Scottish Councils Resort to 'Shocking' Use of Bailiffs to Recover Debt, Says Trust Deed Scotland

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, April 25, 2012 (Press-News.org) Edinburgh and Glasgow account for nearly 1 in 10 of all referrals for enforcement action, topping the list of UK authorities, with almost six million cases being passed to bailiffs over the last three years. In total 27 local authorities in Scotland revealed figures that accounted for 20% of all UK referral cases.

Big Brother Watch, a civil liberties and privacy spin-off from lobby group The TaxPayer's Alliance, revealed the figures following its freedom of information request of the UK's 433 councils.

A spokesperson for Debt Solutions Company, Trust Deed Scotland, said: "What is going on in Scotland that it accounts for 20% of local authority use of enforcement action, yet it houses less than a tenth of the UK's population? The UK's largest local authority, Birmingham, has twice the population of Glasgow yet referred over a fifth fewer cases. It's starting to look like Scotland's local authorities are getting a bit trigger happy with the enforcement referrals, which actually costs a substantial sum themselves to action."

Edinburgh Council referred 287,315 cases to bailiffs, while Glasgow sent 281,718. Fife also makes it into the top ten at ninth place.

Director of Big Brother Watch, Daniel Hamilton, said: "These are shocking figures. There's a good number of Scottish local authorities in the top places, with Glasgow and Edinburgh topping the list and leaving Birmingham way behind at number three."

A spokesman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said councils are "damned if they do, damned if they don't" and "Councils have to strike a balance and they will only send in bailiffs as a last resort when all other options have failed."

Edinburgh City Council's convener of the finance committee, Phil Wheeler, is adamant debt collection is an important part of ensuring adequate funding for the community. "Council tax income accounts for over a fifth of our funding. It is essential that we make every effort to collect it to ensure that we have sufficient funds to provide vital services to Edinburgh residents."

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: "We expect everyone in Glasgow to pay their fair share. The council is committed to doing everything it can to assist families, individuals and businesses, however we will pursue those who won't pay."

"I can decided whether Scotland has a more robust and efficient system for chasing debt or whether it simple sends in the bailiffs as a matter of course," said the spokesperson. "The former is preferable, the latter is not. I would be interested to know how much money was recovered compared to how much was spent on sending the bailiffs in."

"Having bailiffs knocking at your door is a frightening experience. Many Scottish citizens have had their income squeezed by redundancy, salary reductions, loss of overtime, loss of benefits and the rising cost of living. I hope that the council makes every effort to resolve the debt issue with them before resorting to bailiffs, as it can make a desperate situation far, far worse."

"Many citizens who come to us to take about debt solutions like Trust Deeds or the Debt Arrangement Scheme live in fear of the shame and loss of power that bailiffs represent. Terrifying people when they have financial problems is not the way for Scottish local authorities to be helping its citizenry during tough economic times," concluded the spokesperson.

Trust Deed Scotland provide help and advice on the ScottishTrust Deed debt solution. With a Trust Deed you can write off up to 90% of your debt and be completely debt free in 36 months. Our experienced advisors are only a phone call away to help you with your debt problems.

Website: http://www.trustdeeds.net