Can a bailiff take a sofa with a secured loan on it?

When you buy a sofa using a loan secured on it, the ownership of the sofa does not pass to the buyer until the final payment has been made.^[1]

Bailiffs may only take control of goods that belong to the debtor.^[2]

There are practical implications for bailiffs when removing a sofa, they are large and cumbersome and, in any case, they hold little or no material value on the 2nd-hand market, and the proceeds of its sale is unlikely to pay the bailiffs fees, let alone pay the debt being recovered.

Bailiffs may threaten to take furniture, but it is usually to coerce debtors into paying the debt.

The sofa might be exempt goods if the sofa is the only seating arrangement for the debtor and each member of his household.^[3]

If the bailiff takes control of exempt goods, the debtor can make a third-party claim,^[4] and recover costs,^[5][6][7] and damages.^[8][9]

Bailiffs cannot sell a sofa without the original fire safety labels attached to it,^[10] which leaves the bailiff with a bulky sofa taking up space, and having no material value, and he cannot legally sell.

The bailiff is likely to lose money by taking a sofa because he is now liable for the cost of its disposal, and now is at risk of a potential third-party claim from the debtor, or the owner, if different.

^{[1] Chitty on Contracts (33 ed.) ss39-307 (paywall)

[2] Paragraph 10 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

[3] Regulation 4(1)(B) of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013

[4] Civil Procedure Rule 85.8

[5] Civil Procedure Rule 44.3

[6] Civil Procedure Rule 46.5

[7] Practice Direction 46.5 Rule 3.1

[8] Section 3 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977

[9] See Making a third-party claim to controlled goods

[10] Section 14 of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988}