The UK government has been accused of moving too slowly on plans to make regulation of bailiffs mandatory in England and Wales, a year after the Ministry of Justice announced it would legislate to require independent oversight of the sector.
ECB Criticises Lack of Progress
The Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB), the body that currently oversees the bailiff industry on a voluntary basis, has publicly criticised what it describes as a lack of "visible progress" since the government's announcement. According to the Guardian, ECB chief executive Chris Nichols said: "Government has rightly committed to act but a year on from announcing this, there is still no clear plan. Every year hundreds of thousands of people are receiving enforcement action from unregulated providers. This is not fair and government should now address this."
Nichols added that statutory regulation is "supported by the public, debt charities and the majority of the enforcement industry itself", and called for mandatory authorisation so that everyone subject to enforcement action has the same protections, regardless of which firm is used.
A Large and Largely Unregulated Sector
According to the Guardian, more than 7 million cases are sent to enforcement each year in England and Wales. The industry collects more than £1 billion a year, with the majority relating to unpaid parking and traffic fines and council tax arrears. It is not currently a statutory requirement for enforcement firms to be authorised by the ECB, and some companies have refused to sign up to its standards or accept its oversight.
Consumer groups have raised concerns about a range of alleged poor practices in the sector. These include aggressive behaviour on doorsteps, overcharging, clamping vehicles used by disabled people, and threatening to remove possessions that are legally exempt from seizure.
Marston Holdings Refunds and Wider Concerns
The Guardian previously reported that Marston Holdings, described as Britain's biggest bailiff company, had overcharged people it was pursuing for unpaid debts and had been forced to launch a refunds programme.
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, also weighed in on the issue last week, saying on his podcast that it was "outrageous that we still don't have a proper independent regulator". He said he saw "far too many cases of distress, upset, bullying, bad treatment", while noting that "not all bailiffs are bad".
Government Response
On 9 June 2025, the government outlined a package of measures designed to "deliver a fairer system of debt enforcement" and launched a consultation on the mandatory regulation of bailiff services. However, according to the Guardian, those awaiting the changes fear the policy has since stalled.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told the Guardian that the government "remains committed to strengthening the regulation of the bailiff sector" and said it is "developing proposals to ensure fair treatment for people in debt", adding that it would "announce next steps soon".
Free, impartial debt advice is available from StepChange, MoneyHelper and Citizens Advice.