Episode 4 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the Sheriffs.

-Let's go and introduce ourselves.

We're High Court enforcement officers.

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

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

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

They're 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 to turn...

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

which would mean clearing this place out.

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.

You can either let us through the door or we'll go through the window.

It's time to call the sheriffs.

Just collected 42 grand.

Coming up...

Michael Martin was plunged into debt after being unfairly dismissed

by a cleaning company.

I was trying to juggle this little bit of money you've got,

it just builds up and up and up...

and it's just horrible.

When it comes to getting his money, can the sheriffs clean up?

Because we have a High Court writ ordering us

to come here and seize goods.

Pub landlord Graham Short was forced to call last orders

on the £10,000 wind turbines he bought, because they didn't work.

The turbines weren't even generating enough electricity

to power a light bulb.

The sheriffs go in search of the money he's owed.

And this Ferrari garage sees red, when Lawrence and Kev

try to get £30,000 owed to an unhappy customer.

I have to tell you, mate, if you try and shut me in here,

that's an arrestable offence.

In the country,

in the city,

on land

and sometimes even on sea -

High Court enforcement officers, commonly known as sheriffs,

will go anywhere a court tells them to,

to collect money on your behalf.

Clocking up more motorway miles this morning,

enforcement officers Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally

are on their way to Birmingham,

tasked with helping someone else get what's rightfully theirs.

A court of law decided that the bosses at a cleaning company

unfairly dismissed one of their staff.

The company still hasn't paid their former employee

the thousands of pounds he's owed.

The man they're on their way to help

is window cleaner and father-of-four Michael Martin.

He got a job as a cleaner

at a company called Globe Cleaning and Maintenance Limited.

He was soon promoted to contract manager.

It was a job he loved.

They say you don't live to work but I did for that company -

I travelled all over the country for them.

I even pushed my kids and my wife to one side

because I thought more of the company than I did of them,

and it was wrong.

I was working like 17, 18 hours a day,

seven days a week without fail.

I was always working.

Never turned nothing down.

Despite his dedication,

it's also a job that's seen him forced to go to court

and brought him to the doors of the sheriffs for help.

After three and a half years at the company,

Michael was unceremoniously dismissed without, in his opinion,

being given adequate reasons why.

They just wanted to get rid of me, push me out the door.

They said, "That's the way, I ain't having none of you no more."

With four children and a wife relying on his income,

losing his job was devastating for Michael.

I was really, really gutted.

It really hurt me,

to think all what I put in.

Debt coming from everywhere and you're trying to juggle

this little bit of money that you've got and it ain't happening.

I just don't know where to turn, don't know what to do,

I'm robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Debt letters coming in and...

It just builds up and up and up.

It's just horrible.

Michael wasn't going to take his dismissal lying down.

He decided to take Globe Cleaning and Maintenance

to an employment tribunal.

I just didn't think what they done to me was fair

and I weren't letting them get away with it.

It was a real challenge

as Michael has severe difficulties reading and writing.

Unable to afford a solicitor, he chose to represent himself.

I went to court, I stood on my own two feet

and I just weren't going to let them win,

didn't matter what happened.

After what he'd done to me. I just...

Everything he chucked at me

and I just kept fighting back and fighting back.

During all this,

Michael then had to cope with the death of his wife's mother.

With no money, they were unable to afford a funeral

and had to borrow money from relatives to give her

an appropriate send-off, plunging them further into debt.

That's how it is.

Globe Cleaning and Maintenance attended the tribunal

and contested Michael's case, but representing himself,

Michael won his claim for unfair dismissal.

The judge awarded him £10,969.

For Michael, it was total vindication of his decision

to fight the case in the first place.

When he awarded it, I just walked out of the court room

and I just punched my hands in the air. "Yes, I've done it."

But despite his tribunal ruling,

Globe Cleaning and Maintenance wouldn't pay up.

It was just dragging on and dragging on,

and then I was getting no closer,

Christmas was coming, I had to cancel Christmas for my kids and after Christmas,

I just decided myself I need to go to a solicitor

and get help from them.

The solicitor took the matter to the High Court and got a writ.

Michael then called in the help of the sheriffs.

They're his last hope

if he's to get any of the money he's owed.

And it's Lawrence and Kev who have been tasked

with enforcing Michael's writ,

which with costs and interest now comes to nearly £13,000.

