missed payments. And, in September, Grimsby Magistrates imposed an 84-day jail term on Julie Butler, 45, of Pamela Close, Immingham, who owed almost £3,000 in council tax debt.
In Jacombe's case, she had originally been told to appear in court in May 2005, but she failed to attend the hearing and a warrant was issued. She evaded the bailiffs who wanted to serve the warrant for four years. Eventually, Jacombe attended court in September 2009 when her debt totaled just under £2,500, on six liability orders. She was ordered to pay £50 a week, backed by a 45-day suspended sentence.
Jacombe failed to keep to the order and in June 2009 she was told to attend court again.
North East Lincolnshire Council adjourned her case four more times after she gave excuses not to attend, but she eventually appeared on August 18, 2010 after a warrant was issued.
A new order of £20 a week was later made, backed with a 50-day suspended sentence, while magistrates wiped out £850 of court fines to help her pay off the debt.
Once again, Jacombe failed to stick to the order and, on May 4 this year, it was revised to £40 per week, backed by a 33-day suspended sentence.
She was made aware that this would be her final chance to pay and failure to do so would mean that the suspended sentence would be activated and she would be jailed.
At the most recent hearing – her 17th since 2005 – the court heard that she had paid £430 since her last appearance – but she should have paid £1,200.
Clint Chambers, mitigating, said Jacombe now realised the severity of her situation and asked that she be given one last chance to make payments to the order.
However, deputy district judge Helen Cousins told Jacombe that she had been given many chances over the years and that the gravity of the situation would have been explained to her on more than one occasion – yet she had still failed to make payments.
After the hearing, Councillor Darren Billard, portfolio holder for finance, governance and support services at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: "This is the seventh case in the past 12 months where someone has been jailed for not paying their council tax.
"The defendant was given every opportunity to pay her way but failed time and again to keep to the reasonable arrangements we made with her through the court.
"We do what we can to help anybody who can't pay and take action against those who won't. It's not fair that other law-abiding council tax payers are footing the bill while others shirk their responsibilities and we'll take a firm stance against anyone who continually refuses to pay."
Crime news for Grimsby and North East Lincolnshire
