I am being threatened with bailiffs - what can I do?

If bailiffs have been instructed to collect a debt which you owe or you believe that a bailiff may be instructed, you must act quickly or risk losing household goods and even your car.

Any creditor to whom you owe money could chose to employ a bailiff to collect what you owe them. However, normally, if you owe money to a bank in the form of a personal loan or credit card debt, bailiffs would not be used.

A bank will try to collect its debt using a debt collection agency or by taking out a county court judgement against you.

A bailiff is more likely to be employed if you have unpaid rent or utility arrears, council tax or parking penalties. Nevertheless, if you have debt which you are unable to pay, you can never fully rule out action from a bailiff.

Take action early

If you are aware that a debt that you owe may be or has been passed to a bailiff for collection, you should act as soon as possible to resolve the problem.

If you cannot afford to repay the debt you should contact the creditor in question and try to negotiate a payment plan allowing you to make small payments towards the debt each month.

If you are not confident to do this yourself, you should use a debt management company to help you.

It is always far easier to negotiate with your creditor at this stage than let the situation get so bad that bailiffs are introduced.

Should you let bailiffs in?

If a bailiff has been instructed and they call when you are at home, do not let them into your property. Be firm and explain that the only way you will be able to pay what you owe is by agreeing a payment plan with them.

One condition of agreeing a payment plan with a Bailiff is that they may ask you to sign a Walking Possession Order listing the property that the bailiff could take.

Do not sign a Walking Possession Order before you have taken further advice. If you do so and then try and remove the listed goods from your property without first paying the debt owed, this would be a criminal offence.

If the bailiff at your door will not take no for an answer and will not leave, then if necessary you should call the police.

If you are not at home, bailiffs are not allowed to break into your home unless there are very specific circumstances for example in the case of eviction when a home is to be repossessed.

However, bailiffs are allowed to gain peaceful entry to your property through an unlocked door or open window. As such, if you believe a bailiff may visit your home when you are away, make sure all doors and windows are properly locked.

What could a bailiff take?

If a bailiff has gained entry to your house, they are only allowed to take goods that belong to you. However, this could also mean items which are jointly owned with someone else and other goods unless you can prove specifically that you do not own them.

Bailiffs cannot take essential items such as kitchen equipment – your oven, fridge or furniture, your clothes or tools of your trade.

However, they are able to take non essential items such as your TV, DVD and stereo system and of course other luxury items such as art and antiques.

If you own a car, a bailiff can seize this from you and sell it at auction. If you believe that a bailiff will visit your home, you should make sure that any car you own is locked away out of site in a garage or parked elsewhere.

It is important to understand that no creditor wants to instruct bailiffs to try and recover the money that you owe. This is almost always the most expensive way of trying to enforce repayment of a debt.

It is far better to act early and negotiate a payment plan with your creditor before bailiffs are introduced.

If you feel you are unable to negotiate with your creditors yourself, you should ask for help from a specialist debt advisor.

If you are struggling with debt, visit www.BeatMyDebt.com

Our vibrant forum gives free access to industry experts and others who have suffered with debt problems.

Useful guides, calculators and information are also available designed to help you understand how to manage and resolve debt problems.

---