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NEVER use Recorded Delivery when corresponding with bailiff companies

In reality, you should NEVER need to write to a bailiff company even when asking for a "breakdown of fees". This also applies to using Special Delivery.

Even if your dispute is with the bailiff company, all correspondence must be addressed to the creditor (or the council) and a copy of the letter sent to the bailiff company marked "for information only".

NEVER use recorded delivery when corresponding to a bailiff company because they will refuse to sign for it and it bounces back undelivered.

All letters sent by post are deemed to be delivered unless evidence to the contrary is proved: Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978. This means the bailiff has to PROVE the letter was NOT received - a very difficult burden of proof if the question of the receipt is raised in a court.

Always get a "certificate of posting" when sending correspondence to a bailiff, that way, if the bailiff company tries to lie about whether or not the received a document in the post, then you produce the certificate from your correspondence file and you can use that to discredit the honesty of the bailiff company in front of the judge.

A certificate of posting is not the same as a "proof of posting" and many post office staff are unaware of this and issue a proof of posting my mistake.

Service of court documents on a bailiff company.

If using recorded delivery is been requested, (for example, by a court) then send it in duplicate with the other via certificate of posting because a common bailiff ploy is refusing the recorded letter and a plain envelope is still served and supported by your certificate of posting.

This is especially the case if a bailiff has been ignoring a court claim you brought against them. This is a common method of trying to wriggle out of a claim - and when you have been granted judgment against them, the defendant bailiff company springs a surprise application to set aside your judgment on the grounds of non-service of documents. Your certificate of posting not only proves delivery, but further proved the defendant has been deliberately avoiding service of court documents.

If you believe a bailiff company is avoiding you, you can instruct a process server to deliver the documents to the defendant but you will have to recover the costs of serving process. Most solicitors offer process service or use a specialist process service.