Can bailiff fees be challenged?

What the law says about fee disputes

Enforcement agents cannot set their own charges. Every fee must correspond to a stage in the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014. If a charge does not match those rules, it is not recoverable. The Regulations say plainly that any dispute about the amount recoverable “is to be determined by the court”, so the right to challenge is built into the legislation.

The statutory scale: what each fee should be

On the standard scale — which covers council tax, business rates, parking penalties, magistrates’ court fines, child maintenance and county court warrants — there are three fixed fees. The figures below apply to enforcement action that commenced on or after 1 May 2026. Cases that began before that date continue under the previous fee structure, where the compliance fee was £75 before 1 May 2026, the enforcement fee was £235 before 1 May 2026, and the sale fee was £110 before 1 May 2026.

Compliance stage fee

£79Triggered when the firm receives the instruction — covers the Notice of Enforcement and everything up to a first visit

Enforcement stage fee

£247Triggered when an agent first attends the premises — one fee covers all attendance until the sale stage begins

Sale or disposal stage fee

£116Triggered when an agent first attends to remove goods, or starts preparing a sale on the premises

Percentage fee threshold

£1,9007.5% of the amount above £1,900 is added at the enforcement and sale stages

On the standard scale the fixed fees are £79 at the notice, £326 once an agent has visited and £442 if goods are removed for sale, before any percentage fee on a larger debt. The bailiff fees calculator applies the statutory scale and shows how each figure is made up.

Fixed fees versus costs that must be reasonable

The stage fees are fixed — an agent cannot charge more than the amount set for each stage, and each stage fee is charged once, not once per letter or per visit. However, certain additional costs can be added on top where they were “reasonably and actually incurred”:

• Storage of goods that have been removed.
• A locksmith, where reasonable force was lawfully used to enter, including the cost of securing the property afterwards.
• Court fees for applications the agent made that were granted.
• Auction costs: the auctioneer’s commission up to 15% of the sale price at an auction house or 7.5% for an online auction, plus out-of-pocket expenses and reasonable advertising.
• Exceptional costs, but only if a court orders them on an application made with the creditor’s consent.

Where costs such as storage have been run up, an agent must provide a statement of them with receipts, alongside a statement of fees charged, when the debt is being settled. A charge presented without that breakdown can itself be disputed.

Common reasons a fee may be wrong

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How to check a fee before raising a dispute

1. Identify which scale applies

   The standard scale covers council tax, parking, court fines and county court warrants. High Court writs use a different scale with different figures. Check which type of debt the action relates to.

2. Check which date the case began

   The current fees apply only to enforcement action commencing on or after 1 May 2026. Before that date the compliance fee was £75, the enforcement fee was £235 and the sale fee was £110 — those are the old figures that apply to cases begun before 1 May 2026. A statement showing those old amounts is consistent with a case that began before that date.

3. Match each charge to a stage

   Each line on the fee statement should correspond to a compliance, enforcement or sale stage. An agent must be able to say which stage each fee relates to. Run the figures through the bailiff fees calculator to see what the regulations provide for the debt amount and stage reached.

4. Check any additional costs have receipts

   Storage, locksmith and auction costs must have been reasonably and actually incurred. Ask for the statement of costs and supporting receipts if they have not been provided.

The routes for raising a dispute

There are several routes, and later ones generally expect earlier ones to have been tried. Full details of each route — including the Enforcement Conduct Board’s complaint criteria and the EAC2 court form — are on the complaints page.

1. The enforcement firm. Every accredited firm has a complaints procedure, normally on its website. Raise the specific fee or cost that is disputed, with the figure and the reason it appears to be outside the regulations.
2. The creditor. The organisation that instructed the firm — the council, the court, the claimant — stays responsible for how its debts are collected. For council tax or a parking penalty that is the council; for a court fine it is the court that issued the warrant.
3. The Enforcement Conduct Board. For accredited firms, a complaint should reach the Board within three months of becoming aware of the problem, or within one month of the firm’s final response. Remedies from completed investigations have included refunds of fees. The Board’s service is free.
4. The court. The Fees Regulations give the court the final word: any dispute about the amount recoverable is to be determined by the court. The court can also consider whether a certificated agent is fit to hold their certificate, via form EAC2. Court action carries a risk of costs.

Vulnerable people and fees

The enforcement stage fee, and any costs linked to that stage, are not recoverable from a vulnerable person unless the agent first gave them an adequate opportunity to get assistance and advice before removing goods. Where that opportunity was not given, the fee can be disputed on that ground. The vulnerable people page covers what counts as vulnerability and what agents must do.