If you’ve found yourself with money problems, you may find yourself facing a visit from a sheriff officer.
In Scotland, sheriff officers are the legal equivalent of a bailiff and they have certain powers under Scottish law. In this straight-talking guide, we’ll explain what those powers include.
We’ll also look specifically at whether sheriff officers can remove things that you own, what kinds of things they can never remove, whether they can force entry into your property, and what your rights are if you find yourself dealing with a visit.
What are sheriff officers?
In other parts of the UK, sheriff officers are referred to as ‘bailiffs’. They might work for companies, individuals, solicitors, local authorities, or even government departments.
They have a wide-range of possible duties, but their most common tasks will include:
- Evicting people from properties
- Attempting to collect debts (called ‘debt enforcement’)
- Dealing with property disputes
- Trying to resolve family matters – like divorces or adoptions
When it comes to unpaid debts, sheriff officers are usually a last resort. This means that any creditor (company, organisation or person you owe money to) will almost certainly have been in contact with you trying to get the money back before a sheriff officer is instructed.
You’ll often hear ‘messengers at arms’ and ‘sheriff officers’ talked about like they’re the same thing. The two jobs are slightly different – but largely speaking their powers are the same. A messenger at arms can work across all of Scotland – whereas a sheriff officer can usually only work within one region.
Can you ignore sheriff officers?
Even if you’ve ignored debts up until now, it’s not a good idea to ignore sheriff officers.
Debt collection agencies might spend a lot of time calling you and sending letters to try to get you to pay the money that you owe – but sheriff officers have lots of powers these normal debt collectors don’t have.
Sheriff officers have these powers because they are enforcing the orders of the court. So, the money you owe is no longer a matter that’s just between you and the company you owe – it’s become a legal matter, and the judge has decided that you have to pay.
Do sheriff officers work for the government or council?
Although they’ve often sent to recover council tax debt, sheriff officers don’t work directly for the government or the council. Instead, they’re employed by private firms.
Even though they don’t work for the government or the council, they are acting on behalf of a local sheriff court judge who has issued a court order. This means that if you try to stop the ‘lawful execution’ of their role (stop them doing their job), you could be charged with ‘contempt of court’. Contempt of court is a serious criminal charge that can result in a large fine. In some circumstances, it can even lead to a prison sentence.
What kinds of debts do sheriff officers enforce?
Since sheriff officers can be instructed by anyone to enforce a court order, this means they can come calling for virtually any kind of debt – as long as they creditor has taken you to court to try to get the money back.
Typically they will enforce unsecured debts, like:
- Council tax arrears
- Credit card debts
- Personal loans and payday loans
- Parking tickets
- Utility bill (gas, electric, broadband, water, etc) arrears
Can a sheriff officer remove your belongings?
Unfortunately, a sheriff officer can remove ‘goods’ from your property to help recover money that’s owed.
However, there are a couple of things to consider. Firstly, taking your things is usually a last resort – even for a sheriff officer. Secondly, there are only certain things they can take.
Let’s take a look at both of those pieces of information in a bit more detail.
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Taking your belongings is a last resort
Ultimately, your creditor really only wants the money that you owe to be repaid. While taking things that belong to you is one option – it’s actually a lot of hard work for everyone involved.
Firstly, there’s listing everything that can be taken. Then there’s the collection, storage, and later sale of those items.
As such, sheriff officers will always prefer to settle the what’s owed with an actual payment of money. If the full payment isn’t available immediately, they may consider a part-payment of the debt owed, followed by the remaining amount soon after. This can often help to keep any additional fees down too – as there will almost certainly be extra for you to pay if things have to be collected and sold.
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Sheriff officers can only take certain items
Although they will take items to help to settle the debt you owe, sheriff officers don’t just take anything. In fact, there are strict rules around what they can and can’t take from your home.
According the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002, they cannot remove:
- Clothing reasonably required by any member of your household
- Any tools or items that you or any member of your household require for work
- Medical equipment
- Books or items that relate to education or training
- Items required for the care or upbringing of a child who is a member of your household
- Toys belonging to a child who is a member of your household
In addition to this, they cannot remove other essential items from your home – including:
- Beds and bedding
- Linen and towels
- Chairs and tables
- Settees
- Food and items used to prepare food
- Heating appliances
- Fridges
- Radios
- Telephones
- Items used to clean or repair clothes
- Computers and accessories
So, this means that they will generally only take non-essential items. That could include:
- Cash
- Jewellery
- Vehicles (that aren’t required for work)
- Furniture
- Art
- Televisions
- Technology (including games consoles)
Can sheriff officers force entry into my home?
When a sheriff officer visits your home, they may be able to force entry – but they must have been given the authority to do-so as part of the court order.
If they have been given authority, it will be called an ‘Exceptional Attachment Order’. This is name of the document issued to sheriffs that gives the authority to enter your home and take your belongings.
It’s not uncommon for sheriff officers to be granted this kind of order by the court – but try not to panic. An Exceptional Attachment Order doesn’t mean they will kick your door down. They will always knock and try to get you to agree to letting them in. If you don’t, they may call a locksmith or the police to help them gain entry peacefully.
Also, sheriff officers will always be expected to show you the documents that let them enter your home. You may ask to read this information through a window before agreeing to let them enter your home – and they have to show it to you.
Since court orders are written in legal speak, it’s not always clear whether or not the document allows the sheriff officer to enter your home. If it does, they will explain which part allows them to enter. For example, if it says “grants warrant for all legal execution” – this means they can come into your home.
Can sheriff officers enter my home in the middle of the night?
If they’re enforcing a debt, a sheriff officer should never try to visit or enter your home in the middle of the night.
A sheriff officer can only carry out an exceptional attachment for debt between the hours of 8am and 8pm and not on a Sunday or public holiday.
Always be safe and check a sheriff officer is who they say they are
As with any unknown visitor to your home, it’s a very good idea to check a sheriff officer’s identity to make sure they are who they say they are.
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Ask to check their ID
All sheriff’s officers and court officers should have a red ID booklet that’s signed by the local sheriff clerk. It should contain their photo and the crest of the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service on it.
They must show you this ID if you ask to see it.
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If you’re not sure, call their firm
If you have any doubts, ask to talk to the firm they work for. If they give you a number to contact the firm on, double-check that this is correct before calling.
Can I stop sheriff officers after they’ve been instructed?
Since the sheriff officers are working with court orders, you have very limited options for stopping the action if it’s already started.
However, it’s not impossible.
Certain debt solutions will put an immediate halt to any legal proceedings that are taking place. Some debt solutions are considered ‘formal’ – which means they’re legally binding and have to be set up by an Insolvency Practitioner that is part of the Insolvency Practitioners Association. Examples would include an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS).
Even if you’re only at the stage of applying for this a debt solution, legal proceedings will be stopped and, if your application is successful, the Insolvency Practitioners that’s working on your behalf will communicate with the sheriff officers on your behalf going forward, stopping further action.
If you’d like to explore a debt solution, it’s a good idea to get professional debt advice as quickly as possible. All good insolvency practitioners will offer free advice that’s tailored to your exact situation.
What can I do if I think sheriff officers have acted incorrectly?
Sheriff officers are usually very careful to make sure they don’t overstep their authority – but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sometimes happen.
If you think a sheriff officer has done something they shouldn’t have, you can make a written complaint to the ‘Sheriff Principal’. You can contact the Sheriff Principal through the Sheriff Clerk at your local Sheriff Court.
You can find the address of your local court using the ScotCourts.gov.uk website and entering your nearest town or city under the map.
