Those bailiff programmes....

[CurlewKate]

...who the fuck watches them? I got caught in a TikTok rabbit hole for 30 minutes before I came to my senses-why do people watch distressed poor people being evicted? It's awful!!! I'm actually ashamed of myself for carrying on watching....

Not technically a baliff show but "Fare Dodgers: At War With the Law" is absolutely brilliant. Cheeky bastards who think they should be entitled to free travel around London getting caught red handed. <Chef's kiss>

I think the no fault evictions are horrible ie no rent arrears good tenants. They are only having to go through eviction route because the council say they have to or they won't help. And that there's no notice for the heigh court eviction.

I only ever saw one episode. Most were wealthy older couples having multiple cars repossessed. Then the last was a family living in poverty. Three tiny children sobbing so hard the bailiff had to step outside. Vile vile show.

Most of these reality programs are the same though.

I don't get why people want to watch blood and gore in some of these hospital programs but some people seem to love it.

I also don't get stuff like programs about people who hoard or disgusting houses either. Clearly most of the people featured on it have serious mental health problems. It's like profiteering off the mentally ill.

I find aussie gold diggers and gold divers pretty interesting though.

I'd probably find the odd episode interesting. I've lived in poverty and could have easily been in that situation. I've also watched plenty of documentaries about poverty, the lack of affordable homes etc. But surely once you've seen a couple of episodes it must become a little repetitive?

I try not to judge what other people watch. I mean it's easy to say something is drivel but most of what is on TV is. Not everything has to be high brow.

Because it lets people understand more about what happens in that situation whether they are owed money, facing bailiffs or just wanting to understand what happens.

I remember one that was shown years ago. People who brought used cars ending up in debt because the sellers neglected to mention certain things. So innocent people got in trouble

@Ap24 @I mean it's easy to say something is drivel but most of what is on TV is. Not everything has to be high brow."

I'm not saying it's drivel-I watch a lot of drivel. I'm saying it's cruel and prurient and bad for society.

@GOODCAT An expert on this thread has said that it's factually inaccurate.

High court bailiffs have no more right than bailiffs...odd time they get in regarding eviction, council tax, tv licence...it can take a long time. I don't buy into frightening people.. people have options if they cannot afford to pay. I hate the bully boy tactics when people are poor.

Every person on those programmes has to give consent. So, on that basis, they must be happy.

@MargotMoon How do the bailiffs get paid? Are they on commission?

I was just trying to distinguish between court bailiffs and debt collectors. Court bailiffs can enter with a court order. It is very rare and is usually the very last option but it can happen.

High court enforcement I believe

Not bailiffs

I detest these people...bailiffs, traffic wardens, the ones who check tickets on trains...class traitors doing the dirty work of the rich and poweful

Do you think people should just get away with running up debts and not paying rent then? I'm not saying it should be used as entertainment but bailiffs have a necessary job to do.

This. I had a few thoughts on it, but never mind. I wouldn’t want the op to think of me as ‘vile’?

Yeh. Let people park where they want. Who cares if they obstruct the flow of traffic, make it unsafe to use a zebra crossing, block driveways, or mean you can’t see to pull out at a junction.

Depends what the debt is for? I mean currently in London you get fined for the most innocuous of things. You're lucky to get down the road without being fined...ltns, ulez, school streets, bus lanes, 20mph

But regardless bailiffs often try to intimidate, lie and break the law themselves. They are the absolute scum of the earth.

I guess you would be OK with coming back from a holiday and found squatters have moved into your house 🤣🤣 you might just need the services of court bailiffs then 😉

Ach, I'll speak up, I like Can't Pay We'll Take it Away. And the related eviction programmes. I relate to people whose lives are precarious. If I'm comparing to me, I'm grateful is the end of the comparison. I totally get how their lives have gone wrong. I also love the moments when the bailiffs suss someone out who is lying about being the debtor they are looking for and frantically try to hide their assets. I admire the bailiff tenacity. And the compassion the bailiffs show, explaining to people how they get housed after eviction, negotiating terms for their stuff. There's a lot of people skills in that job. The experienced residents who have been evicted previously will be waiting patiently, all their items already packed up, for their paperwork so they can go to the council to get new housing. The inexperienced may be in mega-denial that eviction is finally happening. Often, there is a landlady who is finally seeing the end to the nightmare of their property being squatted in, no rent paid, for months or years previously. They go in & have to deal with all the damage.

I guess it depends what you call "entertainment". I can't fathom what people find entertaining in lots of things. Graphic violence, horror, Corrie, motor racing, salacious summaries of terrible true crimes... I can't get it. Being fiction or "sport" doesn't make it any better.

We've watched a lot of 600 lb life. So that's about people struggling to find a better life. Some fail. It's a hard watch when they fail.

Il probably be on it soon !

One thing to remember these shows are made with extra drama so it’s not all as it seems. Also often the “rules” the Bailiffs claim often are not either when you actually look into laws. Much is dramatised to get people to view.

Im real life who opens the door really to one? Not many and if you don’t open the door they cannot enter. They are not allowed to break in or climb though windows etc they cannot take a lot of what people think they can, they cannot take things that value way more than the debt, they cannot take mobility cars or cars than the debter owns that’s on someone else’s private land. Most people who genuinely owe loads know all this unlike the muppets on the shows. Also cars on finance cannot be taken as with many other items. Sofas etc with no fire tags cannot be taken etc it’s so easy to google it all.

House evictions are different as the court can order the lock change etc. Though the landlord still has to store your shit.