Episode 1 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-Let's go and introduce ourselves.

I'm a High Court Enforcement Officer.

We're here today to execute a High Court writ.

They're the men whose job it is to get you your money back.

It's an arrestable offence to stop me doing my job.

They're the High Court Enforcement Officers charged by law

to recover what a court says is rightfully yours.

I'm not waiting any more.

If you've been ripped off and don't know where turn...

I'm ordered to seize goods to clear this debt.

If you've been to court but still not been paid what you're owed...

Why don't you just tell me who you are?

This is an absolute crock. You need to pay this.

I've seized your car, sir.

..Through the door or we'll go through the window.

..it's time to call...the sheriffs.

Just collected 42 grand.

Coming up, 86-year-old Hilda Shaw spent her life

savings on a roofing job so bad, she had to take the builder to court.

The guttering, it hadn't been fitted right. It's shocking.

But when the sheriffs try to get her her money back,

all doesn't go to plan.

I will back that truck straight through your windscreen.

When Dr Benedict Henry spent over £4,000 on a car,

he hoped it would get him from A to B.

It hasn't worked for a number of months.

It's now brought him to the doors of the sheriffs to try

and recoup his money.

Switch the camera off.

A very UNHAPPY couple took this Yorkshire jeweller to court

after they were mis-sold an engagement ring.

Can Enforcement Officer Pete find them wedded bliss?

I'm going to take approximately £28,000-worth of goods today.

It's 7:00 AM, and Enforcement Officers Marc Newton and Kev McNally

are on the road, heading to their first job of the day.

They're on their way to see a builder in the Midlands who

owes thousands to someone he did a job for who was

so unhappy with it, they were forced into legal action to get redress.

So, coming up to seven o'clock, so hopefully he's still around

and we'll give him a knock and see if we can either get him

out of bed, get him to pay some money or seize some of his goods.

We'll see how we get on.

High Court Enforcement Officers are commonly known as sheriffs

and they don't give any prior notice of their visits, which means

Marc and Kev have no idea how the man they're visiting today

will take being asked for over £6,000 out of the blue.

In their experience, debtors rarely like being told to pay up.

The person Marc and Kev are at the builder's house trying to help

is 86-year-old Hilda Shaw from Northampton.

She employed a builder to carry out some routine maintenance work on her roof.

At the time, she didn't know it would turn her life upside down.

The story starts two years ago,

when Hilda spotted a builder working on the guttering of a nearby house.

She asked him how much he was charging for the work.

He said, £1,200.

I thought, "Well, that don't sound too bad," and he said,

"We don't take any money or no deposits until the work is done.

He said, "And you'll be ever so pleased with it."

Wanting to get her guttering smartened up,

Hilda agreed to let the firm, run by Alan Fitzgerald, do the work.

Once they got the ladders up on the front of the bungalow,

you could hear all the banging and the ripping and heaven knows what.

In comes the tall, towering boss of the lot

and he said, "It'll be £2,000," and that shook me a bit comparing with

what he'd told me down the road for the other bungalow.

He said, "We shall need the money for the materials."

Despite his promise not to ask for money up front,

Hilda had to pay the builder the £2,000.

Then two days later, he called her outside and pointed to the roof.

"Look," he said, "Your tiles are all breaking up and they're

"coming down and your roof's going to be in a mess," he said.

I said, "That's dangerous."

He said, "It'll want putting right, cos otherwise it's all

"going to come tumbling down."

"That'll be another £2,000 for doing that," and I thought, "My God,

"what am I going to do?"

Worried her roof was dangerous, Hilda rushed to the bank

and withdrew some of her life savings to have the work done.

Hilda's son Terry was alerted by a neighbour about what was going on.

He travelled down from Lincoln to take a look at the work

the builders had done.

What he saw shocked him.

It's ridiculous. They told my mother the felt had gone underneath

the roof, had rotted away, which I knew hadn't rotted away

because I've got bits and pieces in the roof.

It's not damp at all, no problem at all with it.

There was the guttering - it had been folded over.

It hadn't been fitted right. My son poured water into the guttering.

It was running the opposite direction.

You put a spirit level on it and it ran the opposite way.

You can't get the guttering wrong.

It's no good saying, "I'll come back and get the guttering right."

You shouldn't get it wrong in the first place.

He said, "My God, they call themselves builders."

He said, "It's shocking!"

With Terry's help, Hilda took the builder to court.

He didn't contest the case, and a judgment was issued in her favour.

But still, the builder wouldn't pay up.

With nowhere else to turn, Hilda got a High Court writ,

which enables her to call on the help of the sheriffs.

It will be clearing something in my mind and my brain to think

somebody around is there to help us, you know.

Because there's a lot of elderly who don't know where to go,

have got no-one to stick up for them.

Oh, God.

Determined to stick up for Hilda, Marc and Kev are currently standing

on the doorstep of the builder, Mr Fitzgerald, trying to raise him.

