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How to stop bailiff action

This information applies to England and Wales

About how to stop bailiff action

If you owe money, your creditor has various options to try and get their money back. Instructing the bailiffs to take your things away is one of these options.

You'll usually get a warning if a creditor is going to send bailiffs. There are several things you can do to stop this happening before and after the bailiffs have visited you.

This page tells you what you can do to stop bailiffs, including:

how to stop county court bailiffs
how to stop High Court bailiffs
what to do about paying back council tax arrears
getting more help with bailiffs.

Changing the court order

The most effective way to stop bailiff action is to get the court to withdraw authorisation. This can happen in the following ways:

county court orders (CCJs): warrants of execution and warrants of delivery can be suspended by the court
high court orders: a writ of fi-fa can be suspended
council tax: the local authority may agree to withdraw the warrant of execution and come to another arrangement. The court has no power to stop the warrant.

Getting a county court warrant suspended

If you have a county court judgment against you (a CCJ), the creditor can apply to court for permission to send bailiffs to take your goods. The court will issue a warrant of execution or a warrant of delivery.

Once a warrant has been issued, the bailiffs are legally authorised to take away your things. The bailiffs must usually give you a warning notice that the warrant has been issued, asking for payment within seven days.

You have the right to apply to court suspend this warrant. This means it won’t be put into operation as long as you keep to the terms agreed by the court. For example the court may agree to suspend a warrant as long as you pay a certain amount each month. If you fail to pay, the warrant will be re-activated.

To apply for a county court warrant to be suspended, you fill in court form N245. You can get a copy of this form from the HM Court Service website at: www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk.

There's a fee to apply to have a warrant suspended. You may be able to get the fee waived or reduced if you're on a low income.

You can also use the form to make an offer to pay back the debt in instalments. If the creditor accepts your offer, the court will suspend the warrant. It’s possible to suspend a warrant more than once. However, if the court feels this has happened too often, it will eventually turn down your application.

For more about working out an offer of repayment, see Help with debt.

You can get help applying to suspend a warrant from an advisers at your local Citizens advice Bureau. To search for your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.

Applying to suspend a High Court writ

If the court order was for a lump sum (the most usual order in the High Court), and you wish to pay by instalments, you can apply for the order to be suspended. This is called applying for a stay of execution.

You apply by filling in an application form N244. You can get a copy of form N244 from Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service website at: www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk.

You'll need to write down these words on the form:

“I am requesting that the execution be stayed on condition that the judgment debt be paid by instalments of £... per....'”

You also have to provide a statement of your financial circumstances. This is called an affidavit of means (a sworn statement) or a witness statement, where you sign a statement of truth.

There's a fee to apply for a stay of execution. You may be able to get the fee waived or reduced if you're on a low income.

You should get advice before you fill in these forms.

Get advice about filling in form N244 from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.

If the High Court originally made an order that you have to pay off the debt in instalments, you may be able to get this changed if your financial circumstances change. Get advice about how to do this.

Get advice about applying for a High Court order to be changed from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.

Paying the debt off in full

If the bailiffs get involved, you’ll have to pay their fees and charges and extra court costs, on top of the original debt. These charges can be very expensive so if you can afford to pay off the debt in full it's worth doing this as soon as possible.

Even if the bailiffs have already been instructed, it’s still worth trying to pay off the debt in full, as your debt will usually increase if they make a house visit. You can offer to pay in full even if the bailiffs do arrive at your home. You will still save costs.

If you have other debts or can't afford to pay the bailiffs in full, you can get advice about what to do from an experienced adviser.

If you’re got financial difficulties, you should get further advice about how to deal with all your debts from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.

For more about sorting out your debts, see Help with debt.

Making an offer to the creditor

If you can’t afford to pay off the debt in full, you can ask the creditor to accept an offer:

to pay off only part of the debt, or
to pay off the whole debt in instalments, or
to write off the debt entirely.

Show them a statement of your financial circumstances so they know how much you can afford to pay. If the creditor accepts your offer before the bailiffs are involved, this will be cheaper for you.

For more information about working out how much you can afford to pay, see Budgeting.

If you’re in financial difficulty, make sure you have a proper plan in place before you make an offer to pay off this debt.

If you’re got financial difficulties, you should get further advice about how to deal with all your debts from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. They can also help you draw up a statement of your financial circumstances to show the creditor. To search for your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.

For more information about sorting out your debts, see Help with debt.

Making an offer to the bailiffs

If the bailiffs are already involved, you may be able to offer to pay them something to stop them taking your things away. You may have the opportunity to make them an offer before they come to your home. It can be difficult to get in touch with the bailiffs to make them an offer. The earlier you try to approach them, the better chance you have that they'll agree.

However, even if they get in your home, it’s not too late for them to accept a reasonable offer. Show them a statement of your financial circumstances so they can see what you can afford to pay. Get a receipt from them if you pay them any money.

For more information about working our an offer of repayment, see Help with debt.

You may think that the bailiffs are not acting reasonably when you try to negotiate with them. For example, they may refuse to accept cheques, or they may refuse to accept an offer even if it is clearly based on your financial circumstances. The creditor may not have given the bailiffs authority to negotiate on their behalf and you may be able to solve this problem by getting in touch with the creditor and asking them to intervene.

However, county court bailiffs or High Court bailiffs never have the authority to agree an offer with you.

It can be difficult to negotiate with the bailiffs, especially if you are feeling pressured because they’re in your home. Try and get expert advice before making an offer to them.

If you’re in financial difficulties, you should get further advice about how to deal with all your debts from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. They can also help you draw up a statement of your financial circumstances to show the bailiffs. To search for your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.

Paying back council tax arrears

If the local authority is planning to use bailiffs for council tax arrears, they must send you a warning letter at least 14 days before the bailiff’s first visit. You can use this time to approach the local authority and ask them to pay off the debt in full or come to some agreement with them.

If you offer to pay the whole amount due, together with charges, the local authority must accept this offer. They then have to instruct the bailiffs not to carry on.

If you're on Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance, you can ask the local authority to accept a mall offer or deductions direct from your benefits, instead of sending bailiffs.

You can get further help to sort out your council tax arrears from your local Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.

If you have goods to sell

If you have belongings of value which could be sold to pay off the debt, you may be happy to let the bailiffs take them. However, it will almost always be worth selling them yourself, as you may get more by a private sale than at a bailiff auction. Try negotiating this with the creditor.

Further help

On Adviceguide

Citizens Advice

Debt and money