Will The BBC Change The Bailiff Industry ?

On Tuesday, I watched Both the Docudrama 'Killed By My Debt' and the Interview with the Bailiff and His/Her description of the state of the Industry, The CEA appeared knowledgeable and I found the whole package that the BBC put forward, to be fair and as balanced as a Docudrama can be. The whole event was intelligently put together and by the time that it was complete, I feel that it clearly showed that in this whole sad affair left only loss and everyone involved will have been deeply effected by the loss of this needless death and my thoughts go out to the family and the bailiff that was pulled into a horrific event, the death of anyone so young is going to effect a whole series of people, just like a stone thrown into a pond creates a series of ripples rolling outwards, so will his death. One thing can be clearly stated is that there were only Losers from what occurred on that day.

I have been involved in the Bailiff Industry for 34 years now and have seen how suicide effects the Bailiff involved, a dear friend of mine was involved in one, where he forfeited a lease on a Commercial Property and the tenant broke back in and hung himself, it led to him leaving the bailiffs Industry and later on he had a nervous breakdown, I can only imagine what the Bailiff who was involved with this case is going through and he am certain that it is something that will play on both his mind and heart for the rest of his life.

The same can only be true for the family and I extend my commiserations to them and his friends, to lose someone so young and from the filming of the piece, so loved and central to the family the family unit is an appalling thing. I feel that the Industry needs to learn many lessons from this tragic episode, so too does The Ministry of Justice, one thing that all the Major Players accept is the need for a body with overview of the Bailiff Industry, I would go further and TCER has examined this very closely and feel that simple overview isn't enough, what is truly needed is an Independent Regulator, a Regulator who has the power to put in place solutions to the many faults in the Current Legislation, a Regulator with teeth who can hold Companies to account as well as individual Certificated Enforcement Agents(Bailiffs official new title), it needs to ensure that there is ongoing CPD and further AND qualifications that can set a path up so CEAs can progress in their knowledge and train all the way up to the equivalent to HCEOs training thereby breaking the stranglehold that the members of The HCEOA have on High Court work, this incident is obvious proof that a Level two NVQ isn't enough fit for purpose and that many Company Training Courses are not making the expectation of Knowledge of the legislation, high enough or that the CEAs that go through those courses, still don't have enough knowledge to know how to react and are fully responsible for their own actions if they are self employed, this recent ruling in the High Court recently established this to be the case, the bailiff in question was fortunate to act on behalf of a company which was one that was prepared to stand behind the CEAs they used.

I hope that all interested Parties come together to learn lessons that need to be learnt and avoid the possibility of the waste of such a young life, we all live in a life that seems to travel at one million miles an hour. let us all slow down and look at this case to see if a positive result can come out of such a tragic occurrence. The shape of the Bailiff Industry needs to change for the Bailiff on the Doorstep and the people thatthey deal with, I truly believe that the era of companies training Bailiffs to act as self employed agents needs to end and the introduction of a PAYE Structure with a living wage should be just one of the aims that an Independent Regulator and I hope that someone shares this piece with the family who has been through so much, just so they know that many elements of the Enforcement Industry, not only recognises their loss and the CEA gets all the help he certainly needs in the profound situation he has found himself in, There is much to be learned from this tragedy so we can see a positive outcome to avoid such shocking incidents occur again. I believe that without change the Industry may not well survive, especially in view of many other that are going on within it.