Dealing With Bailiffs

If you're unable to pay a debt then one course of action your creditor might take is to use a bailiff to take away some of your possessions and sell them to recover their money. It can be a scary process so it's vital to know your rights.

The law relating to bailiffs - or 'enforcement agents' as they are otherwise known - is in the process of being updated, not least because bailiffs are not currently governed by a single regulatory system which, effectively, makes it difficult to keep an eye on their behaviour.

In bailiff terminology the word 'distress' means to seize goods as security for payment of a debt but to those who have been victims of threatening and intimidating enforcement agents, the word has its more usual meaning! Note that a debt collector is not the same thing as a bailiff - the former has no powers at all to seize goods and even a bailiff has no powers to do so unless they've got a court order known as a 'Warrant of Execution'.

Bailiffs are in quite a curious position because although they have the authority to seize goods up to the value of the money you owe to sell at auction, they're not allowed to force their way into your home. They can climb in through an open window if they locate one but, ultimately, if you don't let them into the house, they can't do anything about it.

However, if they get in the first time, they are subsequently entitled to break in later to collect anything they forgot to take! So if you want more time to raise the money you owe then stopping them from getting in on that first visit is crucial. It's why people are advised to talk to them through the letterbox or via an upstairs window because if they literally get a foot through the door then that constitutes sufficient lawful entry.

What bailiffs are allowed to take varies according to what the debt is. Broadly speaking they can't take away basic household goods like clothing or beds and they should only take possessions that belong to you or that you jointly own.

At the moment using a bailiff for debt recovery has a fairly low success rate even though it is the moment common method used by creditors. The main reason is that bailiffs simply can't find out enough about a debtor's financial circumstances - especially if they can't get into the house - so it is difficult to distinguish those who won't pay from those who just can't. Bailiff's fees also get paid out of the sale proceeds of any goods they take.

If the current draft legislation is implemented as expected by mid-2007, then bailiffs will face stricter rules about how they operate or risk a fine while debtors will be required by law to supply more information about their financial circumstances. In theory, it will safeguard those who can't pay as opposed to those who know the limitations of the current law and who won't pay.