File: /home/roofmagazine.org.uk/public_html/opinion/dont_help_bailiffs_help_themselves.html
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/>
<title>ROOF - Opinion</title>
<link rel="canonical" href="https://roofmagazine.org.uk/opinion/dont_help_bailiffs_help_themselves" />
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="../images/roof/favicon.ico"/>
<meta name="Title" content="ROOF Magazine - Don’t help bailiffs help themselves"/>
<meta name="Description" content="People in debt need legal help, not threats, says Paul Nicolson.
"/>
<meta name="Subject" content="Don’t help bailiffs help themselves"/>
<meta name="Publisher" content="ROOF Magazine, Shelter, 88 Old Street, London EC1V 9HU United Kingdom; roof@shelter.org.uk."/>
<meta name="Date" content="18 February 2024"/>
<meta name="Keywords" content="benefits, debt, legal, unemployment, income, welfare"/>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../roof_styles/reset.css"/>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../roof_styles/roofstyles.css"/>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../scripts/jquery.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../roof_scripts/basicscripts.js"></script>
<!--[if lt IE 7]>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://www.roofmagazine.org.uk/roof_styles/ie_less_seven.css" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if lte IE 6]>
<style type="text/css">
.clearfix { height: 1%; }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]>
<style type="text/css">
.clearfix {display:inline-block;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</head>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
} catch(err) {}</script>
<!--div id="baseline"></div-->
<!--div id="columns"><div id="columns_bg"></div></div-->
<div id="container" class="clearfix">
<a name="topofpage"></a>
<div class="line" id="adbar60">
<div id="toplh_ad">
<a href="/" target="_blank"><img src="../openx/www/images/homelessness_conf_2010.homelessanim.gif" width="468" height="60" alt="Lime Legal" title="Lime Legal" border="0"/></a><div id="beacon_805ac97406" style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; visibility: hidden;"></div>
</div>
<div id="toprh_ad">
<a href="/" target="_blank"><img src="../openx/www/images/localgovbanner.gif" width="468" height="60" alt="LocalGov" title="LocalGov" border="0"/></a><div id="beacon_daa6af651b" style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; visibility: hidden;"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="line">
<div class="item" id="header">
<div class="sap-content">
<a href="/"><img src="../images/roof/roof_logo_final.png" alt="ROOF - For better housing" id="roof_logo"/></a>
<ul id="main_navigation">
<li><a href="../roofblog">Blog</a></li>
<li><a href="../features">Features</a></li>
<li><a href="../opinion">Opinion</a></li>
<li><a href="../jobs">Jobs</a></li>
<li><a href="../diary">Diary</a></li>
<li class="final_item"><a href="../about">About ROOF</a></li>
</ul>
<form method="post" action="/">
<div class="hiddenFields">
<input type="hidden" name="ACT" value="19"/>
<input type="hidden" name="XID" value="bf2e7efb9a9990a6c5dd37cd295a6474"/>
<input type="hidden" name="RP" value="search&#47;results"/>
<input type="hidden" name="NRP" value=""/>
<input type="hidden" name="RES" value="10"/>
<input type="hidden" name="status" value=""/>
<input type="hidden" name="weblog" value="features|diary|roofblog|opinion|about"/>
<input type="hidden" name="search_in" value="everywhere"/>
<input type="hidden" name="where" value="all"/>
<input type="hidden" name="site_id" value="1"/>
</div>
<div id="searchbox">
<input type="text" name="keywords" id="main_searchfield" value="Search this site"/>
<button id="main_search_button" type="submit"></button>
</div>
</form>
<div id="subscription_promo">
<p id="promo_text">Online access is now Free. If you have an existing subscription <a href="../subscriptions">click here</a> for more information</p>
<!--p id="password_reminder"><a href="https://roofmagazine.org.uk/subscriptions/reset_password.php">Forgot your password?</a></p-->
</div>
<!--div id="login_instruction">Login for your online access: </div--><!--div class="item" id="login_box"><form method="post" action="http://www.roofmagazine.org.uk/" >
<div class='hiddenFields'>
<input type="hidden" name="XID" value="38fb63fae440abbf69ac42b265d9cb5a" />
<input type="hidden" name="ACT" value="9" />
<input type="hidden" name="RET" value="//opinion/dont_help_bailiffs_help_themselves/" />
<input type="hidden" name="site_id" value="1" />
</div>
<input type="text" id="login_user_name" value="ROOF reference" name="username" />
<input type="password" id="login_password" value="Password" name="password" />
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Login" id="login_button" />
</form>
</div-->
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="line clearfix">
<div class="item" id="navigation_column">
<ul id="topics_navigation" class="nav_categories">
<li><a href="../opinion/category/analysis">Analysis</a></li>
<li><a href="../opinion/category/columns">Columns</a></li>
<li><a href="../opinion/category/finance">Finance</a></li>
<li><a href="../opinion/category/guest_writers">Guest writers</a></li>
<li><a href="../opinion/category/interviews">Interviews</a></li>
<li><a href="../opinion/category/politics">Politics</a></li>