Lawrence and Kev have arrived -

and it looks like they've tracked Globe down -

the company's vans are in the car park.

The sheriffs need to work fast.

They block the company van in, in case they need to seize it

to clear the debt to Michael.

Hello there,

looking for Globe Cleaning and Maintenance Company Ltd.

Right, not Globe Cleaning and Maintenance Limited.

Cos this is the registered address

of Globe Cleaning and Maintenance Limited.

An employee at the address says that the Globe cleaning company

he works for is completely different to the Globe cleaning company

the sheriffs are after.

But Lawrence isn't buying it.

I'm here today to execute a High Court writ.

We're here today to seize company assets from

Globe Cleaning and Maintenance Company Limited

to the tune of just under £13,000.

The employee suggests they talk inside.

The company front door is as far as our cameras are allowed.

Lawrence's conversation with the Globe employee

continues behind closed doors.

15 minutes later -

and the conversation doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

The employee continues to insist it's a different company,

but Lawrence still has his doubts.

We have sufficient reason to believe

that Globe Cleaning and Maintenance Limited

does have assets at this address.

There's all the accreditations on the wall

for Globe Cleaning and Maintenance Limited.

While Lawrence continues to battle for the money

that's rightfully Michael's, Kev heads outside.

To keep the pressure on,

he notes the details of the vehicles in the car park.

If no payment's forthcoming today, the sheriffs will seize them

for auction to pay off the debt.

Any car or van owned by the company is fair game.

Finally, Lawrence's firm but fair approach seems to be working.

One of the company directors is put on the phone to him.

Your colleague's just reading the writ now where it orders us,

if we don't seize goods here today we're in contempt of court

because we have a High Court writ ordering us

to come here and seize goods.

We're not breaking the law, sir.

You've got your opinion, I know exactly where I stand

and I've got a writ that tells your colleagues where I stand on this.

After nearly two hours of to-ing and fro-ing,

the sheriffs' determination to remove assets

if no payment's received seems to have had an effect.

Lawrence and Kev emerge to fill us in.

The directors weren't there, one was skiing somewhere

and the other one was down in London for the day.

We seized everything

and the director authorised a payment to be made.

They transferred the full balance of £12,982.49 into our account.

It's a great result for Lawrence and Kev -

their persistence paid off.

And it's wonderful news for Michael and his family.

Thanks to the sheriffs, he has now been paid, in full.

Lawrence and Kev work

for this High Court enforcement company in south London.

Managing Director David Carter

has over ten years' experience in this line of work.

Sheriff's are High Court enforcement officers

and we enforce county court judgments.

Most of the public don't realise they can use us.

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

all isn't lost.

Your judgment can be transferred up to

the High Court for enforcement, for a fee of £60.

The Sheriffs will then enforce the writ

against the debtor on your behalf.

My name's Mr Grix, I'm an enforcement officer,

I'm here with a High Court writ.

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

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

But asking debtors for your money can be a risky business.

We've had a variety of incidents with our officers on the road -

one was run over by a car.

MAN: Whoa, whoa, whoa.

We've had one stabbed.

Don't push. Don't push!

They get threatened on many occasions.

You need a variety of skills, and these include negotiation.

Solution would be - potentially a part payment today.

Needs diplomacy.

I will listen to what you've got to tell me,

I will always pay you the courtesy of doing that.

But it's also being authoritative

and making people understand the powers that you have.

As an enforcement officer executing a High Court writ,

I can force entry into a commercial premises if necessary.

As High Court enforcement officers

we recover around £65 million a year for unpaid creditors

and these are people that are owed the money.

They've been through court, they've got their judgment

and still the debtor hasn't paid.

Right, well, I hope I won't see you again.

-Hopefully not.

-Not under these circumstances.

-No.

We're also the good guys for a lot of people.

The sun's not yet up but for enforcement officers

Marc Newton and Tony Smith, their working day's all ready begun.

They're on their way to their first job of the day.

We're off to a residential address in Bideford in Devon.

We're looking for £13,500 from a company called

Smart Power Products Limited.

The person they're trying to help is pub landlord

Graham Short from Dartmoor in Devon.

When he paid to install wind turbines on his pub roof,

Graham thought he would be doing his bit to save the planet

while also saving money.

Instead, it's cost him thousands, left him forced to go to court

and relying on the sheriffs for help.

