Bailiff Help: The Difference Between Real Bailiffs And Debt Collectors
Many people in the United Kingdom are suffering at the moment under the weight of debts which they cannot afford to repay. This is very stressful for the people concerned, particularly when creditors and collection agencies send out threatening letters, or even call on a person’s doorstep to collect money. This bailiff help article explains some of the most common misconceptions about the role of bailiffs and other collectors. In fact they have less powers than many people believe them to have, and unscrupulous debt collection agencies may often use fear as a weapon to extract unrealistically high payments from debtors.
Many people in the UK are suffering from financial difficulties, often having quite high and unsustainable levels of personal debt when compared to their regular income.
Having debt problems is often very distressing and stressful. It can affect a person’s health and their relationships with friends and family members. Often people have a fear that bailiffs may visit their home, and seize some property to be auctioned to pay off part of their debts.
In fact there are a lot of misconceptions about the role of bailiffs in the UK. Certain debt collection agencies act in an unscrupulous way (which is sometimes actually unlawful), in that they use the threat of bailiffs as a way to get more money from the debtor than they can realistically afford to pay.
Banks and credit card companies do not want to have defaulted debts on their books for a long period of time. They often sell these bad debts to debt collection agencies. The first misconception is that debt collection agencies are bailiffs – they are not, and they are obliged to follow the same rules (OFT guidelines on fair debt collection) as the banks and credit card companies.
Although a debt collector, or a representative, is allowed to call at your home, that does not mean that he is a bailiff. He is certainly not allowed to enter your house if not invited, nor is he allowed to take any goods from you. In fact you don’t even have to answer the door if you don’t want to do so.
Collectors are also forbidden from breaching confidentiality, so they must never discuss your financial situation with any other person in the home, or anywhere else. They must always leave when asked to do so, and may not act in an intimidating or threatening way.
Real county court bailiffs are quite different to the doorstep agents of collection agencies. They do have powers, and their job is to enforce unpaid CCJs. Those who have a CCJ should treat payment of that debt as a higher priority than their other debts.
If you are concerned that you may receive a visit from bailiffs, visit Payplan.com to see what they advise you to do.
