Types of Bailiffs

County Court Bailiffs

They are employees of the County Court, who enforce County Court Judgements. County Court Bailiffs are usually used for the recovery of consumer credit debts such as bank loans and credit card balances.

Private Bailiffs

Private bailiffs include all private sector bailiffs who are not sheriffs or certificated bailiffs.

Law does not restrict use of the term ‘bailiff’ and as a result bailiffs are merely employees of private companies. Bailiffs on the whole receive a salary based on commission, which is why bailiffs often use intimidation and relentless harassment in order to seize goods – it is how they earn their money.

There is no statutory control over the competence or conduct of private bailiffs. Neither is there compulsory membership of a trade body, like say Corgi for gas technicians.

However, many bailiff firms join the Association of Civil Enforcement Agents (ACEA), which does have a complaints procedure. The creditor employing the bailiff determines the practices of the bailiffs, as opposed to officers of the court. Unfortunately, creditors who are as unscrupulous as the bailiffs they hire can make life a misery for debtors.

Private bailiffs are mainly used by the Magistrates Court to collect fines, and by local councils for the collection of council tax.

Debt Collectors

Creditors may use a debt collection agency to ask you to pay off the debt. Debt collectors aren’t court officials and don’t have the same powers as bailiffs, which means they can’t enter your home or seize your possessions.

Creditors and debt collectors must follow debt collection guidance as laid out by the Office of Fair Trading. Contact the OFT for a copy of the Debt Collection Guidance leaflet, which clearly outlines the parameters in which debt collectors must operate.

If a collector harasses you, contact your local council’s trading standards department. If they threaten you physically, contact the police.

If you have a low income and few assets, a debt relief order may be able to you.