He has put the nail in the coffin for renewable energy

as far as I'm concerned.

I'm very, very annoyed, almost to say furious.

You get to a point where you think, "Why did I even bother to do this?"

Graham's troubles started when he decided that,

given his pub's remote location, it needed a backup power supply.

Being on the edge of Dartmoor,

having notorious power cuts in the winter,

we needed an electrical backup system,

which would keep our gas operation system going

cos as soon as the electric cuts out, the gas cuts out.

His search for a new energy system brought him to self-styled,

wind turbine expert, Rupert Sweet-Escott -

who claimed to have the perfect solution.

One which was not only green, but would also, he said,

"Considerably reduce the running costs of the pub."

We were advised by Mr Escott,

that we could save up to 25, 30%

of our electricity bills across the year.

In this economic climate you've got to save every penny you can,

where you can. If the wind is blowing

and providing free energy for me to stay open me, that's brilliant.

Impressed by the figures

and by the design of the prototype wind turbine chimneys,

Graham was eager to go ahead.

He paid Mr Sweet-Escott £5,000 up front

to get on with installing them on his pub roof.

So, there will be two...

towers, looking like chimneys...

..on top of the existing roof.

I thought I was going to be happy because soon it's going to be up

and running and it's all going to be singing and dancing and lovely.

But as months passed,

Mr Sweet-Escott failed to start the job,

blaming a series of problems for the delays.

Finally, after a whole year,

work commenced with Mr Sweet-Escott

installing his revolutionary turbines himself,

as shown in these photos.

Graham paid another £5,000 for the hardware.

But when the installation was complete,

the long-awaited wind turbines were far from the mean, green,

electricity-generating machines he'd been promised.

Basically they never worked from day one.

They would be vibrating,

and the wind would be catching between the blades,

and it would be like similar to a Chinook helicopter going overhead

and there was a strong thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

That would be constant all day long, that's all you would hear.

Obviously the main issue was the fact that they didn't work.

We had them tested out and the turbines weren't even generating

enough electricity to power a light bulb.

Rupert Sweet-Escott tried several times without success

to fix the problems with the turbines.

Becoming convinced his explanations for why they weren't working

were nothing more than hot air,

Graham had reached the end of his tether.

Mr Sweet-Escott agreed to take back his noisy turbines

and return Graham's full payment.

However, with the turbines gone,

Graham's still waiting for his money.

All I have left...

is an empty roof.

My bit towards renewable energy and a greener environment is gone

and I'm £11,000 worse off for it.

Graham's only option left was to take him to court.

Mr Sweet-Escott failed to contest the case.

A judgment was issued,

ordering Mr Sweet-Escott to pay Graham £11,280.

But since then he's ignored the judgment and still failed to pay up.

Now it's down to Marc and Tony to pay him a visit

and ask for the money in person.

It's still dark when the Sheriffs arrive at Mr Sweet-Escott's house.

They go to introduce themselves.

That's quite loud.

DOG BARKS

There you go, that's their dog.

Marc's managed to wake up a dog inside

but no-one's answering the door.

And he's noticed something else that suggests

they may have had a wasted journey.

I'm hoping he's not away because there's mail piled up there.

-And they might have someone come in and let the dog out.

-Could do.

There's no movement at all.

I really don't think there's anybody in.

They're about to starting listing goods to seize,

when suddenly, someone seems to have stirred.

Oh, here we are, Tone. Someone here now.

I'm after...

..Smart Power Products Limited.

It's about an outstanding High Court writ that's been issued.

It's the man they need to speak to, Rupert Sweet-Escott.

He invites the sheriffs in but tells our camera to stay outside.

Marc gets straight to the point, and with additional interest,

court and sheriffs' fees, the bill has gone up.

It's about a High Court writ that's been issued, 13,500.

No? OK.

The situation where we have to start removing stuff if you can't,

that's what we're here to do.

How much could you do?

Mr Sweet-Escott offers to pay them £500.

With over 13,000 outstanding,

this isn't going to work for Marc and Tony.

We really should collect the full amount.

We have to collect the full amount.

We have to execute the writ.

Mr Sweet-Escott maintains he can't afford to pay.

Marc warns him of what the consequences of this might be.

If we can't get half, we'll have to remove goods.

With the sheriffs keeping the pressure up,

Mr Sweet-Escott significantly ups his offer -

£3,000.

