Emergency situations

If you are facing any of the following situations in the next five working days, it is important that you get advice as soon as you can.

• You have bailiffs (also known as 'enforcement agents') visiting to collect any of your debts.
• You are being threatened with eviction or are facing homelessness.
• You are being threatened with disconnection or loss of a service, for example utilities, internet or phone.
• You have a court hearing.
• You have an important deadline to meet.

This page gives you some advice about each of these emergency situations. Use the links to the fact sheets in each section to find more detailed information.

Bailiffs (also known as 'enforcement agents') collecting any of your debts

There are different types of bailiffs with different rules. The type of bailiff you are dealing with will depend on the type of debt they are collecting from you. Most bailiffs cannot force entry into your home unless you have allowed them inside before and they have taken control of your goods.

As a general rule, if you don’t let a bailiff into your home they won’t be able to take control of the goods within it. Keep your doors locked. If you have a car, park it away from your home, out of sight or keep it in a locked garage.

A bailiff trying to collect a debt from you may try to take control of your belongings. Unless the bailiff has already been able to take control of goods that you own, do not sign any documentation you are given without speaking to us first.

Some bailiffs are able to force entry into business premises. If a bailiff has the power to do this or if your premises are open to the public, there may be a bigger risk to goods within the premises. If this applies to you, it will be important to try and reach an affordable payment arrangement with the bailiff.

Most bailiffs will want to agree a payment arrangement with you, but this should be for an amount you can realistically afford.

You can find more information depending on the type of debt being collected by reading one of the following fact sheets.

• County Court bailiffs fact sheet - County court bailiffs collect debts owed on county court judgments (CCJs).
• High Court enforcement fact sheet – High Court Enforcement Officers or Enforcement Agents may collect some types of debts owed on county court judgments (CCJs), which have been transferred to the High Court. Most personal credit debts can only be enforced in the County Court, but some debts might be recovered in the High Court if you owe more than £500, such as water debts. They may also collect debts owed on high court judgments.
• Penalty charge notices fact sheet – Bailiffs may collect debts owed on a penalty charge notice (PCN). For example, bailiffs may be used to enforce a parking PCN if the council have applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre for an order for recovery.
• Magistrates’ court fines fact sheet – Magistrates court bailiffs may be used to collect a magistrates’ court fine.
• Council tax arrears fact sheet and Business rates fact sheet - Council tax and business rates are usually collected by a private firm of bailiffs on behalf of the council. The council can instruct bailiffs to act once they have got a liability order against you.
• Income tax debt fact sheet and VAT debt fact sheet - HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can use their own officers to collect a tax debt.
• Commercial property leases fact sheet – A landlord can instruct a private firm of bailiffs to collect rent arrears.

Being threatened with eviction or facing homelessness

Whether you live in a rented or mortgaged property, if you do not want to leave your home, you cannot be evicted without a court order. If your landlord or mortgage lender does take court action, it may be possible for the court to allow you to remain in your home, as long as you can make affordable payments towards your arrears to clear them in a reasonable time.

Before your landlord or mortgage lender can take court action, they must send you a notice telling you they intend to do this.

If you do not reach an agreement, your landlord or mortgage lender can then apply to your local County Court to issue a ‘possession claim’. You will usually get papers through the post, giving you a date and a time for your possession hearing.

If you are being evicted because you owe arrears, you can usually ask the court to give you time to pay, although there are no guarantees the court will agree to this. You may be able to do this right up until the day you are evicted, but it is better to do this sooner rather than later.

You can find more information in the following fact sheets.

Rent arrears - England fact sheet

Rent arrears for secure occupation contracts - Wales fact sheet

Rent arrears for standard occupation contracts - Wales fact sheet

Mortgage arrears fact sheet

Facing homelessness

Being at risk of losing your home can be overwhelming, but it is important to know about the help that is available to you. If you qualify for help under the homelessness rules, the council may be able to help you to stay in your current home or help you to find another one if you have to leave. In some circumstances, the council will have to offer you accommodation.

In England or Wales, you are threatened with homelessness if:

• you are likely to be homeless within 56 days; or
• you have received a valid Section 21 (s21) notice from your landlord that will run out within 56 days.

When you are threatened with homelessness the council has a duty to try and help you. The council must try and help you, even if you are seen as intentionally homeless or if you are not in priority need.

You can find more information on our Advice if you are worried about losing your home fact sheet.

