Why do bailiffs never turn up when they threaten to?

To ambush debtors at a time they least expect them.

Bailiffs nearly always say they will return at 6am, but that is a guarantee when they will never arrive.

If bailiffs are expected at an address at a given time, they risk being ambushed by TV crews making rogue bailiff documentaries, which did happen in 2006.^[1]

Since the BBC broadcast its Whistleblower knocks on the door of bailiffs documentary in 2006, bailiff companies train their bailiffs never to attend when the debtor expects them.

Today, bailiffs end up on YouTube from bystanders filming them, which makes them camera-shy, so they prefer early morning attendances when there is less risk of bystanders.

The disadvantage of 6am attendances is few debtors are up, and a greater risk of neighbours calling the police reporting a disturbance.

With greater numbers of homes having online CCTV and video-doorbell technology, this forces bailiffs to clamp vehicles on the streets, usually without giving notice to the debtor.^[2]

^{[1] See BBC Whistleblower knocks on the door of bailiffs
[2] See Bailiffs and drive-by clamping}