B&S Bailiff Services: Fees, Entry Rules and Council Tax

Updated August 29, 2026 How we produce this guidance

Company details

Type	Enforcement company
Registered name	B&S Bailiff Services

Key facts

Company number: 04495084, ECB accredited Oct 2023
Based: Blackwood, South Wales, trading since 2002
Not High Court: Certificated agents, no writs of control
Notice period: At least 14 clear days before a visit

On this page 14 sections

The firm does not publish a detailed list of its own services that this page could independently verify, so the safest first step is to read your own paperwork. The creditor named on it, and the type of order behind it, tell you far more about your position than the B&S letterhead does.

Who are B&S Bailiff Services?

B & S Bailiff Services Limited is registered at Companies House under company number 04495084, incorporated on 25 July 2002, with its registered office at 200 High Street, Blackwood, Gwent, NP12 1AJ. That 2002 incorporation makes it one of the longer-established independent enforcement firms in the South Wales valleys.

It has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023 and is a member of CIVEA, the trade association for civil enforcement firms. It is not listed by the High Court Enforcement Officers Association, which is consistent with a certificated firm that does not hold or execute High Court writs.

Is B&S a bailiff or a debt collector?

For the work it is instructed on, an enforcement agent. That matters because a debt collection agency has no power to enter a property or remove goods and would have to sue and win first. Once a council holds a liability order, or a court has issued a warrant, B&S is already past that stage and acts under Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. If you are not sure which kind of letter you have, our guide to bailiffs and debt collectors shows how to tell them apart.

The order that has to exist before B&S can act

An enforcement agent cannot simply decide you owe money. For council tax, the billing authority must first obtain a liability order from the magistrates' court; only then can the account be handed to a firm such as B&S. Under regulation 34(3) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, the six-year time limit restricts how long the council has to apply for that order, not how long an order once granted can be enforced, a distinction competitors often get wrong. Our council tax bailiffs guide covers the process.

For an unpaid penalty charge, the local authority registers the debt and obtains a warrant before any agent attends. If you never saw the original notice, had already appealed, or were not the keeper of the vehicle, the Traffic Enforcement Centre may provide a route back. For an ordinary council parking penalty anywhere in England, or a council bus-lane or moving-traffic penalty outside London, the usual route is a witness statement on form TE9, with TE7 if it is late. For a TfL Congestion Charge, LEZ or ULEZ penalty, the statutory-declaration route uses PE3, with PE2 if late. London-borough or TfL bus-lane and moving-traffic cases sit under separate London legislation, so check the form enclosed with the order rather than assuming either route. Our page on PE3 and TE9 forms explains the paperwork.

A note for readers in Wales

B&S is a Welsh firm, and while the taking control of goods rules apply the same way on both sides of the border, the earlier recovery steps a billing authority must take before a council tax liability order are no longer identical in England and Wales. A Welsh account can therefore reach the enforcement stage on a different timetable. This does not change what an agent can take or charge once instructed; it only affects when a case gets to that point, so check the dates on your own liability order rather than a general description of the process.

Can B&S force entry?

Not into a home on a first visit for a council tax or parking debt. Entry must be peaceable: through a door you open or one left unlocked, and you are under no obligation to answer. Two narrow exceptions widen that. Where the debtor runs a trade or business from the premises and the debt is not a traffic penalty, paragraph 18A of Schedule 12 permits reasonable force to enter; and where a controlled goods agreement has already been signed and then broken, paragraph 19A permits reasonable force on re-entry. Reasonable force under paragraph 17 is only available once one of those gateways applies. Our guide to when bailiffs can force entry sets out each route.

What certificated enforcement costs

Fees are fixed by regulation and identical whichever certificated firm attends, so B&S cannot invent its own scale.

