Bailiffs are charging excessive fees and not explaining their charges to debtors when acting for councils, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has warned. In a report issued today the LGO has warned councils they have to take responsibility for their bailiffs’ actions, and ensure complaints are handled properly. The LGO has not named individual councils or bailiff firms in today’s report but a spokesperson referred to individual cases it has previously publicised, including Blaby District Council and Slough Borough Council, as examples of a recurring trend which prompted the report. Today’s report highlights other cases that resulted in serious injustice to individual debtors including one case where a debtor was charged three fees amounting to £405 without any explanation. When the LGO obtained an explanation of the charges from the council involved, they found the debtor had been overcharged by £300 plus VAT. In another case, bailiffs charged a ‘van fee’ for attending a property with a vehicle to remove goods, as they are entitled to do, but in this case the van fee was charged when the bailiffs had not entered a property or removed any goods. The LGO has also warned that councils must improve their approach to the use of bailiffs where potentially vulnerable debtors are concerned.....Read more here: Councils warned on bailiff use