Too many people are having the wool pulled over their eyes when it comes to bailiffs
13 January 2023, 11:40 | Updated: 13 January 2023, 14:32
Too many people are having the wool pulled over their eyes when it comes to bailiffs; this week I ‘Ask The Bailiff’ all you need to know.
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Today sees the launch of Dean Dunham’s ‘Ask’ series, where he asks key individuals and organisations (such as regulators, consumer organisations, ombudsmen, alternative dispute resolution providers, energy providers, online marketplaces and other retailers) the burning questions LBC listeners are asking.
Ask The Bailiff
When a bailiff comes knocking, most consumers either do not know what the bailiff can or cannot do, or possess incorrect knowledge they’ve heard through the grapevine. A lack of knowledge or possessing the wrong knowledge is extremely dangerous when faced with visitors at your home announcing themselves as bailiffs. This can lead to you losing your belongings unnecessarily, and can open your door to fraudsters posing as bailiffs.
This week I ‘Ask the Bailiff’ all the key questions LBC listeners have been asking and need to know. Russell Hamblin-Boone, the CEO of the Civil Enforcement Association joined me to answer your questions. We discussed:
“Can you refuse to let a bailiff into your home?”
“Can a bailiff force entry?”
“What happens when a bailiff has failed to provide advance notice of their visit?”
“Can a bailiff take your vehicle, and what happens if there is finance on the vehicle?”
“What happens if you house share and a bailiff chases your room mate for a debt; will your belongings be at risk?”
“What a bailiff can and cannot take from you?”
We also spoke about new rules being introduced which will impose tighter regulations on bailiffs/enforcement agents, and provide consumers with greater protections and rights.
The information contained in Ask The Bailiff will provide you with all the essential knowledge required and advise how best to react if a bailiff comes knocking.
Listen to the Consumer Hour with Dean Dunham on Global Player
Ask The Bailiff
The Bailiff Scam
On 28 December Sarah opened the door to a man who introduced himself as a bailiff. He said he was instructed to seize goods from Sarah’s house to the value of £2000 in relation to a debt she had failed to pay. Sarah asked to whom the debt was owed and was informed by the ‘so called’ bailiff that he did not have to waste his time going through this as he was working to a tight schedule.
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Sarah then asked if the debt related to her unpaid credit card, which the visitor swiftly confirmed. She then informed him that the arrears only amounted to £540, at which point his tone and demeanour turned aggressive. He started to shout at her and said the debt had increased to £2000 with penalty interest and bailiff fees, telling her it was expensive to send a bailiff to seize goods and she had a legal requirement to pay the bill. He told Sarah that he was legally entitled to enter her house to remove goods and if she were to refuse entry, the law would permit him to force his way in. He also said the bill would increase by £1500 if he had to take these steps.
Sarah did not know what to do and, faced with the prospect of an escalating bill if she refused entry, she let him in. Within 10 minutes, all her major electrical devices and various items of her jewellery had been removed from the house. Shortly after the bailiff left, Sarah called her dad to explain what had happened and he advised her to phone her credit card company to lodge a complaint about the bailiff. Sarah made the call and then sadly discovered she had been scammed as her card provider denied any knowledge of the bailiff’s visit and confirmed her arrears still stood at £540.
What should Sarah have done?
Firstly, she should not have let the man in. I have two golden rules to observe when a bailiff comes knocking at your door: i) do not answer the door (instead speak to them through the letter box); and ii) ask to see their identification.
If he had produced identification, the next step Sarah should have taken would have been to demand to be given details of the debt. If the man refused to provider either his ID, or details of the debt, the next step would have been to call the Police.
It is also worth noting that bailiffs have rules by which they must abide, including not being rude nor aggressive, and not forcing entry to someone’s home unless executing a warrant or writ of possession to evict tenants or squatters, installing a pre-pay gas or electric meter, or collecting tax debts for HM Revenue and Customs.
