Part 3: Enforcement by Taking Control of Goods Background Procedure
321.At present the law relating to enforcement by the seizure and sale of goods is complex and can be unclear and confusing. It is contained in numerous statutes, secondary legislation and common law and its language is old fashioned. There are various terms that describe this enforcement process, for example execution, distress and levy and various different procedures depending on the type of debt which is being recovered. Effective Enforcement recommended the terminology should be modernised and the procedure reformed.
322.Effective Enforcement also identified that persons who currently take control of goods are not subject to any uniform regulatory system and highlighted anecdotal evidence of some enforcement agents threatening and intimidating vulnerable debtors. Effective Enforcement therefore proposed a system to guard against malpractice and to protect debtors. It is intended (in the longer term) that a licensing regime will be put in place, implemented via a regulatory body. While this is being taken forward independently, as detailed below, as an interim measure the Act replaces (and extends and modifies) the certification process that currently exists for bailiffs under the Law of Distress Amendment Act 1888. The extended and modified certification process will apply to persons taking control of goods who are not Crown employees or constables (the justification for such an exclusion being that Crown employees and constables, by virtue of their status, are already subject to adequate systems of control). A consultative Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment was issued on 30 January 2007 exploring the costs and impact of a licensing regime via a regulatory body. This sets out the options for the future regulation of enforcement agents who are not Crown employees.