Now Ye're Talking - to a Debt Collector

Boards.ie: Niamh

Our next guest worked as a bailiff/debt collector for 6 years in the UK enforcing warrants issued by the courts.

I'm sure he'll have some interesting stories, let's have some questions!

PTH2009

what was the worst case you had in terms of it having an emotional effect on you ??

Sinister Kid

Is there any part of the job you enjoy?

What's the most expensive thing you have seized?

Did you sleaze whole house contents? Did you ever feel pity for the person & pretend not to notice something?

Stephen Hawkins football boots

You don't know where I live do you ?

marklazarcovic

Ever get a slap? Is their a higher percentage of one type of person you dealt with? Who knows the game best so to speak?

endacl

Did you ever come across any 'Freemen on the Land' in the course of your work?

Are they as funny in real life?

emo72

Can imagine it's a horrible job. Why did you do it? Did you ever feel bad doing it?

eurokev

What's the pay like? It has to be half decent surely to make it worth your while

Do you get commission?

I'm a debt collector, AMA

PTH2009 wrote: »

what was the worst case you had in terms of it having an emotional effect on you ??

Don't think i ever had a particular one worst case, the hardest for me to deal with on a personal level was when kids were involved, some houses i visited and the debtors lived in absolute squalor, dog crap on the floor, dirty nappies all over the place, they had nothing, those were the cases that really affected me as i had 3 young kids at the time.

Of course i still had to call out but i'd be in the gaff for maybe 5mins, wouldn't even push for a payment, just return the case to the courts/council listing it as 'no effects'

I'm a debt collector, AMA

Sinister Kid wrote: »

Is there any part of the job you enjoy?

What's the most expensive thing you have seized?

Did you sleaze whole house contents? Did you ever feel pity for the person & pretend not to notice something?

The challenge, when you went to a house and they had everything, quality house, top of the range car, 50" Plasma tv's, the challenge of getting the cases paid was the main driving factor when visiting places like this. Also the freedom to do my own hours, if i didn't fancy starting work until 11am then i didn't

Most expensive item i seized was probably a BMW car, think it was valued at around 20k, debt was 12k, when i ran the finance check and there was no finance on it then it was game over. Car was removed, debtor paid up by the end of the day, including all removal costs

I did the job for just over 6yrs and did a full house removal maybe 3 or 4 times, avoided full removals like the plague as it's a LOT of hard work, both physically and mentally with all the paperwork you have to do.

I'm a debt collector, AMA

Stephen Hawkins football boots wrote: »

You don't know where I live do you ?

Could find out :pac::pac:

ads20101

Do you ever feel anxious or even worried when attending a collection?

The reason I ask this is there are aggressive people out there who may try to intimidate and bully themselves out of their responsibilities.

I'm a debt collector, AMA

marklazarcovic wrote: »

Ever get a slap? Is their a higher percentage of one type of person you dealt with? Who knows the game best so to speak?

Yep, got a few slaps, had bats/shotguns/knives pulled on me, in them cases we just called the police, told them what had happened and their assistance was required, police turn up and we just carried on.
Had my elbow broken (compound fracture) on 1 case, we were attacked by 5-6 lads who had nothing at all to do with the case, they just seen us pulling up and laid into us

I worked on Magistrates Courts Fine/Council Tax/Inland Revenue and i'd say maybe 75% of them were Council Estates, Slightly higher % for the fines/council tax, lower % for income tax

The Bailiff will know the game best, or he will if he's worth anything, you'd get these people who'd be screaming and shouting 'i know my rights' but whatever they did know they were wrong.
Some who actually did know the game would be straight on the phone to the council/courts, pleading poverty, apologising, begging for mercy, in some of them cases we were instructed by the client to walk way, which was frustrating when the person had an amazing house/car/goods and just didn't want to pay

I'm a debt collector, AMA

endacl wrote: »

Did you ever come across any 'Freemen on the Land' in the course of your work?

Are they as funny in real life?

Had to google that, Nope, never came across any

lifeandtimes

Have you ever come across a case where the person proved to you legally you couldn't collect the debt for one reason or another and you were left with no choice but to abandon ship as it is?

I'm a debt collector, AMA

emo72 wrote: »

Can imagine it's a horrible job. Why did you do it? Did you ever feel bad doing it?

It changed me, there was a lot of violence involved and you really never knew what someone might do. I'm out of the game now and think i'm back to my normal self

I did it because i needed a job, i was working the doors at night but 3 nights a week just wasn't enough to support my family

As stated previously, felt bad when kids were involved and the debtors had nothing, but i walked away then

L1m1tless

How many brown envelopes have you been offered?

Dog walker 1234

How did you get into the job? Is there much training given?

