ACORN Brighton can reveal that following its year-long campaign to force the council to stop using bailiffs to collect council tax debt, it has won the campaign.
Council tax debt: a national scandal
As the Guardian reported, councils using bailiffs for council tax debt has become a national scandal. Not that it’s new – the practice has been going on for years:
Local authorities can issue a final notice for full payment of a council tax bill within seven days of a missed payment. A UK household which missed a typical £140 monthly payment could be forced to pay the entire remaining amount of council tax for the year – as much as £1,668 – within three weeks.
Failure to pay the full bill can lead to court action, with the debt passed on to bailiffs within six weeks. Residents unable to afford a hefty unexpected cash demand often borrow via a credit card at high rates of interest to avoid going to court.
By contrast, credit card firms and other mainstream lenders are legally required to engage with consumers who miss payments, offering them repayment options and typically allowing at least three months before escalating recovery action.
One of the most prominent criticisms of using bailiffs for council tax debt recovery is the disproportionate impact it has on financially vulnerable households.
Those who fall behind on council tax payments are often already dealing with severe financial stress. This is frequently due to circumstances beyond their control, such as unemployment, illness, or a sudden increase in living costs.
Sending bailiffs to collect debts from individuals in these situations can lead to further financial turmoil. With bailiff fees and charges added to the existing debt, individuals can quickly find themselves in a debt spiral that is nearly impossible to escape.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has raised concerns that aggressive council tax debt collection tactics can cause emotional distress and exacerbate mental health problems. For families already facing financial instability, the sudden arrival of bailiffs can be both traumatizing and destabilising, leading to severe mental health implications that have ripple effects throughout communities.
No justification for it
Meanwhile, councils argue that bailiffs are an effective method of council tax debt recovery. However, the efficacy of this approach is far from clear. According to a report by Citizens Advice, only a small fraction of the debts collected by bailiffs come from individuals who can afford to pay in full.
Instead, the majority of recovered funds come through partial payments or from additional charges added by bailiff agencies, raising questions about whether the initial council tax debt to the council is the primary motivator for these collections.
Another critical issue with using bailiffs is that councils are often contracting private enforcement firms with little accountability to the public. Bailiffs are frequently criticized for aggressive tactics, with reports of intimidation and harassment.
Though there are regulations in place, such as the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, which set guidelines for bailiff conduct, the enforcement of these regulations is inconsistent. Many debtors report being subjected to harassment and threats, which are technically against the law but go largely unpunished due to the low level of oversight within the bailiff industry.
ACORN leading the way
But now, in Brighton, ACORN has won a victory.
Councillor Tristram Burden has confirmed Brighton and Hove City council will stop referring cases of council tax debt involving people on benefits to bailiffs, and will instead engage residents in a supportive process involving affordable repayment plans.
ACORN has also forced the council to invest an extra £2.2 million in the council’s discretionary crisis fund, which will go towards supporting the most vulnerable in the city.
Keziah, the chair of ACORN Brighton, said:
We’re delighted that the council have made this long-overdue change. This will have a massive impact on the lives of struggling people across the city, and shows the power of ACORN’s strength in numbers.
This follows a similar victory announced earlier this year in which Manchester City Council committed to stopping the use of bailiffs to pursue council tax debt for 48,000 low income households. ACORN is also running an ongoing campaign on the issue in Haringey.
Council tax debt: outsourcing public responsibility
This outsourcing of public responsibilities to profit-driven companies raises an ethical question: should councils, as public bodies, delegate their debt recovery processes to private agencies whose primary goal is profit rather than service?
In effect, the council’s duty to provide public support becomes compromised, as the focus shifts from helping residents in financial difficulty to extracting maximum payment at any cost. The practice needs to end across the board – and urgently.
Featured image via the Canary