Stage	When it applies	Fixed fee
Compliance	Case received and a Notice of Enforcement issued, before any visit	£79
Enforcement	An agent attends or takes steps to take control of goods	£247 plus 7.5% of any sum over £1,900
Sale	Goods are removed and sold	£116 plus 7.5% of any sum over £1,900

These are the figures for instructions under the scale in force from 1 May 2026. A visit may not begin before 6am or after 9pm on any day. Where B&S holds several liability orders against you at once, regulation 11 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 lets the £79 compliance fee be charged once per order, but the £247 enforcement fee and the £116 sale fee can each be charged only once where the orders are enforced together. Being billed a full enforcement fee for every order on a single visit is worth challenging in writing.

Your Notice of Enforcement and the days it gives you

Before any goods can be taken into control, B&S must send a Notice of Enforcement giving at least 14 clear days under the rules from 1 May 2026. A recognised debt advice provider can ask for that to be extended to at least 28 clear days unless the debt is a non-eligible business debt. Sundays and bank holidays do not count in the period, so read the date on the notice carefully before assuming a deadline has passed.

Goods, the car, and what cannot be taken

An agent may take control only of goods that belong to the debtor, the rule in paragraph 10 of Schedule 12 that settles most doorstep arguments about a partner's or a lodger's property. Regulation 4 keeps a defined set of essentials out of reach whatever the debt: everyday clothing and bedding, basic household equipment, things needed for medical care or to care for a child, a disabled or an older person, pets and assistance dogs, and a vehicle showing a valid disabled person's badge. Work tools and equipment are protected only up to £1,350 in total. A car is often the first target because it can be taken without entering the home, so keep finance and ownership documents to hand if a vehicle is not solely yours.

Asking B&S for time to pay

There is no automatic statutory right to instalments once a case has reached enforcement, but B&S can agree an arrangement, usually recorded as a controlled goods agreement over listed items. Before signing, check every item on the list is genuinely yours, that none is exempt, and that the balance and fees are right, because breaching the agreement can trigger the re-entry power described above. Free help to put together an income and expenditure position is available from National Debtline, StepChange and Citizens Advice.

Telling B&S about vulnerability

Say it early and in writing where you can, to B&S and to the council or court behind the debt. Serious illness, disability, bereavement, pregnancy, age-related difficulty, and language or literacy barriers can all count, and often more than one applies together. Raising it does not cancel the debt, but it should change how the case is handled, including the pace of any visit.

Disputing a B&S balance or the debt behind it

Take a dispute about the debt itself to the creditor, the council for council tax or the authority behind a penalty charge, because B&S cannot rewrite a council tax account or cancel a penalty. Ask for the billing history, the date of the liability order or warrant, and a full breakdown of the balance and the fees, and put in writing that you dispute the amount.

Checking a B&S letter or caller is genuine

Because the firm keeps a light public profile, verify contact details independently through the council that instructed it rather than a number printed only on an unexpected letter. Confirm the creditor and the reference, and if someone attends, ask for identification and remember you can pay without letting anyone into your home.

Complaining about B&S

First, use the firm's own complaints procedure, with the date, the agent's name, the reference and the specific rule you say was broken. Second, raise it with the council or court that instructed B&S. Third, because B&S has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023, the ECB can consider a complaint once the firm's process is exhausted. A challenge to an individual agent's certificate is a separate application to the County Court that issued it.

What to do next

Confirm from your own paperwork which creditor and which order the case rests on.
Check the fee stage reached against the fixed scale above.
If the debt is wrong, write to the council or court today, not to B&S alone.
If it is right but unaffordable, prepare figures and propose a realistic arrangement.
If you are vulnerable, say so now, in writing.
Protect any vehicle or goods that are not solely yours, with documents ready.

How a B&S Bailiff Services debt could reach bailiffs

A debt collector cannot send bailiffs. Only a court can, and only after a judgment. These are the stages in between, and each one is easier to deal with than the one after it.

A collector asks you to pay

No court is involved yet. A debt collection agency has no enforcement powers at all, it cannot enter your home, take goods or add enforcement fees. This stage can last a long time.

