Bailiffs

A Bailiff or, Enforcement Officer has legal powers to collect debts. There are two main types of bailiff involved in debt enforcement, each with different powers.

County Court Bailiffs are directly employed by the Court and controlled by the Court Manager. They are responsible for enforcing county court orders (CCJs) up to £5,000. Court orders over £5,000 must be transferred up to the High Court for enforcement by a High Court Enforcement Officer. Court Orders over £600 may be transferred to the High Court depending on the wishes of the claimant.

High Court Enforcement Officers have authorisation to enforce higher value judgments known as High Court Writs. High Court Enforcement Officers have greater powers than County Court Bailiffs. They work for privately operated businesses rather than the Court and are paid based on successful collection of debts. High Court Enforcement Officers must belong to a professional body and follow a set code of conduct.

Bailiffs must follow a set procedure. Bailiffs are now required to send you a letter before they visit. This letter is called a ‘notice of enforcement’. The notice of enforcement gives you seven working days’ warning before the bailiff visits your home or business premises. If you don’t pay the debt within the 7-days, the bailiff will visit you.

When they visit on the first occasion, they’ll usually try to enter your premises peacefully and make a list of your assets. In most cases they won’t remove any assets on their first visit, they will usually leave you with a ‘controlled goods order’. The controlled goods order will set out the payment terms the bailiff will accept. If you don’t make the payments detailed in this order, the bailiff will return to remove the assets they previously listed and arrange for them to be sold.

Once a bailiff has made a list of your goods and taken them into control you could be arrested if you hide, remove or deliberately damage any of these goods.

In most cases, bailiffs only become involved in collecting debts once a creditor has taken you to court and obtained a County Court judgment (CCJ). In addition to enforcing CCJs, bailiffs might be instructed to collect other types of debt, without the need for a CCJ including:

• Self-Assessment Tax

• National Insurance

• VAT and PAYE

• Business Rates

• Council Tax

• Child maintenance arrears

• Criminal fines

• Parking penalties issued by a local authority

In most cases a bailiff can only enter your house peacefully through a front or back door. In most cases they must apply for a warrant from a judge before they’re allowed to use force.

However, Bailiffs CAN use force to enter your home or business premises:

• To collect HMRC debts – Tax and VAT

• To collect criminal fines

• To remove goods that are subject to a controlled goods order

A bailiff can visit you at home anytime between 6am and 9pm, on any day of the week. They should avoid Sundays and certain religious festivals unless it’s unavoidable. They are only allowed to visit outside these times if they get a warrant from a court allowing it. If you run a business that is only open outside of these hours, they can visit your business premises at any time during those hours.

Bailiffs can attend any property in England or Wales where you live or run a business from. Bailiffs can also visit someone else’s property if they have good reason to believe your goods are stored there. They should not call at your workplace, unless you are Self-Employed.

A bailiff will look for any assets that can be sold if you don’t pay the debt. They’ll be interested in any goods which can be sold easily for a good price at auction. Bailiffs will usually look to remove:

• Vehicles – cars and vans

• Electrical equipment – PC’s, Laptops, IPAD’s etc

• Business assets – stock, tools, machinery

• Jewellery

• Furniture

• Basic household items such as a cooker / microwave / fridge / washing machine

• Phones – landline or mobile

• Beds and bedding

• Dining tables and chairs

• Medical or care equipment

• Goods owned by someone else

• Goods you’ve bought on a HP, where the final payment hasn’t been made

• Fitted furniture – kitchen units / fitted wardrobes

• Tools and equipment that are essential for your job (to a maximum value of £1,350)

Vehicles will often be the bailiff’s first target. They are easy to find, move, sell and are usually the highest value item someone owns. Bailiffs are allowed to take any vehicles parked on a public road; this includes your car or van. Most bailiffs tend to use number plate recognition cameras to identify cars as they drive round. It is simple for them to get details from the DVLA to identify vehicles that you own.

Some bailiffs will even argue they are within their rights to remove (or clamp) a vehicle which they know is subject to a hire purchase agreement. If this is the case, you can make a complaint on the basis that the car belongs to the hire purchase company, not you.

Bailiffs should not remove:

• Vehicles displaying a disabled badge

• Vehicles that are subject to a logbook loan (where the final payment hasn’t been made)

• Vehicles that are essential for your job (e.g. a taxi) if it is worth less than £1,350

• Vehicles parked on someone else’s private land, unless they have a court order allowing this.