Bailiff callouts surge in Thanet as millions of council tax is unpaid

The findings rank Weymouth and Portland at 165th out of 326 local authorities in Weymouth for bailiff use while West Dorset is at 304.

Crucially, the Money Advice Trust noted that the councils using bailiffs the most were also found to have had less success in collecting council tax arrears. That’s why we are urging councillors to consider ways they can improve the council’s debt collection practices, and ensure that bailiffs are only used as an absolute last resort.

Barking and Dagenham, in London, proved to be the heaviest-handed council, sending out the bailiffs on 34,041 occasions – equivalent to 43 per cent of properties in the area. During the same period, parking-related debts were passed to enforcement agents on 715,000 occasions and 40,000 Housing Benefit overpayments were referred to bailiffs.

Ms Tully said: “There are a raft of alternative options that we believe councils can look at”.

She added that bailiff action was poor value for councils, as the research found that those who use bailiffs the most were actually less successful, on average, at collecting council tax arrears.

Stroud District Council (SDC) used bailiffs 942 times in 2014/15, down nine per cent from 1,030 in 2012.

“We have a duty to the city’s council tax payers to recover debt, especially during a time when local authorities in Wales are facing unprecedented budget cuts”.

A spokesman said: “Using an Enforcement Agent previously called a bailiff for collection is always a last resort”.

“On the front line of debt advice, we know sending bailiffs in can deepen debt problems rather than solve them”.

Austerity-hit local authorities across the UK are increasingly turning to bailiffs to chase people who have not paid their council tax or parking fines, with a 16 percent rise recorded over the past two years.

As mentioned, Council Tax Advisors CIC make all of their services available to be free at the point of need.

“The agency we use has to work to policies designed to safeguard vulnerable people, and where necessary, will refer cases to their welfare team to deal with”.

The figures were revealed following a freedom of information request by the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline.

Bailiffs are allowed to take some of your possessions if you can’t pay, but only certain things.

Firstly, find out if they really are coming for you.

In some cases, they’re after one of your relatives.

You do not have to let the bailiff into your home if they have not been in peacefully before. Today they have a message for the people of Britain – pick up the phone, call them, and discover how easy it is to not become part of the bailiff statistics. There are goods that bailiffs should not take, such as essential household items or items that belong to someone else.

‘Before the situation reaches a stage where bailiffs are involved several letters will have been written, people will have been encouraged to apply for financial support, and efforts will be made to arrange new payment plans or to attach the debt to a salary’.