Can a bailiff clamp my car for a parking fine?

Yes, but only if the bailiff has served a valid Notice of Enforcement and holds a properly issued Warrant of Control in your name at your current address. Otherwise, the enforcement may be unlawful.html

What if the parking fine was sent to my old address?

If you never received the penalty charge notices or court documents due to a change of address, you may be able to file a statutory declaration or TE7/TE9 out-of-time application to challenge enforcement.html

Are bailiffs allowed to charge fees after I’ve paid the council?

No. If you paid the full amount of the traffic penalty before the bailiff took control of goods or attended your property, they cannot charge enforcement fees under the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013.html

What if my car was clamped or towed from private land?

Bailiffs cannot lawfully seize a vehicle parked on private land without lawful access and control. If your car was clamped or removed from a private bay or gated property, you may have grounds to challenge the seizure.html

How do I stop a bailiff enforcing a traffic or parking debt?

You can apply for a stay of enforcement or file the relevant forms (such as TE7/TE9) with the Traffic Enforcement Centre. Legal help may be needed to stop enforcement and recover any fees or seized property.html

How to stop a bailiff enforcing traffic or parking debts

Bailiffs clamped your car, left no notice, or chased you for a traffic fine at the wrong address? This guide exposes common enforcement abuses and explains how to stop a bailiff, recover your vehicle, and challenge parking or traffic debt enforcement legally and effectively.

Remedies

• Bailiffs unexpectedly attended, clamped, or removed your vehicle

• The warrant of control is 'Defective' or shows your old address

• The Warrant of Control lists your current address, but was issued before you lived there

• Check whether you have grounds to appeal the original traffic contravention

• Bailiffs left a red-letter demand at your previous address

• Bailiffs took your vehicle from a private car park or a neighbour's allocated parking bay

• You want to challenge the original traffic contravention, but the deadline has passed

• You filed a TE9 or PE2, but bailiffs still clamped your car or took money.

• The bailiff is enforcing someone else's debt

• The bailiff removed an exempt vehicle or goods

• The bailiff did not give you a Notice of Enforcement

• The bailiff refused to show you the Warrant of Control

• You paid the council or TFL but the bailiff is pestering you for his fees

• You are a vulnerable person

• The bailiff damaged your vehicle

• The bailiff refused to show ID or flashed a fake police-like badge

• The bailiff does not have a valid enforcement certificate

• The bailiff charged "storage fees" for keeping your vehicle

• The bailiff charged you a £110 "Sale Stage Fee" without removing goods

• The bailiff has misreported the actual auction sale price of your vehicle

• The traffic debt is more than 12 months old

• Bailiffs sold your vehicle without giving you a valuation

• The bailiff is enforcing two or more warrants against you simultaneously

• Someone left a bailiff's document hanging out of your letterbox or communal doorway

• The bailiff wrote on a document you paid "voluntarily"

• The council fobbed you off with "contact the bailiffs"

• Bailiffs are sending nuisance and unwelcome text messages

• The bailiff jammed his boot into your door stopping you closing it

• The bailiff recorded you with a body worn camera

• A bailiff or police snatched keys, a phone, or another item from your hand or vehicle

• The bailiff called the police

• A bailiff assaulted you

• The bailiff turned up with a TV film crew

Nope! None fit - The Nuclear Option!

Warning . If bailiffs contacted you unexpectedly and your V5 logbook was not updated, and an advice group told you it is your fault and you must pay a bailiff company, please screenshot their advice and email it to me. A parliamentary enquiry is investigating advice groups that claim to help the public but appear to act in the interests of bailiff companies misusing ANPR cameras for street-side enforcement.