What is classed as a receipt?

[owens_2k]

Hi,

My partner who lives with me ran up a debt before we co-habited and we have recently had a letter stating the bailiffs may be round soon. My partner is trying to sort a payment plan but in the meantime I am trying to cover myself in case of a visit.

Am I right in saying that the onus is on me to prove to the enforcement officer that an item doesn't belong to my partner?

Any assets of value in the house were all purchased by me and in most cases I have email confirmation of things that I have bought. Do enforcement officers accept this as a receipt/proof of ownership? What about items I have purchased second hand from online retailers such as eBay? I also have a work laptop with two monitors which belong to the company I work for but I am not sure how I would go about proving this to enforcement officers.

On a secondary note, if my partner has no assets of which to take control of then what is the next avenue the enforcement officer will take.

Many thanks

[R0b]

Do enforcement officers accept this as a receipt/proof of ownership?

Most bailiffs I have encountered or come across operate outside the law and will say something that is not true or do something they shouldn't do because they know most people in this situation are in a weak position to challenge anything.

Bailiffs are not entitled to take any goods that don't belong to the debtor so the onus is on you to prove ownership. That can come in various forms such as receipts, order forms, invoices, signed contracts etc. but most of the time bailiffs will claim they can only accept actual sales receipts or similar that unequivocally proves ownership. They are entitled to disregard proof where they have a reasonable suspicion that you don't actually own it but the onus is on them to prove that. In practice, they will just generally claim your evidence is not enough and will threaten to take the goods anyway but recent court cases have suggested otherwise.

The starting point is to make sure you don't let them in as they cannot force entry and even sticking their foot in the doorway is forced entry so keep doors locked where possible when you come in and out the house or they can simply walk in. If in doubt, record the situation on your phone and whilst recording as the bailiff to confirm their camera is switched on or if not to switch it on.

You might find the guidance issued by the government helpful on what bailiffs should and shouldn't do: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/353396/taking-control-of-goods-national-standards.pdf

On a secondary note, if my partner has no assets of which to take control of then what is the next avenue the enforcement officer will take.

Presumably the bailiff will walk away and the warrant will be un-executed.