The body that oversees the bailiff industry in England and Wales has accused the UK government of failing to make meaningful progress on plans to introduce mandatory regulation of enforcement firms, a year after ministers pledged to act.
A year on from the government's pledge
According to the Guardian, on 9 June 2025 the Ministry of Justice announced a package of measures intended to "deliver a fairer system of debt enforcement" and launched a consultation on making bailiff regulation mandatory. Twelve months later, the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) — the body that currently oversees the industry on a voluntary basis — says little has changed.
Chris Nichols, the ECB's chief executive, 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."
A large and largely unregulated sector
As the Guardian reports, more than 7 million cases are sent to bailiff enforcement each year in the UK. The industry collects more than £1bn annually, the majority of which relates 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 declined to sign up to its standards or submit to its oversight. Nichols said: "It cannot be right for companies to simply refuse to comply with our standards for fair enforcement."
Concerns about harmful practices
Consumer groups have called for tighter regulation amid concerns about poor practices in the sector. According to the Guardian, these include aggressive behaviour on the doorstep, overcharging, clamping vehicles used by disabled people, and threatening to remove possessions that are legally exempt from seizure.
The Guardian previously revealed that Marston Holdings, described as Britain's biggest bailiff company, had overcharged people it was pursuing for unpaid debts and had been required to launch a refunds programme.
Calls from prominent voices
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, addressed the issue on his podcast last week, describing it as "outrageous that we still don't have a proper independent regulator." Lewis said he had seen "far too many cases of distress, upset, bullying, bad treatment", while acknowledging that not all bailiffs behave poorly.
The ECB's Nichols added that statutory regulation "is supported by the public, debt charities and the majority of the enforcement industry itself."
Government response
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told the Guardian that the government "remains committed to strengthening the regulation of the bailiff sector and fully supports the [ECB's] work." The spokesperson added that, following the consultation, the government is "developing proposals to ensure fair treatment for people in debt" and will "announce next steps soon."
Those awaiting the reforms, the Guardian reports, fear the policy has stalled.
Free, impartial debt advice is available from StepChange, MoneyHelper and Citizens Advice.