Never received a notice of enforcement: what the rules say

What the law requires before a bailiff can visit

Regulation 6 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 states that an enforcement agent may not take control of goods unless the debtor has been given notice. That notice — the Notice of Enforcement — must be given at least 14 clear days before the agent attends. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day are not counted. The notice also adds the £79 compliance stage fee the moment it is sent, before anyone visits.

For most debts this means at least two and a half weeks must pass between the notice and a lawful first visit. A visit that takes place before that period has run, or where no notice was given at all, falls outside the process the regulations set out. See the Notice of Enforcement page for the full detail on contents and timing.

How a notice can legally be delivered

Regulation 7 sets out what the notice must contain, but the regulations also specify the permitted methods of delivery. A Notice of Enforcement can be given in any of these ways:

• By post to the debtor’s home or business address.
• By hand through the letterbox.
• By fax or email.
• By fixing it somewhere it is likely to be seen, where there is no letterbox.
• By handing it to the debtor in person.

There is no requirement for recorded delivery or a signature. Ordinary post to the address the enforcement firm holds for the debtor satisfies the regulations. This matters because a notice can be legally valid even if the debtor never reads it — because it was delivered to a former address, was missed in the post, or was sent by email to an address no longer checked.

What a valid notice must contain

Because the notice is the only formal warning before a visit, regulation 7 sets out a detailed list of what it must include. A notice that is missing required information may not be a valid notice. It must be in writing and include:

• The debtor’s name and address, the date of the notice and a reference number.
• Details of the court judgment, order or other power the debt is being enforced under.
• Enough detail to identify the debt, and the amount owed including any interest.
• The enforcement costs so far, and the further costs that could be added if the debt stays unpaid.
• How and when payment can be made, and how to contact the enforcement agent or their office.
• The date and time by which the debt must be paid to stop goods being taken and further costs being added.
• That free advice is available from a debt advice provider, with contact details (required from 1 May 2026).
• That the notice period can be extended on a debt advice provider’s request (required from 1 May 2026).

The requirement that the notice include the power being enforced under is significant where a person does not recognise the debt. The notice must identify the creditor and the court order or other authority, which allows the underlying debt to be traced and, where necessary, challenged at source.

When a notice is sent to the wrong address

The regulations require the notice to go to a place where the debtor “usually lives or carries on a trade or business”. If someone has moved and the enforcement firm still holds an old address, a notice posted there may be treated as validly served — even though the person never received it.

The bailiffs at the wrong address page covers this situation in detail, including what evidence enforcement firms usually ask for and the options available where a debt is not recognised or was already paid.

Rather talk it through with someone? Request a call

When no notice was given at all

Where an agent visits without any notice having been sent, or before the 14-clear-day period has run, the visit is not lawful under the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013. An agent who takes goods into control at that point acts outside the power given by Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

Schedule 12 provides that where an enforcement agent breaches the regulations, the debtor may bring proceedings, and the court may order goods to be returned or award damages for loss caused. That is a court process and carries a risk of costs.

Goods are taken away in a small share of cases: 2,624 of almost 3.7 million in January to June 2025, most often a clamped vehicle. What happens far more often, with a car or without one, is cost. Of the cases that ended in payment in that period, 64% were paid at the enforcement stage or later, after an agent’s first visit had added the larger fee. The average fee collected on a case paid in full was £201, on the lower fees then in force.

The complaint route

Where a visit happened without a notice, the complaint routes in order are: the enforcement firm’s own complaints procedure, the creditor who instructed the firm, and then the Enforcement Conduct Board for accredited firms. A complaint to the Board should be made within 3 months of becoming aware of the problem, or within 1 month of the firm’s final response.

The how to complain about a bailiff page sets out each route and what it can achieve. For complaints about a certificated enforcement agent, form EAC2 can be sent to the county court where the agent is registered.

Key figures

Minimum clear days’ notice required

14Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day not counted

Compliance stage fee added when notice is sent

£79

Enforcement stage fee added on first visit

£247

Cases paid at enforcement stage or later (Jan–Jun 2025)

64%After the first visit had added the larger fee

Months to complain to the Enforcement Conduct Board

3Or 1 month from the firm’s final response