Bailiffs 'Code of Practice' Council Tax

[B.A.Ts]

May be this could be made a sticky.

 

I have read a few councils 'Codes of practice' and they seem to be all the same so thought this little bit of info may help others.

Bailiff code of practice

 

The Council and the Bailiff firm will ensure that all bailiffs, employees, contractors and agents have an appropriate knowledge and understanding of all relevant legislation, case law and powers, and at all times act in accordance with them.

The bailiff firm must at all times carry professional indemnity insurance, ensuring the fullest indemnity against legal proceedings resulting in compensation awards due to illegal or irregular distress. Details of such insurance should be made available to the Council on request. The bailiff firm must also maintain a separate client bank account for monies received from debtors, evidence of which must be supplied to the Council on demand.

The bailiff must at all times carry and provide photographic proof of their identity (County Court general certificate issued under Section 7 of the Law of Distress amendments Act 1888) when visiting a property to distrain. The bailiff must at all times make clear to the debtor the purpose of his visit and the fact that he is acting on behalf of, and, as agent of the Council. Visits to be after 8am and before 9pm, no visits on Sundays or bank holidays.

The bailiff must at all times carry the written authorisation of the Council, to be shown on request and must hand to the debtor or leave on the premises the relevant documentation including details of costs incurred and procedure, legislation (Reg. 45) relating to distress and any additional guidance notes. The debtor will be invited and is required to sign any walking possession agreement (which lists all goods distrained upon) at the time that the distress is levied, in presence of the debtor or the partner only after its meaning has been explained and understood by the debtor.

Only a bailiff properly vetted and trained by the authorised firm and under the control of a bailiff who is certificated by the County Court may levy distress or remove goods in respect of liability orders on behalf of the Council. At least 2 partners or directors of the firm must be members of Certified Bailiff Association (CBA) or Association of Civil Enforcement Agents (ACEA).

Bailiffs and employees, contractors and agents of the bailiff firm must be aware that they represent the Council in their dealings with debtors. They should at all times act lawfully and in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. They should also act in a responsible, professional and courteous manner and be aware that their behaviour, appearance and attitude have a great influence on the success of the debt recovery process.

The bailiff must adopt a firm but correct attitude when dealing with the public, they must be polite and courteous and avoid being provoked by vexatious debtors. In the event of a breach of the peace occurring as a result of a bailiff visit, the Council must be debriefed of the circumstances as soon as practicable.

The bailiff must comply with Data Protection legislation where applicable and should be aware of the relevant Articles in Human Rights legislation.

Upon receipt of any instruction to levy distress, the contractor shall ensure that a visit is made to levy distress within 14 days from receipt of the instruction.

Where more than one Liability Order is held for a debtor, the bailiff where practicable will attend the property for all liability orders at the same time, with only one set of costs being made. 'First Call' and 'second call' visits must be made on different days.

If on attendance, contact is made with the debtor, the bailiff should attempt to recover the amount as quickly as possible, taking into account the circumstances of the debtor. Wherever possible, if payment is not made in full at the time of the first visit, the debtor should be given the opportunity to enter into a walking possession agreement or instalment arrangement (instalment arrangement at no cost to the debtor other than the direct cost of making a payment). Enquiries should be made as the eligibility of discount or rebate. Information regarding employers or benefit details should be requested.

Arrangements for payment of the total amount due can be agreed at the bailiff's discretion over a period of up to three months for Business Rates. Council Tax arrangements should be made over a period of up to six months but a period of up to 52 weeks can be considered if the debtor's circumstances warrant this. If the arrangement for payment offered is beyond these timescales and the bailiff considers it inappropriate to remove goods or there are exceptional circumstances the bailiff should refer back to the Council before agreeing to an arrangement exceeding these timescales.

The bailiff must take no action if it appears that no responsible adult is present at the debtor's address. If an adult is present the bailiff must attempt to establish their identity. If the debtor is unavailable the bailiff must ascertain when they will be available. No reference will be made to the nature or purpose of their visit. The bailiff should be aware of the sensitive and confidential nature of this work and should take care to ensure that information regarding the debtors circumstances are not passed on to or discussed with a third party. If children are present the debtor should be encouraged to ask them to leave the room. Any documents must be left, marked private and confidential, in a sealed, clearly addressed plain envelope.

