A debt-ridden young man took his own life shortly after bailiffs clamped the motorcycle that was essential to his work as a courier, an inquest has heard, in a case that has prompted calls for reform of the debt-collection industry.

Jerome Rogers, 20, was being pursued over two £65 parking fines that had escalated to a debt of £1,019 including non-payment penalties and fees for the use of bailiffs. After a coroner said on Friday that the presence of a bailiff outside Rogers’ home would have been intimidating, his mother, Tracey, called for sweeping changes to the way the industry works. Her comments echoed a recent report that said bailiffs sometimes used threatening or unlawful behaviour and failed to take account of vulnerable clients.

In a narrative conclusion to the inquest, the assistant coroner for south London, Jacqueline Devonish, recorded a verdict of suicide and expressed concern at some of the debt-collection agency’s practices, though she said the bailiff, Ross Cutler, had been reasonable towards Rogers.

“It’s evident that he [Rogers] was stressed by being in debt,” she said. Rogers’ GP, Dr Faisal Raza, told the inquest that Rogers had no history of mental illness.

The case is thought to be the first in which a suicide has been linked to a bailiff’s visit. But a report by several charities including Citizens Advice, Step Change Debt Charity and the Children’s Society, published in March, expressed alarm about bailiff practices and called for significant changes to the law.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tracey Rogers (second right), her son Nathaniel, 27 (left), daughter Holly, 20 (right), and daughter Macey, 9, (second left), with a photo of Tracey’s son Jerome. Photograph: Teri Pengilley/The Guardian

Tracey Rogers said she felt Jerome’s inability to clear his debt to Camden council and the stress of the bailiff’s visits were the main factor in his suicide. “We are shocked that bailiffs have the power to seize people’s tools of trade, which will prevent them from working and earning the money to pay off their debt and that they can enforce unfeasible repayment plans,” she said. “We will continue to campaign for changes in the law so that no other family has to go what we are going through.”



She said her son’s death had opened her eyes to the way bailiffs were allowed to operate. “After Jerome’s death, I got a letter from a man who said that he had contemplated suicide because of the way he had been treated by bailiffs,” she said. “I have to do this for Jerome. I can’t just pretend things are normal after the inquest. Nothing is normal any more.”



Rogers received two visits from a bailiff contracted by the debt collectors Newlyn Plc between January and March 2016 after debts from two unpaid parking fines issued by the London borough of Camden escalated to more than £1,000 in a matter of months.

He worked as a self-employed bike courier for City Sprint delivering blood supplies to London hospitals. He suffered from severe asthma during the winter months and was not always well enough to work. His weekly earnings in the months before his death were between £38 and £89.

His livelihood depended on his motorbike, and when Cutler visited his home for a second time on 7 March 2016 and clamped his bike because he had failed to clear his debt, Rogers was unable to earn money.

During Cutler’s first visit on 19 January, Rogers applied for several payday loans to try to clear the debt. His mother’s partner, Bentley Duncan, paid off £500, but Rogers needed to find a way to clear the rest.

He continued to make loan applications throughout February. But after receiving a reminder text from Cutler on 26 February that payment was due the following day, he made an internet search for information about suicide. He continued searching online in the following week while trying to find loans to pay off his debt.

During Cutler’s second visit, he continued to search for loans, but at 11.26am he appeared to give up hope of securing one and searched again for information about suicide. The final internet search recorded was at 12.11pm. He left home soon after that, while Cutler was still there. Cutler may have been the last person to see Rogers alive.

A few hours after Rogers went missing, it emerged that he had sent his girlfriend texts about how much he loved her and asking her never to forget him. The police were alerted and began to search for him.

He was found the following day by his brother Nat, 26, and a family friend, Michael Strong, in woods near his home where he had played as a child. Strong told the court: “I believe he [killed himself] because he wanted to have no more debt.”

Cutler explained to the court that he was paid by results. “On that one, yes, if I didn’t get a cleared warrant, I didn’t get paid. If I was to seize assets, my potential to earn more would increase, but I’m not particularly motivated by that.” He said he was “shocked and devastated” when he was told that Rogers had killed himself.

Devonish said Cutler had acted reasonably and professionally at all times. However, she expressed concern that Newlyn had not done more to help Rogers set up a repayment schedule. “I think they were less than helpful to him,” she said.

She said Newlyn could have gathered more information about Rogers’ financial circumstances, and she asked questions about how a valuation of Rogers’ bike had been made. Bailiffs cannot seize tools of trade valued at less than £1,350. Newlyn said the bike had been valued at between £1,500 and £2,000 and on that basis Cutler was permitted to clamp it, but after Rogers’ death, the family obtained a valuation from Honda that the bike was worth £400. Martin Rogers, parking manager at Newlyn, admitted that the company’s system was unable to search the value of bikes, only cars.

The family’s solicitor, Irene Nembhard, of Birnberg Peirce, said the inquest “laid bare the lack of protection currently provided by the law”. She said she would be writing to the coroner asking her to make recommendations on the prevention of future deaths based on her concerns.

The use of bailiffs is increasingly common, according to the debt charity StepChange. In 2014-15, 2.1m debts were passed to bailiffs – a rise of 16% on two years earlier. The laws covering bailiffs in England and Wales changed in April 2014 to toughen up protection against “unsound, unsafe or unfair methods” used by some in the industry, but the coalition of charities behind the recent report said the changes were “failing to protect people in financial difficulty”.

A spokesman for Camden council said the bailiffs it contracted were expected to abide by a code of practice and that it indicated to contractors when a debt should no longer be pursued because of inability to pay or vulnerability.

A spokesman for Newlyn said: “Our deepest sympathy goes to the family in these tragic circumstances.”

• In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here.