Councils have been accused of scaring children in their homes by sending round ‘aggressive and intimidating’ bailiffs.
A new report from the Children’s Society found that councils in England sent out bailiffs 1.3m times last year, with one in five families being visited for council tax debt.
The Wolf at the Door: How Council Tax Debt Collection is Harming Children said children were often at home when a bailiff knocked on the door leaving them ‘frightened, sad or worried’.
Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of The Children’s Society, said: ‘Councils are more likely to refer a family in council tax debt to a bailiff than to an independent debt advisor, which is not acceptable.
‘Bailiffs should simply not be sent round to families with children. Instead, councils should give struggling residents a chance to negotiate affordable repayments, and make sure every family in trouble is offered independent debt advice. Every child and teenager deserves to feel safe in their own home without being scared of the next knock at the door.’
The charity is urging councils to stop sending bailiffs around to houses with children, and to provide more debt advice and access to affordable repayments.
