Can bailiffs force entry into my home?

Almost every bailiff who knocks — formally an enforcement agent since 2014 — has no power to make you open the door. Their powers come from the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, and peaceable entry is the rule: through a door you open for them, or an unlocked door or open window, and only if you allow it.

What they cannot do

• Force a closed door — locked or unlocked — into a home, push past you, climb through a window, or enter when only children under 16 are there.
• Enter if the only adult present is vulnerable — severely ill, learning disabled, or bereaved within the last four weeks.
• Take essential goods — cooker, fridge, washing machine, beds and bedding, basic clothing and furniture, a phone in normal use, anything needed by a child or disabled person, and work tools and equipment up to £1,350.
• Take goods that are not yours — rented or hire-purchase items, or things belonging solely to your partner when the debt is yours alone.
• Charge outside the fixed scale — £75 compliance stage, £235 enforcement stage plus 7.5% of any debt over £1,500, £110 sale stage plus 7.5%. No other fee is lawful.

Forced entry is allowed in two situations only: unpaid magistrates' court fines where it has been specifically authorised, and a return visit after you let an agent in, signed a controlled goods agreement and then defaulted. Even then it is a last resort and notice must be given. Vehicles are different — a car on the public highway or an accessible driveway can be clamped or removed, though they cannot break into a locked garage.

What to do while they are outside

Do not open the door. Speak through it or by phone, ask for the agent's ID, the company name and the debt reference number, and confirm in writing — a text or email is enough — that you are getting free debt advice. If you or anyone in your household is vulnerable, put that in writing too: they must record it and refer the case back to the creditor, who has to consider an instalment plan, a pause or a write-off instead. Then call StepChange (0800 138 1111) or National Debtline (0808 808 4000), who can deal with the creditor for you and, if you have several debts, register you for Breathing Space — 60 days of legal protection during which enforcement must stop.