If the enforcement agent takes full payment on the first attendance, the second enforcement stage fee should not be treated as automatic. The 2026 amendments tightened and clarified when that fee may be recovered. [1]
If the debtor is a vulnerable person, the bailiff may not recover any enforcement stage fees until the bailiff has given the debtor an adequate opportunity to get help and advice about the enforcement power. [2]
If you suspect a bailiff overcharged you, then consider applying for a Detailed Assessment. [3]
The court decides whether the enforcement circumstances justify recovery of a second enforcement stage fee. A second visit alone is not the whole answer: the facts of contact, warning, payment opportunity and any controlled goods or payment arrangement can matter.
If the court finds the bailiff overcharged you, then you can apply for your summary costs as a litigant in person. [4]
Your costs can be set off the writ being enforced or recovered as a costs order against the creditor, and the creditor may redress this with the enforcement agent.
[1] Regulation 6(1) of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, as amended by SI 2026/366
[2] Regulation 12 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014
[3] Civil Procedure Rule 84.16(1)(b)
[4] Civil Procedure Rule 46.5