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Sorry I haven't replied, I have been looking into a few things because what the court stated didn't quite stack up for me, and it appears that I was correct. I won't intend on giving a lengthy post here but I'll summarise what I've found and you can decide what you want to do with it.
1. First of all, you have a right under CPR 83.8 to write to the bailiff and request reasonable information as to what the bailiff has done in terms of executing the warrant. The bailiff has 7 days to respond to the notice. If there is no reply, you can go to court and ask for an order to force the bailiff to respond (presumably you likely to get your costs back on that too).
2. The statement from the court:
As far as I can see is not true. Schedule 12 of the The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 governs the procedure for taking control of goods. Paragraph 14 of that Schedule explains that a bailiff can enter premises with or without the need of a warrant. Specifically, it says they can enter relevant premises to search for and take control of goods. It then goes on to say that except for commercial rent arrears, the meaning of relevant premises is if the bailiff reasonably believes that it is a place where the debtor usually lives or (more importantly) carries on business.
3. Paras. 17-18 of Schedule 12 talk about reasonable force to enter premises. Para. 18A explains that a bailiff can enter premises with reasonable force (under the powers given in para. 14) if the bailiff reasonably believes that the debtor is carrying on a trade or business and the bailiff is executing a warrant of control under a county court judgment.
4. Bailiffs shuld do what they reasonably can to execute the warrant. If there is any neglect, connivance or omission on their part, then you have a right to make a complaint about them under section 124 of the County Courts Act 1984. If a judge finds the bailiff has failed to do their duties, then a judge may award compensation up to the cost of the warrant. Not sure of the process to make a complaint but I would imagine it's done by way of application to the court.
5. Given the amount you are claiming is over £600, have you considered transferring it up to the High Court and using their enforcement officers? They are generally better at recovering debt than County Court bailiffs.
6. You can apply for an order to obtain information from the debtor. This is where the debtor attends court and under oath answers a series of court generate questions in addition to your own questions you wish to ask him. You could then potentially use that as a way to determine the assets available. Of course he can then start shifting those assets around so you may need to be quick, though it can still be useful where assets such as property are owned by the debtor and you could then look at applying for a charging order or something similar.
I think there are options for you, most if not all come at a cost but it depends on how far you want to pursue this.
1. First of all, you have a right under CPR 83.8 to write to the bailiff and request reasonable information as to what the bailiff has done in terms of executing the warrant. The bailiff has 7 days to respond to the notice. If there is no reply, you can go to court and ask for an order to force the bailiff to respond (presumably you likely to get your costs back on that too).
2. The statement from the court:
bailiffs cannot execute business warrant on a residential address. If you have further information, please provide further new address details upon issuing the warrant.
3. Paras. 17-18 of Schedule 12 talk about reasonable force to enter premises. Para. 18A explains that a bailiff can enter premises with reasonable force (under the powers given in para. 14) if the bailiff reasonably believes that the debtor is carrying on a trade or business and the bailiff is executing a warrant of control under a county court judgment.
4. Bailiffs shuld do what they reasonably can to execute the warrant. If there is any neglect, connivance or omission on their part, then you have a right to make a complaint about them under section 124 of the County Courts Act 1984. If a judge finds the bailiff has failed to do their duties, then a judge may award compensation up to the cost of the warrant. Not sure of the process to make a complaint but I would imagine it's done by way of application to the court.
5. Given the amount you are claiming is over £600, have you considered transferring it up to the High Court and using their enforcement officers? They are generally better at recovering debt than County Court bailiffs.
6. You can apply for an order to obtain information from the debtor. This is where the debtor attends court and under oath answers a series of court generate questions in addition to your own questions you wish to ask him. You could then potentially use that as a way to determine the assets available. Of course he can then start shifting those assets around so you may need to be quick, though it can still be useful where assets such as property are owned by the debtor and you could then look at applying for a charging order or something similar.
I think there are options for you, most if not all come at a cost but it depends on how far you want to pursue this.
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