Commercial property leases

If you breach the terms of your lease, your landlord may be able to take action to end the lease and repossess your premises. If the landlord wants to end the lease because of rent arrears, they can usually do this without a court order and without giving you notice. If your landlord is threatening to end your lease, see our Commercial property leases fact sheet for information on your options to deal with this.

Disconnection or loss of service, for example, utilities, internet or phone

If you have been told that your gas or electricity supply is being cut off

Gas and electricity companies cannot cut off your domestic supply unless they have first offered you a range of payment methods to help you pay. They can only disconnect your supply as a last resort, and they must give you proper notice first.

• Electricity suppliers must give you seven working days’ notice in writing that they are going to disconnect your electricity supply because you have not paid your bill.
• Gas suppliers must give you seven days’ notice in writing that they are going to disconnect your gas supply because you have not paid your bill.

You should be able to prevent disconnection of a domestic energy supply if you contact your supplier and arrange to repay your debt at an affordable rate, either by instalments, Fuel Direct or through a prepayment meter. You must be asked if you want a prepayment meter before your supply is disconnected, if it is safe to install one.

If you have a non-domestic energy supply, your supplier does not have to offer you a prepayment meter but they must still give you seven days’ notice before disconnection. The supplier should also consider allowing you to repay your debt at an affordable rate. Tell your supplier if you live at the premises that is supplied under a non-domestic energy contract as this can slow down the disconnection process.

Contact your local council and the Citizens Advice consumer helpline if your supplier is threatening to disconnect your supply. Your local council may be able to help you to avoid disconnection or to restore your energy supply through their local welfare assistance scheme.

You can find more information in the following fact sheets.

Gas and electricity arrears fact sheet

Commercial energy debt fact sheet

If you have been told that your business’s water supply will be disconnected

If you have a non-domestic water supply, the water company may be able to disconnect your business’s supply if the bill has not been paid. The water company must give you seven days’ notice before disconnecting the supply.

You can try to prevent disconnection by negotiating to repay your debt at a rate that you can afford. You should also let the water company know if any of the following points apply, as it may stop disconnection proceedings.

• You dispute that you owe the debt to the water company.
• You live in the premises where the water is being supplied and it is either your main home or your only home.

Telephone or internet

If you are unable to pay your mobile or internet bill you should contact your provider. Ask them if you can pay in affordable instalments. Your phone or internet provider may be more likely to agree to a monthly payment plan if you contact them quickly. If you need to keep your mobile phone or internet connected your bill should be treated as a priority debt. Your provider can pass your debt on to a debt collection agency. Don’t worry. They don’t have any more powers than your phone or internet provider and any action taken should be in proportion to your debt.

Court action or a court hearing (including County Court, High Court, or magistrates’ court)

County Court

Court forms

Many people are frightened of courts, especially when they feel guilty because they owe money. The County Court is not there to judge anyone guilty or innocent, but to settle disputes about money owed, and how to repay it. The court will make a decision that it believes is fair, it is not there to act only in the interests of creditors.

Even though court action has been started, it is unlikely you will have to go to court. Everything is usually done by completing court forms and sending them through the post.

It is important to make sure you read any letters or forms you receive from the court. This is because it is important to comply with any deadlines given to you by the court.

You can find more information in the following fact sheets.

Replying to a County Court claim fact sheet

High Court enforcement fact sheet

Magistrates' court fines fact sheet

Enforcement

If you already have a CCJ against you and you miss a payment the court told you to make, your creditor may use enforcement to collect the money you owe. This could include bailiffs, as explained in the earlier section Bailiffs (also known as 'enforcement agents') collecting any of your debts. Depending on your situation, your creditor may use other forms of enforcement such as an attachment of earnings, a third-party debt order, or a charging order if you own a property. If you have received a court form which tells you that your creditor is applying to use one of these forms of enforcement, it is extremely important to check for the date that you need to reply to the court and make sure you do reply in time.

You can find more information on our Replying to a County Court claim fact sheet. We also have an Attachment of earnings orders fact sheet and a Charging orders fact sheet.

Magistrates’ court

The magistrates’ court may fine you for committing a driving offence, not paying a fixed penalty notice, not having a television licence or many other criminal offences. They can also order you to pay compensation to any injured party and award costs against you.

After you have been fined, the court will make a ‘collection order’ that contains details of how the fine should be paid. The notice of the fine and the payment rate (if one has been set by the court) is sent out to you. This may allow you time to pay in instalments, or to ask for payment in full within ten days. If you already have fines you haven’t paid on time, the court must make an attachment of earnings order or deduction from benefits order.

