Bailiffs are the same thing as Repo Men.

maybe they were looking for someone who was supposed to go to a court hearing?? IDK

Hey, advice on how to keep your home secure from guys that are in that profession is normally pretty ******* useful.

Hi, Billy Mays here with another fantastic product...

They have repo men where you're from, no? It's the same thing.

You're totally right 3. That is VERY illegal here, they can enter through an open door or window but they are not allowed to pick the lock. Get them charged for trespassing OP.

Trespassing, unfortunately, is not a criminal offence, though several things do become illegal if one is trespassing. This would, however, be breaking and entry, and probably burglary, as they cannot legally remove goods if they have forced an entry, so picking a lock would make the intent of so doing a conspiracy to commit theft.. You really should talk to the police OP - there are way too many bailiffs pulling this kind of shit.

I am from the UK, and it is. It's a standard tactic of the dodgier type of bailiff - they force an entry, then claim to have found a window or door open.

A bailiff may visit your home if you don’t pay your debts - eg a Council Tax bill, parking fine, court fine or county court judgment. This will happen if you ignore reminder and warning letters, saying that bailiffs will be used. You can stop bailiffs from visiting by paying the money you owe. Talk to the person or business you owe money to as soon as possible to get advice on how to pay your debt. Dealing with bailiffs In most cases, you don’t have to open your front door to a bailiff or let them in. Bailiffs are not usually allowed to force their way into your home - eg by pushing past you, or putting their foot in the door. However, if you don’t let them in or agree to pay them: they can charge you more fees you could end up owing even more money they could take things from outside your home - eg your car If you do let them in, but don’t pay them, they may take some of your belongings. They could sell the items to pay the debt and cover their fees. Bailiffs are allowed to force their way into your home to collect unpaid criminal fines, Income Tax or Stamp Duty, but only as a last resort. From the UK Gov website.

Perhaps they had a warrant? I think for U.S. laws, that's what would be necessary.

or go apocalypse mode and push every piece of furniture against the doors.

I know this FML is from a long time ago, but I know something that would work better. Yes, more locks, but also a trick. Buy 3 key locks. Whenever you leave the house, only lock 2. The person trying to get in will try to pick all three, locking one of them. Be sure to keep a secret lock somewhere on a window or something in case you forget which ones you locked.

Somehow, I thought I was in bookmark, hence the "long time ago" part. I swear, I was in bookmark a second ago.

buy like a hundred bolt locks and install them. then lock them with chains and standard key or passcode locks and just be so hardcore that when you go to unlock your door it takes like 5 minutes and then just give up and leave through a window.

No, the police can't. They'd need a warrant to enter or search your home.

or if they can hear violence inside and no one can get to the door.

What if it's just hot, sweaty, kinky screamer sex?

The rules for an officer entering someone's home are somewhat complex. Basically, they would need reasonable cause to believe someone's life were directly in danger, otherwise they would need to come back with a warrant. It's a bit of a double edged sword, but in the interests of protecting the rights of the general public.

I think they take the chance that it's not. You know you're in trouble if after they bust the door down, the first thing they whip out is their cell phones, cameras blazing.

If the guy they were looking for was on parole or wanted then they were allowed to go into his home however this being the wrong home no they were not allowed in

In the UK the police do not need a warrant to enter your home. Warrants are generally only needed for arrest.

You'd be a what? I know I'm a bit tired right now, but I think your auto correct threw up in the middle of your sentence... :)

A key that can open a bunch of locks is an awsome key but a lock that is opened by a bunch of keys is a shity lock?

Whilst you may be able to do this in the US (unless they are plain clothes police, in which case they'll just kill you), shooting intruders in the UK is legally dicey, as Tony Martin found out. Though farmers can probably get away with shooting them in the back, particularly if they are Roma or other travelling folk, and some millionaire Tory ministers seem to think intruders are fair game.

yeah in the uk we dont need guns to settle our problems. there is such a thing as a reasonable force clause meaning you can remove someone using any force you deam neccasary. a gun would be conisidered excessive force.

