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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:33 pm
Time: 9:33 pm
Results for enforcement agents
1 results foundAuthor: House of Commons Justice Committee. United Kingdom Title: Bailiffs: Enforcement of Debt: Seventeenth Report of Session 2017-19 Summary: This inquiry investigates concerns about a rise in complaints about bailiffs (also known as enforcement agents) recorded by debt advice charities. We welcome the Ministry of Justice's own call for evidence on rogue bailiffs, which has just closed; our inquiry sits alongside this. We found strong differences of view on whether the 2014 reforms of the enforcement industry, which introduced individual certification of enforcement agents and a standardised fee regime, had been successful. There was a gulf between the large numbers of complaints reported by the debt advice charities and the very small numbers reported by the enforcement agencies, industry associations and others. We found however, a general consensus that there was room for improvements in how complaints were handled. The current complaints system is fragmented and hard to navigate, especially for vulnerable people. There should be an independent complaints body, to which all complaints about enforcement agents can be escalated. In setting up such a body, the Ministry of Justice should take account of the important role of the existing Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the much-delayed introduction of the proposed Public Service Ombudsman. We were surprised that bailiffs are apparently so under-regulated compared with other sectors, including debt collection. The existing system of individual certification by the courts seems to be a rubber-stamping exercise. There should be a regulator, which should be able to stop unfit enforcement agents and companies from practising. This regulator should also work to change culture and raise standards. The Ministry of Justice should consult widely on where this regulatory responsibility should sit, whether in an existing body or a new body, and how it should be funded. The fee structure deserves close attention, since it has not been properly reviewed or updated since its introduction in 2014, despite a Government commitment at the time to do so annually in the light of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation. Equally, given that these fees are paid by some of the poorest people in society, it is also vital that the fees are proportionate. The new regulator should regularly review and make expert recommendations to the MOJ about the fixed fee structure set out in The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014. Finally, we recommend that body-worn cameras be mandatory for all enforcement agents visiting homes and businesses. This would protect both the agent and debtor alike, and would help to make it easier to investigate complaints. Details: London: House of Commons Justice Committee, 2019. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 10, 2019 at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmjust/1836/1836.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/justice-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/bailiffs-enforcement-of-debt-inquiry-17-19/publications/ Shelf Number: 156336 Keywords: Bailiffs Body Worn Cameras Debtors Prison Enforcement Agents |