What to do if a Bailiff calls

It’s worth remembering, when you send a Bailiff away, he will come back. Each time he comes back, he raises charges. Some of these charges will be lawful and, at some point in time, you may need to pay the debt and the lawful fees.
So, you need to act quickly and decisively to minimise the costs.
You need to know NOW what you need to do and then you need to do it WITHOUT DELAY.
Any delay WILL cost you money.

You should be given advanced warning of a Bailiff calling.
A Local Authority should give 14 days written notice. A County Court Bailiff should give 7 days notice.
You are not legally required to let a Bailiff into your house. He has to gain peaceful entry, otherwise, he can’t come in. You have a legal right to refuse him entry.
The exceptions are Bailiffs collecting unpaid Income Tax on behalf of the Inland Revenue or collecting Court fines. They can force entry.

If you are expecting a call from the Bailiff at some point, be cautious about opening the door at all. If you open the door, he will put his foot in and he will not be persuaded to move it. He will, in all probability, attempt to push past you.
A Bailiff should only call between 6am and 9pm, not Sunday, Bank Holidays, Good Friday or Christmas Day.
On request, he should provide you with a breakdown of his fees before you pay.

Important Does and Don'ts

Don’t let him in.
Don’t leave windows or doors open. He will walk in.
Don’t let him in.
Don’t physically or verbally abuse him in any way whatsoever. He will call the police and then trick his way into your house.
Don’t let him in.
Do talk to him through the letterbox or from an upstairs window. Ok, it might be awkward and embarrassing, but you won’t lose your possessions. Open the door, he will put his foot in and that’s it, he is in.
Don’t let him in.
Do ask to see a copy of his ID and a copy of the warrant (have him put them through the letterbox).
DON’T LET HIM IN.

You NEED to get the warrant suspended. We show you how to do this.

Things the Bailiff will do

He will try to trick his way in.
He will:

Say he just wants to discuss it; that he isn’t there to take any of your possessions today.
Try to gain entry by asking to use your phone/toilet etc.
Threaten you with added costs if he has to come back.
Threaten to force entry. He can’t do this.
Threaten to get a locksmith. He can’t do this.
Threaten to get the police to assist entry. He can’t do this, and
Say anything, anything just to get in.

Additionally, even if you don’t let him in, he will levy on your car. It’s your most vulnerable possession, it's outside, so it’s easy. It’s also likely to be your most valuable possession. The Bailiff will clamp it. If he isn’t paid, he will tow it. If you have a garage, keep it in there. Keep the garage door locked. If you haven’t a garage, don’t keep the vehicle on your drive or outside your house. Even keeping it around the corner isn’t good enough. Bailiffs aren’t stupid.

What happens if you let him in

Once in your home, he can force locked internal doors, cupboards, even safes. Once he is in ‘by invitation’, he will make a list of your possessions and have you sign a Walking Possessions Agreement. This is an agreement signed by you, which allows the goods to remain in your possession as long as you keep to a payment arrangement. Now you cannot move, hide or sell any of these goods. They now belong to the court, through the Bailiff. If you default on the payment arrangement, the Bailiff will take your possessions.

He can come back at any time and take your possessions.

Now he can:

Force entry;
Get a locksmith; or
Get the police in to assist entry.

So, the first rule?

DON'T LET HIM IN

If you don’t let him in, he can’t serve the warrant, he can’t have you sign a Walking Possession Agreement. He is not able to simply look through the window, list your possessions and post the agreement through your letterbox. He can’t levy on your goods

OK, so you have to let him in.

At this stage, he will take an inventory of your possessions and have you sign a Walking Possessions Agreement. If you don’t sign it, he can remove your possessions NOW. All is not lost, but you have to be quick, otherwise he takes lots and lots of your nice things. On average he will take goods to about 10 times the value of the debt (your possessions will be sold cheaply at auction, remember).
By the time you have been charged Bailiff fees, removal costs, storage costs, auction costs and the original debt, there won’t be enough left to buy a cup of coffee.

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