County Court Bailiff vs High Enforcement Officer (Compared)

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Are you worried about a County Court Bailiff or a High Court Enforcement Officer? Have you been contacted about a debt you owe? If so, you’re in the right place to get some help. Every month, over 4,600 people come to our website for advice on dealing with courts and debts.

In this article, we’ll help you understand:

Who a County Court Bailiff and a High Court Enforcement Officer are.
What you should do if you’re contacted by them.
The responsibilities of these officers.
Ways you may be able to lower your debt.
What to do if these officers visit you.

We know this is a stressful time for you, as some of our team have faced debts and court actions too. We know how it feels and are here to help.

Let’s get started.

What’s the difference between County Court Bailiffs and High Court Enforcement Officers?

Technically speaking, County Court bailiffs and High Court Enforcement Officers are both authorised debt collectors. However, HCEOs have more power than County Court Bailiffs. Here are the differences between these two agents.

County Court Bailiffs	High Court Enforcement Officers
They only deal with debts below £600	They enforce debts above £600
They are civil servants employed directly by the court service and placed on a salary	HCEOs are authorised by the Lord Chancellor and work privately or in private companies.
They can enforce debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act (e.g., unpaid credit cards),	They can’t enforce debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act (e.g., unpaid credit cards)
County Court Bailiffs must send notice to a debtor before visiting	HCEOs can come unannounced
They are paid by the court and not based on their result	They are private sector agents and are paid based on results, which makes them more effective for debt collection
CCBs have low collection rates	HCEOs have high collection rates
Creditor doesn’t pay any fee if County Court Bailiffs cannot recover a debt.	Creditor pays an industry-regulated compliance fee of £75 plus VAT if HCEOs are unable to recover a debt

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Can County Court Bailiffs and High Court Enforcement Officers force entry?

County Court bailiffs often cannot force entry to recover debts or seize goods, and they can only visit at reasonable hours. But even with court permission to force entry, they can only use “reasonable force,” such as employing a locksmith to unlock your door. Note that you may be charged the locksmith fees if they have to come in this way.

Examples of debts they can apply reasonable force to enter your home for include:

· HMRC tax debt

· Some court fines

The debtor’s possessions are located inside the property, where these goods are named on a Controlled Goods Agreement (CGA), which has defaulted.

On the other hand, High Court Enforcement Officers can come at any time and force entry into your home or business. However, they can only force entry over debts like:

· unpaid magistrates’ court fines, such as fines for traffic light offences, failure to pay your TV licence, speeding, driving without insurance, etc.

· tax debts for HMRC, such as owed income tax

They can’t force entry if they’re in your home or business for other debts. This includes debts such as

· credit card or catalogue debts

· unpaid parking tickets

· unpaid energy or phone bills

How a debt solution could help

Some debt solutions can:

Stop nasty calls from creditors
Freeze interest and charges
Reduce your monthly payments

A few debt solutions can even result in writing off some of your debt.

Here’s an example:

Situation

Monthly income	£2,504
Monthly expenses	£2,345
Total debt	£32,049

Monthly debt repayments

Before	£587
After	£158

£429 reduction in monthly payments

If you want to learn what debt solutions are available to you, click the button below to get started.

Get Started

What should I do if Bailiffs or Enforcement Officers visit me?

If bailiffs or enforcement officers visit you, you want to handle the situation with ease to avoid getting into trouble with the court. Failing to comply with enforcement agents can eventually result in the seizure of your valuables to settle your creditors. Here’s what to do if they visit you.

1. Pay up your creditor – if you can, pay up your creditor, and the story ends there. If you can’t, find a suitable debt solution that can help you write off some debts or make your repayment much easier. Common examples of these debt solutions include:

· Individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs)

· Debt management plans

· Debt relief orders

· Administration orders

· Bankruptcy

2. Send an offer of payment to them – this can be a good option if you can’t afford the full payment at once. Simply send an offer of payment in instalments to your creditor or through the enforcement agent, and you will likely be able to reach an agreement.

3. Change your payment terms – if you’ve paid part of your debts but can’t continue due to a change in your financial situation, you can communicate with the enforcement agents or directly with your creditor. Propose a new payment plan that fits your current financial circumstance, and it’ll likely be accepted.

Thousands have already tackled their debt

Every day our partners, The Debt Advice Service, help people find out whether they can lower their repayments and finally tackle or write off some of their debt.