What debt collectors can and cannot do
A County Court claim is issued

The creditor, or the company that bought the debt, asks the court to decide you owe the money. This is the stage where the deadlines start to matter, and where a defence such as limitation has to be raised.

Check whether the debt is too old to enforce
Judgment is entered (a CCJ)

If you do not respond in time, judgment is entered by default, without anyone examining whether the debt was correct. A CCJ stays on your credit file for six years.

How to check whether you have a CCJ
A warrant or writ of control is issued

An unpaid judgment can be enforced. This is the document that authorises enforcement agents to attend, and the point at which a debt collection matter becomes a bailiff matter.

What a warrant of control allows
Enforcement agents can attend you are here

Now there are real powers: peaceable entry, taking control of goods, and statutory fees of £79, £247 and £116 at defined stages. This is the stage the earlier ones exist to avoid.

What bailiffs can and cannot take

Which bailiffs would actually attend

That depends on the amount and on what kind of debt it is, and the rule is set by article 8 of the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991 rather than by the creditor's preference.

Under £600, the judgment can only be enforced in the county court, so county court bailiffs attend under a warrant of control.
£5,000 or more, and not a regulated credit agreement, it can only be enforced in the High Court, so High Court enforcement officers attend under a writ of control. They charge on a different and higher fee scale.
Anything else, including a regulated credit agreement of any size, may be enforced in either court.

Whether your agreement is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 changes which court can enforce it. Credit cards, loans, overdrafts and catalogue accounts usually are; council tax, traffic penalties and court fines are not, and those reach enforcement by a different route entirely.

If several debts are enforced together

This happens often, particularly where one company has bought several of your accounts, or where a council has more than one liability order against you. The enforcement agent is instructed on all of them at once and deals with them on the same visit.

The fees do not simply multiply, and this is where people are most often overcharged. Where the agent is instructed under more than one enforcement power against the same debtor, and those powers can reasonably be exercised at the same time, regulation 11 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 splits the treatment:

The £79 compliance fee may be charged for each enforcement power. Several of these is correct.
The £247 enforcement fee and the £116 sale fee may each be charged only once, however many debts are involved.

So three debts enforced together should cost three compliance fees and one enforcement fee, £484, rather than three separate lots of £326. If you have been charged an enforcement fee for each debt on a single visit, that is worth challenging in writing.

The saving depends on the debts genuinely being enforceable at the same time. Where an agent legitimately attends on separate occasions for unrelated matters, separate fees can apply, so it is worth checking the dates and references on the fee breakdown before challenging it.

Not sure which one is contacting you? How to tell from the paperwork

Frequently asked questions

Is B&S Bailiff Services a real company?

Yes. B & S Bailiff Services Limited is registered at Companies House under company number 04495084, incorporated on 25 July 2002, and its registered office is 200 High Street, Blackwood, Gwent, NP12 1AJ. It has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023.

Does B&S do High Court enforcement?

No sign of it. B&S is a certificated enforcement firm and does not appear on the High Court Enforcement Officers Association register, so a letter from B&S is far more likely to concern council tax, a penalty charge or a similar referred debt than a High Court writ. Check the paperwork rather than assume.

Can B&S force entry to my home?

Not on a first visit for an ordinary council tax or parking debt. Entry has to be peaceable and you do not have to open the door. Wider powers exist for business premises and where a controlled goods agreement has already been signed and broken.

What can B&S charge me?

The fixed statutory scale that applies to every certificated firm: £79 at the compliance stage, £247 once an agent attends, and £116 if goods are removed for sale, with a percentage added above £1,900. The figures are set by regulation, not by B&S.

I live in Wales. Is council tax enforcement different here?

The core taking control of goods rules are the same across England and Wales, but the earlier council tax recovery timetable a billing authority must follow now differs between the two, so a Welsh account can reach enforcement on a different schedule from an English one. Check the dates on your own liability order.

How do I complain about B&S?

Start with the firm, then the council or court that instructed it, and then the Enforcement Conduct Board, which has accredited B&S since October 2023 and can consider a complaint once the firm's own process is exhausted.