All right, I'll do three grand now.

How do you want to do it? Do you want to do it on the debit card?

Marc's tough stance has had the desired effect.

With night turning to day, they're leaving with money in the bank

and an offer from Rupert Sweet-Escott

to settle the rest of the debt in monthly instalments.

Got a quarter of the debt.

He's not happy but unfortunately we've got the writ

and he needs to pay that.

I wouldn't be surprised

if in the pile of letters is the original court paperwork

that's he's just not opened and done anything with.

If the defendant doesn't keep making payments as promised,

the sheriffs will be back to remove goods to cover the debt.

More importantly, it means Graham Short will finally

get at least some of his money, even if

he'll have to look elsewhere for an alternative means of backup power.

I'm glad that the sheriffs have managed to go round

and see Mr Sweet-Escott and retrieve at least some of my money,

which is a start.

I feel confident I will get all the money eventually.

Now the ball is rolling and the sheriffs are involved in the matter,

then, yes, we will keep on top of it until we do get a little...

Yes.

And since the sheriffs visited Mr Sweet-Escott's home,

he asked to put his side of the story, saying Graham Short knew

the technology was experimental and early on he had offered a refund.

Of course, it's my responsibility. I accept the full blame.

Hands up, I'm sorry, Graham.

He did refuse a refund.

I said, "Listen, this product is not ready at this time."

Which, in my book, basically means I can take my time, I can get it right.

This is the name of the game with new development of new products,

it takes time.

Mr Sweet-Escott also explained why

he hadn't got the court paperwork earlier.

Nowadays nobody reads the post.

Everyone reads their inbox, you know?

Post is very 19th cent...

20th century, isn't it?

Isn't it?

Following the sheriffs' visit, Mr Sweet-Escott is now

negotiating paying off the rest of the debt in instalments.

Enforcement officers Lawrence and Kev

are today on their way to a car dealers in west London.

The company, Verdi Ferrari Aftersales Limited

sold a Ferrari for a member of the public for £27,995.

But the customer never got his money.

After trying everything to get his cash,

the car owner went to the County Court to get a judgment.

He then transferred this to the High Court

and got a writ for the money he's owed.

Now the sheriffs are about to enforce it.

They've visited the garage before, but the boss, Mr Verdi,

went to court to get a stay to delay

them removing goods that they could have sold to cover the debt.

That stay has now been overturned.

We won't be taking our time with this one

because he managed to get the stay last time.

So we'll be going in demanding full payment.

The sheriffs will be looking for various company assets today,

including two Ferrari diagnostic kits worth £20,000 each.

As High Court enforcement officers, they're entitled to pick them up

and walk straight out with them.

Mr Verdi here at all?

Mr Verdi here at all.

I'm asking you, is he here at all?

Is somebody able to get him on the phone at all?

Is he upstairs?

Is he in the office?

Not getting any response, they head upstairs to see if Mr Verdi's there

and, more importantly, to start their removal of goods.

They're hoping it will prompt someone in authority into paying up.

How you doing?

I think we can safely say, that's not Mr Verdi.

Hi. I'm a High Court enforcement officer.

I was here before.

We've got a High Court writ to seize goods on the premises

to cover a debt.

We're actually going to start removing goods now.

So, those computers need to be backed up.

While the receptionist backs up the computers,

Lawrence goes on the hunt for the two valuable

Ferrari diagnostic kits he spotted last time.

When it comes to commercial properties,

High Court enforcement officers have access all areas.

They can break through doors if necessary.

Lawrence has found one of the kits.

Go and get that diagnostic stuff off there.

I don't care what asset tags they put on there,

it wasn't on there last time,

we've seized it last time we've had no third party claim,

so we'll take it.

We'll try and find the other one.

While Kev confiscates the £20,000 diagnostic kit,

Lawrence checks outside for any cars that can be removed.

I've just been looking round,

there doesn't seem to be any of the cars that were here last time.

That's not unexpected because

we believe customers' cars being worked on.

Lawrence spots something suspicious going on in the garage.

I have to tell you, mate, if you try and shut me in here,

by pulling the shutter down, that's an arrestable offence.

I'm just warning you

because obviously the shutter's come down over there.

With no sign of the garage owner, or any payment,

Lawrence decides not to wait around.