KNOCKING ON DOOR

DOGS BARK

They're going to hear the dogs, aren't they?

Sheriffs have the legal power to force entry into commercial

premises, but not at residential properties like this.

Marc can, however, climb through open windows if need be -

but this morning...

Hello!

DOGS BARK

..He doesn't need to.

INDISTINCT VOICE

Pardon?

-Garage door.

-Garage door, right.

-Hello.

-Hello, Mr Fitzgerald?

-Yes.

-I'm from the Sheriff's Office.

About a High Court writ that's been issued against you

by Miss Hilda Shaw.

Hilda Shaw?

Regarding? Do you want to come in for a minute?

-I'll just close this garage down.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

DOGS BARK

They might bark.

Mr Fitzgerald's first question?

Which particular job is this customer complaining about?

It's regarding Hilda Shaw. It's to do, I don't know,

-Is it a conservatory?

-Could be.

-I spoke to her son yesterday.

The job's finished.

She took you to the County Court with regards to it, back in October.

No payment's been made and they've sent us out here today.

October? We only finished the job two days ago.

-You got an address?

-No.

-How much is it for?

£6,636.

£6,000?!

You sure it's me?!

Yeah. Alan Fitzgerald, A-Z Builders.

I don't want it filmed.

You don't have a warrant to come to my house,

so turn the camera off or get out my house.

At this point our cameraman leaves the property,

while Marc and Kev continue their discussions inside.

Whether they're successful in getting Hilda back the money

a court of law says is rightfully hers, we'll find out later.

If you win a court judgment for over £600, but don't get paid,

all is not lost.

For a fee of £60, your judgment can be transferred up to the

High Court for enforcement.

The sheriffs will then go into bat on your behalf

and enforce the writ on the debtor.

This place could be emptied in an hour.

Their job is to get you back what the court says is rightfully yours.

If they are successful, there's nothing more to pay.

If not, the only cost is a £60 fee plus VAT.

Okey-dokey, we'll leave you in peace.

The latest person the sheriffs have been employed

to use their powers to help is psychologist Dr Benedict Henry.

A car purchase he made went badly wrong.

This is the car which I bought from Car Club London.

Hasn't worked at all for a number of months.

They're aware of that.

The Audi A3 cost Ben over £4,000,

but it broke down within days of him buying it.

An Audi garage said it needed over £2,000-worth of repairs.

Ben took it back to where he bought it from.

I did outline the Sale of Goods Act and my consumer rights.

He rejected all those.

I outlined all the faults in the vehicle -

again, he rejected all those.

I was left with no reasonable resolution to the problem

at that point in time.

Ben was convinced the dealer was in the wrong.

He studied consumer law on the Internet -

and went to the County Court to try to get his money back.

They'd avoided accepting any responsibility for things

and they hadn't dealt with me in a professional manner at all

and so I just assumed things probably wouldn't go in my favour.

But Ben's fears were misplaced as he did manage to win a judgment -

but that wasn't the end of the story.

Even though the verdict went his way,

the car dealers still didn't give Ben his money back.

So he went to the High Court to get a writ.

And now, Enforcement Officers Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally

are on their way to the car dealers in London to execute it.

If the dealers don't play ball, the sheriffs will remove cars,

auction them and give the proceeds to Benedict.

We're looking for just under £5,500.

If the company is still there, because it is a limited company,

that they will have sufficient stock to warrant them paying us.

The sheriffs need to track down the owner,

But that's easier said than done.

The office is deserted - so they try phoning him.

My name's Mr Grix. I'm here today to execute a High Court writ

to seize your stock on the forecourt to clear

a debt for £5,567.09.

Your vehicles are going to be seized

and if necessary removed to cover the debt.

The man says the dealership is in the process of being sold and that

the cars on the forecourt belong to customers and not the company.

So you're selling these vehicles on behalf of the customers?

So you need to come down with all your paperwork to verify that, sir.

For Lawrence, past experience tells him

he has to move quickly in this kind of scenario.

You can only hit once with a car dealer,

because the stock will go, it just won't be here.

After 20 minutes, someone finally arrives to talk to Lawrence

and Kev - he tells them he's the owner's brother and that

his solicitor says the sheriffs can't enforce Benedict's writ.

I don't need to speak to the solicitor.

I have a High Court writ which orders me to come here

and seize goods to the value of this debt.

We have a live writ and we are here today to seize goods to clear this debt.

Whether your solicitor is speaking to the courts, there's a High Court writ active now...

This is live now.

The man says his brother's on his way

and that he has no intention of paying either.

We have a live writ.

You understand the writ is the end of the system.

There's nothing more to discuss until the owner arrives.

Doesn't look like they're going to be able to pay very easily.

They seem to be arguing the toss that it's still with

the solicitors and stuff, which it's not.

We'll see what happens but I don't think payment's

going to be very forthcoming on this one, but there are assets here.

