Bailiffs turned up without giving a Notice of Enforcement

Bailiffs may not take control of goods unless the debtor has been given notice.^[1]

Reasons bailiffs did not give a Notice of Enforcement can be:

Your address is different from the enforcement address on the warrant of control

The bailiff took matters into his own hands and traced you^[2]

The bailiff has no defence. He failed to give a Notice of Enforcement and attended your present address knowing the warrant address is not current.

The bailiff must keep a record of the time the Notice of Enforcement was given.^[3]

The Notice of Enforcement must be given to the debtor not less than 7 clear days before the enforcement agent takes control of the debtor's goods.^[4]

Giving the Notice of Enforcement and keeping a record of the time it was given is part of the Schedule 12 enforcement provisions. If the bailiff does not use the Schedule 12 enforcement provisions, he is unable to recover fees and charges,^[5] or the debtor may recover them.^[6]

Ask the bailiff to show evidence of the time the Notice of Enforcement entered the postal system.^[7]

Template Letter

Send the letter to the bailiff company and get a certificate of posting from the post office.

Give a copy of the letter to the bailiff company by email and make a screenshot of the sent email capturing the time you gave it.

Send a copy of the letter by text message to the bailiff to his mobile and make a screenshot of the sent text message to record the time you gave it.

Keep all screenshots for your file.

If the bailiff does not comply, you may give it in evidence the bailiff did not give a Notice of Enforcement.^[7]

^{[1] Paragraph 7.1 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
[2] Contrary to Paragraph 12 of the Taking Control of Goods: National Standards, April 2014
[3] Paragraph 7.3 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
[4] Regulation 6(1) of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013
[5] Regulation 3 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014
[6] Civil Procedure Rule 84.16(3)(a)
[7] Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978}