Many thanks. I had this clarified by our own legal team.

“A debt collector can be used without a court order. They are often used to collect debts using scare tactics including threatening letters, threats of a visit, telephone calls etc - but a bailiff cannot be used to seize goods without a court order or judgment. Many debt collectors have certified bailiffs attached to them. They print this on their letterhead and will attempt to blur the line and confuse the issue in the alleged debtor's mind as to the role in which they are acting at any particular time. So in private parking cases we are often told that they have "received a letter from a bailiff" when the case has not been the subject of any court proceedings. The letter is from a debt collector. Prior to a court order (and often prior to court proceedings) the main recourse of the debt collector is of threats of possible things to come rather than any actual deliverable action. So the closer they can associate themselves with future difficulties without the problem of going to court and actually winning their case the more likely they are to receive payment. This is particularly true when the alleged debtor is more vulnerable - older people will often pay in the face of these threats for example.”