Bailiff Reform - Taking Control Report

[Amethyst]

Read the full report -> https://www.bailiffreform.org/storag...rch%202017.pdf

Share your experience - >https://www.bailiffreform.org/



Concerns over the impact of the bailiff’s knock at the door have long been raised by debt advice agencies and other charities. Reforms to bailiff law in 2014 in England and Wales have had only limited success, and people in financial difficulty continue to report widespread problems with the behaviour of bailiffs and bailiff firms. Find out more about our Taking Control campaign for further reform.

You can use the map to see examples of the stories we hear on the front line of debt advice – and share your experience if you have been visited by a bailiff since April 2014.

If you need help with debt or are worried about a bailiff visit, seek free advice from an independent debt charity as soon as possible.

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[bizzybob]

Re: Bailiff Reform - Taking Control Report

Bailiffs are an anachronism, they belong in the past. The cases highlighted in the report do not cover the bailiffs with glory, rather they show that nothing has changed.

[leclerc]

Re: Bailiff Reform - Taking Control Report

I kinda agree that there should be an independent regulator. The problem with this is that someone has to pay for it. With the FOS the regulator for banks is paid by fees charged by banks. That would suggest that perhaps, bailiff companies would be against any idea of a regulatory independent body because they would have to pay.

Another point that they did make was about how quickly councils passed on debts to bailiffs. About 8 years ago I set out to do a study on how mortgage providers dealt with customers in financial hardship. I didn't get much response but the responses I did get from smaller mortgage providers was the sense that they were proud as how different they were than the big banks. Those big banks would start taking action on 2 months arrears whereas some lenders I spoke to were proud of the fact that people who were much further in arrears were brought back to within their mortgage agreement because they knew of the hardship and worked with the customer.

Maybe more localised incentives within the council to help with debt problems rather than palming it off to a bailiff who according to some of the reports are not always helpful or understanding.

[Milo]

Re: Bailiff Reform - Taking Control Report

I kinda agree that there should be an independent regulator. The problem with this is that someone has to pay for it. With the FOS the regulator for banks is paid by fees charged by banks. That would suggest that perhaps, bailiff companies would be against any idea of a regulatory independent body because they would have to pay.

I may well get shot down in flames but I am not persuaded about the need for an independent regulator.

Almost 4 million debts that are passed to bailiffs each year are for local authorities and as such, any complaints about bailiff enforcement are dealt with by the Local Government Ombudsman and are published online. There have been many such decisions in the past year (many of which I have published on here and elsewhere).

In the case of magistrate court fines, the Parliamentary Ombudsman is the correct route to deal with complaints.

[wales01man]

Re: Bailiff Reform - Taking Control Report

With the greatest respect to you MILO Bailiffs should be regulated as should any one with powers over people and as such should be answerable to scrutiny buy an independent body paid for by them but not controlled by them.
NOT I may add by anything to do with LGO the very people who have probably worked for the Councils that use Bailiffs This is the 21st century there are easier ways to get debtors to pay AOE AOB no need for bullies who threaten to take goods and harass those who are in debt.

[leclerc]

Re: Bailiff Reform - Taking Control Report

I may well get shot down in flames but I am not persuaded about the need for an independent regulator.

Almost 4 million debts that are passed to bailiffs each year are for local authorities and as such, any complaints about bailiff enforcement are dealt with by the Local Government Ombudsman and are published online. There have been many such decisions in the past year (many of which I have published on here and elsewhere).

In the case of magistrate court fines, the Parliamentary Ombudsman is the correct route to deal with complaints.

Page 14 covers your point in the report.

I don't need to shoot you down in flames cos the report(I think you need to read it a few times) kinda covers what you are saying. The basic gist is that there a multiple complaint routes rather than simply a two step approach such as banks. In that regards you complain to the bank and then you can go to the FOS within 8 weeks of the complaint.
With bailiffs it appears that there are multiple streams of complaint lines which, if you put it into a diagram, might look a little bit like Mr Tickle on the razz!!!

Do you know the numbers of complaints received out of those 4 million debts, how many were upheld, partially upheld or dismissed?

Do we have figures for local council, Parliamentary Ombudsman, Local Government Ombudsman and bailiff companies?

[leclerc]

Re: Bailiff Reform - Taking Control Report

Page 14 covers your point in the report.

I don't need to shoot you down in flames cos the report(I think you need to read it a few times) kinda covers what you are saying. The basic gist is that there a multiple complaint routes rather than simply a two step approach such as banks. In that regards you complain to the bank and then you can go to the FOS within 8 weeks of the complaint.
With bailiffs it appears that there are multiple streams of complaint lines which, if you put it into a diagram, might look a little bit like Mr Tickle on the razz!!!

Do you know the numbers of complaints received out of those 4 million debts, how many were upheld, partially upheld or dismissed?

Do we have figures for local council, Parliamentary Ombudsman, Local Government Ombudsman and bailiff companies?

Ok so I can answer my own question.

Local Government Ombudsman received 86 complaints 2015/16 stats which is an increase of 46% from the previous year.
Parliamentary Ombudsman received, from the figures I have read, 1 complaint that was not upheld with regards to one bailiff firm.
I have zero figures from bailiff companies themselves and they would not be under any compulsion to provide such figures AFAIK.