Protestors have called for Haringey Council to “give bailiffs the ban, before they rob your nan”.
The Association for Community Organisations for Reform Now (ACORN) marched on Tottenham Town Hall yesterday (September 17) to call for the end of the use of private bailiffs to collect council tax debts.
It comes after new Freedom of Information (FOI) figures showed that the number of debts passed on by Haringey Council to bailiffs had increased for a third year in a row.
In total, 8,942 unpaid council tax cases in the borough were referred to bailiffs in the last financial year, an increase of more than 750 cases compared to the previous year.
Yesterday, dozens of protestors called on Haringey Council to end the practice, with one banner reading: “Give bailiffs the ban, before they rob your nan.”
In an open letter signed by 25 local organisations and individuals, including Labour councillor Tammy Hymas, ACORN urged the council to reconsider its collection methods.
The group pointed to Southwark Council, where an in-house debt collection service operates, as a “viable alternative”.
Haringey Council has said that it only ever uses bailiffs as a “last resort”, and urged anyone struggling to pay council tax to get in touch so they can be offered support.
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