Thugs Charter??

[Loosehead]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6358591 .stm

Anyone know any more detail about this? I mean I have no debts but the people that lived in the place before have. Does that mean that bailiffs can just force entry and take what they like on the belief that it's the home of the debtor? Why is the governement creating this thugs charter? Someone reassure me please I'm horrified. Anyone know the actual detail of this bill? I've done a bit of searching but all I can find is the headline stuff.

[maxximus]

loosehead, the man that's been waving the flag the whole time iv've been on this website. is that a slight tremor of panic i hear in your typing, hold on (they can't do that) time to wake up my son! cheers.

[Loosehead]

What flag? No one's more anti Labour than me, you must have me mixed up with someone else. I am always against the Big brother stuff as well, so please clarify! and yes I am worried about having thugs breaking down m door and asking questions later!

[WaldoMcFroog]

Details: http://www.dca.gov.uk/legist/tribenforce.htm

[Whickerman]

given the numerous undercover stories reported by the likes of the BBC, this is pretty horrifying.

There's also a practice the bailiff firms use whereby they blanket call all people in an area with the same name, and just choose the one that sounds like the debtor, whether it's them or not, and plague them. It's madness to allow this go through surely?

[good-arras]

If anything they should be more restricted, they abuse their powers already

I dealt with some last year over an unpaid council tax bill from a previous address. They added �40 for 2 callouts by the bailiff - he never left a card so I only have their word that he called round. When I complained about this they added another �200 for my 'wilful refusal to pay' - I wasn't refusing, I only voiced my disapproval. They also refused to accept payments by instalment - licensed robbery!

[mushroom25]

have heard that the government want housebreakers to register as bailiffs.

the resultant elimination of burglary/reduction of crime rate will be hailed by Mr Blair as a triumph of Labour policy on law and order.