Complain About a Bailiff
What is an EAC2 complaint?
An EAC2 complaint is a complaint to the Court in relation to a bailiffs fitness to hold an Enforcement Agent Certificate. It is the most serious complaint a bailiff can face in relation to misconduct and can result in him losing his licence and therefore his job. Each Enforcement agent has a bond held by the court of £10,000 which a claim can be made against if the enforcement agent is unfit to hold the Enforcement officer licence.
Step 1
Make your initial complaint to the bailiff company. They will follow a Corporate Complaints procedure that at every stage they investigate their own employees actions and invariably find they did nothing wrong. Go through this procedure purely because the court will want to see that you have exhausted every other avenue before reporting the matter to the court.
Step 2
Make a complaint to the Creditor. You can do this at the same time you are making the complaint to the Bailiff company. They will follow the same Corporate Complaints procedure where they investigate themselves. Exhaust this procedure to show the court you have tried this option.
Step 3
Report the Enforcement Officer to his Trade Association Civia (Civil Enforcement Association).
Step 4
Once you have completed the first 3 steps and they have not dealt with your complaint satisfactorily, you are ready to go to the most important step. Get all the information from the above steps and report the Enforcement Agent to the Court:
Make a complaint about a bailiff - Form EAC2
Everyone has a statutory right to complain about a certificated bailiffs fitness to hold a certificate.
There is no fee, it only takes a few minutes and you don't even have to go to Court!
The law:
Regulation 9 of the Certification of Enforcement Agents Regulations 2014,
Paragraph 84.20 of the Schedule of the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2014 (procedure to make a complaint).
You can complain about any person including High Court Enforcement Officers whose name appears in the HMCTS Public Register of Certificated Bailiffs.
If the bailiff does not have a certificate then he commits an offence under paragraph 63(6) of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
Grounds for a complaint include;
Violence
Threats of violence
Assault
Harassment, including harassment by sending nuisance text messages
Causing injury
Damage to goods or property
Sex offences
Malicious behaviour, e.g. threatening to call 'social services' or a 'locksmith'
Conversion of controlled goods or vehicle to his own private use
If your complaint is about appropriating money or charging improper fees, then have a detailed assessment hearing.
Wait until the Civil Claim is dealt with
If you are bringing a money claim for the return of money or goods, then this complaint should be postponed until after your civil claim has concluded. During that claim hearing, you can ask the judge to make a finding of fact against the bailiff proving he breached a regulations or statutory provision and, you can use the judge's finding of fact to support your EAC2 complaint. A judge hearing an EAC2 complaint cannot go behind a finding of fact.
Bailiffs can have their certificates cancelled and order to pay you compensation from his bailiff bond.
Every Certificated bailiff must have a bond or deposit lodged with the court to the value of £10,000.
If the bailiff has committed a criminal offence, such as fraud, violence or failed to show evidence of a warrant, then consider making a criminal complaint.
Keep your complaint honest and truthful. Better still, make a sworn statement and the court will treat it with a lot more respect.
Procedure
1. Identify which court issued the bailiff his certificate using the Ministry of Justice public register of certificated bailiffs
2. Prepare a sworn statement based on this template as a starting point. Say what happened and what regulation the bailiff has breached. Say it briefly and factually and be totally honest. If you want to attend the complaint hearing to add more weight, the court will write with the date and location of the hearing. Get this sworn in before a solicitor or a commissioner of oaths (fee usually £5) and send this to the court you filed your original complaint.
ALWAYS SUPPORT YOUR COMPLAINT WITH A SWORN STATEMENT OF TRUTH
3. Copy the grounds of your complaint to a Form EAC2.
4. File the Form EAC2 and supporting sworn statement at the court that issued the bailiff's certificate.
5. The bailiff will reply to your complaint. It will usually a long wordy chronology of the history of the debt. Read it carefully and mark out, where the bailiff disputes your complaint.