After half an hour on site,

the business owner arrives to tell them that he's not going to pay.

With a view to what?

The writ is still live and enforceable.

We can enforce this writ today, now and just because your solicitor has

written to the court or whatever, it doesn't stop our action today.

The writ orders us to come here

and seize goods to the value of this debt.

You're adamant you're not going to pay.

OK, I'm going to call a truck to get some of these vehicles removed.

The owner's truculent behaviour is forcing Lawrence's hand.

With the boss refusing to pay, he's got no choice

but to invoke the ultimate sanction at his disposal - to seize

and remove goods which he can then auction to pay off the debt.

I need Cathy to order me three tow trucks

to come and take some vehicles away from this forecourt.

The brother threatens to call 999.

But Lawrence and Kev won't be frightened out of collecting

Benedict Henry's money.

We like the police.

Quite surprised they've gone for that option.

Yeah, I think they're foolish.

But the brother's a proper barrack room lawyer.

"I know this, I know that."

And he actually knows...not a lot.

The owner has spoken to his solicitor again

and thinks he knows his rights.

With the tow trucks and the police on their way,

he decides it's time to lay down the law.

No.

Because we have a live writ.

No, we don't.

Yes, we can.

Everything you've said is correct, other than the fact, you don't

get seven days, you don't get any time.

We're here with a live writ.

As I've said to you, the only way to prevent further action today

is to pay.

Well, your stuff's going to go, then.

As they continue to argue about whether Lawrence can seize

cars on the forecourt, tensions mount.

We're here to enforce the writ for our client.

The cars are going to go.

You need to understand they are.

Don't put your hands on him.

You'll get arrested as soon as you touch him.

With things getting heated,

it's not long before the local constabulary enters the fray.

At this point, we leave the premises.

It doesn't take long for the police to realise

Lawrence is well within his rights and that

if the owner doesn't pay up, the sheriffs can take his cars.

The reason being, we're ordered here to seize goods to the

value of what's on the paperwork.

The boss goes off for another chat with his solicitor

and re-emerges with some good news.

He's prepared to make a down-payment now with more to come.

But as far as Lawrence is concerned, they need all the money now

and they have strict rules too about the form of payment they'll accept.

We don't take cheques.

Cards...

-Don't take cheques.

-No cheques.

Bank transfer, credit card, debit card...

At last, three hours after they've arrived, Lawrence and Kev

achieve their objective - the car dealer pays up by debit card.

OK, I will now issue you a receipt.

All that remains is the paperwork,

and Lawrence doesn't want to hang about.

You get a copy of that, which is the additional expenses form,

you get that, which is the first part of a Notice of Seizure.

You get that, which is the second part of a Notice of Seizure.

You get that, which is the inventory that goes with a Notice of Seizure.

It's job done.

Lovely, thank you very much indeed.

It's a great result for the sheriffs,

but more importantly, it means Benedict Henry getting

a letter through the post with some good news.

'They received payment of £6,061.69,

paid by debit card. End of report.'

That looks like I've got my money back.

Very happy that I went with the sheriffs. 'Debtor attitude, uncooperative.'

HE LAUGHS

'Police in attendance.' That's brilliant.

That's a good end, great stuff.

On a rainy morning

in West Yorkshire, Enforcement Officers Pete Spencer

and Dave Crabtree are heading deep into farming country, looking

to get another member of the public back money that's rightfully theirs.

Right, first job is Todmorden.

Believe it's a farm we're going to,

so hopefully today there'll be some farming equipment.

The man they're on their way to help is Lancashire farmer Brian Nutter.

Like most farmers these days, he's having to work harder

and harder for smaller and smaller returns.

So when a neighbouring farmer reneges on a contract to pay,

leaving him thousands of pounds out of pocket

and relying on the sheriffs for help, it's a serious matter.

We have to pay our bills.

We can't get away with not paying our bills,

so why should he get away with not paying his bills?

For over 20 years,

Brian Nutter's life has been all about...sheep.

People think sheep are stupid but they're very clever.

His passion for these woolly beasts has seen him

develop into one of the fastest shearers in the Northwest.

I was 16 when I sheared my first sheep.

Shearing is all where your feet go.

They do say shearing 300 sheep a day is equivalent to running a marathon.

Brian's steady hand and years of experience meant sheep owners

"flocked" to engage his services.

As his shearing business grew, it took him

to farms across the country.

But Brian's fortunes took a turn for the worse when a local farmer

named Andrew Barker came to him with an especially tough assignment.

I've known him for a couple of years.

He asked us to sheer his sheep. Just short of 3,000,

we sheered for him in total. A very big job.

The scale of the job meant Brian needed help

and took on two extra shearers to share the work.

He struck a deal with Mr Barker at the going rate of £1 per sheep.

After five exhausting days providing much-needed trims to

each of the farmer's 2,968 sheep,

Brian was looking forward to a well-earned payday.

