BBC Whistleblower exposes criminal world of bailiffs BBC1 26th September 9PM

[Recycler]

In a nine-month-long investigation, BBC reporter Jim Wheble went undercover, working for two of Britain's largest bailiff companies. He saw first hand how the public are ripped off, conned and lied to by people who are supposed to be official court representatives.

 

Bailiffs are entrusted to collect unpaid parking tickets, court fines and other debts but Whistleblower reveals why some describe themselves as "legalised thieves" and how they collect millions of pounds a week.

 

The reporters in the programme expose some unscrupulous debt collectors who cheat members of the public out of hundreds of pounds for a single unpaid parking fine. It also highlights the plight of people who are tricked into paying debts and fines which aren't even theirs.

 

In constant fear for his own safety, Jim filmed bailiffs as they lied about their legal powers, threatened to take people's belongings illegally and clamped cars without authority. During his time undercover, one fellow bailiff (and ex-policeman) even took Jim under his wing, teaching him how to break into people's homes.

 

Jim Wheble comments: "Our investigation highlights how this is an issue that could affect us all, as any one of us could get a knock on the door from these people. The public should ensure they know their legal rights, so they are not strong-armed into overpaying or shelling out for debts which aren't theirs."

 

With the use of bailiffs throughout the UK booming due to the rise in debt levels and an increase in the number of unpaid traffic and parking fines, the need to highlight their criminal behaviour has never been greater.

 

Previous Whistleblowers have exposed sharp practice by some estate agents, corruption and crime amongst car parking attendants, serious security lapses at UK airports, danger on Britain's railways, and looked into the sales practices in a major finance company.

 

BBC Whistleblower this programme will be shown on BBC1 26th September 9PM

[ozzywizard]

Hey thanks for that info, have added it to my calender to watch.

[Rich44]

I wonder what Bailiff companies they are lol

[Guest Zooman]

Wonderful

[elsinore]

Hear hear.

 

I'll make sure my MP watches it!

 

Elsinore

[chelsea]

This is interesting. I must write in to defend my boyfriend who is a self employed bailiff. Although , like all of us, he wants to get paid, as he has bills and mortgage to pay, his view is that there is no point pursueing someone, or even doing a levy on their goods when it is clear to see that the goods are not worth anything and they really are unable to pay. With these types of cases, he refers them back to the local authority.

 

My boyfriend works with paperwork (warrents) given to him by a reputable Bailiff company, on behalf of the local authority, and does not do anything illegal or underhanded to get paid!

[BotB]

A must see programme - thanks for the tip Recycler.

 

Chelsea, no-one is suggesting that all bailiffs are dishonest or act illegally - there's bad apples in most barrells - but unfortunately many of them are culpable because its what happens in a largely unregulated trade where there's lots of money to be made. Here is an extract from Hansard's Parliamentary Written Answers to Questions in November 2003:

 

Bailiffs

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complaints have been made in each year since 1997 concerning the conduct of bailiffs; how many complaints have been investigated; how many complaints have resulted in a prosecution; how many convictions there were concerning the conduct of bailiffs; and if he will publish a list of banned bailiffs. [136800]

 

 

Mr. Leslie [holding answer 6 November 2003]: My Department is responsible for county court bailiffs only. Any complaint involving a county court bailiff, unless of a serious nature, is dealt with by the county court that s/he is assigned to. There is no database kept on complaints against individual bailiffs.

There are Certificated Bailiffs who act in a private capacity. They are given their authority to do so for a period of two years, by their local county court judge, in accordance with the Distress for Rent Rules 1988. A complaint against a Certificated Bailiff is considered by a judge of the county court that granted the certificate.

 

17 Nov 2003 : Column 469W If the certificate is revoked the Department will be informed. The information will be recorded on the Register of Certificated Bailiffs that is kept centrally. The Register is open to public search through a central point of contact. No data is retained longer than three years. In 2001 two certificates were cancelled, in 2002, 13 were cancelled, and in 2003 to date 17 have been cancelled. Any prosecution would be taken by the member of the public affected by the action of a certificated bailiff. There is no data kept by the county court or the Department centrally.

 

So you see, the Government doesn't even keep track of them, despite the pathetically small number that seem to have behaved so grossly even by their standards that they actually got their licences taken away.

