Citizens Advice has published Taking Control: the need for fundamental bailiff reform in March 2017. It detailed ongoing problems with bailiff behaviour, ineffective complaints mechanisms, the difficulty of suspending bailiff action and problems arising from the new bailiff fee structure.
Debt advice agencies and other charities have long raised concerns about the way bailiffs collect debt. The 2014 Taking Control of Goods reforms to bailiff law in England and Wales – which aimed to clean up the industry, ensure that bailiffs played by the rules and protect people from unfair practices – have had only limited success. For example, people contacting Citizens Advice still report widespread problems with bailiffs and the reforms have also created some new problems.
Based on the experiences of the people Citizens Advice has helped, the report makes recommendations for fundamental changes to protect people in financial difficulty and improve the practices of bailiffs.
Read full report.