But with the huge crop of wool safely in the bag, despite numerous

promises from Mr Barker, this much-needed payment never arrived.

You trust people.

It's just a poor do when I go and shear a sheep for a man that

I know and won't pay me.

He has no loyalty to the people who work for him.

Having been forced to pay his shearers out of his own savings,

Brian was determined not to let Mr Barker fleece him.

After two years without payment, he decided the only way

to get his money was to sue the errant farmer.

When the case went to court, Mr Barker admitted liability

and was ordered to repay the money.

But despite this ruling,

Brian found Mr Barker still wasn't ready to pay up what he owed.

Having no other way of enforcing the agreement to pay,

Brian's last hope of seeing his money now rests with the sheriffs.

It's now down to Pete

and Dave to give this country yarn its final twist.

And if the farmer won't pay,

Pete has an idea for raising the money that harks back to the

earliest days of debt collection - seizing livestock.

Potentially they've got a value and they're owned by the debtor

so we can seize and remove to sell to cover the outstanding debt.

Reaching the farm, they're on site for just a few

moments before debtor Andrew Barker makes an appearance.

I've got a live High Court writ. That's the reason for our attendance today.

In connection with Mr Brian Nutter.

Did he do some sheep shearing for you or something?

Oh, yeah.

There's £4038.74 outstanding which is the reason for our visit

and we've come to collect it.

Right.

How would you like to pay?

Cash, credit card, debit card?

Right, OK, so cash or bank transfer are the two options then for you.

While Pete and Mr Barker discuss the debt,

we're asked to leave the premises.

Worried about finding the money to pay,

Mr Barker asks Pete for an extra day.

I can't.

I've got to attend today cos it's a live writ to attend today

which is to collect the total amount or seize goods to the value of.

Obviously we've already got your Land Rover.

Erm, so is this yours, this Toyota?

With Mr Barker unable to find the money today,

Pete persuades him that his best bet, if he doesn't want to lose

his vehicles and livestock, is to sign a Walking Possession agreement.

It gives the court ownership of the assets on paper.

It'll be lifted if he pays up but if he doesn't,

the sheriffs will return, remove and sell the assets to pay off the debt.

Happy with the result, Pete wraps things up.

So if I give you until Monday to pay it,

as long as we've received that by Monday, we won't be coming back.

He seems quite confident that he can come up with the full amount,

so hopefully by Monday we'll see it in our client's holding account.

And, a few days later, Brian Nutter got the phone call he'd been

waiting for since he first contacted the sheriffs - they'd received

a payment from Mr Barker.

They've paid the sheriff.

That's all right, is that. It has to happen yet.

Time will tell.

And the good news is

the payment cleared, meaning Brian got his money in full.

Back in the Midlands, Enforcement Officers Marc and Kev are inside the home of builder Alan Fitzgerald.

They're trying to get him to pay up the £6,600 he owes 86-year-old

Hilda Shaw for unsatisfactory roofing work he carried out for her.

The builder has already asked our cameraman to leave his property

and is far from happy about paying out any money.

Marc tells Mr Fitzgerald that if necessary,

he'll remove his assets and auction them to pay Hilda's debt.

The negotiations continue for over an hour.

Finally, after lengthy discussions,

Marc and Kev leave Mr Fitzgerald's house with a result...of sorts.

He paid £800 today.

Said he's going to go to the court this afternoon or this

morning to get it sorted.

He says it's nothing to do with him,

he thinks it's some lads he had working for him.

We'll go from there and see what happens, really.

Marc and Kev head off back to base,

and it looks like they're leaving just in time.

What do you reckon?

Some of the builder's labourers have arrived.

They clearly take a dim view of today's early morning visit

to their boss.

Keep taking photos, I will back that truck through your windscreen.

Just go away.

George, let's go.

Nice people(!)

Whatever the opinions of Mr Fitzgerald's workers,

Marc thinks they've had a profitable morning.

It's dealt with now.

Hopefully he'll go to the court to get it sorted one way or

another and if he has to pay, he'll pay.

But getting full payment for Hilda from Mr Fitzgerald

wasn't as straightforward as Marc had hoped.

Following the sheriffs' visit,

Mr Fitzgerald failed to make any of the further payments he'd promised.

It meant Marc and Kev had to make a second visit to the builder's

house, which, despite him not being at home,

eventually provoked him into paying up in full.

For Hilda, it was final vindication.

I'm absolutely thrilled to bits.

I really thank the people that have been working on this case.

It was such a relief to see this cheque.

Oh, dear, very, very pleased.

Mr Fitzgerald denies carrying out unnecessary work.

He says he thought Hilda Shaw was happy with the job he was doing...

Still to come - this man was sold a stolen beach buggy.

Lawrence and Kev go to ask the man that sold it to him

for nearly £5,000.

Marc and Tony's attempts to get £11,000 from this man

run into difficulty.

-Are you going to pay any money?