<li><a href="../opinion/category/renting">Renting</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="item" id="content_column">
<ul id="features_breadcrumb_trail">
<li><a href="/">ROOF</a></li>
<li><a href="../opinion">Opinion</a></li><li><a href="../opinion/category/guest_writers">Guest writers</a></li><li>Don’t help bailiffs help themselves</li>
</ul>
<div id="body_column">
<div class="feature_item clearfix">
<h1 id="features_header">Don’t help bailiffs help themselves</h1>
<p id="article_info"><span>Published 18 February 2024</span></p>
<div id="leadin">
<p>People in debt need legal help, not threats, says Paul Nicolson.</p>
</div>
<div id="copy_area">
<div class="feature_body">
<p>People struggling with debt have more to fear now bailiffs can legally break in to their homes to enforce fines. These powers will be increased to enforce all debts and will allow bailiffs to use force against debtors.</p>
<p>One of my parishioners, Fred, got into debt when his local authority made a mistake with his benefits. The council started to evict him and sent bailiffs to recover the money. He had a nervous breakdown, lost his job and was hospitalised for three weeks. Fred’s difficulties led to his bank account becoming overdrawn and charges being imposed. It took months for the Ombudsman to persuade the bank to pay back more than £1,000 of penalties. </p>
<p>
</p>
</div>
<div class="feature_extended">
<p>The bailiffs’ actions played a big part in worsening Fred’s plight. He felt threatened when they turned up on his doorstep. The only help he received was from a Zacchaeus 2000 Trust volunteer, with access to pro bono lawyers, who steered him through the problems that almost led him to becoming homeless. </p>
<p>The new Welfare Reform Bill is expected to introduce a single office through which all benefits can be applied for and all complaints channelled. But we fear it could pave the way for harsher treatment of people who have difficulty connecting with the benefit departments and the Jobcentre.</p>
<p>Help to get into work is to be welcomed. But, connecting the right to benefits with the responsibility to find work is based on policies in Europe, where the unemployment benefit of childless adults is 60 per cent of average earnings, compared to 40 per cent in the UK. </p>
<p>Citizens have a responsibility to find work. But so too does the government to ensure a minimum income in work or unemployment. </p>
<p><em>Rev Paul Nicolson is chairman of the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust.</em></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="feature_tags">
<div id="sharethis">
<a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" onclick="return addthis_open(this, 'email', '[URL]', '[TITLE]');" border="0" class="at_email">Email this</a>
<a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=xa-4a48c802796d85f1" onmouseover="return addthis_open(this, '', '[URL]', '[TITLE]')" onmouseout="addthis_close()" onclick="return addthis_sendto()" class="at_share">Share this</a>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../js/250/addthis_widget-pub-xa-4a48c802796d85f1.js"></script>
</div>
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="/" title="benefits">benefits</a>, <a href="/" title="debt">debt</a>, <a href="../opinion/tags/tag/legal" title="legal">legal</a>, <a href="/" title="unemployment">unemployment</a>, <a href="/" title="income">income</a>, <a href="/" title="welfare">welfare</a<>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="item" id="advertising_column">
<script type="text/javascript"><!--//<![CDATA[
var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https://roofmagazine.org.uk/openx/www/delivery/ajs.php':'/');
var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);
if (!document.MAX_used) document.MAX_used = ',';
document.write ("<scr"+"ipt type='text/javascript' src='"+m3_u);
document.write ("?zoneid=1");
document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);
if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write ("&exclude=" + document.MAX_used);
document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));
document.write ("&loc=" + escape(window.location));
if (document.referrer) document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer));
if (document.context) document.write ("&context=" + escape(document.context));
if (document.mmm_fo) document.write ("&mmm_fo=1");
document.write ("'><\/scr"+"ipt>");
//]]>--></script><noscript><a href="/" target="_blank"><img src="../openx/www/delivery/avw_php-zoneid-1-cb-INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE-n-aa9d368a.jpg" border="0" alt=""/></a></noscript>
</div>
</div>
<div class="line">
<div class="item" id="btt">
<p><a href="#topofpage">Back to top of page</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="line">
<div class="item" id="footer">
<div id="footer_menu">
<h3><a href="../about">About this site</a></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://england.shelter.org.uk/shop/subscriptions/roof_magazine">Subscriptions information</a></li>
<li><a href="../about/copyright">Disclaimer and copyright</a></li>
<li><a href="../about/privacy">Privacy policy</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p id="roof_contact">© 2005-09 ROOF Magazine | ROOF 88 Old Street, London EC1V 9HU</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
} catch(err) {}</script>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>