Council still hounding people with bailiffs after ‘ethical’ approach promise
Jack Scott moved to Bishopsworth in 2019 before leaving Bristol in 2021. But years later, he would have to deal with intimidating phone calls from bailiffs for council tax he thought he’d paid, as he spiralled further into debt.
Jack is one of thousands who have had council tax arrears sent to bailiffs by Bristol City Council in the last two years.
That’s despite a 2018 pledge by the local authority to stop using bailiffs to collect unpaid council tax, after a Cable campaign exposed how the cruel practice pushed vulnerable people further into debt. It was lauded by charities and advice agencies.
In 2019, the pilot launched, which meant phasing out the use of bailiffs, creating an in-house team to provide extra reminders before people get into arrears, and referring them to advice agencies.
According to the council’s debt-collection policy, if someone repeatedly misses payments and warning notices without showing they are in financial hardship have other vulnerabilities, the authority may take them to court for a liability order. This could lead to enforcement action.
They use loopholes and they are still doing it
But crucially, enforcement agents will only be used for people ‘who won’t pay rather than can’t pay’. The policy says the council will provide guidance and support, refer people to other advice agencies, assess what they can afford and any vulnerabilities they might have, and agree an affordable repayment plan.
But the Cable has uncovered examples of people not being notified of their debt until the bailiffs came calling and the council refusing to take the debts in-house despite a willingness to pay.
Collection activity paused during the pandemic but restarted in 2022/23. In the first half of 2023/24 roughly 2,000 council tax accounts were referred to enforcement agencies.
Jack Scott was contacted by debt collector Bristow and Sutor in July 2023 about council tax arrears of £746 – after no notifications from the council. “We thought it was a mistake,” his mum Liz told the Cable. “Then the phone calls began, which were unpleasant and intimidating.”
‘Where’s their duty of care?’
Jack found out the tenant who had been collecting council tax on behalf of his house had stopped passing it onto the council, which police are now investigating.
“We decided to pay because we were dealing with bailiffs,” Liz said. “They were visiting the old address, knowing he wasn’t there and charges were racking up – £400 a time.”
When Jack paid the debt, the council said it was the only one. But then in April 2024, he was contacted again by Bristow and Sutor demanding money for other debts.
Jack says the council has wrongly tried to charge him for a period in 2022 when he no longer lived at the property, and that Bristow and Sutor had added charges onto his debt by visiting his old property despite knowing he no longer lives there, and having other ways to contact him.
After he complained, the council asked Bristow and Sutor to pause collection activity. But this only happened on one of the two accounts, meaning Jack still faces further charges.
“We’ve never said we wouldn’t pay, but they’ve spiralled him into debt,” said Liz, who was outraged when she read about the council’s ‘ethical’ approach. “They use loopholes and they’re still doing it. They know the tactics bailiffs use, I just think where is their duty of care?”
Jack has now paid back roughly £3,500, out of £5,250 owed. He and his mum hope they will get some money back if council investigators find he wasn’t fully liable for the historic debt.
Nor are they the only people the Cable has spoken to about being hounded by bailiffs, despite not being notified of their arrears by the council.
At the end of 2023/24, total arrears owed to the council stood at nearly £54 million – more than triple pre-pandemic levels. The cash-strapped authority has a right to collect debts, but needs to do so by following its own policies that are intended to avoid intimidation and pushing people further into debt.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “Customers 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.
“It is only after a court has granted a liability order that a case may be referred to enforcement agents,” the spokesperson added. “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.”