-£1.

No, any sensible amount of money.

And the sheriffs take on one of the world's largest companies.

I have a judgment for £149,481.93.

I can't let you into the building.

Unfortunately, you can't stop me.

Bournemouth, in Dorset.

One of the UK's most popular seaside destinations for both holiday-makers

and for people in their retirement.

Someone who knows this more than most is David Hart.

He runs a care home in the town for people with Alzheimer's and dementia.

But two years ago, it was David that needed help.

He had a heart attack,

and it radically changed his approach to life.

When I was in the hospital, that is the most scariest thing ever.

I actually asked the nurses, "Am I going to die?"

And that's scary. Really scary.

What David didn't realise was that the change

he made would see him thousands of pounds out of pocket

and forced to go to court to try and get it back.

After his heart attack, he decided to spend more time with his family

and had the idea of buying a beach buggy,

so they could make the most of the summer holidays.

David found one advertised on eBay by a local man, Colin Humphries.

After inspecting it, David agreed to pay £2,500 for it.

Son Jack loved the buggy.

But when David applied to the DVLA for the vehicle's log book,

rather than sending it, the DVLA gave David some bad news.

I was told that somebody else had claimed ownership of the vehicle

and I said, "I don't see how, cos I have the vehicle in my garden."

He said, "No, somebody else owns it."

David called the police and told them what the DVLA had said.

They came down, they said that it was stolen.

Arranged for it to be picked up, which was gutting, you know,

there's my dreams on the back of a low-loader, going up the road

and I've done nothing wrong.

David phoned Colin Humphries who said he'd reimburse him,

but he never did, so David took him to court.

Mr Humphries claimed he bought the buggy in good

faith from a person who later reported it stolen.

The court didn't accept this and he was ordered to repay David,

but he failed to do so.

Now the matter's in the hands of the sheriffs.

Which is why Lawrence and Kev are on their way to Colin Humphries'

house, about to try and get David's cash

and their costs for enforcing the writ.

The total now stands at £4,700.

It's getting on for five o'clock in the evening now,

so we should have a chance of making contact with them.

Lawrence and Kev know little about the man they're visiting

and can only guess how he'll react to the two of them

turning up at his home to demand nearly £5,000.

Hello there, sir, looking for Colin Humphries, would that be yourself?

-Yes.

-Enforcement Officers here to execute a High Court writ

against you in favour of a...David Hart.

Here today to seize goods to the tune of £4,717.63.

Have you got any way of paying this? Some of it?

Are you on benefits?

-Have you got paperwork to show you're signing on?

-Yeah.

Can I have a see of that?

And who said you can film me?

At this point, our camera operator was asked by Mr Humphries

to leave the property.

Mr Humphries started to shout

so loudly it could be heard down the street.

Fair enough.

Sorry, can my colleague get a picture of...?

DOOR SLAMS

With the door firmly shut,

all Lawrence can do is post a copy of the writ through the letterbox.

I have to leave you some paperwork, sir.

How am I being cocky?

I'm just here doing a job.

I'm just doing a job.

Can we just calm down? I just need to leave you some paperwork, sir.

Are you happy for me to just leave you some paperwork?

I'll fill out some paperwork

and I'll just put it through your door for you.

From a safe distance, Lawrence lists property that could be

removed on a second visit to pay off the debt.

But with little of value on view,

the chances of David Hart getting his money are not looking good.

He's coming back out now.

-What's he up to then?

-I don't know.

But they may not be at a safe distance after all.

Mr Humphries has come out to the road.

There you go, sir.

What I've put on here is if you want to...

No, sir. We're not County Court bailiffs.

Do you want to just take this, sir?

You don't have to take it, no.

Before going back into the house, Mr Humphries threatens Kev again.

I'm here doing a job.

Sir, we're not sent out for aggravation.

We're just trying to get a job done.

What I was going to explain to you...

You're entitled to your opinion, sir.

You're entitled to your opinion.

I'm here doing a job, aren't I?

Sir, we're not here for aggravation.

With Mr Humphries' threats becoming more extreme,

it's clear nothing can be achieved by staying any longer.

Lawrence and Kev make their exit.

For them, this kind of visit is not unusual.

You're dealing with people that don't want you to be there,

whereas most other walks of life you're dealing with people

that do want you to be there.

We're never welcome. That's just a fact of life.

This wouldn't usually be the end of matters,

but with no assets to seize, even sheriffs can draw a blank.

And since we filmed, Mr Humphries obtained a debt relief

order from the Insolvency Service, which prevents any further

enforcement action against him for this debt.

It's now unlikely David Hart will ever get his money back.

As the sun rises over Essex, not everyone is enjoying its peace

and quiet.

Marc and Tony are on the road again. This time they're on their way

to meet one of their trickiest-ever adversaries.

We're looking for a company called the QC Laboratory Ltd.

The amount we're looking for on this is £11,673.

