'I have nothing they can take': Council tax debt collection having devastating impact on vulnerable people

As a debt advisor at StepChange, I regularly experience firsthand how aggressive council tax enforcement practices push vulnerable people into precarious financial and emotional situations. StepChange’s latest report, Looking Through the Keyhole, reflects the breadth of my experience and the countless, troubling cases I’ve encountered. 

When I first started working as a debt advisor in 2009, working-age benefit claimants received full council tax benefit, which meant enforcement action for council tax arrears was better targeted at those individuals with the means to pay. Today, however, those on the lowest incomes and in receipt of benefits are penalised harshly if they miss just one council tax payment. They can be billed for the entire year’s council tax balance, and this is often quickly escalated to enforcement action. For these individuals, the way local authorities commonly choose to recover council tax payments is through enforcement agents, or bailiffs as they are more generally known.

• Council tax debt collectors ‘significantly harming’ health of those struggling to pay, report finds
• Government must fix council tax benefits, charity says, as millions pushed into debt

Demonstrating how inappropriate and ineffectual this action is for those with no or minimal ability to pay, it is common for clients to say to me with painful honesty, ‘The bailiffs can come in my house, I have nothing they can take, I don’t have anything.’

These people are being pushed into desperate situations and the emotional toll of these practices is profound. Only today I received a call from someone who had a knock at their door… I heard the sudden change in her voice and the accompanying rushed panic. To her relief, it was not a bailiff this time. The anxiety and stress caused by these situations can be devastating, with some clients confiding that they’ve experienced suicidal thoughts directly linked to council tax enforcement. It is deeply disheartening to see how the system compounds their trauma instead of offering the support these individuals desperately need.

I remember the decentralisation of council tax benefit in 2013, when the move to localised council tax support led to an immediate surge of calls to StepChange. Many clients, who had previously been exempt from paying council tax due to disability or employment status suddenly found themselves required to make contributions for a new bill they couldn’t or would struggle to afford. Around that time, I can recall a client who was a full-time carer for his elderly mother contacting us as he could not afford this new council tax bill. He ultimately made the painful decision to place her in a care home which was – as he pointed out – at a greater cost to the local authority. 

In the immediate years following localisation of council tax support, many debt advisors noticed the growing differences in the contributions working-age benefit claimants were expected to pay towards their council tax depending on where they live. This ‘postcode lottery’ continues to this day. Some councils maintain full support for the most vulnerable, while other councils impose significant burdens. This inequality is stark: two clients, claiming the same benefits, can have entirely different debt advice outcomes depending on where they live. Standardising council tax support across the UK and ensuring 100% relief for the lowest-income households would end this unfairness and protect the most vulnerable.

A key finding from Looking Through the Keyhole is that councils often fail to consider individual circumstances. Too often, I am the first person to query if those who have reached out for debt advice should be claiming council tax support. Very few clients recall their council ever asking about their health, vulnerabilities, or personal situations before enforcement actions are taken. This lack of empathy is not only damaging but also counterproductive.

Most people want to pay their debts, but after a few negative interactions, their willingness to engage with the council often disappears. When advising clients with council tax arrears I often hear of councils’ rigid adherence to timeframes, helplines you can’t get through to, applications for council tax support or discretionary relief getting lost, and call handlers who lack training. Many of the clients I speak to have lodged complaints, but many more  tell me there is no point, as the council ‘do not listen’.

The recommendations outlined in Looking Through the Keyhole are essential. A more empathetic approach to debt collection, where councils properly assess an individuals’ ability to pay before taking any enforcement action, would be a significant step forward. The introduction of a mandatory protocol could ensure that councils take these vital steps before escalating matters. Furthermore, moving away from using bailiffs as the first line of action – especially for those already receiving council tax support – would alleviate the tremendous distress this causes.

The stories and statistics in our report reflect the lived experiences of the people I speak to every day. It is time to shift from punitive debt collection practices to a system that genuinely supports those in financial difficulty. A more compassionate approach will not only improve people’s lives but also lead to better outcomes for councils.

Sarah Muirhead is a debt adviser at StepChange.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. This Christmas, you can make a lasting change on a vendor’s life. Buy a magazine from your local vendor in the street every week. If you can’t reach them, buy a Vendor Support Kit.