Once the
bailiff has been inside your house by entering
peacefully, they can call again at a later
date and enter your house without your permission,
forcefully, to remove your goods.
When seizing goods
the bailiff must leave the premises safe.
When in your house the bailiff has the
right of access to all rooms and can force
their way into other parts of the property.
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Which
goods can a bailiff take?
There are some exceptions
to what the bailiff can take from your
home:-
A bailiff acting on
a County Court Judgment cannot seize clothing,
bedding, furniture, household equipment
or other goods necessary to meet basic
domestic needs.
Generally, no bailiff
can seize tools, books, vehicles or other
equipment necessary for personal use in
employment or business. However, a bailiff
acting for Council Tax, VAT or the Inland
Revenue may be able to do so.
No bailiff can seize
goods belonging to anyone other than the
person named on the distress warrant.
A bailiff cannot seize
goods subject to a hire purchase or rental
agreement (goods on credit sale can be
seized because they belong to the person).
Goods you own jointly
with someone else can be taken.
The bailiff may take
the goods away immediately, but what will
usually happen is that the bailiff and
the debtor will come to an agreement known
as a "walking possession agreement". This
means that the debtor has agreed to pay
the bailiff a maximum of £0.45 plus
VAT per day for the continued use of the
goods. This is not permanent and will only
give the debtor a few days to try and re-negotiate
with the court. If a bailiff has gained
entry and the debtor does not want the
goods to be removed immediately, this agreement
has to be signed.
Goods seized by the
bailiff must be put into auction to be
sold, the bailiff is under a legal obligation
to obtain the best price possible. As the
goods are second-hand, the value of the
goods are only a fraction of what their
new value was. A bailiff will often identify
many more goods than you might expect.
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Your
rights
You cannot be sent
to prision for not co-operating with a
bailiff. You do not have to let them into
your house. You should seek advice as soon
as possible. Contact one of our advisers
on 0800 881 8879 (FREEPHONE)
or email us at: debtadvice@24-7finance.com
A bailiff must not
threaten you illegally, force entry to
your home or use offensive language. If
you are concerned about a bailiff's behaviour,
you can complain either to the creditor
or to the court that sent them.
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Types
of bailiff
A bailiff is someone
who is instructed:-
- by a creditor to
repossess goods under hire purchase or
a conditional sale agreement to enforce
an injunction
A bailiff has legal
authority to carry out these actions. A
bailiff can enter your home and take away
possessions which, when sold off, will
go towards repaying the money owed.
There are three different
kinds of bailiffs: County Court bailiffs,
Sheriff's Officers and private bailiffs.
County Court bailiffs
are directly employed by the County Court
and must follow guidelines laid down by
the Lord Chancellor's Department.
Sheriff's Officers
are contracted by the High Court and work
in geographical county areas. They work
out of the local Sheriff's Office under
the control of an Under- Sheriff who is
usually responsible for that area. If a
creditor has a CCJ of more than £600
they can transfer the judgement up to the
High Court for enforcement.
Private bailiffs are
self-employed, employed by a private firm,
or employed as bailiffs by another organisation
(e.g Local Authority, Inland Revenue).
Certificated bailiffs
are granted a certificate following an
application to a County Court. Certification
is only necessary to empower a bailiff
to levy distress for rent arrears and council
tax arrears and to enforce road traffic
debts, although some local authorities
will insist on this for all bailiff work.
If you are having
problems with a particular debt you may
like to go to one of the following sections:
However, if your problem
is a more general one, the first step is
to assess your income
and expenditure.
Complete the online
income and expenditure form. This will
calculate how much money you have left
after essential expenses. Examine how much
you spend on various items and ask yourself
whether this is an essential item. However,
be realistic. Do not leave out items such
as clothes and medical expenses and don't
leave yourself struggling with the housekeeping.
The second step is
to work out your total monthly repayments
to your creditors. Compare this with the
amount of money you have left at the end
of each month - it will be easy to recognise
whether there is a problem.
If you find that your
repayments to creditors are higher than
the amount of money you have left at the
end of the month, go to the section on
debt solutions to discover the alternatives
available to you. Following that, contact
one of our advisers on 0800 881
8879 (FREEPHONE)
or email us at: debtadvice@24-7finance.com
24-7 Finance endeavour to bring
your the widest choice of financial resources.
Please visit one of our debt help links
below for more information:
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