Complaint of illegal fees against large bailiff firm
The largest Belgian bailiff’s office is in turmoil. A complaint for illegal practices and bribery has been filed in court. Bribery can be translated as “theft of money by public authority”.
It’s a scandal in Belgium. The largest Belgian bailiff’s office, Moreno in Antwerp, is the subject of a legal complaint from the Debt Support-Mediation Centre and the Belgian Network for Combating Poverty. The issue is “bribery” and “illegal debt recovery practices”. This office is in charge of cases involving the recovery of unpaid debts from Flemish (De Lijn) and Brussels (STIB – MIVB) public transport.
Illegal fees
What are they accused of? An amount of €25 per file for “administrative costs”. However, these are not permitted by law. Given the number of cases, this brings in more than a million euros per year to the office. Even if it seems illegal, it will be up to Justice to decide. In the meantime, the Belgian government has put in place new rules for bailiffs from October 1, 2024. In particular to avoid the accumulation of costs charged to debtors.
(MH with Olivier Duquesne – Source: RTBF – Picture (illustration photo): © Wikipedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license – Ardfem)