QC Laboratory made employee Teresa Kelly redundant after she'd

worked for them for 23 years.

An employment tribunal ruled she was sacked without proper procedure

and wasn't paid the redundancy money,

wages or holiday pay she was owed.

So today, it's Marc's job to try and get her the money owed.

Found it anyway, I think, mate.

They arrive and pull up. They're looking for boss Andrew Jennings.

After knocking at the office, a man answers

and says he's not the boss but that he does know him.

We're after the QC Laboratory.

-He's left.

-Do you know how long ago they left?

They went into liquidation before Christmas.

The man says he runs a different company at the same address.

But Marc wants proof the two are not connected

and asks to see any letters or correspondence which might

prove which company's based at the address.

You haven't got something with that on postal-wise, have you?

-Have I got something on postal-wise? You're

-BLEEP

-joking.

Why should I have something postal-wise?

I just post the invoices out.

-You haven't got a business rate bill?

-No.

-Phone bill? Gas bill?

Electric bill?

So this whole building, you're saying to me, pays no bills?!

The man might be shy about his post, but suddenly,

he reveals some more crucial facts.

He's Alan Jennings, father of company owner Andrew Jennings

and the original founder of QC Laboratory Ltd.

He says the company's now being wound up

and it's his job to settle its final debts.

The company's still...

We're not trading any more.

So you liquidated the company, is that what you're saying?

Mr Jennings goes inside and Marc follows him.

To get his client's money,

he might need to seize any remaining company assets.

As it trades in specialist laboratory equipment,

he's hoping there's plenty of machinery inside.

But to take possession of it,

Marc needs to prove it still belongs to the company named on his writ.

And moments later, bingo!

Marc finds recent letters addressed to QC Laboratory

and other evidence the company is still trading.

Just got a calibration certificate for one of these machines

here which was done six days ago

so, for a company that's closing down or going into liquidation,

I don't know why you'd bother getting your machines calibrated.

How can this come in on 1st June, which is five days ago, for a company

that liquidated six months ago?

Dead easy. Because I'm selling up the assets.

OK, there's still assets belonging to the company.

No, there isn't any assets.

Well, you're going to need to show me proof that none of this belongs.

How can I show you proof?

Well, if you can't, we're going to be removing it.

Right, OK.

Well, I'll start listing this.

The company assets are in line to be removed. Only problem is,

the value of the ageing machinery is unlikely to cover

the £12,000 debt and, with the company being wound up,

Mr Jennings feels he's got little to lose by refusing to pay.

I haven't asked them yet.

Sheriffs' fees are added to the debtor's bills so, so if Marc

and Tony are successful, there's no more for the client to pay.

If they're unsuccessful, the only cost is a £60 fee, plus VAT.

So, do you want to pay?

I don't want to pay. What is it?

The outstanding amount. £11,673.

I would not pay a penny.

You're not going to pay a penny? OK.

I would not pay her one penny.

I'll pay her a pound, that's all I think she's worth.

Despite his machinery being in jeopardy,

there's only one asset Mr Jennings seems determined to hold on to.

All right, I won't take that.

We're just in a position now where we're trying to see

if he wants to pay something.

He looks like he's not budging.

We'll hang on in here for a while, we'll list all the goods

and see where we go from here.

Look, if you can't pay anything today...

A pound.

No, not a pound. Let's be sensible about this.

I'm not paying.

With little in the way of leverage,

Marc's got his work cut out to get Mr Jennings to pay.

We'll see how he gets on later.

As another day dawns in West Yorkshire, in his van

and on his way to work is Enforcement Officer Pete Spencer.

Today, he's off to see if he can bring a happy ending

to a love story gone wrong.

This morning, we're going to a jewellers in Brighouse,

West Yorkshire.

Total amount we're looking for is £6,813.87.

The people Pete's on his way to help

bought an engagement ring for £4,100 from Fine Design Products Limited,

trading as Kingston Diamond Merchants.

But the ring the couple came away with was a different weight,

colour and clarity to the one they thought they were buying.

They went to court and the Judge agreed that the jeweller

misrepresented the ring he sold them and awarded in their favour.

It's now Pete's job to make love's young dream come true

and get the unhappy couple their money back.

if Kingston Diamond Merchants won't pay up, Pete's happy to

show them why diamonds are a sheriff's best friend.

Hopefully have goods in the shop which we will seize on entry

and remove if need be to secure the outstanding debt

or collect the payment in full, which hopefully we'll be able to do today.

Sheriffs like early starts,

but arriving at 9am, Pete might be a bit too early.

The shop's yet to open.

Pete manages to grab a quick word with the shop staff.

What she said through the window is the owner's not here till Friday,

and they're not willing to deal with it seemingly but I'm sure they'll

be on the phone now to the owner to let them know somebody's outside.

He needs to be getting himself down here, really, because we're looking

for full payment today or to remove items from within the jewellers.

