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Citizens Advice evidence on bailiffs

In April 2013, the number of people seeking online advice on how to deal with bailiffs almost trebled, rising to over 20,000 from just under 7,000 in April last year.

Over 37,000 people sought online advice about council tax in April 2013 - 87% higher than the same month in 2012.

From April 2012 to March 2013, Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) in England and Wales helped with 60,652 problems with bailiffs, a third of which were for council tax debts.  During the same time period we helped with 161,564 problems with Council Tax arrears.

There has been a 38% increase in problems with private bailiffs in the last five years (data from 07/08 to 11/12).

Almost 9 in 10 problems with bailiffs relate to private bailiffs who are responsible for collecting debts including council tax debts and unpaid parking penalties

In August 2012, analysis of 400 bailiff¹ problems which people brought to CAB found:

• 2 in 5 (39%) threatened the use of force to get in
• 16% said they would call the police to gain entry
• 1 in 4 threatened to take items that are banned from removal by bailiffs (such as clothing or work tools)
• 29% threatened to seize goods that belonged to someone else.
• In almost 4 out of 5 (78%) of the cases bailiff action has brought on stress and anxiety
• In 35% bailiff action has exacerbated clients mental or physical health problems (23% and 12% respectively).

Citizens Advice Chief Executive Gillian Guy said:

“A third of the bailiff problems we help with each year are for council tax debt. We see cases where bailiffs overstate their powers, act aggressively and bump up debts by levying excessive fees and charges. Local authorities must protect people from bailiffs who flout the law by helping people early on who are struggling to pay their council tax.  We urge councils to sign up to our protocol for dealing with council tax debt.”  

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Citizens Advice

Notes to editors

1. The analysis of 478 cases provided by advisers from Citizens Advice Bureaux, National Debtline, Institute of Money Advisers, AdviceUK and StepChange was carried out between 5th July to 3rd August 2012.
2. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more information in England and Wales see www.citizensadvice.org.uk
3. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality. For online advice and information see www.adviceguide.org.uk
4. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.1 million clients on 6.9 million problems from April 2011 to March 2012. For full 2011/2012 service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends
5. Out of 22 national charities, the Citizens Advice service is ranked by the general public as being the most helpful, approachable, professional, informative, effective / cost effective, reputable and accountable (nfpSynergy’s Brand Attributes survey, May 2010).
6. Most Citizens Advice service staff are trained volunteers, working at around 3,500 service outlets across England and Wales.