» Section 1 - Purpose of this consultation paper
» Section 2 - Background and Proposal
» Fee 2 - for levying distress
» Fee 4 - for taking possession
1.1 This document seeks views on the Lord Chancellor's proposal to increase bailiff fees for the collection of fixed penalties under the Road Traffic Act 1991.
Comments on this proposal should be sent by 13 March 1998 to:
Audrey Fisher
Civil Justice Division
Room 3.28
Selborne House
Lord Chancellor's Department
54 - 60 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QW
DX 117000
Telephone: 0171-210 8767
Fax: 0171-210 8559
1.2 Further copies of the document are available from the above address. The Government is unable to guarantee that it will be able to take account of responses received after the deadline, although it will do its best to do so.
1.3 The Department may wish to publish responses to this consultation, unless a respondent specifically asks for their response to be treated as confidential. Confidential responses will be included in any statistical summary of numbers of comments received and views expressed.
2.1 The Road Traffic Act 1991 decriminalised parking offences in London and established a regime of fixed penalty notices, issued by local authorities, to be enforced through the civil courts. Enforcement proceedings in the county court are not taken until the local authority has considered any representations made by the driver, and until any appeal by the driver to the parking adjudicator has been concluded. Unpaid parking penalties are registered as judgments of the county court through the Parking Enforcement Centre at Northampton. If the driver fails to pay after receipt of a court order, the local authority can apply to issue a warrant of execution.
2.2 The Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Order 1993 provides that warrants of execution issued in these circumstances must be executed by certificated bailiffs. These are bailiffs in the private sector who have been granted a certificate by a county court judge under the Distress for Rent Rules 1988. The fees which bailiffs may charge debtors for enforcing these debts are set by order by the Lord Chancellor, under section 78 of the Road Traffic Act 1991, and are detailed in Schedule 1 of the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) Regulations 1993.
2.3 It has been put to the Department that the fees are due for review and arguments were put forward for increases to Fees 1 and 2 in particular.
Fee No 1 - ‘for making initial contact with the debtor by letter, prior to visiting'
We were asked to consider increasing this fee from £10 to £25 on the grounds that:-
authorities require bailiffs to do more than send a single letter before visiting, such as, making contact by telephone;
overheads, such as logging details on to the computer system, are incurred when the bailiff receives the warrant;
there are continuing overheads the costs of which are not covered if debtors pay on receipt of an initial letter. These include reporting and accounting to the issuing authority, and offering various means of payment.
2.4 There is no separate fee for administrative costs. However, it appears that the actual cost of sending the letter and the administrative overhead of each individual case is more than covered by the present £10 fee. If the fee were increased this would mean that the debtors who pay at this stage would be subsidising the costs to the bailiffs of the cases where no money is recovered. Penalising these debtors would do nothing to encourage the bailiff firms and local authorities to improve the percentage of cases where enforcement is successful. We therefore propose keeping this fee at its present level.
Fee No 2 - ‘For levying distress'
2.5 We were asked to consider an increase in this fee because enforcement of parking offences under this legislation is confined to London, while many debtors actually reside outside the local authority area where the penalty was issued. The Department recognises that this increases the cost of enforcement and ancillary administration where debtors fail to pay on receipt of the bailiffs initial letter and the bailiffs have to make a visit.
2.6 Accordingly we propose that the fees for levying distress be increased as follows:
Fee 2. For levying distress -
Where the sum demanded and due does not exceed £100: from £20 to £25.
Where the sum demanded and due exceeds £100: on the first £200 from
20% to 25%.
(The rate of 5% on any additional sum over £200 to remain unchanged)
2.7 It is proposed that the fees under fee number 4 where the bailiff is in possession are increased in line with inflation.
Fee No 4 - For taking possession
Where a man is left in physical possession (close possession): from £4.50 a day to £5.00 a day.
Where walking possession is agreed for the first 14 days: from 45p
each day to 50p each day.
(The rate of 5p each day thereafter to remain unchanged)