Bailiffs are a constant worry for people in debt.
With the average British household overall in £15,400 of debt (a record sum per household), there is a growing need for debt management facilities in the United Kingdom.
Bailiffs are a key part of debt recovery and are tasked with getting as much money as possible from UK residents, however bailiffs can also hound people to the point where they are no longer being productive in their day to day lives and are demotivated to tackle their issues under the seemingly insurmountable pressure from debt collection agencies and other debt collectors and bailiffs.
How Can The Pressure From Bailiffs By Alleviated By Dealing With Bailiffs?
There are a number of ways to improve the situation with bailiffs, here are a few suggestions below:
- Sometimes the best way to deal with bailiffs is to confront the situation head on, and speak to them by phone, this gives you an opportunity to explain to them the situation and any current predicaments you may be in and other challenges or changes to income or other arrangements.
- If you are hounded and reluctant to deal with bailiffs you can make use of a debt management company to help you with management of bailiffs and lenders, this way you are not dealing with the issue yourself, a debt management plan (DMP) is a great way to become debt free and is very popular amongst UK residents.
- Another option is to contact a debt solutions company and ask about an IVA, otherwise known as an individual voluntary arrangement, which is a more formal debt solution which is backed by British law (Insolvency Act 1986), a legal initiative introduced to help people in debt living in the United Kingdom. It has many benefits including enabling you to write off debt, freezing all interest and charges. Another benefit of an IVA is the interim order, which is a legal injunction which wards off creditor hassle and bailiff problems, by exercising the law and the consumers’ right to be left alone as long as they pay pre-agreed regular contributions (at a reduced rate) towards their debts. See this page for more details about what an IVA is “What is an IVA?”
- A final resort (to eliminate debt which you have zero prospect of repaying) is to consider bankruptcy, an initiative which would involve the sale of any assets and valuable personal property (personal liquidation) to repay debt to lenders and creditors. This is not recommended as the first thought because the side effects of bankruptcy are heavy, and there are fees and restrictions on obtaining credit (bankruptcy shows on your credit file for 6 years).
The above gives people in debt four different options for coping with not only bailiffs but also debts. All of them can be effective and it will depend on personal circumstances to determine the best solution to this issue, as higher debt levels are better suited to an IVA than options 1 or 2.
Final Tip: Make sure you select a company which has FCA authorisation if choosing debt help or debt advice, unregulated firms often use unethical practices and cause further issues for clients which can even exacerbate their debts in some cases.