Most recorded visits are for smaller debts, data from England and Wales suggests, though method of recovery is a postcode lottery
Tens of thousands of people a year have bailiffs sent to their homes by water companies in England and Wales, data shows.
Many thousands of these visits by debt collectors were for sums worth under £1,000, according to the data released by the House of Commons environment, food and rural affairs (Efra) committee. Bailiffs are debt collectors instructed by a court, who can seize items from those in debt, including electrical items, jewellery or vehicles.
It is a postcode lottery as to whether a water company would send a bailiff to a person’s home to recoup unpaid bills. While Wessex Water has not used bailiffs in 10 years, the water companies that made the most use of bailiffs in 2025 – adjusted for population – were South West Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water.
In the financial year 2016-17, Yorkshire Water sent bailiffs to customers’ homes 405 times, but in 2024-25 there were 6,124 bailiff visits.
