A bailiff is somebody who has been given the authority to ensure that people pay the money that they owe to specific companies. Bailiffs will ask what you owe, and they may take some of your belongings in order to pay off those debts.

You could receive a letter because of unpaid debts, and it’s very important that you do not ignore any letters. These ‘notice of enforcement’ letters give permission for bailiffs to enter your home after 7 days. Bailiffs can demand extra fees on top of the money that you owe but you can be proactive about the situation. 

Exemptions apply if you:

• Have mental health struggles
• Have a disability or a serious illness
• Are pregnant or have children in your care
• Are over 65 or under 18
• Struggle with spoken and written English
• Are in a stressful situation (bereavement or unemployment)

You might be able to get more time to deal with the notice of enforcement if you can provide evidence of one of the bullet points, above. 

There can be serious consequences if you can’t pay your council tax arrears. However, the amount paid is based on factors such as age, income, tenants living with you, and the value of your home. Local authorities often act quickly if council tax payments are missed as they are given extra-legal power to collect them. As a result of this, Bailiffs could be visiting your property.

In most instances, a bailiff should be allowed into your home without the use of excessive force. There are exceptions to the rule, however, which grant the bailiff rights.

No. Bailiffs can only visit people throughout the week between 6am and 9pm, although exceptional circumstances can be given to bailiffs with a court warrant. They are expected to avoid religious ceremonies or festivals but such leniency is not written in law. 

Only if you are self-employed. Bailiffs can visit your home or any property you own, including any business that you run. If you are not self-employed, however, bailiffs are not entitled to visit you at your place of work. 

Only if they have a legitimate reason to. If the bailiff feels that your offer isn’t desirable then they may refuse to pass that offer over to your creditor. If this happens, you should still continue to pay your creditor before getting into contact with your creditor to discuss the situation without a middle-man. Talking one-to-one with your creditor will hopefully allow you to iron out any differences; your creditor will probably ask to see your budget

Yes. Bailiffs are entitled to collect the following: 

• Child maintenance arrears 
• Council tax arrears 
• Criminal fines 
• Parking penalties given out by local authorities 
• Tax and National Insurance arrears on behalf of the self-employed

In most cases, bailiffs cannot collect:

• Credit cards
• Overdrafts
• Payday loans

The only way that they can chase after these debts is if a creditor has gained access to a County Court judgement (CCJ) or taken you to court and, consequently, you ignored the CCJ or didn’t repay the amount that was decided by the court. 

Credit cards, overdrafts and payday loans are regulated debts that come under the Consumer Credit Act.

Bailiffs will start to take luxury items if you allow them into your home. These luxury items could include:

• TVs
• Laptops
• Kindles
• Jewellery

Non-luxury items are things that you need to use in everyday life. These include:

• Clothes
• Toys for children
• Work/study equipment (upto £1,350)
• Pets
• Household appliances (fridges, freezers or washing machines)

No they cannot. Pets are not classified as something that can be taken. A bailiff is breaking the law if they attempt to take a pet.

Of course. If a bailiff has broken the rules when they have dealt with you then you can act on this. The way you act depends on the type of debt that the bailiff is collecting. Initially, you should send a complaint to the employer of the bailiff, and a copy to the creditor. 

Police do not generally help bailiffs, although there are some exceptions to this rule. These exceptions are if:

• A High Court writ of control is being sanctioned by the bailiff. 
• The court has agreed that the police can help with the bailiff. The bailiff will have applied to the court for a warrant to force an entry, and the court will have accepted that warrant.

Bailiffs are ordinarily told by the county court to make sure that repossessed properties are returned to the lender. They send an eviction notice and those who live in the property will have to leave. 

Landlords can instruct High Court enforcement officers to carry out any eviction if they think that it requires their intervention. In these situations though, they must give notice of eviction, unless they are evicting trespassers.

You should contact your IVA supervisor as soon as you receive any threatening debt enforcement action. This could be forceful pressure from bailiffs for a County Court judgement (CCJ).

Bailiffs on television are often dramatised for effect. Dealing with bailiffs will never be a fun experience, but situations on the TV are depicting the more extreme cases. 

You will receive an annual bill in March of every year stating how much needs to be paid towards your council tax bill. You can however spread the cost of your bill by paying in weekly, or monthly installments. Although council tax bills often show payments over 10 months, if asked, your local authority must let you pay over a 12 month period.

You will be sent a reminder letter if you are more than 14 days late paying a council tax payment. If you make the payment within 7 days of the reminder letter then you can keep paying your council tax in installments. However, if you fail to do this you can be asked by your local authority to pay the whole council tax for the rest of the year. You are then given seven days to pay the whole amount. After this, local authorities can take you to court. Depending on your location, the court process differs.