6. Ask any witnesses to make a sworn statement re-asserting your complaint address everything the bailiff disputes your grounds and assertions.
7. The bailiff is required to attend court whether or not you choose to attend.
Always draft your complaint in plain English and attend the complaint hearing, you get to tell the judge what happened.
Using digital evidence
Always mention on the Form EAC2 that you wish to present digital evidence, such as a telephone call recording or a video, and bring it with you on a device. The court usher will pass the device up to the judge to view it.
Possible outcomes can be:
i) The bailiff's certificate is cancelled
ii) Compensation is awarded
iii) Court adjourns for 30 minutes for the parties to agree a redress outside court**
iv) Your complaint is dismissed
v) The judge orders bailiff & council's defence statements to be made over to the complainant
vi) The court orders the bailiff to undergo retraining
vii) The court accepts a voluntary undertaking from the bailiff to cease & deist the behaviour complained about
viii) Your complaint is dismissed, the Judge orders "for the avoidance of doubt" the complainant make a civil claim against the bailiff or the authority. This means the judge agrees there is grounds for complaint but not serious enough to cancel a bailiff's certificate
** If the judge adjourns and tells you and the bailiff to leave the court and agree a conclusion to your complaint, then agree to take a sum between £750 and £10,000 off the bailiff in return for discontinuing your complaint. The judge will make a consent order or an "unless order". The sum agreed is depending on the extent and quantity of your complaint, and the amount of time you spent researching and preparing your complaint.
If the bailiff is represented by a solicitor or a barrister and you receive correspondence that is marked "WITHOUT PREJUDICE" then DO NOT be tempted to respond to it.
Tips for attending Court
- Dress SMART.
- Take pen & paper with you, if the other side says something that is incorrect, make CAREFUL note of it and when it is your turn bring it up - DO NOT TRUST TO MEMORY - ADRENALIN IS PUMPING, YOU WILL FORGET. Also, at the very end, make careful note of the outcome.
- Keep very calm and relaxed.
- Never Never interrupt the other side, or the judge, or Magistrates depending where you are. You will be given your chance later - in fact you will be asked if you have anything further to say.
- Don't mumble. Speak clearly and precisely - no umms & ahh's, don't be flustered.
- Try not to repeat yourself.
- Be totally objective, do not stray into subjectivity - it doesn't help.
- If the solicitor for the other side attends he will almost certainly, before the hearing, approach you on a fishing trip. Listen politely and when asked a question, simply say you prefer to say nothing and leave it to the court. See Note below**
- DO NOT accept promises of payment without going into court to be made up to Judgment.
- Be prepared! - make careful note of the points you wish you raise. More cases are lost through bad or unprofessional preparation. Assemble your correspondence files with the most recent letters or documents at the top.
** If a solicitor thrusts a last minute statement into your hand outside court, tell the solicitor you will be asking for an adjournment so you can consider their defence statement. Say to the judge, the defence statement was only given to you minutes before the hearing (it should have been served on you 14 days before the hearing).
Make Sure you have evidence of the Bailiffs behaviour before making an EAC2 complaint!
The court an award costs against you if they think you are wasting their time.
EAC2 Complaints as to fitness to hold a certificate
CPR-84.20
(1) This rule applies to a complaint under regulation 9(1) of the Certification Regulations.
(2) The complaint must be submitted to the County Court hearing centre at which the certificate was issued, using the relevant form prescribed in Practice Direction 4.
(3) A copy of the complaint must be sent to the applicant at least 14 days before the hearing, and the applicant may respond both in writing and at the hearing.
(4) The complainant is not liable for any costs incurred by the certificated person in responding to the complaint, unless paragraph (5) applies.
(5) The court may order the complainant to pay such costs as it considers reasonable if it is satisfied that the complaint—
(a) discloses no reasonable grounds for considering that the certificated person is not a fit person to hold a certificate; and
(b) amounts to an abuse of the court’s process.