Bailiffs And Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Cameras
Bailiff companies often employ 'drive-by' ANPR clamping, a method where individuals patrol streets with an ANPR camera to locate vehicles linked to unpaid traffic contraventions. Once a vehicle is identified, a bailiff is sent to clamp and remove it but this carries risk to the enforcement authority.
This enforcement approach, if not executed with utmost care, can lead to significant legal and expensive consequences for the enforcement authority. The vehicle may not actually belong to the debtor, or the debtor might not have received the necessary statutory Notice of Enforcement.
These oversights can result in claims for damages and costs, with the owner potentially initiating a proceeding under Civil Procedure Rule 84.13 to address the breach.
If a bailiff found your vehicle using an ANPR camera and then took control of it on a highway, and you do not own the vehicle or have changed your address, you have the right to apply to the court to recover it.
The judgment in Burton v Ministry of Justice [2024] EWCA Civ 681 establishes that the authority which applied for the Warrant of Control is liable for the actions of bailiffs operating under its instructions.
'Drive-by' ANPR enforcement commonly fails because the Warrant of Control often lists an outdated address for the debtor, rendering the warrant a "defective instrument".
This defect permits action by the debtor for a remedy under Paragraph 66 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. Bailiffs typically contend that the debtor is at fault for not updating their vehicle address with the DVLA.
However, this argument does not rectify the defective Warrant of Control, thereby entitling the debtor to seek an order from the court for the bailiff to deliver up the vehicle and recover damages and legal expenses.
Before parliament regulated the bailiff industry, guidelines stated bailiffs could assume any goods were the debtor's and make the debtor or the owner prove otherwise.
In 2012, the guidelines changed when the Local Government Information Unit in its report dated 5 Deecember 2012, stated at page 4 "in the absence of the debtor, [the bailiff] make reasonable efforts to find out if a vehicle does belong to the debtor before levying"
On 19 September 2018, Parliament published a briefing paper stating on page 9 that bailiffs should verify vehicle ownership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency before taking control of them.
Remedies available if a bailiff clamped or removed your vehicle after finding it on a highway.
Bailiff companies maintain a database of vehicle registrations associated with unpaid traffic debts and use number plate recognition cameras during night-time patrols to identify and clamp these vehicles.
If a bailiff with an ANPR camera clamps or tows your car under a Warrant of Control that has an incorrect address, the enforcement is invalid. This breach falls under Paragraph 33 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, which mandates that the bailiff must provide the debtor with a "notice after entry and taking control of goods on a highway" when removing goods from a highway.
Regulation 30 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 specifies the content of this notice, which must also include a "warning of immobilisation." together with an inventory.
A Warrant of Control with an incorrect address is a defective instrument and serves as evidence of this breach, allowing you to apply to the court for an order requiring the bailiff to return your vehicle and pay you damages and legal expenses.
If you recently purchased the vehicle, the debt likely belongs to the previous keeper, in which case you should file a third-party claim. If you have contacted TRACE and they can only provide the bailiff company’s name without identifying the authority responsible for the enforcement, this is a red flag indicating a breach.
The police know of the breach, as they would otherwise provide the name of the authority on whose behalf the bailiff was acting. Moreover, a limited company cannot take control of goods because that priviledge is expressly reserved for "enforcement agents" and Paragraph 63 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 prescribes an "enforcement agent" to be an individual with a valid certificate.
If the bailiff has already taken money from you after clamping your vehicle on a highway and the enforcement breaches any provisions of Schedule 12, you may apply to recover the money. If you are not the debtor named on the Warrant of Control, you may seek a chargeback from your bank.
Before filing a CPR 84.13 application, identify which provisions of Schedule 12 the bailiff has breached and compile the necessary evidence, including the Warrant of Control showing the incorrect address.
Filing a TE9 or a PE2 with the Traffic Enforcement Centre.
Official advice for debtors whose vehicles have been unexpectedly taken by bailiffs from a highway is to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) using forms TE9 & TE7 (for non-moving traffic offences and Dart crossings) or PE2 & TE3 (for moving traffic offences, bus lanes, and box junctions), which require your new address.
The application stops enforcement under Practice Direction 8.1, which will give you a temporary respite from enforcement and enable you to identify and deal with any enforcement breaches.
However, experience indicates that the TEC will refuse applications when the address on the Warrant of Control differs from the one on your TE9 or PE2 forms. They will then reissue a fresh warrant of control with your current address, thereby retrospectively validating the enforcement. Consequently, TE9 and PE2 forms primarily benefit the authority.
Before filing a TE9 or PE2 with the TEC, call the TEC on 0300 123 1059, provide the Penalty Charge Notice Number, and complete their security check by giving the postcode from your vehicle's V5 registration document (not your current address).
If the TEC accepts that postcode, you have demonstrated that the Warrant of Control is defective, allowing you to proceed with a CPR 84.13 application to recover the vehicle and will identify the TEC reissuing a fresh warrant of Control backdated with your new address.
If you cannot identify an enforcement breach
Consider using a Pay and Reclaim strategy by settling the debt to regain control of your vehicle, then filing a claim to recover any damage caused to the car or any missing items taken from it after the bailiff moved it to the vehicle pound.