Ghostly bailiffs
ALAN MURDIE hears a knock at the door, foreboding footsteps and a voice demanding entry... To enter a property, vampires must be invited in, or find an open door or window
Unwanted knocks on the door at strange hours, tramping feet around one’s home and a sinister voice demanding entry.
What sounds like the start of a ghost or horror story is unfortunately a scenario soon to be acted out many times every day across the country in the flesh, with bailiffs and Sheriff’s Officers from the High Court (now both styled as ‘enforcement agents’ in legislation since 2007) resuming visits after various suspensions and moratoria.
Having worked myself as a lawyer acting on behalf of debtors in enforcement cases from the beginning of the 1990s, I grasped this parallel between bailiffs and malevolent supernatural entities early on, immediately finding an analogy between the rights of entry for bailiffs and the powers of entities in the (rather synthetic) lore of vampirology for gaining access to your home. Traditionally, to enter a property, vampires must either be invited in, or find an already open door, window, crack or crevice.
And with a few exceptions, it is much the same with bailiffs in England and Wales for the past 400 years. Ever since Semayne’s Case in 1603, the origin of the maxim “An Englishman’s home is his castle”, the outer door of the home of the debtor is protected and cannot be broken down. Semayne’s Case [1603] 77 Eng. Rep. 194 remains good law in the 21st century, the only exceptions being debts claimed by the Inland Revenue and unpaid criminal fines since 2004. Even then, forced entry (using a locksmith) is rarely ever attempted.
Otherwise, the householder is entitled to keep the door locked and refuse entry, since a bailiff collecting a civil debt can only enter peacefully. This is a fundamental protection afforded a householder and one that once played a key role in getting rid of a ghost.
Back in 2009 I was asked to advise in a case of an elderly widow living in Enfield, north London, who sought my advice on two problems: one was a dispute over her deceased husband’s council tax. The other was visitation by a ghost.
I will call the lady Mrs G. Originally of Indian origin, she was aged 77 and a widow. She had lived in the United Kingdom for many years, pursuing a career as a hospital nurse before retirement. A