Bailiffs still above the Law

The Local Authority Debt Enforcement & Recovery (LADER) Report on Local Authority tendering for bailiff services published today raises critical issues about responsibility for the declining public perception of bailiffs and the scope for improvement through legislative change. With the Government’s declared aim of clamping down on aggressive bailiffs and its long overdue consultation on bailiff regulation now not expected until the economic outlook brightens, what action is necessary to prevent the enforcement regime falling so far into disrepute that it ceases to be credible? Following the publication of this report these three industry leaders are arranging an important one-day conference at the House of Lords on the 24th November 2011. At this event MP’s and Local Authority Officers will hear the experts discuss the impact of local authority mismanagement on the industry’s credibility. Topics for discussion are: - What is the impact of profit sharing on debtor vulnerability? - Do Local Authority staff know enough to be entrusted with overseeing enforcement? - Should the responsibility be returned to the courts or transferred to a new, centralised national body? This launch conference will be hosted by Lord Lucas, Chair of both the Enforcement Law Reform Group and the London Motorists Action Group and chaired Philip Evans, industry expert, conference speaker and author of ‘The Bailiff Pocketbook’. Pip Clothier produced sufficient evidence to make the bailiff industry jumpy.  This document shows that the last thing on their minds is compensating for wrong-doing, just improving their technique so the cameras can't catch them in future.  If this was a genuine concern they would be falling over backwards to make sure that incidents like that of Andy Miller remain nothing but a bad memory.  They are failing dismally. It's Okay, Lord Lucas, I will pay my own expenses to attend, just send me the invite.