Bailiffs

11 February 2008

Using bailiffs is one way that creditors can recover overdue debts. Bailiffs are rarely instructed unless there are serious arrears and a number of failed attempts to agree payment plans.

A bailiff can ultimately be sent to your home to take away your possessions so they can be sold to pay your debt.

You would be informed ahead of time, giving you a chance to contact them and try to arrange a repayment plan. You would need to prepare a budget listing your income and expenditure, to show that you’re offering to pay as much as you can afford.

If you owe money for VAT or income tax, HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) can send bailiffs to your home without a court order.

Other creditors – whether priority (rent / mortgage, utility bills, etc.) or non-priority (credit / store cards, overdrafts, unsecured loans, etc.) – need to go through the court.

• Bailiffs cannot take:
  • essential items (e.g. the cooker, the fridge, or tools of your trade),
  • children’s toys, or
  • anything that isn’t yours (rented / hired / belonging to someone else)

• Bailiffs can only take things in your home (or shed / garage / greenhouse) if they get in. On their first visit, they can only get in if:
  • you let them in voluntarily (even if it’s just to use the phone / toilet),
  • they find an unlocked door / window, or
  • you open the door or go outside to talk to them – and they walk through the open door.
If they don’t get in, they’re still allowed to take any vehicle that isn’t in a locked garage.

• Once they’ve been in once, they will have the legal right to force entry on any subsequent visits in regard to this particular debt – the fact that they’ve been in once doesn’t give them the right to force entry in connection with any other debts.

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