What does the court bailiff do?
The court bailiff must inform debtors of their exemption rights under the Court Order Enforcement Act when he or she first visit the debtor’s home. The court bailiff will look into what assets might be seized. The debtor will be given the chance to pay the amount due at the time of seizure. If the debtor has an ability to pay, the presence of the court bailiff is sometimes an effective measure. If not, any goods worth seizing that are not part of the exemptions may be taken away and later sold by auction, sealed bid or other similar acceptable means. Since the proceeds are used to pay the court bailiff’s costs first, the goods need to have sufficient value at an auction to pay the court bailiff’s final fee, and the various charges for such items as towing, carting, storage and advertising. If the goods do not have enough value to pay these costs with at least some amount left over for the creditor, they are not worth seizing. The court bailiff will return the original order for seizure