I'm a debt collector, AMA

eurokev wrote: »

What's the pay like? It has to be half decent surely to make it worth your while

Deleted User wrote: »

Do you get commission?

When i finished up i was on 15k per annum (sterling) plus commission, i was good at my job so the commission could get an extra 1,500 a month

Free car/van with fuel card that i could use for personal time too

I'm a debt collector, AMA

ads20101 wrote: »

Do you ever feel anxious or even worried when attending a collection?

The reason I ask this is there are aggressive people out there who may try to intimidate and bully themselves out of their responsibilities.

No i didn't feel worried, if i did then i'd be no use, the most anxious i ever became was when visiting the fixed traveller sites, in the areas i worked there was always a council worker at the gate in a hut, i'd go up to him, ask if Mr X lived there and was he approachable, 9 times out of 10 i'd walk away there and then

I'm a debt collector, AMA

lifeandtimes wrote: »

Have you ever come across a case where the person proved to you legally you couldn't collect the debt for one reason or another and you were left with no choice but to abandon ship as it is?

On a few occasions there was a mistake on the warrant, be it a name spelt wrong, or a wrong D.O.B. In those cases we'd walk away, return it to courts/council who would correct the error and then revisit a few weeks later

PopTarts

15,000 is awful for that position! You’d earn more doing a lot less. Even with the extra 18,000 bonus it’s pretty bad.

I'm a debt collector, AMA

Dog walker 1234 wrote: »

How did you get into the job? Is there much training given?

I was working the doors and the boss of the bailiff company used to do the odd night and was a mate, a vacancy came up and he asked me if i'd like to ry it out as i'm very level headed and excellent at talking to people.

I worked with him for 2 weeks, then another bailiff for a few weeks as i wasn't able to work alone with being registered, started learning about the laws of distress and applied for my cert, you then have to go and have a chat with a judge in his chambers, he's ask you all sorts of questions about what you can and can't do, then he'd issue you with your bailiff certificate, this had to be done every 2yrs, along with criminal record checks and credit checks

I'm a debt collector, AMA

L1m1tless wrote: »

How many brown envelopes have you been offered?

Was offered a few things by ladies once or twice but always refused, not even worth going down that road

I'm a debt collector, AMA

PopTarts wrote: »

15,000 is awful for that position! You’d earn more doing a lot less. Even with the extra 18,000 bonus it’s pretty bad.

For the area i lived in that was a pretty decent wage, Bailiffs in the cities get a lot more

Gloomtastic!

What are you doing now?

I'm a debt collector, AMA

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

What are you doing now?

Watching a bit of tv, wife is out so i get to watch the boring stuff she hates :pac:

Job wise i'm in security still, but a pretty decent position that doesn't involve violence and debtors

EIREDriver

Do you wear stab vests, bulletproof jackets or any other protective gear while going out on jobs? If so, do employers provide them?

Have you seen Can't Pay We'll Take It Away, and if so, how realistic is it?

I'm a debt collector, AMA

EIREDriver wrote: »

Do you wear stab vests, bulletproof jackets or any other protective gear while going out on jobs? If so, do employers provide them?

Have you seen Can't Pay We'll Take It Away, and if so, how realistic is it?

No, we didn't wear anything like that, just a pair of trousers, shirt and a jacket

Seen a few episodes and yeah, it was pretty realistic

DrPhilG

Do you ever get abuse or looked down on by people, other than the people you're collecting from?

I often see posts on facebook etc where there are videos of bailiffs etc carrying out evictions and the comments are always about how scummy those enforcing the eviction are. Personally speaking, while I don't like seeing someone booted out of their house, at the end of the day if they can't pay the bills something has to give. Maybe a bit different when someone is losing their house because of mortgage arrears. As a landlord myself I would hope I never find myself in the position of having to evict someone.

david75

In your experience, was it the wealthy and well able to pay, or the poorest of all that you came across most?
Personally I know affluent people that are totally allergic to paying up and somehow never are brought up on it yet regular people and mates beyond broke always seem to get chased up.

Which was more frequent for you?

EIREDriver

How does an agency get business? Do the courts issue a list of debts they need collected and agencies are free to chase it up, or is it like a tender process and only one can go after the debt?

I'm a debt collector, AMA

DrPhilG wrote: »

Do you ever get abuse or looked down on by people, other than the people you're collecting from?

I often see posts on facebook etc where there are videos of bailiffs etc carrying out evictions and the comments are always about how scummy those enforcing the eviction are. Personally speaking, while I don't like seeing someone booted out of their house, at the end of the day if they can't pay the bills something has to give. Maybe a bit different when someone is losing their house because of mortgage arrears. As a landlord myself I would hope I never find myself in the position of having to evict someone.