If you default on payments, the fines officer can refer your case back to the magistrates’ court for a hearing, or send you a notice telling you what steps they intend to take. The further steps can include:

• issuing a bailiff’s warrant;
• registering the debt in the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines;
• making a clamping order; or
• applying for the fine to be enforced in the County Court or High Court.

You can find more information on our Magistrates' court fines fact sheet.

A deadline to meet

You may have different deadlines to meet depending on your situation and the types of debt that you owe. Make sure that you are aware of any dates that you need to do something by, and plan ahead.

It is important to meet deadlines when you can, as you may prevent your situation getting more difficult. For example, if you miss a deadline to make a payment it may mean additional fees being added to a debt, or if you have a debt being enforced your creditor may be able to take enforcement to the next stage.

Most types of debts have their own specific types of deadlines. You can use our fact sheet library to read about the type of debt you have and the process used to collect it so that you are aware of any deadlines you may need to meet.

You can read about some examples of deadlines below.

County Court

Pre-action protocol

Before your creditor starts county court action against you, they should follow a process called the pre-action protocol for debt claims and send you a letter of claim.

If you receive a letter of claim you should also receive a reply form with it. You need to send the creditor your completed reply form within 30 days of the date at the top of the letter.

If you do not reply to the letter of claim within 30 days your creditor may start court action. Your creditor should bear in mind that if you posted it to them near the end of the 30-day period it might take slightly longer to reach them.

You can find more information on our Pre-action protocol in the County Court fact sheet.

County Court claim

If you have received a claim form from the court, you will need to reply to say whether you agree that you owe the debt or want to dispute it. You usually only have 14 days from the date the claim is ‘served’ to respond, although you may be able to ask for extra time if you intend to dispute the claim.

You can find more information on our Replying to a County Court claim fact sheet.

Court hearings

You may have a court hearing that you need to attend as part of dealing with your debt. For example, this may be if you chose to defend a county court claim, if your landlord or mortgage lender has started a possession claim, or you have been summoned to a magistrates’ court.

It is very important to attend court hearings when you are able to. Make sure you are aware of the date you need to attend court, which you should be able to find on the court paperwork you received.

If you are unable to go to the hearing because of illness or disability, contact the court to explain this as soon as you can.

You can find more information in the following fact sheets.

Defending a CCJ fact sheet

Magistrates' court fines fact sheet

Rent arrears - England fact sheet

Rent arrears for secure occupation contracts - Wales fact sheet

Rent arrears for standard occupation contracts - Wales fact sheet

Mortgage arrears fact sheet

If you have been threatened with bankruptcy or received a form called a ‘statutory demand’

A creditor can make you bankrupt if you owe £5,000 or more to that creditor and you have not been able to agree how to repay the debt. Creditors can ‘club together’ to make you bankrupt but this is rarely done.

Most creditors must send you a statutory demand before trying to make you bankrupt. A statutory demand is a formal demand for debt served on you by a creditor. You have 18 or 21 days to reply to the statutory demand, depending on what you want to do.

The 18 or 21 days start from the date the demand was served on you. When a document is 'served', it means that it has been delivered in the correct way, which may be hand delivered or posted.

If you do not deal with a statutory demand within 21 days of it being served, the creditor will take this as proof that you are unable to pay the debt and can then try to make you bankrupt.

You can find more information in the following fact sheets.

Bankruptcy fact sheet

Statutory demands fact sheet

If your limited company has been threatened with winding up or has received a form called a ‘statutory demand’

A creditor can petition to wind up your company if it owes more than £750.

The creditor would have to satisfy the court that your company cannot pay the debt. A common way of doing this is to issue a statutory demand, which is a formal demand for repayment of a debt within 21 days. The court may agree to wind up your company if it does not pay the debt or reach an arrangement to pay the debt within the 21-day time limit. You can read our Limited companies fact sheet for more information.

Breathing space

If you need time to get debt advice and find a debt solution, you may want to consider applying for breathing space. Breathing space will stop most types of enforcement and also stop most creditors applying interest and charges for 60 days.

To find out more, see our Breathing space fact sheet.

Next steps

It is important that you get advice as soon as possible.

Call us for free debt advice on 0800 197 6026.

Alternatively, Webchat with an adviser if you just want to ask a question.

Monday to Friday 9am - 5:00pm..

To make a payment offer to your creditor, you will need to work out how much you can realistically afford. You may be able to use the Your budget section of our website.