 

I would suggest that since parking was decriminalised and local authorities began putting a lot more business their way collecting the penalties, bailiffs have found themselves dealing with a much more vocal part of the population than their traditional territory and they have been found out for the money spinning tricks and lies they resort to in order to pump up their fees.

 

By and large, you don't find the same attitude in the County Court Bailiffs as they are employed directly by the Court on civil service terms and conditions so the kind of financial incentive deals that go on between bailiff companies and local authorities don't exist there.

 

Thanks to the efforts of websites like LMAG and its founder members like Recycler, together with CAG, people are sharing information and learning how they are being ripped off. It is amazing how many people never hear anything from the Bailiff companies until it is claimed they have already sent two or three letters and a carried out a visit so, according to their figures, you're already in debt to them for £300 and rising. This is plain dishonesty and its about time it got some mainstream exposure so good on the BBC for tackling it.

[chrismc]

Well said BotB......could not agree more!

 

It looks to me like England is one of only a few unregulated countries bailiff-wise in the whole of Europe. The problems with Bailiffs are growing and they are being handed more and more areas of debt collection in which to ply their trade.

 

Even in countries like Albania (unbelievable but true) they are reforming the Bailiff system.

In order to develop an efficient training curriculum for Court Chancellors, Council of

Europe representatives stated that its experts needed a more structured proposal from the Albanian authorities.

 

The participants agreed that the project regarding the reform of the system of Bailiffs was in the right direction. They recalled the conclusions of the Sixth Conference on judicial reforms in Albaniaon this issue, especially on the full completion of the ongoing cooperation towards the re-organisation of the mechanisms for enforcing court decisions and improving the quality of the Bailiffs system.

 

The Participants underlined the importance of developing enforcement procedures in civil and commercial matters and strengthening enforcement practice in particular as regards the role, organisation, status and training of bailiffs. They supported the specific Plan on Enforcement in particular as regards the proposed amendments to the Civil Procedure Code and actions concerning the Bailiff's Service related to, inter alia, the drafting of legally recognised enforcement fee scales and developing training and education of bailiffs

If Albania can do it why can't the UK????

 

Chris

[julian grant]

If anyone has had a bad experience with a company called sherforce, i would love to know. These guys threatened me, "with blood on the Street"... words actually said to me and recorded when I tried to stop them taking a fork lift truck to sell. They said they sold it for £200.00 and then came cack for another £1500.00 they were bullies and the police stood by and did nothing!!

[elsinore]

Yes Julian, I have!

I think it would be better if you started a new thread in this forum with SHERFORCE in the title and then I (and perhaps others) will respond to you there.

 

Elsinore

[ivorbiggun]

Exposed: violent and corrupt world of bailiffs

 

By JAMES TAPPER Last updated at 23:15pm on 23rd September 2006

Court bailiffs routinely con debtors and illegally break into homes to claim money, according to evidence uncovered by a startling new TV investigation.

 

Reporter Jim Wheble discovered a litany of immoral and unethical practices by court officers supposed to be enforcing the law.

WEB EXCLUSIVE:

Exclusive: diary of a whistleblower

In the BBC's latest Whistleblower investigation, Wheble spent nine months working undercover at two bailiff firms: Drakes Group, which holds contracts to collect most magistrates' court fines, and CCS Enforcement Services Ltd, which specialises in unpaid parking fines.

Wheble said: "I saw their employees cheat, lie, intimidate and dissemble. I saw them breaking and entering. I saw them fraudulently conning members of the public - often guilty of no more than failing to pay a parking fine - out of hundreds of pounds."

In one case a bailiff threatened to confiscate all the possessions of a disabled man stricken with cancer - who owed debts because his carer had been using his disable-badged car.

Another told two young girls that their mother would go to prison if she didn't pay her fine. One bailiff told a debtor he would 'slam his f***ing head in the door' and another told a debtor's mother that he would confiscate her washing machine - despite the fact that she owed no money.

Wheble was given a 'slim jim', a small plastic strip which can be used to unlock doors in 15 seconds. But perhaps the most extraordinary behaviour came from a public-school-educated bailiff working for CCS who was nicknamed "Mr Ladders' by his colleagues because he would climb up a ladder to intimidate people in their bedrooms.

Wheble said: "His favourite method was to double or triple the debt owed, then offer the tenants a £100 discount as if doing so out of kindness. Thanks to such methods, he earns between £3,000 and £4,000 a month."

