11 Apr 2012

Law Centre Facebook appeal puts spotlight on Councils’ “aggressive” jump to enforcement

A new Facebook page highlighting “aggressive” enforcement techniques of local authorities has been set up by the Govan Law Centre in a bid to gauge the scale of the problem.

The site aims to gather testimonies from those who may have experienced their local authority proceeding directly to enforcement action without observing statutory timeframes or engaging in dialogue to address any administrative errors.

The Firm understands that issues have been reported involving at least four local authorities, where debtors have claimed the Councils have obtained summary warrants and instructed Sheriff Officers, when no notification of the sum claimed has been served to them.

“If you have been wrongly billed, had court enforcement officers knocking on your door when you thought everything was fine, tried to sort it out and found yourself speaking to a very rude brick wall, then we have some ideas and would like to hear your experience - whether as a customer or advisor,” Govan Law Centre principal Mike Dailly says on the Facebook page.

“Recently many local authorities have become much more aggressive in council tax enforcement. Often administrative mistakes are made - the wrong sum billed, or a failure to communicate - yet many local authorities fail to engage with consumers and jump straight to enforcement action. In the present difficult economic climate that cannot be in the public interest.”

The Centre is proposing the creation of a simple procedure to allow a window of opportunity for queries to be raised, similar to measures which currently exist in consumer credit or ordinary civil private debt available in England and Wales.

“In Scotland there is no simple legal process to challenge administrative council tax errors nor a basic right to query a bill, and hold-off diligence while doing so, where the council insist on pursuing debt recovery,” Dailly says.

“Other creditors are not entitled to treat consumers as harshly as local authorities. Ordinary creditors pursuing debt recovery are subject to a higher standard and an independent regulatory regime, while local authorities effectively do not even have to prove that a debt is correct, and lawfully due. This imbalance is not in the public or consumer interest, and neither is it fair.”

People who have experienced problems with aggressive enforcement are invited to leave an account via the Facebook page.