Laws to tackle aggressive bailiffs will be introduced next year in England and Wales, the government has announced.
Bailiffs will be banned from entering homes at night, or properties where only children are present, and will be stopped from using any physical contact when dealing with people who owe money. They will also no longer have free rein to fix their own fees, because set fee scales will be brought in. Bailiff organisations said the changes were badly needed.

Bad name
Martin Leyshon, chairman of the High Court Enforcement Officers Association, said: "We believe that the system is very archaic in England and Wales. As an association we fully support the government's attempts to sort out the problem of aggressive bailiffs." The Civil Enforcement Association called it a "small step forward". "The industry has been pressing for reform for nearly 30 years and we feel these are long overdue. We look forward to their early introduction," it said. Justice minister Helen Grant said a small minority of bailiffs had been able to give the industry a bad name.....Read more here