The bailiff should at all times use his professional judgement to refer back to the Council if he considers that, due to the personal circumstances of the debtor, it would be inappropriate to proceed to levy distress. In particular, cases such as:

1. appears to be over 70 years of age and it appears may be easily confused
   
2. appears to be severely physically or mentally ill, severely disabled or suffering mental confusion
   
3. has young children and severe social deprivation is evident
   
4. is disputing liability or claims to have paid, applied for rebate, discount or any other relief not yet granted, recommend, levy distress and then report to the Council
   
5. is heavily pregnant
   
6. is in mourning due to recent bereavement (within three months)
   
7. is having difficulty communicating due to profound deafness, blindness or language difficulties
   
8. is unemployed and provides proof that they are in receipt of Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based), payments from the Department of Works and Pension (DWP) and details are obtained of the debtors National Insurance number
   
9. is consulting his or her local councillor or Member of Parliament
   
10. long term sickness or serious illness including the terminally ill

Please note: Points 3, 5 and 8 do not apply to Business Rates.

Before attending with a van in order to remove goods, the bailiff must send to the debtor, a letter warning of the intention to send a van and also warning of the costs involved in such a van attendance. However, if there are circumstances that indicate the giving of prior notice may compromise the ability to remove goods (that is company about to go into liquidation or debtor about to abscond) then attendance with a van can be made without a letter being issued.

ln the event of the need to force entry to the debtor's premises, the bailiff must obtain the express permission of the Council's Representative before doing so.

When the debtors goods are removed and sold at public auction, the Council and the debtor must be provided with a full statement itemising the goods sold, the amount realised, a breakdown of the costs incurred and a statement of the amount subsequently outstanding or overpaid as appropriate. The debtor should be notified of the date, time and place of sale, to give the opportunity to make payment and return their goods. Any goods uplifted must be transported and stored with due care and attention whilst in their care, with relevant security and insurance provisions. The bailiff should not remove goods for sale unless it is anticipated that the sum realised will be sufficient to settle a reasonable proportion of the account outstanding to the Council (30% to 50%), including costs. Rule of thumb is that the value of the goods can be divided by 5 to give an approximate auction value.

Please note: For Business Rates in some cases you may still wish to proceed to remove if the value is less than 30 - 50%, i.e. so that ongoing trading ceases or if it is likely to become insolvent.

ln the case of Council Tax debts, no goods should be removed from sale which fall within the categories listed in (The Council Tax Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (as amended) being:

1. basic clothing, beds, bedding and household linen
   
2. the main form of cooking - if the debtor has a cooker and a microwave oven, it would be in order to seize the microwave oven. If the debtor only has a microwave oven, this must not be seized
   
3. fFridges, freezers and essential room heaters
   
4. dining table and chairs
   
5. Washing machine, vacuum cleaner and iron
   
6. toys primarily for the use of any child who is a member of the debtor's household
   
7. articles reasonably required for the care or upbringing of a child who is a member of the debtor's household
   
8. medical aids or medical equipment reasonably required for the use of the debtor or any members of the debtor's household
   
9. articles which are required for safety reasons in the home
   
10. any goods bought with a Social Fund loan or grant
    
11. any items of a personal nature with a nominal or no cash value, for example, videos of family occasions, family photographs or pictures, etc.
    
12. any other items protected by law
    
13. such tools, books, vehicles and other items of equipment as are necessary to the debtor for use personally by him or her in his or her employment or business

Please note: in the case of Business Rates 13 does not apply.

Only goods belonging to the debtor may be seized, goods subject to higher purchase or credit sale will not be removed in accordance with the Consumer Credits Act 1974.

Costs charged to the debtor should be strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 1993 (as amended) or the Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989 (as amended) as appropriate.

Where the bailiff is unsuccessful in his attempts to obtain payment and the liability order is to be returned to the Council, it should be returned endorsed to the effect that the person making distress was unable (for whatever reason) to find any or sufficient goods of the debtor on which to levy. It should also be returned with a report summarising the action taken by the bailiff together with any details ascertained concerning the financial or personal circumstances of the debtor.

