Do bailiffs have a right to take your things?

Actually baliffs do have the right to take your things. They have an order from the court. So its really the Judge who is making the order to take your things, the baliffs are just doing the heavy lifting. If a baliff is to get something they will have a document detailing what they are allowed to take. The only defence you may have is if the claim from the agency who approached the judge for seizure is based on incorrect information. This means that an agency lied to a Judge, and nothing pisses off a Judge more than being lied to. So the only way for you the head the baliff off is to file a defence and request a stay of procedings so you can answer to the accusations. Here is where you get to show the Judge that the info provide by the agency is wrong.

It may be different in your country, but here, yes, they definitely can take things, even if you've been sent bills in error. The onus is on the person getting the warnings to sort it out with whomever is sending the bills. I worked in the credit department of a cell phone company for a while, and if possible, I highly recommend dealing with the problem before it gets to a collection agency. Companies close accounts after they've been sent on to a collection agency, and the paperwork often goes into storage (or worse, in some cases is no longer accessible.) You may be in the right, but once the paperwork is gone, you won't be able to prove it. A collection company has no idea why an account originally went into receivership. All they know is that there is an unpaid bill in your name, and they can legally go after your assets. I would only ignore it, if it were for a tiny amount whereby it wouldn't be worthwhile for the company to pay a bailiff to show up. It's also worth sorting out, so that you don't get a negative credit rating. Again, it may work differently in our two countries, but in Canada and the U.S., we have credit bureaus that keep records on people's bill-paying behavior. It can really hurt you, if you ever want to take our a loan or a mortgage (or even obtain a utility) in the future.