And the moment the doors do open, Pete's the first to go through them.

Good morning.

While Pete explains his visit to the staff,

we're asked to stay outside the premises.

'I'm an Enforcement Officer. I've got a High Court writ.

'It's £6,813.87, today as we speak,

'so I've come to collect the total amount due today or seize goods.'

Moments later, the shop staff get owner Mr Kingston on the phone.

He wants to know why he's had no warning

he was about to be visited by a High Court Enforcement Officer.

'It's an High Court writ.

'I definitely don't have to serve any warrant on you prior to my arrival.

'I'll just explain, I've got a live High Court writ,

'which means I can attend here today without prior notice

'to collect the outstanding amount or seize goods.'

Pete warns Mr Kingston

that if he doesn't pay up, he can remove goods.

Mr Kingston continues to argue with him

and the more he does so,

the more Pete's bill rises.

I think you're just delaying tactics, to be fair.

But I'm here now, that's the only problem.

At the moment I'm into the next hour so I have to charge you.

Mr Kingston says he's waiting for the infamous ring to be

returned before he'll consider paying up.

But as the judgment states that the newlyweds don't need to

return the ring until they get their money back, this won't stop

Pete enforcing the writ and doing his bit to stop trouble in paradise.

The case of him returning the ring isn't anything to do with me

collecting this money.

It's not relevant whatsoever.

That's up to you. End of day, best is pay it, you've got 14 days

to put a claim in against it and then you sort it from there.

If the shop owner won't pay, Pete will have no choice

but to remove some products from the store.

He lets Mr Kingston know this, but the shop owner doesn't seem

bothered by his threat and it's not long before Pete's had enough.

Because of your attitude, I'm not going to leave items on site now.

I was going to ring our office and see if they'd allow me

to seize items on paperwork and leave them on site but I'm not going

to do that now - due to your attitude, I'm going to take the items with me.

Your attitude towards me isn't acceptable.

With no payment forthcoming or likely today, Pete decides to

take decisive action and asks staff to round up some rocks.

I'm going to take approximately £28,000-worth of goods today.

I've got to take quadruple the amount on the levy.

Under the orders of an officer of the High Court,

the staff have little choice but to say, "I do."

With the stones now in his hands, Pete's in a hurry to get away.

He might have all the collateral he needs,

but he's also now got himself a security situation in case

any potential robbers have been keeping an eye on him.

So we've moved away from the premises now.

I'm just making sure nobody's following us or anything like that.

Obviously, once we're in the vehicle, it's a safe vehicle,

it locks us in the vehicle.

I'm just going to pull into a safe place and then we can discuss

what's happened in there and the way we're moving forward with that case.

In a secret location, Pete talks us through what the shop have

told him the diamonds are worth and what happens next.

Those particular diamonds there have got a retail value of £10,000

and the trade value on those is £3,000.

That's a picture of the four diamonds,

which are one-carat stones each,

and they're retailing at 15,000, trade value of 5,000.

In this bag are the diamonds.

I've asked them, each individual one I've photographed has

actually gone in there.

I've asked the shop and I've witnessed them

to seal that bag there and sign over the seal.

I've no reason to go into that bag until it's returned to them

or until it goes to auction to sell.

£28,000 of precious stones might mean different things

to different people.

To Pete, however, they're just part of the job.

Doesn't make any difference to me. It's just a bag, isn't it?

And since we filmed,

Kingston Diamond Merchants paid the debt owed in full.

The diamonds seized were duly returned to them.

It means that, thanks to Pete, the couple whose ring was mis-sold

can finally buy the diamond they've always dreamed of.

Back in Essex, and Marc and Tony are still on the premises

of QC Laboratory Ltd, trying to convince former boss

Alan Jennings to pay up £12,000 owed to former employee Teresa Kelly.

She'd worked for the company for 23 years before she was made

redundant without receiving the payment she was due.

I would not pay her one penny.

Unfortunately, Mr Jennings is proving a handful,

unwilling to pay up and only too aware of the limited

value of those company assets on site.

Are you going to pay any money?

No. I told you, £1.

No, any sensible amount of money?

But this is one of its debts.

But Mr Jennings has other things on his mind.

Will they make me a star out of this?

I think you might be.

I think you could be.

You've got that Bruce Willis look about you.

But even Bruce Willis would struggle to get money out of Mr Jennings.

So do you want to give us some money, Alan?

Not a pound.

Don't go on about a pound!

Never parting with more than a pound?

That's right, mate.

Marc's having little luck getting payment

and Mr Jennings has threats of his own.

No, you can't lock us in.

Why not?

-Because that would be imprisonment.

-We'd have you nicked for that.

With Mr Jennings refusing to budge, there's not much more Marc can do.

He seizes what assets he can see on paper,

but they're not worth much and Alan Jennings knows it.

And with that, Marc and Tony call it a day.

All right, we're leaving a list of goods with you.

-We're not going to take them.

