Advice & Guidance
Complaints
If someone feels that they’ve been treated unfairly by an enforcement agent, or that the agent has breached the regulations, it is possible to complain.
An enforcement agent may have breached the regulations or the national standards if they:
- Have been threatening or harassing
- Misrepresented their powers
- Tried to charge incorrect fees
- Took control of goods that they knew belonged to someone else
- Took control of essential items, including things needed for work
There is guidance on what is and isn’t classified as an essential item, you can read this here: The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)
In most cases, the first step is to complain to the enforcement firm that the enforcement agent is working for. They should have details of how to complain on their website.
If it’s not possible to resolve the complaint with the firm, there are other ways of escalating it, depending on the type of debt and the type of enforcement agent. These are set out on the Government’s website: Bailiff powers when they visit your home: How to complain about a bailiff – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If the enforcement firm is enforcing debt on behalf of a Local Authority, it may be possible to raise a complaint with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. You can find details on how to do this on the LGSCO’s website here: Enforcement agents – Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
Enforcement agents are mandated by the Government to wear body worn cameras when they are working, and these recordings can be viewed when processing complaints to support any complaint made.
The ECB is not currently investigating complaints about the conduct of individual enforcement agents and firms, as we are developing our own standards for enforcement work and processes for handling complaints in the future. We will begin investigating complaints against ECB accredited firms in 2024.
One of our goals will be to simplify the multiple existing routes for escalating complaints.