Sources

Companies House register GOV.UK Checked 2026-08-13
Enforcement Conduct Board Enforcement Conduct Board
independent oversight of the enforcement industry (bailiffs) to ensure that all those who are subject to enforcement action in England & Wales are fairly treated.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12, paragraph 10 legislation.gov.uk
An enforcement agent may take control of goods only if they are goods of the debtor.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12, paragraph 17 legislation.gov.uk
Where paragraph 18, 18A, 19 or 19A applies, an enforcement agent may if necessary use reasonable force to enter premises or to do anything for which the entry is authorised.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12, paragraph 18A legislation.gov.uk
This paragraph applies if these conditions are met— (a) the enforcement agent has power to enter the premises under paragraph 14; (b) the enforcement agent reasonably believes that the debtor carries on a trade or business on the premises; (c) the enforcement agent is acting under a writ or warrant of control issued for the purpose of recovering a sum payable under a High Court or county court judgment; (d) the sum so payable is not a traffic contravention debt.
Checked 2026-08-17
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12, paragraph 19A legislation.gov.uk
This paragraph applies if these conditions are met— (a) the enforcement agent has power to enter the premises under paragraph 16; (b) the enforcement agent has taken control of the goods by entering into a controlled goods agreement with the debtor; (c) the debtor has failed to comply with any provision of the controlled goods agreement.
Checked 2026-08-17
Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 4 legislation.gov.uk
items or equipment (for example, tools, books, telephones, computer equipment and vehicles) which are necessary for use personally by the debtor in the debtor's employment, business, trade, profession, study or education, except that in any case the aggregate value of the items or equipment to which this exemption is applied shall not exceed £1,350… assistance dogs (including guide dogs, hearing dogs and dogs for disabled persons), sheep dogs, guard dogs or domestic pets; a vehicle on which a valid disabled person's badge is displayed.
Checked 2026-08-17
Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1894), regulation 13 legislation.gov.uk
The enforcement agent may not take control of goods of the debtor before 6 a.m. or after 9 p.m. on any day.
Checked 2026-08-17
Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, Schedule 1 Table 1, as amended by SI 2026/366 legislation.gov.uk
Compliance stage £79.00 0%; Enforcement stage £247.00 7.5%; Sale or disposal stage £116.00 7.5% — percentage of sum to be recovered exceeding £1900.
Checked 2026-08-17
Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 6, as amended by SI 2026/366 legislation.gov.uk
notice of enforcement must be given to the debtor not less than 14 clear days before the enforcement agent takes control of the debtor's goods. Where, before the expiration of the period of notice indicated in the notice of enforcement, a request is submitted by a debt advice provider on behalf of the debtor, the minimum period of notice referred to in paragraph (1) must be extended to a minimum of 28 clear days before the enforcement agent takes control of the goods. The extension under paragraph (1A) does not apply where the debt is non-eligible business debt. Where the period referred to in paragraph (1) or (1A) includes a Sunday, bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day that day does not count in calculating the period.
Checked 2026-08-17
Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, regulation 11 legislation.gov.uk
The enforcement agent may recover the compliance stage fee in respect of each enforcement power to which the instructions relate… the fixed fee for each stage may be recovered only once regardless of the number of enforcement powers to which the instructions relate.
Checked 2026-08-13
Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, regulation 34(3) legislation.gov.uk
no application may be instituted in respect of a sum after the period of six years beginning with the day on which it became due
Checked 2026-08-13
Form TE9: witness statement — traffic enforcement order outside London boroughs, or a parking charge in a London borough HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Use this form to challenge a traffic enforcement order outside London boroughs or a parking charge in a London borough.
Checked 2026-08-21
Form TE7: apply for more time — traffic enforcement order outside London boroughs, or a parking charge in a London borough HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Use this form to ask for more time to challenge a court order ('order of recovery') for traffic enforcement charges outside London boroughs, or a parking charge in a London borough.
