Enforcement company
BOT Services: Is This Enforcement Letter Genuine?
If a letter from BOT Services has arrived unexpectedly, the first job is not working out how to pay but confirming that the firm and the debt are genuine. BOT keeps a limited public profile, and the checks that matter are quick and do not depend on anything the firm says about itself.
- How to check a BOT Services letter
- What ECB accreditation means here
- Whether BOT can force entry
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What are BOT Services contacting you about?
May not be suitable in all circumstances. Our initial advice is free, but fees may apply and your credit rating may be affected if you opt for a debt solution.
Company details
| Type | Enforcement company |
|---|---|
| Registered name | BOT Services |
Key facts
- Company number
- 11190425, ECB accredited Sep 2024
- Based
- Edith Grove, London SW10
- Register
- ECB-accredited, not a CIVEA or HCEOA member
- Notice period
- At least 14 clear days before a visit
On this page 12 sections
Who are BOT Services?
BOT Services Limited is registered at Companies House under company number 11190425, incorporated on 6 February 2018, with its registered office at 98 Edith Grove, London, SW10 0NH. It has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since September 2024, which places it a little later than the large cohort of firms accredited when the scheme began in October 2023.
It is not a member of CIVEA or of the High Court Enforcement Officers Association. That is not a red flag on its own: CIVEA is a trade body rather than a regulator, and the absence from the HCEOA register simply indicates the firm is a certificated agent operating in the county court and local-authority space rather than executing High Court writs.
A note on the Companies House classification
BOT's Companies House record carries a standard industrial classification code that reads as an employment-placement business rather than enforcement. This is worth understanding rather than worrying about: those codes are broad administrative labels chosen at registration and are frequently a poor description of what a company actually does. The authoritative confirmation that BOT carries out regulated enforcement is its ECB accreditation, not the SIC code, so treat the register as the source of truth.
How to confirm the letter is genuine
Three checks settle it. First, match the company name, number and registered address above against the Companies House record. Second, confirm BOT on the Enforcement Conduct Board register of accredited firms. Third, and most important, verify the underlying debt with the creditor named on your documents, using contact details you have found for yourself rather than any printed only on the letter in front of you. A genuine enforcement case traces back to a named creditor and a recognised enforcement power, such as a liability order, warrant, writ or the statutory CRAR route for commercial rent; a demand that cannot be tied to one deserves suspicion.
Is BOT a bailiff or a debt collector?
Where BOT is instructed under a recognised enforcement power, the firm acts as a certificated enforcement agent under Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, with the power to take control of goods. That authority may come from a liability order, warrant or writ, while CRAR is a statutory route that does not depend on a prior court order. Where BOT is merely writing to ask for payment before enforcement, it has no more power than any other collector. Our guide to bailiffs and debt collectors explains the distinction.
What BOT can be instructed to collect
As a certificated firm, BOT can be instructed on the debts that reach the taking control of goods stage: most commonly council tax arrears and penalty charges enforced for local authorities, alongside county court judgments and similar referred sums. Because the firm publishes little detail of its own that this page can verify, do not take a general list as confirmation of your own case; the creditor and the order named on your paperwork are what define it. If a penalty charge is involved and you never saw the original notice or were not the vehicle's keeper, 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. See our page on PE3 and TE9 forms.
Can BOT force entry?
Not into a home on a first visit for an ordinary household debt. Entry has to be peaceable, and there is no obligation to open the door. The exceptions are narrow: paragraph 18A of Schedule 12 allows reasonable force to enter business premises the debtor trades from where the debt is not a traffic penalty, and paragraph 19A allows reasonable force to re-enter after a controlled goods agreement has been signed and broken. Force under paragraph 17 depends on one of those gateways being open first. Our guide to when bailiffs can force entry covers the detail.
