Bailiff indemnities

Wandsworth Borough Council did not have the information requested.

Dear Wandsworth Borough Council,

can you please answer under public interest using yes or no answers or a detailed description if you wish ...

the answers should be contained within your code of ethics and your contracts or
simply in any code of conduct.this is not a complaint against your council
but research into how bailiffs can be a law unto themselves if not watched

1. Does your enforcement agent contract allow your enforcement agents to
issue an indemnity against prosecution for themselves without the prior
agreement of the council in cases where they have wrongfully seized when
the customer is identifiably vulnerable?

2. Have you ever allowed bailiffs to make their own settlement agreements
where goods have to be returned after 3 months?

3. Would you allow enforcement agents to breach the equalities act by
achieving a gain whilst someone is under mental health treatment if it
meant your business rates were collected,even if they didnt inform you?

4. How would you react if they did this without you knowing?

5. Would you class a secret indemnity kept from the council which achieves
a gain at the cost to the vulnerable victim a material breach of contract
.?

6. Must enforcement agents always report failed levies and a full report
when dealing with vulnerable customers 7.would you employ enforcement
agents that have fraudulently concealed information that could cause
litigation to the council or serious damage to a protected party in the
past ?

thank you for your public concern in answering these questions asap.

8.before a seizure of a persons assets do you make sure under human rights act that the bailiff has done a fair and balanced test with regards to whether the seizure is in the favour of the public interest

Yours faithfully,

steve perkins

Official

Request for Information - 2019/2211 - Bailiff Indemnities

 

Thank you for your request for information received on 27/12/2019.

 

This will be processed in accordance with the appropriate access to
information regime.

 

Regards

 

FOI and DPA Officer

[email address]

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Official

Wandsworth Request for Information - 2019/2211 - Bailiff Indemnities

 

I refer to your request for information received on 27/12/2019.  Please
see the information below in response to your request: -

 

1. Does your enforcement agent contract allow your enforcement agents to
issue an indemnity against prosecution for themselves without the prior
agreement of the council in cases where they have wrongfully seized when
the customer is identifiably vulnerable?

Wandsworth’s Council Tax and Parking teams do not have contracts but
Service level agreements (SLA) with our Enforcement Agents (EA /
bailiffs).  The EA’s have their own Indemnities for insurance.

 

2. Have you ever allowed bailiffs to make their own settlement agreements
where goods have to be returned after 3 months?

Our EA’s are required to gain the Council’s permission before any removal
of goods is carried out.  If permission is granted and goods are held, any
arrangement for their return is between the EA and the debtor.

 

3. Would you allow enforcement agents to breach the equalities act by
achieving a gain whilst someone is under mental health treatment if it
meant your business rates were collected,even if they didnt inform you?

Wandsworth Council’s Business Rates is an outsourced service so they have
their own SLS's with EA's.

4. How would you react if they did this without you knowing?

N/A

 

5. Would you class a secret indemnity kept from the council which achieves
a gain at the cost to the vulnerable victim a material breach of
contract.?

Any `secret` indemnity would be investigated.  However, as stated in Q.1,
the Council is aware that EA’s have their own Indemnities for insurance.

 

6. Must enforcement agents always report failed levies and a full report
when dealing with vulnerable customers?

Our Council Tax and Parking teams get full reports and information on
Vulnerable cases, either by discussing over the phone or in writing.

 

7.Would you employ enforcement agents that have fraudulently concealed
information that could cause litigation to the council or serious damage
to a protected party in the past ?

We monitor all our EA’s and expect them to work within the SLA’S and
within the rights and protections of the law.

 

8.before a seizure of a persons assets do you make sure under human rights
act that the bailiff has done a fair and balanced test with regards to
whether the seizure is in the favour of the public interest?

The SLA’S we have with our EA’s expect all rights, laws and protections to
be up held and that they are fair.

 

I hope this information meets your needs. If you do not understand the
information provided or wish to discuss anything further, please feel free
to contact me and I, or another member of the team will be able to assist
you.

