What Is a Controlled Goods Agreement?
When you’re visited by the bailiffs, they’ll attempt to take your belongings in an effort to repay your creditors. Obviously this isn’t a desirable outcome; you might need these items for your day-to-day life, or maybe you want to hold onto them for sentimental reasons. If you owe money but don’t want to surrender your possessions, a controlled goods agreement could be the answer.
A controlled goods agreement is a type of repayment plan brokered between you and the bailiffs. They agree to let you retain ownership of your belongings so long as you make regular repayments towards your debt.
But what is the process of a controlled goods agreement? What are the rules surrounding bailiff action? And what are the alternatives?
Contents
What Is the Process of a Controlled Goods Agreement?
You’re Issued with a Warrant of Control
If you don’t pay a County Court Judgement, the court may issue a Warrant of Control. This allows bailiffs to come and visit your home to collect repayment for the debt.
You’re Served with an Enforcement Notice
The bailiffs must deliver an enforcement notice to your address prior to their visit. They must give you at least 7 days’ notice. If you haven’t paid the debt within this time, collection efforts will advance to the next stage.
The Bailiffs Take Control of Your Items
After 7 days, the bailiffs can ‘take control’ of your belongings. This is where they inventory any items they deem valuable so that they may be sold. They may visit your home to do this, or they may do it via video call.
You Come to a Controlled Goods Agreement
If you can’t afford to repay the debt to prevent the bailiffs from taking control of your items, you can try and arrange a controlled goods agreement. The plan will establish a repayment schedule for your debts, setting out how much you’ll pay and when.
Your Items Are Released or Sold
Once you’ve paid off your debt in full, your items are released from the bailiff’s technical control. However, if you miss any payments, inventoried items will be collected and sold at auction.
What Items Can Bailiffs Take Control of?
Bailiffs cannot take your items if they don’t think their sale will fully cover the costs of the debt. As a result, they tend to take expensive items that will perform well at auction. They’ll likely take control of:
- Vehicles
- Jewellery
- Furniture
- Electrical items (such as televisions and game consoles)
What Items Can’t Bailiffs Take Control of?
Despite what you may think, bailiffs cannot seize whichever items they please. The list of items they can’t take is quite extensive:
- Hire-purchase items
- Your mobile phone
- Landlines
- Medical items
- Domestic essentials (appliances, basic furnishings, bedding)
- Items – like vehicles and tools – that are essential to work (up to a limit of £1350)
Items they take must belong to you. However, they can also take items that you jointly own with someone else.
How Can I Come to a Controlled Goods Agreement?
If you’ve been served with an enforcement notice on a debt that you’re unable to pay, you should think about preparing to come to a controlled goods agreement with the bailiffs. You can use the 7 days’ notice to gather information that will support your proposal.
Each plan is different, so you can arrange to pay in either weekly or monthly instalments. If you can convince the bailiffs to agree to a controlled goods agreement – and you can keep up with the payments – your items will be protected from sale.
What Happens if I Miss a Payment?
If you miss a payment, bailiffs will come around to collect the inventoried items for sale. They have to give you 2 days’ notice of ‘intention to re-enter’. Once they’ve collected the items, they’ll have to give you a ‘notice of sale’ at least 7 days before the auction takes place.
If you expect you’re going to miss a scheduled payment, you should contact the bailiffs to try and figure things out. They might let you reduce the repayment amount and add additional payment dates. Letting them know about any change in circumstances will help – maybe you’ve had an unexpected expense or you’ve lost your job. You’ll need to demonstrate your intention to repay.
Can I Stop My Items From Being Sold?
When bailiffs take your belongings, they’ll have to provide you with 7 days’ notice of sale along with a letter detailing what belongings they’ve taken and how much they think they’re worth. At this point, it’s hard to get your items back. You can repay your debt, but this may not be a realistic option for you.
You can double-check the letter to make sure the bailiffs haven’t seized any items they shouldn’t. If you think they’ve taken something they shouldn’t, you have to notify the bailiffs within 7 days of the removal. They then have 10 days to give you a response.
If the bailiffs don’t give you enough notice at any point during the process, you can challenge them and let them know that your items now must be classed as ‘abandoned’, allowing you to recollect them. If the bailiffs can’t sell your items within 12 months, the bailiffs will have to class them as abandoned.
In the majority of cases, early action is the most effective way of protecting your belongings, preventing bailiffs from taking them in the first place.
How Can I Stop Visits from Bailiffs?
Bailiffs are issued by the court on behalf of disgruntled creditors seeking repayment. If you’re struggling with debt and you think you might be at risk of bailiff action, you should consider entering into a formal insolvency procedure, such as an IVA.
An IVA acts as a formal repayment plan between you and your creditors, allowing you to make monthly contributions towards your debt over a period of 5 years:
- Prevents creditors from contacting you
- Protects you from debt-collection efforts
- Protects your assets
You can enter into an IVA long before you’re ever met with debt-collection efforts from bailiffs, saving you from the uncertainty of trying to come to a last-minute controlled goods agreement.
You may also want to consider a Debt Management Plan.
Speak to an Expert Today
If you’re struggling with debt, it’s always best to contact an insolvency practitioner as soon as possible. Early action can help to ensure that your assets are protected and your finances are secure.
Dealing with financial difficulty can be a confusing and challenging process. Our expert team will help you assess your situation, guiding you to the best possible solution, avoiding any unnecessary fallout or distress.
Get in touch to book a free, no-obligation consultation today.