He and Kev pack up any assets of value and remove them.

No-one seems keen to tell us who they are or who they represent.

We'll let them crack on until someone claims to be him.

We'll see.

Next, the CCTV system is removed.

Grab that monitor, mate, I've got the control unit.

Have you got the light bit, yeah?

I've got the bit I can carry in one hand

with my briefcase in the other, mate.

The removal of the kit has clearly upped the ante.

A man who refuses to identify himself wants to make a deal

to stop the removal.

But it may just be a stalling manoeuvre

while the owner tries to get another stay from the court.

If you get me 17 grand...

in the next half hour then I'll put the trucks on hold for half an hour.

Give us a bit more than half an hour.

Maximum I'll give you is an hour,

purely because of what happened last time.

The £17,000 isn't the full amount owed to the owner of the car

the garage sold, but it is a start.

By now everyone wants a word with the sheriffs.

A second man approaches Lawrence.

Have you got the writ there?

-I have, of course I have.

-Can I see that, please?

No, because you're not my defendant. You're not Mr Verdi.

If you can show me some ID showing me you're Mr Verdi,

because I've got my doubts at the moment,

because you keep saying you are and then you're not, you show me

some ID showing me that you're Mr Verdi then I'll show you my writ.

What does the writ let you do?

Come here and seize goods to the value of the debt.

Just when it looks like Lawrence is getting nowhere,

he's approached by the man

who earlier offered a payment to stop the enforcement.

He's going to get his aunt to come down and pay on a credit card,

so, we shall see.

How far away is your aunt?

-About a 20-minute drive.

-That means nothing to me, I'm afraid.

The police are coming here to throw you out.

Oh, by the way, please film me

and tell me the police are coming here to throw these guys out.

It seems both the aunt and the police are on their way.

And it's not long before the first one arrives.

Hiya, who called us?

No idea. I'll show you some ID.

We're enforcement officers here to enforce a High Court writ.

-On this premises here?

-Yeah.

Apparently, we seized goods about three months ago

and they got an emergency stay.

The judge threw it out when it actually got a hearing,

he threw it out because there was no grounds for dispute whatsoever.

Now the police have arrived, the elusive garage landlord

Mr Verdi, suddenly appears out of nowhere.

Hello there, mate, who are you?

If you just go in, mate, we'll come and have a chat in a second.

-Was that Mr Verdi?

-I believe it might be.

That might have just been our defendant.

That's the first time he's said who he is.

So that's the elusive Mr Verdi -

he was actually the first person Lawrence saw

when he arrived this morning.

Mr Verdi wants a private chat with the policemen, upstairs.

20 minutes later, the police officer reappears.

He reports back on Mr Verdi's side of the story.

He's saying that this company's gone into liquidation two days ago.

No, what they've done is they've written to a liquidator

and said, "Will you act on our behalf."

It's not in liquidation.

If it was in liquidation, actually properly in liquidation,

then we couldn't take the assets.

They become in the custody of the liquidator.

We're going to take the stuff we've got now.

A lot of the time it's a war of attrition...

..which we usually win.

Mr Verdi doesn't want to come and talk in front of the camera.

Would you come upstairs with us now,

I understand you want to give him a receipt or something,

if you'll come upstairs and speak to him with us.

Rather than throwing the sheriffs out as the garage had hoped,

the police have backed up everything Lawrence was saying.

And it's had an effect.

Soon after Lawrence goes upstairs, Mr Verdi's wife appears

and pays £5,000 by credit card.

Yeah, I'll do you a receipt in a second.

I've just got to do the balance.

And the Verdis also offer to organise repayments

to cover the outstanding debt.

Lawrence is satisfied with this arrangement -

and returns the removed goods.

Thanks to the sheriffs, the owner of the car the garage sold

will now get a good chunk of the money he's owed, with more to come.

They're offering £5,000 a month to clear it off.

Providing they stick to that, that's quite reasonable

because as it transpires, there aren't the assets there.

But since that visit, Verdi Ferrari Aftersales Limited failed to make

any of the repayments they'd promised.

Later, we'll see what happens when Lawrence and Kev go back.

Well, we are going to be effecting entry by force using locksmiths.

And enforcement officer Pete lays down the law

at a Manchester road services company.

-Phone the police.

-I will do.

-OK.

And Lawrence gives the owner of a private jet, the fright of his life.

