Big Brother Watch condemns "truly shocking" local council bailiff figures

by Paul Goodman

Big Brother Watch has condemned figures showing that some six million cases council tax and parking fine cases have been passed to bailiffs as "truly shocking".  The details are contained in a new report from the organisation called "Who's knocking on your door?" and based on Freedom of Information Requests.

Daniel Hamilton, the Director of Big Brother Watch, said:

“Sending in bailiffs to recover debts should always be the absolute last resort.  The fact local councils have passed more than six million cases to bailiffs for matters as trivial as the late payment of council taxes and parking fines is truly shocking. 

 “In many cases, bailiffs are a law unto themselves; barging their way into people’s homes, intimidating vulnerable members of the public and imposing rip-off charges.  

“The Coalition Government must act now to end the culture of bully-boy debt collection which has taken hold in Town Halls across the country”.