Bailiffs will come under stricter regulations
April 4, 2008
In a recent announcement the Ministry of Justice has announced that it will be bringing in stricter regulations and standard by which bailiffs are going to have to abide.
This comes amidst concerns that unscrupulous bailiffs are using unprofessional, aggressive, and bullying tactics to try and get money from consumers that are in debt and have fallen behind on repayments.
As part of the new regulations bailiffs will have to undergo more training, will need to pass certain courses and gain qualifications, and will have to be more professional in their approach.
One industry profession said that bailiffs had not right to use violence and bullying, stating: “People have a right to recover their debts, but no-one should have the right to threaten, bully or intimidate.”
The Citizen’s Advice Bureau stated that they often see or hear about cases where bailiffs have acted inappropriately, stating: “We regularly see cases of bailiffs misrepresenting their powers, acting in an abusive or aggressive manner, pressurising people into paying lump sums they cannot afford, and imposing excessive fees that can drive already vulnerable people deeper into poverty and debt.”
A CAB official added: “Bailiffs visited a woman with restricted mobility who had penalty charge notice and council tax debts. The woman let the Bailiffs into her kitchen where they pushed her arm behind her back and pushed her against the kitchen wall, knocking over a hot kettle and breaking her arm.”
Written by Peter · Filed Under News Debt
What a load of crap, more rubbish from the CAB, where’s the evidence? what is it that people dont understand if they don’t pay council tax, parking fines, the costs are higher for all of us. I agree that some parking fines,costs and enforcement is unfair. But counil tax other public debts should be paid, how many CAB cases state that their clients can’t pay but have 50 inch hdtv’s, or in a case I was involved with. I went to the client and asked for her Council Tax, to be told” I’m not paying that I’m going on a cruise for two weeks” This person had not bothered to pay her council tax for 2 years. So money doesn’t come in and bills for the rest of us then go UP!. I exxplained that I would be waiting with an arrest warrant when she got back( which would have been true) and funnily enough she paid 2 days later and still went on the cruise( i know this because she told me). I dont believe this case from the CAB, what I don’t disagree with, is that there needs to be more supervision over how some bailiffs operate. There should be no bailiffs on pay for results there should be fixed wages,
This would allow bailiffs more flexibility in dealing with clients and ensure they get eqaulity across the board. I have never been physical with a client nor have I used bad or abusive language to my clients, if anything its been the other way round. There should be no private bailiff firms they should all be under direct control of the courts or local government. But as a bailiff who has worked for both the private and public sector, I have found that you get more flexibility to help people deal with there debts as a local authority representative. Because the pressure to get out there and make your quota to get your cut is taken off you and you can take time to explain things and do things properly ie,if you don’t pay you can take proper action through the courts and do it right rather then using what could be termed dubious intimidating methods.