A minimum of 3 unsuccessful visits to the debtor's address are required before the case is returned to the Council as unpaid. At least one of these visits should be made to the debtor's address outside normal office hours (Monday to Friday 8am or 9am to 5pm). Documentation issued to debtors must be agreed with the Council and be in plain English. Documentation must be left at the property after each visit is made and give details of the date and time of the visit the debt and charges incurred; it must give the name of the bailiffs and a contact telephone number. It must be left in a sealed envelope addressed to the debtor.

lf it is ascertained that the debtor is no longer resident, the bailiff should make appropriate discreet local enquiries to ascertain the debtor's date of leaving and new address if available. This information or lack of it should then be referred back to the Council. If the debtor has moved locally within the Borough, the bailiff may levy at the new address and then refer the information back to the Council. It is important that bailiffs be aware that they should not attend at a Company Director's personal address when the liability order is not in his specific name.

In the normal course of events, cases should be completed within six months of receipt. Monthly reports must be submitted to the Council for those cases that are still outstanding after six months. Where a case has been outstanding for eight months or more the report must contain full details of all action taken.

Payments and payment schedules must be submitted weekly to the Council on the agreed days. The company must account for all monies received and provide a proper system for dealing with unpaid cheques.

Monthly statistical reports in the agreed format must be submitted to the Recovery Manager.

The Authorised Officer will be responsible, together with the Principal of the bailiff firm, for the operation of this Code of Practice and for resolving any complaints from the debtor. The bailiff firm must establish and maintain an internal complaints procedure overseen by a senior member of staff. The Authorised Officer shall be responsible for ensuring that any complaints received from debtors or their authorised representatives by the Council are handled efficiently and promptly.

The Council reserves the right to make amendments I add new procedures at any time resulting from changing practices. The bailiff will be notified in writing of any proposed changes and invited to make comments.

[tomtubby]

Excellent research....well done !!

[The Watcher]

It would be useful if this could be defined more clearly -

 

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What an individual may decide is "necessary" may not be what the bailiff thinks is necessary !

[B.A.Ts]

Watcher, do any bailiffs follow these regulations and codes of practice any way???

I suppose that everything cannot be listed and this is an out line of what is or isnt necessary .. lets say My PC is a necessity, but to a bailiff it is not, they would just take it but I have found out that they have to by law remove the hard drive because of the personal data stored inside. I will try and find where I found this out, but I have read some where that it would breach some sort of data protection act.

any hoo going off topic sorry.. I supose you would have to ask them what is necessary to them on their every day living and what they would be able to live without so they could justify taking certain items

[The Watcher]

.. lets say My PC is a necessity, but to a bailiff it is not, they would just take it but I have found out that they have to by law remove the hard drive because of the personal data stored inside. I will try and find where I found this out, but I have read some where that it would breach some sort of data protection act.

 

It could be beneficial to everyone on this site if you could find this information.

 

Thanks.

[B.A.Ts]

Well from I gather from reading through some of these 'codes of practice'

They seem to differ some what.. but basically I can give a list of what can be taken....

 

Vehicles:

 

Non essential vehicles can be taken, if the car is registered as disabled or it is used in conjunction with a valid blue badge or the car is a lease hire through the mobility scheme they CANNOT be taken. If the car is on hire purchase again the car CANNOT be taken. If the car is used for a business purpose it CANNOT be taken.

 

Items belonging to a child CANNOT be taken.

 

Furnishings

 

Beds, bedding, sofas, curtains, carpets (with exception of rugs), CANNOT be taken.

 

Electrical goods.

 

Second TV, video/DVD player, stereo's, PC's without the hard drive (unless used for work) CAN be taken. Electrical items used in the kitchen to sustain a normal way of life CANNOT be taken ie, cooker, washing machine, fridge/freezer, kettle etc, microwaves (unless you dont have a cooker) CAN be taken as with tumble dryer(unless you need it on medical terms) and all non essential items like coffee maker, dishwasher CAN be taken.

 

TOOLS OF THE TRADE CANNOT BE TAKEN

 

I think thats covered most things.. If I find anything else I will add it here