Councils using aggressive enforcement and bailiffs to recover debts, says charity | M

[Legal Beagles]

Councils are taking court action and using bailiffs to recover people’s debts, rather than helping arrange affordable payment options, a debt charity has said. Enforcement action “appears to be the norm, not a last resort”, said StepChange on Monday, after a survey of its clients found that even after speaking to their council about their […]
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[Kati]

Re: Councils using aggressive enforcement and bailiffs to recover debts, says charity

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Mike O’Connor, chief executive of StepChange, said: “It is shocking that many councils are less likely to be helpful to people in debt than banks are, and are more likely to take people to court.”

He added: “Councils need to pursue debts but they must have a responsible and proportionate approach to dealing with people in arrears and not default to aggressive enforcement that often only serves to deepen debt problems.”

StepChange said councils were under pressure to collect tax, and were named and shamed based on these rates, but a fall in collection rates in 2013-14 suggested tough enforcement action was not working.

It calls for changes to the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 to force councils to provide evidence that they have tried to pursue an affordable repayment plan, and for consumers to get protection against enforcement of unaffordable repayments if they are seeking help with their debts.

[Crazy council]

Re: Councils using aggressive enforcement and bailiffs to recover debts, says charity

thanks for that, riught up my street, i will send step change the real figures around what they are saying