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The Guardian
15 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Britain's biggest bailiff firm forced into refunds programme after overcharging
Britain's biggest bailiff company overcharged people it was pursuing for unpaid debts and has been forced to launch a refunds programme, the Guardian can reveal. Marston Holdings, which is used by companies and state-funded bodies including Transport for London to recover debts and fines, has apologised to consumers after overcharging 'enforcement fees' related to unpaid road traffic penalties it was chasing. The body that oversees the bailiff sector in England and Wales said the company's behaviour was 'unacceptable' and had breached regulations designed to protect the public from overcharging. In England and Wales, when a bailiff – or 'enforcement agent' – visits someone's home, a fixed fee of £235 is added to the debt. Sources said thousands of individuals may have been overcharged after the company added multiple enforcement fees to their debts. Marston did not say how many people may be affected but said fewer than 0.3% of its debtor caseload have been affected. Minutes of a trade body meeting last month – seen by the Guardian – stated that Marston was alerted to this issue in April, and that an investigation by an industry oversight body 'revealed breaches in multiple cases where more than one [£235] enforcement fee had been charged instead of the cases being linked under one fee'. Marston said 'the [systems] issue has been fixed' and refund cheques had been sent to 'all of those affected'. However, the minutes from last month's meeting said Marston had initiated a review of seven years' worth of cases, and the company was committed to rectifying the errors via a full refunds scheme, with a dedicated call centre, that would operate for three years. Marston works with dozens of local authorities as well as official bodies including TfL, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and Highways England (now National Highways). It boasts of recovering 'over £850m each year on behalf of the taxpayer' and also works for private companies. TfL said Marston 'are not carrying out any enforcement work for us at the moment. Their contract is under review.' The UK bailiff sector is big business: every year, millions of people are on the receiving end of enforcement action, with data showing there were 8 million cases in 2024, with a total value of £5.2bn. In 2023 the Guardian reported that the profits of leading bailiff firms had seen risen to record levels during the cost of living crisis. It is estimated that well over half of the cases where bailiffs are called in involve unpaid road traffic and parking fines and penalties, including congestion charges and penalties relating to Ulez (ultra-low emission zone) and driving in a bus lane. Chris Nichols, the chief executive of the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB), the independent oversight body for the bailiff sector in England and Wales, said: 'It is very concerning to see breaches of regulations that are there to protect the public from overcharging. 'This is unacceptable behaviour, and the ECB is taking strong action to ensure that people who have been impacted are found and refunded, and that this behaviour is never repeated. 'We have ensured that Marston has signed up to a robust action plan to put this right.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion In a refund letter sent by Marston Recovery – one of the group's brands – to one of those affected last month it apologised for a 'mistake' with the enforcement fees applied to the individual's debt, and said: 'We've now fixed this issue, and you're due a refund.' The letter included a reference to 'HMCTS' – however, Marston says the overcharging issue does not involve fines imposed by HMCTS and that an administrative error led to this wording not being removed. The letter included a cheque for a sum approaching £250, made up of a refund of £235, plus interest. Marston said the three-year period for the refunds scheme is a precautionary measure to account for scenarios such as this, and it would make every effort to reach everyone affected. Earlier this summer the government announced a package of measures designed 'to deliver a fairer system of debt enforcement'. A spokesperson for Marston Recovery said: 'In the spring of this year an issue was identified where some individuals with multiple unpaid road traffic penalties had been overcharged enforcement fees. The issue has been fixed. 'Letters, with cheques for a full refund plus interest at 8%, have been sent out to all of those affected. Those letters include an apology and guidance on how to contact us if there are any questions or help is required.' They added: 'Since the issue first came to light, we have worked closely with the ECB … and all of our clients. We take full ownership and have worked hard to do the right thing by repaying people back what they are owed.'
