The representation of the enforcement industry in the British Press is rarely in favour of the work that we do, and bailiffs have long had reputations as being unsympathetic or even cruel, when it comes to carrying out their work.

This is a frustration for a company like ours, as we have been proactively trying to change the face of enforcement in this country for some years now.

When articles such as this one: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/bailiffs-council-tax-manchester-council-25606001 refer to bailiff use as “cruel, outdated and ineffective” it really is no surprise that an overwhelming number of people have a negative image of what we do.

At Court Enforcement Specialists, we believe in empathy and understanding, as much as we believe in looking after our clients, so let’s look at trying to be empathetic and understanding to those three words – cruel, outdated and ineffective.

Firstly, with regards to being ‘cruel’, our agents (and the vast majority of agents in the industry) only ever operate in a calm, collected and controlled way. Three other words beginning with C.

Secondly, to refer to bailiff use as ‘outdated’ is probably a fair comment, especially when you consider that we are now known as Certificated Enforcement Officers. This was a move to help the industry move away from the negative connotations of the ‘big, bad bailiff’. In our industry though, actions speak louder than words, and the way we operate is anything but outdated. We lead the industry with things like cutting edge technology and the commissioning of bespoke training programmes for every member of our team.

Finally, looking at the word ‘ineffective’, this just simply isn’t true. Whenever we work on behalf of our clients, we always give our all to achieve the best possible outcome. The same goes for the people we help who may be experiencing vulnerability – we give our all to everyone, on all sides of the arrangement.

It’s going to take a long time to change the perception of our industry, and we know that, we just feel that we have to respond to articles like this, to remind people that we do care about their situations, and that we are aware of the current financial climate in the UK.

Are we cruel, outdated and ineffective then?

At #TeamCES, we know, with absolute certainty, that we are none of those things.