Simplified fees scale approved by government

A simplified fees scale for debt recovery will come into effect as part of a package of bailiff reforms on 6 April. The new fees will apply to all types of non-High Court debt while High Court debt will have its own set of fees.

Under the changes there will be three enforcement stages: the compliance stage fee will be £75; enforcement stage fee £235; and sale or disposal stage £110.

Several bailiff firms have long been campaigning for simplified and transparent fees. 

The fees have been set at levels designed to encourage the debtor to pay early while not creating unfair additional debt for them.

New regulations have been designed to improve Part 3 of the Tribunals, Courts & Enforcement Act 2007. Other changes drawn up by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) include a ban on the use of force against debtors and forbidding bailiffs from entering homes when only children are present. Under the new regulations bailiffs will only be allowed to enter the homes of debtors between 6am and 9pm.

The overall reforms are intended to protect vulnerable people, while making sure business and authorities can fairly collect debts owed to them.

Justice Minister Shailesh Vara said: “There are some very good, reputable bailiffs around, but we know there is bad practice out there that needs to be dealt with.

“For too long bailiffs have gone unregulated, allowing a small minority to give the industry a bad name. These laws will help to clean up the industry and ensure bailiffs play by the rules. They will also make sure businesses and public bodies can collect their debts fairly.”

Steve Everson, director general of civil enforcement association CIVEA, said: “At last the new regulations for civil enforcement in England and Wales appear to be on track for introduction in April 2014.

“These regulations bring with them a previously absent clarity and ease of understanding of both procedures and fee structure. They also bring uniformity, or at least near uniformity, across the different debt types and remove current unintended perverse incentives to prolong the enforcement process.”

He added: “By setting the fees, for each of the three enforcement stages, at levels that cover the costs of carrying out the activities required there is no longer pressure to escalate the process to the next level merely to cover the costs of enforcement. The new procedures also actively encourage enforcement companies to enter into affordable repayment arrangements with debtors. Additionally, there will be a greater emphasis upon professionalism with the introduction of mandatory training and an enhanced certification process.”

Everson said debtors will benefit from a more flexible approach from enforcement firms and more understandable fees and procedures. “The new regulations also encourage engagement between bailiff companies and debtors prior to a bailiff visit enabling settlement of the debt without the sometimes emotionally charged reactions resulting from a bailiff visit,” he explained.

“Bailiff firms benefit from the introduction of a ‘cost plus’ fee structure, the fact that all fees and charges will become the property of the bailiff company rather than the local authority and, hopefully, a reduction in the number of complaints due to the transparency and simplicity of the new procedures and fee scale.”