I work for a bailiff's

[IHateTrains]

I work for a bailiff company, not sure if anyone would find this interesting or not! Feel free to ask me anything.

@IHateTrains do some people in your work think they are better than the people their trying to get money off? Can they really not leave until they have part payment or is that just so they make some money off it? Do you have a set wage and then make commission off how many recoveries you make? What happens to single parents who are in debt and they come out to them? Do they get help or just the same treatment as anyone else?

Do you go out to recover debts?
Have you ever been attacked?

Have their ever been genuine mistakes?

Are you allowed to show some flexibility for some people, if they really need it?

@yourma555 do bailiffs think they are better than the debtors? No not really, we often enforce on people earning millions, we also get the occasional celeb we are chasing payments from. Wages wise will work differently, some are self employed so will earn an amount of what they collect, some work on an employed basis and then earn a % of what is collected over a specific amount so maybe over 40k they get 3% or simular.
Single parents/vulnerable customers are always a priority to ensure we aren't putting them further in the shit. You can normally tell whose on the bones of their arse and normally we would arrange a payment plan based on their income/expenses. If you constantly break the payment plan then the bailiff will often request a % of the debt paid before we reinstate the payment plan. It will depend on the account as well. Some companies don't want us to proceed with removal, some just want the debt resolved.

Do you find you cop judgmental comments about yourself and the state of your soul when people find out what you do?

@AnonymousAgain I work in the office, so no to being attacked, but we frequently have bailiffs attacked, some incidents have nearly been fatal, although most of the time it's just a bit of pushing from the debtor. Mistakes? As in the debt was paid prior to us getting it? Yeh, this happens. Its human error, we occasionally get debts which are later cancelled by the account. We would just refund all charges back to the debtor. Mistakes account for a very small percent of the debts we get.
We do show flexibility when it's necessary. We obviously normally want a debt paid straight away, but we will often allow payment schedules, flexibility will depend on what the account wants and what previous history we have had with the debtor. If you've previously ignored payment plans or have been difficult to track down, we would often request an account to be paid in full.

@SD1978. I don't see anything wrong with what I do. People are required to pay for goods and services. By the time a debt goes out for enforcement the person in question will be more than aware they owe the money. We will often recover unpaid business debt, failure to pay other businesses can be financially cripiling, especially for smaller companies. Do you think it's okay for someone to provide a service for someon and then not pay for it?

The question was a general one- wasn't actually referring to the perceived or actual state of your soul. The question was do people. Didn't give a personal opinion about the rights or wrongs of the service!

SD1978 whilst I'm sure my sole is already banned from heaven😂. You do get alot of debtors screaming and shouting at baliffs when they turn up saying they are scum, how they are ruining lives etc. I dont think anyone has ever really questioned morally what I do (or not to my face). Maybe they do, but I dont notice.

What do you find are the most common reasons for non payment?

According to the tv, awkwardness and belligerence seems to play a big factor.

I used to live in a house that was constantly receiving ccjs and so on for the previous occupants. I was always terrified that a bailiff was going to show up and make off with my stuff! What would happen in this scenario? (It never did happen to me - phew)

At what point does a bailiff go to a property? How long does it take to get to that stage? How do you stop this happening if you really just don't have the money to pay anything at all.

@Eve common reasons for non payment? Sometimes it's simply an oversight; they think it's paid when it's not, this is normally for stuff like parking fines etc. for some people it's a case of burying their head in the sand. We obviously have a specific process we need to follow once a debt has been passed. We send a number of letters/emails/texts to debtors giving them a chance to pay, and you will get people who just ignore the letters and hope it goes away, or get told by those beat the bailiffs style groups to ignore the letters (worst.advice.ever!). You also get the people who don't have the means to pay (these are the cases I hate often single parents/low income/disability or those on benefits) or sometimes you get people who can afford to pay (nice houses, good income, new cars on the drive) and they just don't care, paying an additional £300 in fees is nothing to them.

@Spudlet. Addresses where people have moved out? Happens all the time. We ask for a document from a specific list so may ask for your tenancy agreement or your council tax bill etc. If you get anything like that again call the bailiff company explain so and so has moved away and then email the docs and they will be on their merry way. They don't want to waste their time trying to enforce on a property of the debtor doesn't live their. If the documents aren't sufficient, they may visit again and re-request them. Just keep hold of your council tax bill and that should be enough proof for anyone that comes knocking.

@countrybunny. At what point can a bailiff enter? Once they have the warrant/writ (basically the official bit confirming the debt is outstanding). By this time most people are aware of the debt, they will have received letters (if email and contact number has been provided, correspondence will be sent that way as well). Once they turn up they are allowed to seize goods or vehicles to cover the debt. They can't take stuff like beds, white goods etc and rarely to they take TV's or consoles simply because the value is low on an auction basis. They also can't take stuff on finance or that isn't yours. If you genuinely can't pay talk to them at the first point of contact. Don't let it get to enforcement stage (it adds on more fees). They may ask for a small down payment with the remainder to be paid at a later date. Some accounts want the debt cleared in maybe 3 months. If financially that's not doable, let the baliffs know and make sure they are aware you want to pay and your willing to offer X a month/week/fortnight. They can normally tell who is telling the truth and who isn't. If you have a brand new Bentley and your claiming to be on benefits they probably won't believe you. If you are claiming to be on low income or even if your expenses and your earnings are practically the same they will normally have a department that will deal with these cases and you will be asked to prove that you can't afford it. You may have to provide proof ever 6/9 months to confirm your situation isn't any better. If you are struggling emotionally and you don't feel able to speak with them citizens advise will often help you deal with the debt and set up payment plans. (You can always email them if thats better than dealing with someone on the phone)
For anyone who is struggling, I would always say speak to the company and get something set up. Don't ignore it, especially things like council tax and rent.

Can you just break in to someone's home or do you need to get a foot in the door, so to speak?

Ah, good to know. I did always make sure I had my passport and tenancy agreement to hand just in case, but fortunately nobody ever turned up!

@LadyRochfordsFlooredGusset (did I get that username correct 🤔). They can't break in. If your doors locked they can't smash the door down (although I think repossession orders work differently - in those cases they actually can), but for unpaid parking fines, driving in bus lanes etc they can enter if the door is unlocked or wide open. Most tend not to in my experience. Most people don't have goods to make it worth their time, you would be amazed how little you get for goods at auction but they will happily clamp your car, although most just want payment (otherwise they have to wait forever to get authorisation before they can take the car)

Ha no you didn't but I quite like it. Thanks for your reply.