How To Stop Bailiffs
In most cases people are not being pursued by bailiffs (a bailiff is appointed by the court after a county court judgement has been made against you) but are actually under pressure from debt collectors.
Debt collectors are often referred to as bailiffs as they can behave in an aggressive manner and be difficult to deal with. In fact sometimes debt collectors even claim to be bailiffs and argue they have the power to take your goods.
In actual fact, debt collectors have no right to do this and as you have not been to court and are not a criminal, have very limited powers.
When you are being pursued by a debt collector it is important to know your rights. They are not allowed to make your life a misery and cannot demand money you haven’t got.
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Other rules that they should follow include:
- A debt collector should not contact you at unreasonable times. (e.g. at 7.00am)
- They cannot embarrass you in front of friends / family or discuss your debts with them.
- They cannot threaten to take your goods or send letters that look like court orders.
- Debt collectors cannot use threatening language or gestures.
- They cannot contact you too many times. If they call you more than twice a day this could be regarded as harassment.
- They cannot charge excessive fees for letters and calls.
- If a debt collector visits your home they must leave at your request.
It is important to remember that debt collectors are regulated by the Office of Fair Trading and by reporting them they could end up under investigation. There are also other laws (such as the Administration of Justice Act 1970) that can be used to protect you from debt collectors.
Despite this, the best way to stop bailiffs and debt collectors is to make an arrangement with them as soon as possible. At Money Advice & Debt Help we can do this on your behalf and by appointing us as your representative we can deal with the situation for you.
We can make sure that your interests are protected and that you are not being bullied. Normally we are able to agree an affordable repayment plan and in some cases we can even write off much of your debt. This can be done through a full and final settlement or Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA).
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