-Oh, please.

You've got seven days in which to prove that they don't

to the company.

We can come back at any time.

Any time you like.

Even if you're not here.

And force entry to remove these goods.

You cannot take them goods out of here now.

Let's go cos he's doing my brain in.

-See you later.

-Seven days.

-Or maybe not, if you pay.

We've just listed the goods and we're leaving cos we're not going to get anywhere.

It's been a tricky trip for Marc.

He's played everything by the book,

but when there's nothing in the way of seizable assets to use

as leverage, even sheriffs can hit an Alan Jennings-sized brick wall.

The goods in there were of no value.

I actually do think if we do go to that extreme with him

and start taking everything out of there and cleared that whole

place out I just think he'd go, "Oh, whatever, I'll just go home."

I don't think he's that bothered.

Since we filmed, due to the lack of assets on site,

the case has been closed.

Teresa Kelly is now pursuing other means of getting her money.

The sheriffs' work isn't only about enforcing

writs against individuals and small firms.

Sometimes, they're ordered by the court

to take on some of the largest companies in the world.

And today, Lawrence and Kev are in the middle of one such case.

They're in the Home Counties,

tasked with enforcing a High Court writ against one

of the world's largest IT services companies, Fujitsu.

The total outstanding at the moment is £149,481.

A vast amount of money.

Absolutely no doubt they've got the money to pay this

and I would estimate they've got the assets to cover it as well.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what excuses they come up with,

how big their company is, they've got a debt and we're here to collect it.

The sheriffs might be asking for a lot of cash, but Fujitsu's

worth a lot of money, with over £30 billion in revenues.

Time for Lawrence to get the ball rolling.

Hello there. I'll show you my ID.

We're here to execute a writ against Fujitsu Services.

The security guard says Lawrence can't come in

until they've had the OK from above.

But Lawrence has news for him.

You can't stop us coming in.

I know what you're saying and I fully respect your position

and I'm happy for you to contact someone who can deal with this,

but when it comes to a point of law, you can't stop us coming in.

If necessary, sheriffs can force entry to commercial premises.

But for the time being, they decide to park round the corner and wait.

After 15 minutes on the side of the road,

Lawrence and Kev are finally approached by someone in authority.

Got any details of what this is about?

Because I can't get anybody for you unless we have some more details.

They've got a judgment, with our costs,

for £149,481.93.

I can't let you into the building.

I'm not allowed to let you into the building.

Unfortunately, you can't actually stop me.

-I can stop you.

-You can't.

-At the moment, I can stop you coming into the building.

You can't. I'm not trying to be awkward.

We've been very co-operative at the moment.

Your security staff have asked us to wait here.

I can understand the sensitivity of your business.

My policy is that I don't let you into the building.

I'm in control of this building and I'm not allowed to let you in.

Unfortunately, as an Enforcement Officer executing a High

Court writ, I can force entry into a commercial premises if necessary.

We don't need permission.

We do not need permission to enter your building.

What do you need to enter the building for? Because we don't know...

To seize goods. To seize goods.

We're here to seize goods.

The shaken Fujitsu employees head off to talk to their superiors,

leaving Lawrence and Kev to continue waiting outside.

But after half an hour of sitting by the side of the road,

with no sign of any progress, Lawrence has had enough.

You want to come in, do you?

To be honest, I don't think we've been treated particularly

professionally or courteously so far.

We've done the utmost to be professional

and respectful to your situation here.

We're not looking to come storming round the place,

see all your latest technology.

We're here to execute a High Court writ

and what we're asking is to be treated in a courteous manner.

We have the right to enter.

If you're not going to allow me to enter, I'm just going to park

my vehicle here and go in on foot and if anybody tries to stop me

I will call the police because it's an arrestable offence to obstruct

an Enforcement Officer in the execution of a writ.

Now, we don't want to go down that road,

we just want to be treated with some courtesy...

Some of us have just got here.

-We didn't know you was coming.

-I can appreciate that.

Give me a couple of minutes.

Finally, things seem to be happening.

Lawrence is invited inside to discuss matters with someone in authority.

It's progress, but does it mean a payment's on its way?

Lawrence is inside for nearly an hour before he emerges.

and in the chess game that is Lawrence Grix versus Fujitsu,

Lawrence has captured some major pieces.

He was quite insistent they weren't going to pay today,

so I've basically seized the entire

contents of the building or as much as needs be to cover the debt.

If it doesn't get paid or resolved in a satisfactory manner,

then we will be back and if necessary we will remove goods.

Lawrence has carried out a Walking Possession, which means he's

listed property he can remove at a later date if the debt isn't paid.

Thanks to Lawrence,

the High Court now owns just about everything in Fujitsu's head office.

And Lawrence's forceful move clearly did the trick.

Soon after his visit, the firm owed the money by Fujitsu

was finally paid, in full.

All £149,481 of it.

Fujitsu told us:

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd