ABSTRACT
Not an appointment with the headsman, but rather an authority from the court to send the bailiffs to the debtor’s home or business premises, to either collect money to pay the judgment debt or to take away the debtor ’s belongings to sell at auction. This is called levying distress. In The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot (1860), several burly bailiffs force their way into the debtor’s home and carry off everything of value. Bailiffs have changed their methods since then. Today’s bailiffs are likely to write or telephone first, to give the debtor an opportunity to pay the debt. They are not allowed actually to break into the debtor’s home, although they can force entry into business premises as long as these do not include residential accommodation (so a debtor living over their shop might be safe).