On one occasion, Mr Ladders took the undercover reporter to an address in Putney, South-West London, which was the home of a debtor's ex-wife.

"We knew he probably didn't live there but decided to pay her and her children a visit,' Wheble said.

"Instead of making for her front door, Mr Ladders took a ladder from the van and proceeded to climb into the house via an open window."

They left after terrifying the woman inside, yet the approach was perfectly legal because of an old law.

Wheble said: "He later boasted to me that he'd used this method "plenty of times", adding that if he worked alone he'd help himself to their property as well." Mr Ladders had a briefcase full of implements used to break into people's houses.

Wheble earned £40,000 during his nine months at Drakes and CCS, and said most bailiffs would earn around £60,000 through commission.

Drakes and CCS both promised to investigate the BBC's claims. Whistleblower is on BBC1 on Tuesday at 9pm.

 

Taken from the Daily Mail website.

[JonCris]

& its in the Mail on Sunday

 

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=406669&in_page_id=1770

[JonCris]

Oh & the visit to the ex wife was not legal entry as bailiffs are only allowed to enter the known property of the debtor & no one else.

[martinpar]

It's terrible what some will do. I had a bailiff visit not so long back. They were collecting a debt for a limited company which had my home as its registered office. One of them later turned out not to be a bailiff (this was the one who put his foot in my door so I couldn't close it), although he pretended he was and gave me a false name. They claimed as I was a director then they could take my goods. They claimed they could take my wife's car and didn't have to worry about finance still owing. All in all they told a pack of lies. The timing was about as bad as it could be for me and I ended up paying them just to get rid of them. I felt bad with myself for giving in but have complained to the court, not that I have any faith that it will go further.

[welly]

And guess who it is all about?!?! Drakes and CCS make sure you watch it!!

 

See what **** they are

[maybelline]

I hope this brings about a change in the law or something real to stop them continuing the way they have. I dont think Rossendales are featured who I had trouble with and I wonder if the councils that use them should be made to take responsibility for using agents who act illegally?

 

just watched the trailor for this on news 24 - it is incredible that the people responsible for monitoring bailiffs are saying they will take action if necessary when I KNOW THAT THEY DO NOT, THEY UPHOLD THE BAILIFFS ACTIONS, I contacted ACEA and they just accepted everything the bailiff said, all the lies about getting the police to break in etc and terrified the life out of us, they are ****.

[seaweasel]

There's also an article on BBC News here:

 

BBC NEWS | Magazine | At debt's door

[Switch]

Will watch this one with interest thats for sure.

 

Had a serious running in with Drakes, knocked on my door I was not home so the guy pretty much bardged past my OH and 2 year old son and took a good look around downstairs.

 

I still have an issue with these leaches regarding the charges that they applied to the debt which Inland Revenue claimed was owed, which was an error on Inland Revenues part to start with, refund since given.

 

Pretty much forced to pay him 2,000 otherwise he was coming round to kick the fu*k**g door down His words not mine. Offered him 500 to get him off my back whilst I sort this problem out with Inland Revenue, not a chance payment in full by the next day or i'm coming back to your house with a van.

 

Now that I have found this site I will be going to battle with Drakes to get there fees back and will report them to who ever I can because this company is ****.

[caledfwlch]

I didnt realise that they actually had the right to peaceful entry, on a first visit, without even knocking on your door, to just turn up and go straight through a window :o I assumed they were obliged to get hold of your for first contact

 

How exactly are these archaic laws even enforceable under the human rights act? I should think at least several parts are in violation...

[ivorbiggun]

More on this on Beeb News:

 

BBC NEWS | Magazine | At debt's door

[Guest Zooman]

How exactly are these archaic laws even enforceable under the human rights act? I should think at least several parts are in violation...

This is something overtime CAG can look at

[martinpar]

I'm sure I remember reading a year or so back that the law in Scotland had been completely revised to make it almost impossible to seize goods for a debt. To be fair, I think the law before had allowed even worse things to be done than in England but if I am right why can't these reforms be extended to England & Wales?

[v_j_r]

Just a quicky for what could be a very interesting programme for tonight:

 

Whistleblower: An investigation on the practices of bailiffs tonight 9.00 PM BBC1.

[Thailand]

That was awful, but expected. Scumbags:-x Your mummys going to prison - nice.

[elsinore]

......and they're ALL at it!!

 

Eslinore