 

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Correspondence should be addressed to: 

Room 162, Wandsworth Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, London, SW18 2PU

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: 

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF

 

 

Regards,

 

FOI and DPA Officer

[1][email address]

 

 

From: steve perkins <[FOI #630441 email]>
Sent: 27 December 2019 14:16
To: FOI WBC <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Bailiff indemnities

 

Dear Wandsworth Borough Council,

can you please answer under public interest using yes or no answers or a
detailed description if you wish ...

the answers should be contained within your code of ethics and your
contracts or
simply in any code of conduct.this is not a complaint against your council
but research into how bailiffs can be a law unto themselves if not watched

1. Does your enforcement agent contract allow your enforcement agents to
issue an indemnity against prosecution for themselves without the prior
agreement of the council in cases where they have wrongfully seized when
the customer is identifiably vulnerable?

2. Have you ever allowed bailiffs to make their own settlement agreements
where goods have to be returned after 3 months?

3. Would you allow enforcement agents to breach the equalities act by
achieving a gain whilst someone is under mental health treatment if it
meant your business rates were collected,even if they didnt inform you?

4. How would you react if they did this without you knowing?

5. Would you class a secret indemnity kept from the council which achieves
a gain at the cost to the vulnerable victim a material breach of contract
.?

6. Must enforcement agents always report failed levies and a full report
when dealing with vulnerable customers 7.would you employ enforcement
agents that have fraudulently concealed information that could cause
litigation to the council or serious damage to a protected party in the
past ?

thank you for your public concern in answering these questions asap.

8.before a seizure of a persons assets do you make sure under human rights
act that the bailiff has done a fair and balanced test with regards to
whether the seizure is in the favour of the public interest

Yours faithfully,

steve perkins

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Dear FOI WBC,

hello
some context that may allow you to answer

a secret indemnity is one given to a vulnerable person to sign to say they wont sue the bailiff for taking goods wrongfully and holding them for 3 months if they bailiff returns the goods

a secret indemnity is one that the bailiffs dont tell the council about because it breaks equality duty

a secret indemnity is one that does not cover the council and allows the council to be sued for negligence when the persons mental health recovers

Yours sincerely,

steve perkins

Dear Wandsworth Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Wandsworth Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Bailiff indemnities'.

please complete

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Yours faithfully,

steve perkins

Public

 

Dear Mr Perkins

 

Thank you for following up on your request.  Before initiating the
Internal Review procedure, could I ask you to clarify the aspect of the
handling of your request that you are unhappy with?

 

It may be the case that you are unhappy with the responses you have
received because of the way you have worded your questions.  For
reference, the FOI process allows people to apply for the disclosure of
‘recorded information’, and not seek opinions, explanations or value
judgements.  I see that you have asked questions such as Does? How? Would?
Etc.

 

Next steps

Please either clarify which aspect of the handling of your request you are
unhappy with, or, please feel free to submit a new request, in light of
the above information.  You may also find it helpful to review the
guidance found on the Information Commissioner’s website, here:
[1]https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/off...

 

Kind regards,

 

Liam Cooper
FOI & DPA Officer
Serving Richmond and Wandsworth Council

020 8871 8800
+ [2][email address]

[3]www.richmond.gov.uk / [4]www.wandsworth.gov.uk

 

From: steve perkins <[FOI #630441 email]>
Sent: 25 February 2020 16:17
To: FOI WBC <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Bailiff
indemnities

 

Dear Wandsworth Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Wandsworth Borough Council's
handling of my FOI request 'Bailiff indemnities'.

please complete

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[5]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Yours faithfully,

steve perkins

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[6][FOI #630441 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[7]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[8]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

IMPORTANT:
This email and any of its attachments are intended solely for the use of
the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received
this message in error you must not print, copy, use or disclose the
contents to anyone. Please also delete it from your system and inform the
sender of the error immediately. Emails sent and received by Richmond and
Wandsworth Councils are monitored and may be subsequently disclosed to
authorised third parties, in accordance with relevant legislation.

References

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