Not really got abuse from others, the odd neighbour would have a a go and of course the debtors but i guess if i was in their position i'd do the same, i had to learn to ignore all that, whatever verbals they threw at you.

I didn't do evictions, that was the job of the High Court Sheriff, closest i ever got to evictions was process serving, where i had to go to a traveller camp and issue them with an eviction order, or an order to move a minimum distance from where thy already were. The travellers were the same people all the time and pretty spot on, was mainly during the summer months, after a while i got to know them, would have a brew and a natter with them, advise them where to go, they went, and i'd be back there a few weeks later.
That was a pain though, as had to go to the court to swear an affadavit each time saying i'd served them.

I'm a debt collector, AMA

david75 wrote: »

In your experience, was it the wealthy and well able to pay, or the poorest of all that you came across most?
Personally I know affluent people that are totally allergic to paying up and somehow never are brought up on it yet regular people and mates beyond broke always seem to get chased up.

Which was more frequent for you?

Believe it or not but some debtors refused point blank to pay the council tax direct to the council, they would happily wait until we turned up, with the extra fee's, and pay it outright

I came across all sorts, say i had 100 warrants for fines, i'd say 30/40 would get returned either no effects, unable to confirm residence or just couldn't catch them in

The Inland revenue cases were mostly people who were refusing to pay, full stop, when the bailiff calls it's not out of the blue, they would have had 2 or 3 letters from the Inland Revenue, all ignored, or an arrangement made and broken, then we'd send a letter asking for them to contact us to make a suitable arrangement, if they failed to do this it was then sent out for us to visit, that goes for the fines too

I'm a debt collector, AMA

Mr.S wrote: »

What did you do when people refuse to answer the door or talk to you?

Confirm, or try to confirm with neighbours that the person lived there, with Council Tax you'd be 99% sure the person lived there, with fines it was different as people move on.

Simple answer if a bailiff ever knocked on your door is not to answer, then call and make an arrangement

If it was council tax and a Walking Possesion had been signed then you could gain entry through an open door/window etc, when inside, if nobody was in you'd just call them from a number obtained on a previous vist.

With fines, maybe 50% were motoring and the car reg was on the warrant, if car was there it would be clamped

I'm a debt collector, AMA

EIREDriver wrote: »

How does an agency get business? Do the courts issue a list of debts they need collected and agencies are free to chase it up, or is it like a tender process and only one can go after the debt?

The Courts, Councils and Inland revenue tended to use only 1, some 2, different agencies, they went out to tender and you'd get a 2-3 yr contract with that client, if you do well and get results then contract will be renewed, same as in most walks of life i guess

miamee

How did it work, were you just given a list of calls to make per day or week to do in your own time? You had mentioned not starting until 11am if you didn't feel like it.
Was there a specific list of things you could take or not take if no money was forthcoming or could you take anything that was of value to cover the money owed?

Did you make these calls alone or did you work in pairs? I'd imagine doing it alone could be a bit scary depending on where you were calling.

Was the commission a percentage of what you collected or was it a bonus for reaching a weekly or monthly target?

If you were unemployed at some stage in the future and this job came up again, would you go back to it? Or is it one of those things that you think "been there, done that, never going back"?

Sorry about so many questions in one post :pac: I'd say it was a stressful job all the same.

cee_jay

Did you find a particular "persona" worked, as in did you change your approach depending on your first impression of the person? If you collected in pairs, was it good cop/bad cop (I've noticed this on Can't Pay We'll Take it Away)?
Is the English system for collecting by agency different to how things are done in Ireland do you know?

I'm a debt collector, AMA

miamee wrote: »

How did it work, were you just given a list of calls to make per day or week to do in your own time? You had mentioned not starting until 11am if you didn't feel like it.
Was there a specific list of things you could take or not take if no money was forthcoming or could you take anything that was of value to cover the money owed?

Did you make these calls alone or did you work in pairs? I'd imagine doing it alone could be a bit scary depending on where you were calling.

Was the commission a percentage of what you collected or was it a bonus for reaching a weekly or monthly target?

If you were unemployed at some stage in the future and this job came up again, would you go back to it? Or is it one of those things that you think "been there, done that, never going back"?

Sorry about so many questions in one post :pac: I'd say it was a stressful job all the same.

No set numbers/targets, you could be stuck on 1 call for 3hrs or do 6 calls in 3hours.
Only items you could not remove were tools of the trade or items on finance, but even then, if you had a car in your sights that was worth say 5grand and you found out it only had a grand finance on it, you'd remove it, settle up with finance company and sell it at auction. Also kids bedrooms, wouldn't remove anything from in there.

