Crackdown on ‘aggressive and intimidating’ bailiffs is needed, say charities – here are your rights
Debt charities are calling on the Government to set up an independent body to monitor the industry alongside a tougher set of rules
CHARITIES are calling on the Government to crack down on bailiffs who "flout the rules" leaving those in financial hardship stressed, anxious and slipping further into debt.
Bailiff firms are self-regulated but now debt charities Citizens Advice and StepChange want the Government to set up an independent body to monitor the industry alongside a tougher set of rules.
Citizens Advice estimates households have a total of £19billion of arrears on bills such as council tax and utilities.
The Government introduced reforms on the industry in 2014 which were meant to protect people from unfair practices.
But new figures suggest that a third of the 2.2million people who have been contacted by a bailiff in the the past two years have experienced the debt collectors pushing the limits of the law, like forcing entry to a home or removing goods needed for work.
A YouGov poll of 5,786 people found that one in five were threatened with a break-in or witnessed unsympathetic treatment towards someone with a disability.
'The bailiffs were extremely aggressive and intimidating'
A HOSPITAL worker who fell behind with her council tax bill was left distressed after her £1,000 debt was passed onto a debt collector firm.
The healthcare assistant, who doesn't want to be named, was struggling with anxiety and depression after a relationship breakdown.
Bailiffs regularly visited her home and failed to make allowances even though her mental health was suffering and she was undergoing a cancer diagnosis.
They also refused to broker an affordable payment plan.One bailiff called her and asked for £350 in one payment.
"I was so depressed after my relationship broke down that I was in a bubble of my own problems and I couldn’t manage my finances," she explained.
"When the bailiffs came they were extremely aggressive and intimidating.
"I was asleep on the sofa one day after a night shift at the hospital and they could see me through the window.
"One of the bailiffs kept banging and banging on the window and wouldn’t leave me alone. It got to the point that I didn’t want to be in my house.
"They spoke directly to my son about it all when he answered the door.
"Before that I had tried to protect him from what was happening, but they obviously wanted him to worry that they were going to take his things.
"I couldn’t believe it when they wouldn’t let me arrange a repayment plan.
"How can someone like me, on minimum wage pay back £350 in one go? If I had that type of money, I wouldn’t have struggling and in debt in the first place."
The adviser at Citizens Advice got in touch with the Council, who, because of her ongoing health problems, have agreed to take the debt back and she is now paying £30 extra towards her council tax per month.
She added: "I don’t know why I had to go through hell when the bailiffs could have agreed a repayment plan in the first place. Instead I had months of stress, just to end up in the situation I had proposed from the beginning."
One in 10 had goods that were needed for work removed, such as tools or a vehicle, while six per cent claimed that bailiffs has forced entry into their home.
Citizens Advice also says that it is also concerned that bailiffs are failing to accept reasonable offers of payment when the debt is unable to be paid in full, after it dealt with nearly 17,000 cases last year.
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: "The 2014 reforms were well intentioned but sadly have had little effect on improving the behaviour of some bailiffs.
"Faced with the evidence we’ve put in front of them, the Ministry of Justice has no other option but to establish an independent bailiff regulator."
Bailiffs: your rights
HERE'S what bailiffs can and can't do when they come to your home.
When bailiffs can't enter your home:
- by force, for example by pushing past you (unless in the below scenario as a last resort)
- if only children under 16 or vulnerable people (with disabilities, for example) are present
- between 9pm and 6am
- through anything except the door
When bailiffs can enter your home:
- Bailiffs are allowed to force their way into your home to collect unpaid criminal fines, income tax or stamp duty, but only as a last resort.
If you do not let a bailiff in or agree to pay them:
- they could take things from outside your home, for example your car
- you could end up owing even more money
If you do let a bailiff in but do not pay them they may take some of your belongings.
They could sell the items to pay debts and cover their fees.
Phil Andrew, StepChange Debt Charity Chief Executive, added: "The fact is that all the main debt advice charities are continuing to see too many cases where bailiffs are breaking the rules.
"This is completely unacceptable, especially as the people on the receiving end are often distressed, vulnerable and unempowered.
"Across the debt advice sector, we are united in the view that it’s now time for regulation to be more robust, and for the rules to be properly enforced.
"Even some bailiff firms seem to be realising that the days of informal regulation need to end."
In July, MPs on the Treasury Select Committee said government and local authorities were “worst in class” for debt collections.
Earlier this year, ministers began an inquiry into claims that debt collectors are still being overly aggressive.
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