You may or may not have already seen the huge amount of press this morning covering the topic of the crackdown to stop aggressive Bailiffs.
The new laws come into place on Sunday 6th April 2014.
What do the changes mean for debtors?
The new laws include:
- Ban on Bailiffs entering homes at night,.
- Ban on Bailiffs entering homes using physical force against debtors.
- Bailiffs will be prevented from entering homes when only children are present.
- Bailiffs will not be able to take household essentials such as washing machines.
- Ensuring Bailiffs take part in mandatory training & certification.
- Bringing in restrictions on when Bailiffs can sell goods,.
- Introducing clearer rules that detail when a Bailiff can enter a property & what they can take.
- Introducing fixed fees, ending the ability of Bailiffs adding excessive charges.
- Ensure that Bailiffs recognise vulnerable people.
Is there still more that needs to be done?
For many people faced with uncontrollable debts these changes are too little too late and Citizens Advice believe that the rules for this industry should be pushed further.
A spokesperson from Citizens Advice Bureau said “Citizens advice bureaus across the country deal with over a thousand inquiries about Bailiff problems each week. This isn’t the majority of Bailiffs but it is a significant minority. We are pleased to see these new rules, it’s a real change for Bailiff companies to review the way their staff are operating,” she then added that they would like to see the rules being pushed even further and some sort of licensing system being introduced which if Bailiffs break the rules would see firms being struck off.
Don’t let your problems get to Bailiff point.
Companies like ourselves deal with people each week that need help and advice on how to deal with Bailiffs, we cannot stress how important it is that you get in touch if you believe that your situation is spiralling out of control before Bailiffs are instructed to enforce the debt.
You can contact us on 0800 978 8815 or if you prefer you can email us on admin@jacksonpartners.co.uk
