HOUNSLOW Council leader Jagdish Sharma this week said he was 'appalled' by an undercover expose which showed a bailiff in the borough using racist and threatening behaviour.

ITV1 documentary Exposure followed an undercover reporter posing as a trainee debt collector for the firm Rossendales, which recovers unpaid council tax and business rates on behalf of the council.

The programme, screened on Monday (October 31) night, showed one bailiff boasting about breaking the voluntary code of conduct by fraudulently filling in forms and threatening residents.

He was also filmed using racist language, harassing a vulnerable debtor and even scaling one resident's wall during the show.

Rossendales described the bailiff as a 'rogue' operator and said he had been fired, following an internal investigation, for breaching the company's code of conduct.

Hounslow Council signed a deal with Liberata in 2008 to recover unpaid council tax and business rates. Liberata appointed the national firm Rossendales the same year to carry out debt collection work.

Mr Sharma (pictured) said: "We are appalled by the allegations made in the programme and are taking them extremely seriously.

"We would like to apologise to any of our residents who have been affected by the actions of this bailiff whilst working in the borough."

He added that, in light of this 'unacceptable episode', the council had worked with Liberata to strengthen controls and prevent a repeat.

A spokesman for Rossendales said the company, which recovered £92 million for its clients last year, had been at the 'forefront of shaping an industry which is in need of tighter regulation and legislation'.

He added that many of the allegations made in the documentary were 'unsubstantiated or misrepresented'.

Mark Gander, of watchdog the Consumer Action Group, which worked with the documentary makers, said he was not surprised by the allegations in the show.

"This footage supports the evidence we have from a number of complainants, across the country, about what we feel is a poorly scrutinised industry," he told the Chronicle.

"Councils like Hounslow have a legal responsibility to ensure the agents doing their dirty work act correctly. Unfortunately, too often if they get the money they don't ask any questions. We believe there needs to be compulsory independent regulation of the industry."

It is not the first time debt collectors working for Rossendales in Hounslow have fallen foul of the regulations.

In April 2010 a former bailiff was jailed for four months after illegally pocketing £27,000 in debt collections.

Solomon Rajput and his wife Salma Kalsa both admitted fraud offences in Hounslow and Leeds, committed while employed by Rossendales.