Birmingham City Council has begun an inquiry into the bailiff firm it uses to recover council tax debts after concerns were raised about its practices.
The first of two evidence sessions was held in January following concerns raised by council members at a meeting in November 2010 about the conduct of Equita, the bailiff firm owned by outsourcing giant Capita, over the way it handled council tax collection.
The issues raised included causing unnecessary stress to debtors, small debts increasing significantly due to bailiff charges, letters being delivered at 12.30am, and private tenants being chased for unpaid council tax owed by previous tenants.
Equita released a statement in response, which said: “Equita focuses on delivering a professional service and ensures its methods of operations are compliant with industry best practice and agreed with its clients.
“We would advise all individuals with council tax arrears to seek assistance and not delay or ignore payment.”
Two specific cases caused particular concern. In one case, bailiffs pursued a householder for unpaid council tax owed by previous tenants, even after proof of identity had been provided to the bailiffs and the council. The matter had to be brought to a councillor’s attention before being resolved.
In another case, a resident received a demand for underpayment of one instalment on council tax payments and responded on the same day explaining that payments were up to date and identifying how the problem had arisen.
Without further communication, a Summons was received approximately seven working days later claiming a total outstanding payment and giving a court date.
An email was immediately sent to the address on the Summons attaching correspondence explaining how the error had occurred and demanding a response. This issue was eventually concluded but not without the intervention of a Council Member.
Concern was also expressed about the inefficiency of the Council administration in ignoring relevant information provided and moving directly to a Summons.
The Council will meet again on 17 February to conclude its findings.
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