Bristol City Council slammed for sending bailiffs to chase 27,000 council tax debts

Bristol City Council has defended a huge increase in the number of times it sent people’s council tax arrears to bailiffs to collect, as a campaign is launched to end the practice.

An astonishing one in eight households in Bristol received letters from bailiffs over council tax debt in the last year, despite the council’s own policy stating it would follow a ‘fair and proportionate recovery and enforcement process’, and take into account whether the people on the end of bailiff letters and action are vulnerable.

Back in 2022-23, Bristol City Council passed on just 93 outstanding council tax debts to bailiff companies it had hired. That low number followed a pause in all debt collection from the council during the 2020-2021 Covid pandemic, and the adoption by the previous Labour administration at City Hall - backed by the now ruling Green Party - of an ‘ethical policy’ of debt collection.

READ MORE:New market faces opposition as locals warn of ‘severe fox problem’

READ MORE:Cyclists demand action after reports of robberies - including one at knifepoint - on railway path

But in the following 12 months to April 2024, the number of times the council passed on people’s details to bailiffs rocketed to 27,146. That equates to around one in eight of every household in Bristol.

The massive, routine use of bailiffs to collect council tax debt has been the subject of ongoing political controversy in Bristol for a number of years, but the huge increase has sparked the launch of a campaign by tenants union Acorn, which is calling on the council to stop the practice.

Acorn says passing on people’s council tax debts to bailiffs so quickly and readily is ‘brutal’, and said that the council’s claims its policy contains safeguards not to get bailiffs involved with vulnerable people are simply not the case.

The council said cases of outstanding council tax debt are only sent to enforcement agents when there is ‘no other options’, but Acorn said the sheer number of times it has happened in the past year - at a rate of around 108 people every working day - puts that policy in question.

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “People who miss an instalment are sent a pre-reminder urging them to pay or to contact the council if they are in difficulty. Where there has been no response, and the amount remains unpaid, they will be sent a formal reminder, followed by a final reminder before a summons is issued.

“Where a liability order is granted, a further letter is issued, giving a further opportunity for the council taxpayer to contact us before their case is passed to enforcement agents for collection. In addition to this our enforcement agents will attempt to contact the council taxpayer, providing one final opportunity to make an arrangement to pay before any fees become due,” she added.

“Cases are only sent to enforcement agents when the person has not engaged or maintained agreed repayment plans, and we are left with no other options,” she said.

“We always encourage people to get in touch with us at the earliest opportunity – this means they have the most time to make an affordable arrangement to pay, and we can look for opportunities to provide wider support appropriate to their individual circumstances,” she added.

The council said that the number of times bailiffs were engaged was only 93 in 2022/23 because the council was still working towards getting the processes back up and running after the pause of the Covid pandemic. That was lifted in October 2021, with reminders and summonses only restarting in April 2022 for business rates.

The council’s debt management policy said the council would be ‘fair and proportionate. “The council will follow a fair and proportionate recovery and enforcement process and give due consideration to vulnerability,” that policy states. “We will use enforcement agents to collect debts only where there has been no engagement from the customer or where alternative recovery options have not been successful or are not appropriate,” it adds.

But tenants’ union Acorn said the council is far too quick to call in the bailiffs, and getting a warning letter from a bailiff threatening a visit, seizure of property or being brought to court can be a triggering and scary prospect, especially for vulnerable people who perhaps have escaped domestic violence, have been the victims of crime, or have special needs or mental health issues.

They described the use of bailiffs so often on one-in-eight households in Bristol was ‘intimidating vulnerable and low income people’.

“Life in Bristol is tough enough,” said Wesley Bear, the branch secretary of Acorn in Bristol. “Using bailiffs to recover debts is a brutal, outdated practice that inflicts humiliation and fear on those who are already struggling. These bailiffs often seize cherished, sentimental items - not for the value, but to intimidate people into paying debts swollen by exploitative fees.

“Acorn will not stand by while our community is bullied. We pledge to beat the bailiffs and put an end to this oppressive system in our city once and for all,” he added.

Acorn said it has a long list of vulnerable people who have been chased by bailiffs for council tax debts that have spiralled because of the fees charged by the bailiffs are added onto the bill.

“Acorn members have stopped dozens of evictions in the last few years in Bristol, including George, a community worker who was secured long term housing after bailiffs were stopped twice,” added Wesley. “The council will say it's a Covid backlog, but it's clear from our cases they're not effectively fulfilling their ethical debt policy,” he said.