If someone is in your home, and is refusing to leave, you can reasonably consider them a threat to your person, your home, or your family. It is not excessive to back someone out your front door with a gun if they have broken into your home. I don't know who this person is, and they have no right or reason to be here. They could or could not be armed as well. See, in the US, we have something called "civil rights". One of those essential rights is freedom from unnecessary search or seizure. Bring a warrant, or I am fully within my rights to defend my home from illegal entry by any means I see fit. They would be an unwelcome intruder in my home with no reasonable purpose being there.

If someone is in your home, and is refusing to leave, you can reasonably consider them a threat to your person, your home, or your family. It is not excessive to back someone out your front door with a gun if they have broken into your home. I don't know who this person is, and they have no right or reason to be here. They could or could not be armed as well. See, in the US, we have something called "civil rights". One of those essential rights is freedom from unnecessary search or seizure. Bring a warrant, or I am fully within my rights to defend my home from illegal entry by any means I see fit. They would be an unwelcome intruder in my home with no reasonable purpose being there. No police officer has the right to even enter your home without a warrant. If they were to force entry as the gentleman in this post did, that would be considered trespassing, and you would be fully within your rights to defend yourself with a firearm. It does not matter if the doors and all the windows are wide open. It's illegal and is considered home invasion nonetheless.

Also, in many states, there is something called "Castle Law". A man's home is his castle. Your private property belongs solely to you, not the state, not the nation, nobody but you. It is your own piece of sovereign land, and you have the right to defend it from illegal intrusion. And please don't try and tell me about the UK's gun laws. I have lived in the UK and it is crime-ridden and scary. It has a MUCH worse violent crime rate than the US, and the citizens have been deprived of the means to defend themselves. There are orders of magnitude more cases of legal self defense with firearms in the US than there are gun murders. In contrast, a man can walk down the street with a machete in the UK and hack innocent people apart, and everyone has to cower in fear instead of a responsible carrier simply eliminating the threat. No thanks guys, I'd rather have the means to defend myself than live in fear of an armed home invasion or psycho walking down the street with a knife.

#31, It's not home invasion. Home invasion is entering a residence you know to be currently occupied (people have to be home). It's criminal trespass or burglary (if you can prove they entered to commit any felony). I haven't lived in the UK, but I live in Chicago, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, and a higher gross murder rate than NY city.

If you look at the statistics and stop listening to hearsay, you'll find that the places that allow gun ownership have a MUCH lower crime rate than those that ban guns altogether. If you haven't noticed yet, Chicago is the laughing stock of the country. You have crime problems because nobody can defend themselves. Guns used in crimes are not legally obtained or owned by law-abiding citizens. All Chicago has managed to do is ensure that only the criminals have guns.

Hand guns aren't allowed in Chicago. Rifles? Yes. Shotguns? I believe so. If some punk ass gangbanger or mistaken repo man steps into my house without my person and refuses to leave, they are getting a barrel in their face forcing them to leave my property.

#34 It's like you didn't even read what I said. I said Chicago has high crime and strict gun law. Essentially, I was supporting your claim, if you want to discredit it as hearsay go ahead.

Well that replied to the wrong comment O_O I sincerest apologies kind sir or madam

For some reason I don't seem to think that gang bangers will suddenly give up their own firearms because the "law" says so. Last time I checked, that's what makes them criminals. You can walk down nearly any street in Chicago and purchase a black market hand gun. But legal citizens can barely own anything, much less something that is suitable for their own defense. See what's happened there? It's easier for the criminals to get guns than the law-abiding citizens just trying to protect their homes.

Have you ever BEEN to Chicago? You make it seem like it's this terrible city where people are buying illegal weapons left and right. It is NOT like that at all. Sure some places are sketchy but that's how pretty much everywhere is.