As
you will be aware, the government published its
long-awaited consultation paper on enforcement law
reform and enforcement agent regulation on Friday
17
th February 2012.
At Shergroup we are delighted that the government
has finally published its consultation paper, and
we commit our full and wholehearted support to any
proposals for reform that will fundamentally improve
the situation for both creditors and debtors alike.
A number of fundamental changes outlined in the
consultation paper may become law, and we intend
to keep you fully informed of our position on a
number of the most important issues covered in the
consultation paper.
We have a long history of lobbying government on
a number of issues – in particular, we have
long believed that the artificial distinction between
judgment debts of £600 and below and those
over £600, and between those judgment debts
regulated by the Consumer Credit Act and those that
are not, should be abolished. The future abolition
of this barrier is now a distinct possibility as
a result of the current exercise.
With a potentially larger market of business in
which to operate, we can see how fee changes can
be made, and having worked with government to develop
a model fee...
Many
of you will recall that back in
March 2011 the MoJ published its
consultation paper entitled Solving
Disputes in the County Courts. This
was a wide-ranging consultation
exercise, covering issues as disparate
as preventing costs escalation in
the civil courts, particularly with
regard to extending schemes that
already exist in, for example, road
traffic accident claims; increasing
the use of alternative dispute resolution
as an alternative to pursuing litigation
in the civil courts, particularly
for smaller value claims; restructuring
of the county courts in England
and Wales; and, of course, of particular
interest to companies such as ours,
implementing the reforms of court-based
enforcement methods initially contained
within Part 4 of the Tribunals Courts
and Enforcement Act 2007.
Shergroup
CEO Claire Sandbrook gives her views
on the imminent criminalisation of
squatting in domestic residential
premises and calls for flexibility
in how the new law is implemented
to ensure that the aims of the new
legislation are actually met.
