Complaining about bailiffs

Summary

Check what kind of parking ticket you have. It could be a ‘penalty charge notice’ from the council or a ‘parking charge notice’ from a company. If you want to complain about getting the penalty charge notice rather than about the bailiffs, check if you can appeal the penalty charge notice. To complain about the bailiffs, follow your council's complaints process. Most councils have an online form you can fill in to send a complaint. You can find your council's website on GOV.UK. If you can’t find your council’s complaints process, write to their postal address. This should be in the contact section of their website. Address your letter to the council’s legal department. If you want to complain about getting the parking charge notice rather than about the bailiffs, check if you can appeal the parking charge notice. The company that fined you will have had to get a county court judgement to send bailiffs after you. To complain about the bailiffs, you’ll need to write to the court that made the judgement. Use the court finder on GOV.UK to get the court’s email or postal address. Address your complaint to the bailiff manager. Use the court finder on GOV.UK to get the court’s email or.

Key information

• •HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
• •the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• •an energy, internet or phone company
• •what the bailiffs have done wrong
• •why the HMRC, DWP or court response hasn’t helped
• •you’d like to refer HMRC, the DWP or the court to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman
• •that you’ve included the ombudsman’s complaints form and you’d like them to fill in section 5
• •within 3 months of first knowing you have a complaint
• •within 1 month of getting a final response from the bailiffs’ complaints process
• •have a bailiff’s certificate taken away - this means they can’t work as a bailiff anymore
• •any money you've lost because of the bailiff’s actions - for example having to get taxis to work because the bailiff took your car
• •hurt or distress you've suffered because of the bailiff’s actions - this is called 'injury to feelings'

Practical guidance

• •Source: [Complaining about bailiffs](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/how-bailiffs-should-treat-you/complaining-about-bailiffs/)

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