Checked 2026-08-21
Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2022, regulation 23 (invalid notices — witness statement within 21 days) legislation.gov.uk
This regulation applies where— (a) a county court makes an order under regulation 22, (b) the person against whom it is made ("P") makes a witness statement complying with paragraph (2), and (c) that statement is served on the county court which made the order, before the end of— (i) the period of 21 days, beginning with the date on which notice of the county court's order is served on P, or (ii) such longer period as may be allowed under paragraph (4). A witness statement must state one and only one of the following— (a) that P did not receive the enforcement notice; (b) that P made representations to the enforcement authority under regulation 5 of the 2022 Appeals Regulations but a notice of rejection was not received from that authority in accordance with regulation 6 of those Regulations; (c) that P appealed to an adjudicator under regulation 7 of those Regulations against the rejection by the enforcement authority of representations made under regulation 5 of those Regulations but— (i) P did not receive a response to the appeal, (ii) the appeal had not been determined by the time the charge certificate was served, or (iii) the appeal was determined in P's favour; (d) that P has paid the penalty charge to which the charge certificate relates. Where this regulation applies— (a) the order made under regulation 22 is deemed to have been revoked, (b) the charge certificate is deemed to have been cancelled, (c) in the case of a witness statement including a statement under paragraph (2)(a), the enforcement notice to which the charge certificate relates is deemed to have been cancelled, and (d) the district judge must serve written notice of the effect of this regulation on P and on the enforcement authority concerned. Service of a witness statement including a statement under paragraph (2)(a) does not prevent the enforcement authority from serving a fresh enforcement notice.
Checked 2026-08-21
Practice Direction 75 — Traffic Enforcement, paragraphs 5.1-5.2 (statutory declaration vs witness statement; forms PE2/PE3/TE7/TE9) Ministry of Justice (Civil Procedure Rules)
a completed application notice (form PE2 (Application to File a Statutory Declaration Out of Time) may be used for applications relating to statutory declarations and form TE7 may be used for applications relating to witness statements); and (2) a completed— (a) statutory declaration in form PE3 (Statutory Declaration – unpaid penalty charge); or (b) witness statement in form TE9.
Checked 2026-08-21
Road User Charging (Enforcement and Adjudication) (London) Regulations 2001, regulation 19 (invalid notices — statutory declaration within 21 days; Congestion Charge/LEZ/ULEZ) legislation.gov.uk
(b) the person against whom it is made makes a statutory declaration complying with paragraph (2); and (c) that declaration is, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which notice of the county court's order is served on him, served on the county court which made the order.
Checked 2026-08-21
Form PE3: statutory declaration, unpaid penalty charge (TfL Congestion Charge/LEZ/ULEZ and other statutory-declaration regimes under PD 75 para 5.1(1)) HM Courts and Tribunals Service
I did not receive the Notice to Owner / Enforcement Notice / Penalty Charge Notice… I made representations about the penalty charge to the local authority concerned within 28 days of the service of the Notice to Owner / Enforcement Notice / Penalty Charge Notice, but did not receive a rejection notice. I appealed to the Parking / Traffic Adjudicator within 28 days of service of the rejection notice, but have had no response to my appeal… Important: Filing a false declaration knowingly and wilfully is a criminal offence under Section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911 and you may be imprisoned for up to 2 years or fined or both.
Checked 2026-08-17
Form PE2: application to file a statutory declaration out of time (statutory-declaration regimes: TfL Congestion Charge/LEZ/ULEZ and PD 75 para 5.1(1)) HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Application to file a statutory declaration out of time
Checked 2026-08-17

Next step

Not sure where you stand?

Tell us what has happened and we will work out what your options actually are: which stage you are at, what the fees should be, and what can still be challenged.

We tell you if an independent service is the better route
Initial advice is free and there is no obligation
Specialists in enforcement, not general debt advice

Get help with your situation

Prefer to talk?

0161 826 1292

Initial advice is free and confidential

Or ask us to call you back