Times
15 minutes ago
- Times
‘Police aren't helping, so I'm shaming the shoplifters myself'
After growing frustrated with reporting shoplifters to the police only to see no action taken, Suki Athwal resorted to the age-old tactic of shame. The co-owner of the Shop Around the Clock convenience store in Tenterden, an affluent market town in Kent, decided to print a screenshot of a customer pocketing an energy drink and post it on his shop window with the message 'I'm a thief and I love Red Bull': However, he soon received a visit from a community support officer who advised him to remove the poster as it could be a violation of data protection laws. 'I was a bit young and naive, so I took it down,' Athwal, a marketing graduate from Plymouth University, said. Police inaction brought Athwal back to shaming the shoplifters, in full knowledge that he, not the criminals, could be warned about breaking the case, which took place prior to the pandemic, is one of a reported growing number of incidents in which shopkeepers are being warned about posting video of shoplifters. Last week, North Wales police were reported to have told a shopkeeper to take down a sign calling shoplifters 'scumbags' because it could cause offence. Earlier this week, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data watchdog, said that putting up images of thieves in a local area could breach data protection laws. Data protection laws allow retailers to share images to prevent or detect crime as long as it's necessary and 'appropriate'. Guidance by the ICO said that while sharing the suspect's details with police, security guards, and other local shops is acceptable, publishing images on an open social media group or in shop windows may be excessive and inappropriate. The ICO primarily responds to complaints it receives about the misuse of personal data. This means that the shoplifter would have to complain to the watchdog for any investigation to be held, which would be a highly unlikely scenario given the possibility of prosecution. Sitting in his spacious office, Athwal, 30, keeps one watchful eye on a TV showing 25 cameras covering every single angle of the 'Tesco Express-sized' store that has been in his family for 35 years. He often pauses mid-sentence, sometimes to listen to chatter on his headset or tell his colleagues the price of an obscure item, other times to zero in on whether customers are attempting to pocket small items. After an increase in shoplifting during the cost of living crisis, Athwal, who has worked in the shop since he was a teenager, once again began reporting the incidents to the police. In one case, he provided CCTV, pictures and vehicle registration numbers, but he was told that there was insufficient evidence to help the police find the suspect. 'There has always been shoplifting, but we've seen an increase during the cost of living crisis. We fell into the trap of thinking we're in a nice area and that there would be no crime. We were lulled into this false sense of security and thought that it didn't happen here,' he said. 'There's a culture now where nothing happens. We've always had kids stealing from us, but now they're more brazen. We had a group of teenagers come and grab drinks and run out, and you can think you can run after them, but what can you really do? 'Sometimes people are just stealing because of the thrill of it. It'll be a pack of biscuits and then you see them get into a really nice car, and you think, surely you have a quid for the biscuits. They are probably thinking 'Is he really going to call the police for a few quid?'' Athwal tries to make the best of shoplifters targeting his store by putting up clips of egregious thefts on social media to boost engagement and draw people to his shop. In one post, he takes aim at a young female shoplifter who was wearing a Vogue hoodie, describing her as a 'little fashionista' and 'thieving little rat' who could not resist stealing Red Bull and two freshly made bacon and sausage baps. 'I'm at the point that I have to laugh about it. What are you going to do, just sit down and cry about it?' he said. 'I just think, how can I flip this? I've lost £15, but how can I turn it into £15 or more of business through shares and promotion?' Alongside the posters in the window, he includes a link to the video on Facebook along with a message that if the shoplifters want it removed, they'll have to pay the shop for the stolen items. So far, shame has succeeded where the police have failed. 'A few weeks ago, a mother was caught shoplifting and then their son came in and paid for it because he was embarrassed about his mum. I think that's what it is, it's community shame. I think that's the biggest deterrent,' he said. Nestled in the heart of the Weald in Kent, Tenterden has a high street full of boutique shops selling luxury clothing and hand-carved furniture, as well as staple retailers such as Boots and Waitrose. Shop owners said that they had seen a rise in thefts over the past few years, with one boutique clothing store claiming that the shop was recently targeted by a shoplifter who walked in and scooped up untagged accessories into their arms and stormed out. Another, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear that their boutique would be targeted, said that they had caught chatty regulars stealing small items of jewellery — a revelation that left them heartbroken. Like Athwal, many do not bother reporting shoplifting to the police, claiming that it has effectively been decriminalised, leaving crime statistics unreflective of the situation on the ground. Despite spotting three shoplifters this week alone, Athwal's shopfront remains bare. 