Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) decision....Being a single parent does not mean you are vulnerable.

[Bailiff Advice]

This is another recent decision from the Local Government Ombudsman. This particular case addresses the common subject of single parents and whether or not they may be considered 'vulnerable' for the purposes of bailiff enforcement.

 

There have been a couple of Ombudsman's decisions regarding 'vulnerability' and as in this particular case, the LGO confirm that it is for the debtor to provide evidence as to how their 'vulnerability' affects their ability to pay or deal with the debt.

 

 

LGO Decision: North Hertfordshire District Council

 

 

 

Miss X complains the Council has used bailiffs to try and collect a disputed council tax debt, even though she is vulnerable. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint as she has not seen any evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

 

1 The complainant, who I shall call Miss X, complains via her MP that the Council has used bailiffs to try and recover a disputed council tax debt, despite her telling the bailiffs she is a vulnerable person.

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How I considered this complaint

 

4 I have considered Miss X’s complaint to us, the information her MP sent and the Council’s to Miss X’s complaint to it. Miss X has had the opportunity to comment, via her MP, on an earlier version of my final view.

 

 

What I found

 

5 In 2010 the Magistrates’ Court granted the Council a liability order for a council tax debt it said Miss X owed. The Council passed the debt to its bailiffs in the same year.

 

6 Miss X disputed the debt, saying she should have received council tax benefit. The Council said she had made claim for backdated council tax benefit, but this was refused as it was outside the time limit for backdating benefit.

 

7 I note the points above as background, but I am not looking at why Miss X owes the debt as any complaint about her liability is be late, and the Ombudsman has previously considered a complaint about Miss X’s benefits.

 

8 In spring Miss X sent the bailiffs a ‘‘cease and desist’ notice saying as a single parent with a seven year old daughter she was a vulnerable person and the bailiffs should not be taking action to recover the debt.

 

9 The bailiffs wrote to Miss X asking for further information so they could assess her situation and decide how it affected her ability to pay. As Miss X did not send the information the bailiffs visited her twice later in the year. Miss X then complained to the Council about this.

 

10 In 2014 the Government issued National Guidance for Enforcement Agents. Paragraph 77 says -

 

“Some groups who might be vulnerable are listed below. However, this list is not exhaustive. Care should be taken to assess each situation on a case by case basis.”

 

11 One of the groups listed who might be vulnerable are single parent families.

 

12 The Guidance is clear that if a debtor falls into the list the bailiffs must assess the individual case to see if they should take extra care in recovering the debt. Just because a debtor is a single parent does not, of itself, mean they are vulnerable.

 

13 The bailiff’s asked Miss X for more details of why she was vulnerable; she did not provide any information. So I cannot say the bailiffs were wrong to continue their recovery action.

 

14 I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council using bailiffs to recover a debt from a vulnerable person. Miss X did not send any other information to support her claim and the Council and bailiffs were not at fault to continue recovery action.

 

http://www.lgo.org.uk/decisions/benefits-and-tax/other/16-010-888

[Bailiff Advice]

The matter of vulnerability and bailiff enforcement is an extremely important subject and one that is greatly misunderstood.

 

There have been a couple of Local Government Ombudsman's decisions regarding the subject of 'vulnerability'. The following are two recent examples:

 

If a debtor considers that they are 'vulnerable', they are expected to provide evidence to outline how their vulnerability affects their ability to deal with the debt. This particular Local Government Ombudsman report explains the position in more detail:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?472583-Local-Government-Ombudsman-(LGO)-decision....Vulnerability-and-the-need-to-provide-evidence.

 

Vulnerability and 'mental health' is such an important subject and the following Local Government Ombudsman's decision is a very important one:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?472582-Local-Government-Ombudsman-(LGO)-decision....Mental-health-and-bailiff-enforcement.

[Leakie]

Thank you BA

 

The problem with Vulnerability, is it is down to opinion

 

Someone may think they are vulnerable, where someone else thinks they are not.

 

So what do debtors and creditors use, as a hard and fast rule to decided what a vulnerability is?

[Leakie]

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