I have actually seized one of your aircraft.

Someone else looking to the sheriffs for help

is solicitor Sherali Lakhani.

Today, he's using the internet to talk to one of his clients -

Myrna Torres.

Hello, Myrna.

She should be in the UK,

but she's currently 7,000 miles away in the Philippines

and all because a British college took thousands of pounds of her money,

only to breach the contract they agreed with her.

Myrna came to the UK four years ago to study

so she could become a professional health carer.

Her first two-year course, went well.

She made friends here who were all warm to her

and she loved the atmosphere.

She was very happy here.

But when she enrolled in a further course

at William Shakespeare College in south London,

things didn't go to plan.

The college was contractually obliged to supply Myrna

with the form she needed to get a study visa, known as a CAS form.

Only problem was, William Shakespeare College was no longer

a government registered sponsor.

It had been taken over by another school, A&S Training College,

who were registered.

Surely, they could give her the CAS form she needed?

The college refused to give her a new letter and she kept going back

and they kept telling her, we'll do it next week,

week after or do it tomorrow. They refused to give her the money back

and they wouldn't do anything about it.

She was really in tears every day asking, begging them for help

and they wouldn't help her.

Myrna had already paid the majority of her first year's fees, £2,450.

She hoped the qualification would mean

she could eventually earn the money back.

But whatever she tried, A&S still wouldn't supply a CAS form.

And no form meant no visa,

which meant Myrna was forced to leave the UK.

She was telling me that her family was probably in debts

because they had to borrow in order to give her the money

in order for her to study

and she felt that she'd let everyone down.

In fact, she hadn't done anything wrong,

she had just fell victim to circumstances here.

Desperate to get Myrna some redress

for the money she'd spent for nothing,

Sherali took A&S Training College to court.

They didn't contest the case,

and a court awarded a judgment in Myrna's favour.

Despite this, the college has yet to pay back a penny.

Determined to get Myrna what she's owed,

enforcement officers Marc and Tony

arrive at A&S Training College in north London.

It may be a school day but that's not enough to put off the sheriffs.

They head straight to reception, High Court writ in hand.

-Hello.

-How you doing?

It's about a High Court writ that's been issued against you,

from Miriam Moncala Torres.

It's against who?

A&S Training College.

Right. OK.

The man gives his head office a call,

hoping they know more about the case than he does.

They tell him,

they think they've got a reason why they don't have to pay.

They've had a name change.

A&S Training College is the old trading name of the college.

We are now Park Royal College.

All your stuff in the foyer's still got A&S training on it.

Well, that's an old trading name.

We've now switched to Park Royal College Limited.

Right, you're going to need to provide us

with some proof of all this.

If Park Royal College Limited is a different company,

they will not be responsible for A&S's debts,

and Marc and Tony will have to leave empty-handed.

While Marc calls the office to ask them to make further checks on A&S,

Tony's put on the phone to the college's head office.

He tries to convince them, they do owe the money.

But you are A&S Training College.

You're Park Royal College.

But all the stuff in reception is for A&S Training College.

You need to prove to me that it's changed.

You need to get a Companies House certificate

or a liability insurance.

I'm not being funny but a liability insurance certificate

should be on the wall, especially with what you do for a living.

Having called his own office, Marc's got good news.

It's just a change of name so it doesn't matter.

It's on the wall, isn't it?

The Companies House certificate to say it's not a new company,

it's changed it's name to this company, so they're still liable.

Park Royal College is still the same registered company

as A&S Training College.

They may have changed their name,

but they're still liable for the debts.

Marc rams home the point.

It's just a change of name.

It's just a change on names.

It's a change of names.

You need to pay, otherwise we're going to be removing goods.

Tony gets listing company assets that the sheriffs

will seize and sell if the college won't pay up -

something the employees don't like one bit.

I really don't think that you have to do.

Well, we do cos unfortunately we have to do that

whether it's paid or not, we still do it.

We have to do it if it's paid or not.

INDISTINCT

-I'm not pricing it up.

-We're listing it.

Marc and Tony have been at the college for 40 minutes

and they're no nearer to being paid.

As the college officials are still disputing payment,

Marc's rapidly losing patience.

We'll give them 30 minutes or so and then if we don't get anywhere after

that we'll start geeing them up, to start removing goods.

Moments later, the employee comes back.