'I've not got anything in my window at the moment because I wanted the shopfront to be clean, but come September when school comes back, I may put one or two up so people are aware we're keeping an eye on shoplifters.' While shame has worked in some respects, Athwal is well aware that he may be playing with fire by promoting the images of shoplifters. 'I've had threats so far with people threatening to smash our windows if we don't take the posts down. There's going to be a day someone is going to come over and I'm probably going to get punched,' he said. Athwal said that most of the theft was by people who were passing through the area and that the shop believed in the power of community, and donated to people in need and other charitable causes in the area. Separately, the government has agreed that police and the Home Office should use the phrase 'shop theft' instead of shoplifting to avoid trivialising the offence, according to the Daily Telegraph. The rate of shoplifting has almost doubled over the past two decades. In the year to March, 530,643 shoplifting offences were reported to police, up 20 per cent on the previous year's total of 442,022. Chief Superintendent Rob Marsh, of Kent police, said that officers 'have not and will not ask any business owner to remove a poster that was being used for crime prevention and awareness'. He said they could not find any account of the conversation with Athwal regarding posters in his shop window and said that protecting staff, businesses and customers from this type of criminality was a key role of the neighbourhood and town centre policing teams, who were in regular contact with retailers. Marsh encouraged shopkeepers who suffer from retail crime to contact police as soon as possible so an 'effective response and investigation can be launched' and said that officers had improved their solved rate for shop theft from 27.6 per cent to 33.5 per cent in the year to June. 'When a report of shop theft, of any value, is received and a suspect can be identified, our local officers and investigators will work to track them down and bring them to justice. We also regularly seek community behaviour orders and civil restraining orders for habitual thieves through the courts,' he added.
Times
15 minutes ago
- Times
Councillor who said right-wing activists' throats should be cut is cleared
A Labour councillor who told an anti-racism rally that right-wing activists' throats should be slashed has been found not guilty of encouraging violent disorder. Ricky Jones, 58, then a councillor for Dartford, Kent, was filmed speaking at a rally at Walthamstow in east London on August 7 last year. While talking about the protesters and rioters who took to the streets after the Southport murders — which were incorrectly blamed on asylum seekers — video showed Jones drawing a finger across his throat. 'They are disgusting Nazi fascists. We need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all,' Jones said at the rally. The video of the rally went viral, before Jones was arrested on August 8. Jones, who was also a full-time official of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association union at the time, did not dispute what he had said but denied one charge of encouraging violent disorder. He was suspended by the Labour Party a day after the incident. Jones claimed during the trial that his comments to the rally did not refer to far-right protesters involved in the Southport riots, but to those who had reportedly left National Front stickers on a train with razor blades hidden behind them. A video was shown to the court in which Jones told the crowds: 'You've got women and children using these trains during the summer holidays. They don't give a shit about who they hurt.' A jury at Snaresbrook crown court in London deliberated for just over half an hour before finding him not guilty on Friday. Jones, who was seen mouthing 'thank you' at jurors, hugged his family and supporters and declined to comment on the verdict as he left the court. The verdict was criticised by senior Conservative and Reform politicians. The former home secretary and Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly said the jury's decision to clear Jones was 'perverse'. 'This is unacceptable,' he wrote on X. 'Perverse decisions like this are adding to the anger that people feel and amplifying the belief that there isn't a dispassionate criminal justice system.' Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, also criticised the verdict as 'outrageous'. During the trial, Ben Holt, prosecuting, told jurors that Jones, a father of four and a grandfather, had used 'inflammatory, rabble-rousing language in the throng of a crowd described as a tinderbox'. He said Jones's speech had been amplified through a microphone and speakers and had taken place 'in a setting where violence could readily have been anticipated'. Jones told the court he was 'appalled' by political violence, adding: 'I've always believed the best way to make people realise who you are and what you are is to do it peacefully.' Jones, who said he was on the left of the Labour Party, previously told the jury that the riots had made him feel 'upset' and 'angry', and he felt it was his 'duty' to attend counter-protests, despite being warned to stay away from such demonstrations by the party.