The fees are fixed, whoever the firm is
A certificated firm cannot set its own charges. The scale in force from 1 May 2026 is £79 at compliance, £247 once an agent attends, and £116 on sale, each with 7.5% added on any sum above £1,900 at the enforcement and sale stages. Under regulation 11 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, the compliance fee can be charged once per enforcement power, while the enforcement and sale fees can each be charged only once where powers are enforced together. Visits are confined to between 6am and 9pm. If the figures on a BOT statement do not match this scale, ask for a written breakdown.
Your Notice of Enforcement
Before goods can be taken into control, BOT must serve a Notice of Enforcement allowing at least 14 clear days, extendable to a minimum of 28 clear days where a recognised debt advice provider requests it unless the debt is a non-eligible business debt. Sundays and bank holidays are excluded from the count.
Goods, exemptions and a payment arrangement
Only goods belonging to the debtor can be taken, under paragraph 10 of Schedule 12, and regulation 4 shields a defined set of essentials: everyday clothing and bedding, basic household equipment, items for medical care or for caring for a child, a disabled or an older person, pets and assistance dogs, and a vehicle with a valid disabled person's badge, with work equipment protected up to £1,350. If you can pay something but not everything, ask BOT to record an arrangement, usually a controlled goods agreement, and check every listed item is genuinely yours before signing. Free budgeting help is available from National Debtline, StepChange and Citizens Advice.
Vulnerability
If illness, disability, bereavement, caring responsibilities, or a language or literacy barrier applies, tell BOT and the creditor in writing early. It should change how the case is handled rather than the sum owed.
Disputing and complaining
Disputes about the debt belong with the creditor that raised it, not with BOT, since an enforcement agent cannot rewrite the underlying account. For conduct, use BOT's own complaints procedure first, then the instructing creditor, then the Enforcement Conduct Board, which has accredited BOT since September 2024 and can consider an unresolved complaint. A challenge to an agent's certificate is a separate application to the issuing County Court.
What to do next
- Verify the company on Companies House and the ECB register before anything else.
- Confirm the debt directly with the creditor, using details you find independently.
- Check any fees against the fixed scale above.
- If the debt is genuine but unaffordable, propose a realistic arrangement in writing.
- If you are vulnerable, say so now, in writing.
How a BOT 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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
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 BOT Services a real bailiff company?
Yes. BOT Services Limited is registered at Companies House under company number 11190425, incorporated on 6 February 2018, with its registered office at 98 Edith Grove, London, SW10 0NH. It has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since September 2024.
BOT Services has a Companies House code for employment agencies. Does that mean it is not really a bailiff?
No. The standard industrial classification on a company's record is a rough administrative label and often does not describe a firm's regulated activity. The reliable confirmation that BOT does enforcement work is its listing on the Enforcement Conduct Board register, not its SIC code.
How do I know a BOT Services letter is not a scam?
Check the company details above against Companies House, confirm the firm on the ECB register, and verify the debt with the creditor named on your paperwork using contact details you find independently. Never rely on a phone number printed only on an unexpected letter.
Can BOT Services force entry to my home?
Not on a first visit for an ordinary household debt. Entry must be peaceable and you need not open the door. Force is only available in narrow situations, chiefly business premises and a broken controlled goods agreement.
What can BOT Services charge?
The statutory scale that binds every certificated firm: £79 compliance, £247 enforcement, £116 sale, with 7.5% added above £1,900. The figures are fixed by regulation and BOT cannot set its own.
BOT is not a CIVEA member. Is that a problem?
Not in itself. CIVEA is a trade association, not the regulator. The oversight body is the Enforcement Conduct Board, and BOT is accredited by it, so an unresolved complaint can be taken there 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 -
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, section 74 (CRAR: lease)
legislation.gov.uk
"Lease" means a tenancy in law or in equity, including a tenancy at will, but not including a tenancy at sufferance… A lease must be evidenced in writing.
Checked 2026-08-17 -
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, section 77 (CRAR: the minimum amount)
legislation.gov.uk
CRAR is exercisable only if the net unpaid rent is at least the minimum amount immediately before each of these— (a) the time when notice of enforcement is given; (b) the first time that goods are taken control of after that notice. The minimum amount is to be calculated in accordance with regulations.
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 -
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.
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