New laws mean mean big differences to the way 'enforcement agents' - the replacements for bailiffs - can collect debts.
Bailiffs have been around so long that even the oldest law in England, the 1267 Statute of Marlborough, concerns stopping them from taking too much property! Sadly, bailiff law is old and archaic with terms such as ‘warrant of execution’ still much in use today.
From 6th April in England and Wales the laws concerning bailiffs changes forever (though not in Scotland or Northern Ireland as thankfully their laws on bailiffs are nowhere near as convoluted). This means that bailiffs themselves won’t exist anymore. Instead they’ll become rather softer sounding ‘enforcement agents’.
Bailiffs get the boot
Other changes to the law and process surrounding ‘enforcement agents’ include the following:
- No more surprise visits. You’ll now get at least a week’s notice before the first visit from an enforcement agent
- When they do visit a property, they have to leave a letter explaining clearly what they’ve done
- They can still use force to enter when they’re collecting criminal fines or tax debts, but they’ll need to ask a judge for permission first
- If an enforcement agent has been into your house and made a list of goods, they can use force to enter again if you don’t pay them
- They won’t be allowed to climb in through your window to enter your property
- The law also stops them coming in if only children or vulnerable adults are in the house
They still can’t force their way into your house. It’s still illegal for them to break anything, put their foot in the door or push past you to get in.
What can they take?
Enforcement agents can take goods you own, and goods you jointly own with someone else. They must leave essential household items such as your fridge, phone and washing machine.
[SPOTLIGHT]They have the power to take goods immediately but they’re unlikely to do this. Instead they’ll ask that you start making payments towards the debt.
Enforcement agents also have the new power to seize goods and lock them away in your own property – the most likely use of this law is to lock and secure vehicles in your own garage.
How much can they charge?
Fees are a big worry for anyone when enforcement agents call. Until now there were different fees for each type of debt, with many of these dependent on what an enforcement agent thought was ‘reasonable’.
The new fees are easier to understand. There’ll just be two lists of fees with the amounts fixed in law, so there’s no room for enforcement agents to overcharge. You can probably guess the bad news – in many cases the fees will be significantly higher.
New bailiff regulation
This new regulation has been sixteen years in the making. One thing that hasn’t changed is that if you get a visit or a letter from an enforcement agent you should seek free and impartial debt advice straight away. You can do this by contacting us our online using our confidential Debt Remedy tool.