He insists the college knows nothing about the case

and that they want to get the judgment annulled.

We have no knowledge of this.

Genuinely we have no knowledge of this case.

Obviously we're going to be defending that.

But Marc knows only too well, at this late stage an appeal

isn't going to stop them enforcing the writ.

The thing is at this stage it's a live writ.

So it would need to be paid today or we will remove goods.

Whether he said he's going to defend it, it's entirely up to him.

He can do that, but today it will need to be dealt with.

Faced with having Marc publicly removing office furniture,

the college finally gives up and agrees to pay.

-Do you guys want to do the...

-You can do that.

As long as you're on the faster system,

cos we have to sit here until it's gone through.

It's a bull's-eye for Marc and Tony, whose persistence has paid dividends

for themselves, and more importantly, for Myrna.

I would like to share the good news

that we have recovered your money from the college.

A&S Training College reiterated to us

they knew nothing of Myrna's legal claim or the court judgment

until visited by the sheriffs.

Had they known about it, they say they would have contested

the case as they insist there was no breach of contract.

Usually, one visit from the sheriffs,

is enough to make debtors pay up,

but sometimes, it takes two before they'll tango.

Some weeks ago, sheriffs Marc and Tony went to Southend Airport,

to visit a company that owns and leases corporate jets.

They were there on behalf of a firm that carried out services

for them but whose fees were never paid.

The boss of 24/7 Jet agreed to pay £750 there and then

and to settle the rest of the debt in five days.

But unfortunately, this payment never arrived.

So now, four months on, Lawrence and Kev

have come to settle the debt once and for all.

The guy's playing hard to get, so we're playing even harder today.

We'll be removing any documents and stuff like insurance

and service records and that which makes the plane scrap value

if you haven't got them.

So basically we're looking to potentially ground

one aircraft today.

With dawn breaking, they arrive.

Before they head in, they've arranged to meet a locksmith

because, if needs be, they can legally force entry onto the plane.

Security gate.

-Dive in here.

-Stealth approach.

There's Andy.

Soon after, with the locksmith on board,

Lawrence and Kev head to security.

Hello, mate, I'm looking for 24/7 Jet.

We're enforcement officers here to execute a High Court writ.

Lawrence produces the High Court writ

and airport security waves them through.

All right. Thanks very much.

I'm on the runway.

You're not on the runway you're on the taxi way.

-So, am I going this way, left?

-In here.

Then right, here.

I'm on the runway.

Get up there. This is it here, this hangar here.

There might be somebody in here, the lights are on.

Yeah, it looks like it.

No-one's answering the 24/7 Jet door but Lawrence has already located

their prize asset and isn't in the mood for waiting.

They head to the plane, locksmith in tow.

But will they need him?

Oh, it's open.

That's a good locksmith.

It's a bit cramped in here.

Not very big, are they?

It's tiny, isn't it?

But Lawrence isn't on board just to check out the executive facilities.

He's looking to take possession of the plane's logbook.

Without it, it's illegal for this jet to leave the ground.

And there it is.

Lawrence has found exactly what he was looking for.

All the documentation's in here.

That's the certificate of registration which

we have to leave in here.

Got the airworthiness review certificate,

the nose certificate, air operation certificate,

that's... It's scrap value without these.

With these in the sheriffs' hands,

this plane just had its wings clipped.

Right, just need some tape.

It's now the property of the court on paper and can't be moved,

let alone flown by its owner.

Kev, do you want to have a drive over to security,

see if you can get the guy on the phone?

Encourage him to come down here.

Kev sets off to get the boss's number from security.

It's time to let him know,

unless he pays the £3,000 today,

his several 100,000 pound plane could be leaving with the sheriffs.

Morning, my name's Mr Grix, I'm an enforcement officer.

I'm at your hangar at the moment, at Southend Airport,

I have actually seized one of your aircraft.

I have removed the appropriate documentation from the cockpit

and placed appropriate notices within the cabin.

I need someone to come down and sort this out.

So, if you can come down before we end up removing the plane,

thank you. Bye-bye.

The boss of 24/7 Jet calls Lawrence back.

Unsurprisingly he's got a few questions of his own.

Who let us on the airport?

We drove through security, sir.

Nobody can stop us entering the airport.

We're executing a High Court writ, we have the power to force entry

onto commercial premises if necessary.

We've actually seized one of your planes outside.

