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HomeColumnsJasmine's ColumnFinally bailiffs to be properly regulated…we hope!
Jasmine's Column

Finally bailiffs to be properly regulated…we hope!

February 19, 2012

Jasmine Birtles

Bailiffs have got away with genuinely illegal practices for years and I really hope that the latest announcement from the Justice Minister, Jonathan Djanogly, works. Apparently there is to be a major legal overhaul of the bailiff industry and they are consulting with public advice people and the bailiff industry to find ways to force legal practices only. 

For far too long there has been no formal protection against aggressive bailiffs. We’ve got a lot of information here about what to do if the bailiffs knock.  They don’t have anything like the powers they often claim to have.
Now the government says it will stamp out rogue practices by introducing a number of legal reforms.
 
The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation which sets out how ethical activity should be enshrined in law so bailiffs can continue to enforce the payment of debts and fines. 
 
The information they have sent out says “the consultation will set out proposals which will aim to:
  • prohibit the use of force against a person with safeguards to protect children
  • remodel and clarify the complaints process available to the debtor
  • create minimum entry standards and certification process to ensure bailiffs are fit to operate
  • set out when and how a bailiff can enter a property
  • set out to whom and under what circumstances reasonable force to enter premises will be available
  • make clear which items an enforcement agent may not take from someone’s home; and
  • make clear what fees bailiffs can charge for the range of debts that they collect for local government, courts and businesses.”
As they point out, bailiffs play an important role in both the economy and the justice system. Without them creditors would not be able to lend and it would make it hard for the courts to work. If you’ve ever lent a large amount of money to someone who has refused to pay it back, you will know how important it is to have some sort of redress!
The problem is with bad bailiffs who are nasty and bullying to everyone. They need to be stopped. Let’s hope these new measures actually work when they are put into practice.

One Response to “Finally bailiffs to be properly regulated…we hope!”

  1. Kate says:
    February 21, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    The new regs look pretty toothless to me. I asked the council for an interim council tax bill as my flat was between tenants. I asked twice and gave the address to send it to. TWICE!

    Only the council sent it to an address I hadn’t lived at in years. By which time they had handed over my £37 bill to the bailiffs, who wanted £125 on top for the privilege of calling me a liar when I said I had no idea what they were talking about.

    They didn’t care, the council didn’t care but I was £125 worse off because of someone else’s incompetence. It left me in tears in my hallway just sitting on the floor, wiped out after they’d left. And I was in the right!

    If you owe money I get that it needs to be repaid, but if you do and you can’t pay it back imagine the stress you would be under. I can’t imagine anyone having any fight left in them or the where with all to remember their rights.

    My experience of bailiffs is that they are a bunch of thugs – on the phone and at your door. Men and women, both were incredibly rude, arrogant and dismissive. They refused to even check if what I was saying was right or not. Just commission driven thugs.

    Reply

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