When i started off i we were in pairs for my training then i went alone, every few months we'd go out 'on the van', which meant 2 of us would hit the most difficult cases. Always nice when you had someone with you, some funny times as you really had to have a sense of humour on some days

Commission was points based, 1 point = 1 pound, for a fine cleared in full it was 12points (costs for fines came last so any money taken went to client first, then to us, so made sure cleared in full), Inland revenue the same
Council tax your costs were paid first so it was 4 points for a signed walking possesion with fee's paid then 12 points for a paid in full.

My biggest ever payment was 1 case for a fine, he paid (or his ma did) 12grand, generated around 900 quid in fee's for the company, before i went there i negotiated a bonus of 100quid if i got it cleared

Nope, wouldn't go back to that life now, been there, done it, time to move on

I'm a debt collector, AMA

cee_jay wrote: »

Did you find a particular "persona" worked, as in did you change your approach depending on your first impression of the person? If you collected in pairs, was it good cop/bad cop (I've noticed this on Can't Pay We'll Take it Away)?
Is the English system for collecting by agency different to how things are done in Ireland do you know?

I'm very good at talking to people and always tried to speak to them on their own level, worked quite well, i found that if you were nice and sympathetic to the debtor then it went a long way, i don't remember most of my calls yet i bet nearly every one of the people i called on will remember the time 'the bailiffs called'
No point in making a bad situation worse by being a total dick

When we collected in pairs we both were good cop, like i said above, there's really no point in being a dick

Unsure how the irish system (sherriff) works, i know there's a lot of debt collectors around but they have ZERO power, we did sundry debts which were the same, say someone owed you 500quid, you could ask us to get it for you, at a rate of 30%, we'd send a letter (couldn't add any fee's) and make 1 visit. sometimes that was enough to get a payment

Sinister Kid

Did you ever meet these guys?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mvL4HIPe_0

The Fox of Glenarvon

Whar are your views on debt collectors who work for banks?

DrPhilG

I'm a debt collector, AMA wrote: »

Only items you could not remove were tools of the trade or items on finance

Really?

I watch "Can't pay" a fair bit and there is often the situation where they visit a business and are eyeing up everything. The narrator always comments that if the debtor can't come up with the cash and their property gets seized then they won't be able to run their business.

I'm a debt collector, AMA

As a general percentage breakdown of your 'customers' over the years, what percent would you say were the ones threatening to kill you, losing the head with you, etc. VS the type that just accepted you were there and were level-headed and reasonable with you?

Would it be a 50/50 mix, or would you come across the aggressive ones once in a blue moon (or every day?).

I presume the bigger the debt, the more aggressive people would be over it?

I'm a debt collector, AMA wrote: »

Was offered a few things by ladies once or twice but always refused, not even worth going down that road

Moar info!!! :pac:

I'm a debt collector, AMA

The Fox of Glenarvon wrote: »

Whar are your views on debt collectors who work for banks?

Pretty indifferent, sure they need the debt to be chased up but doubtful they have any powers to enforce

I'm a debt collector, AMA

DrPhilG wrote: »

Really?

I watch "Can't pay" a fair bit and there is often the situation where they visit a business and are eyeing up everything. The narrator always comments that if the debtor can't come up with the cash and their property gets seized then they won't be able to run their business.

Sorry, in earlier answer i was referring to Council Tax, what you seen on the TV is Business Rates, basically anything goes and all items can be removed.
Did an eviction once for non payment of rent and business rates of a restaurant in Leeds, 2 went down, i got a call at last minute to head down and only room they could get for me was in a 5 star hotel
Did the eviction the next day, the debtors had left everything a week earlier and done a runner, we removed something like 600 bottles of wine, we had a great night

I'm a debt collector, AMA

Deleted User wrote: »

As a general percentage breakdown of your 'customers' over the years, what percent would you say were the ones threatening to kill you, losing the head with you, etc. VS the type that just accepted you were there and were level-headed and reasonable with you?

Would it be a 50/50 mix, or would you come across the aggressive ones once in a blue moon (or every day?).

I presume the bigger the debt, the more aggressive people would be over it?




Moar info!!! :pac:

Maybe 20% started off very aggressive, but it hardly ever resorted to violence, most calmed down after a short while, actually had some people threatening to kill me when i walked in the door and thanking me as i left

The worst types were some of the council house debtors, they'd be all brave then you'd calm them down, a mates(s) would come around and it would all kick off again, a bit of bravado in front of their mates, who were all legal experts

As for the more info, i don't even know if they were passes, or offers of favours, but if they were they were shot down straight away, not worth the hassle in anyway at all

diomed

Are there any women debt collectors?

Gloomtastic!

What was the largest amount you were sent to recover and what was the smallest?

Agent Smith

Do you have a bedside locker?

Whats in the bedside locker?

What sort of mileage would you work, like do you have a range you do, or could you go all over the place?