We've removed the documentation from it, so it needs somebody

to come down here and pay it in full then we can release our seizure.

And bear in mind you've got hundreds of thousands of pounds

of planes here, to say you can't get £3,000 together

when you've had months and months of notice is just not acceptable.

Lawrence's tough stance seems to have had an effect.

The man agrees to pay by bank transfer.

But given his track record, Lawrence wants payment there and then.

I'm not going to be able to check the bank account at this time

in the morning, because there's nobody in the office

to check it for me.

Are you very far away, sir?

If you were here, we've got a debit card machine

and you can pay by debit card with chip and pin.

OK then, sir.

I believe he's now going to come down with a debit card.

Where did he say he was?

I asked him if he was very far away and he said, "Yes", but then...

-He's changed his mind now.

-Yeah.

Soon after, the boss arrives.

He's not happy about his plane and even less pleased about our camera.

You can't film me.

With our camera out of the way,

the boss offers half the amount the sheriffs are looking for.

But Lawrence won't give the plane back

unless he gets all the money owed.

Faced with losing a jet worth hundreds of thousands of pounds

for a £3,000 debt, the boss relents,

and agrees to pay on a debit card, in full.

He did try and offer a part payment of £1,700,

but not when you've got £100,000 worth of plane seized.

He realised the game was up.

And we were advised it was due to fly to Marrakech tomorrow,

so he would have had some disappointed customers

if they weren't able to take off.

It might have been a bad morning for 24/7 Jet,

but it's been a very good one for the people owed the money.

It's payment in full - thanks, in no small part, to the sheriffs.

Today, enforcement officer Pete Spencer is in Manchester

on the trail of over £8,000 owed to a woman dismissed

by a local company - Southern UK Road Services.

Lesley Stonier took the company to an employment tribunal.

But despite agreeing to an out of court settlement,

Southern UK still hasn't paid her.

So Lesley's got a writ

and has now turned to the sheriffs to enforce it.

Pete previously visited the company and gave them five days to pay up,

or he'd remove and sell a number of their vehicles.

But they've still not paid, so today, he's going back

and if there's no money, he'll be taking their trucks with him.

So we're re-attending today with a view to removing the vehicles

that we levied previously.

Pete arrives at the yard.

Like all High Court enforcement officers,

he can force entry to commercial premises if he needs to.

But today, someone's clearly not been doing their job properly.

Excellent, I managed to walk straight through the open gates.

What we'll do,

we'll start levying some of the vehicles that weren't here before.

He's just started listing

when Pete's spotted by the company boss, John Wrigley.

Sorry, I'm on the premises. We'll speak here.

How did you get on the premises?

Just walked in, the gate was open.

What have you seized because these do not belong to the company.

Because you've not come back to us after our last visit.

At the moment, we're looking at seizing these items.

I've seized these items and we're looking at removing them today.

We need full payment or we'll remove goods.

The position is we probably won't be able to pay you

until this time next week

then we will be in a position to make a payment.

I'll just carry on what I'm doing, then I'll come in and see you.

While the director goes off to sort out his next move,

Pete carries on deciding which of the company's assets

he'll give the green light to seize.

He'll do his upmost to make sure Lesley will get what she's owed.

Pete's just tucking in to his third truck,

when the director's back and this time, he wants Pete gone.

Well, listen, I'm a director of the company, I'm now asking you

to leave the premises.

Phone the police.

-I will do.

-OK.

If you want to explain to them

when you do phone them that we've seized goods

and I've got a writ to attend here and that's why I'm on the premises.

Luckily for Pete, the law's very much on his side -

the High Court writ means he's allowed on site

and the police cannot remove him.

Right, you won't give me 24 hours to sort this?

I can't do that, no, you've had plenty of time since our last visit.

We don't have the money right here, right now.

Card, bank transfer?

No, we can probably pay something tomorrow.

It's going to have to be today or we will be removing goods.

You'll have extra charges on top for removal.

You've been given the opportunity to prove that.

Right, I'll go and take legal advice.

Before Pete can add to his list, the director returns.

He insists he can't pay the amount Pete's after,

but neither does he want his vehicles removed.

Luckily, there is a third way.

From my point of view, what I'm trying to do is get a solution here.

Solution would be potentially part payment today

and then go into the monthly offer but that would have to go through

the office obviously and the claimant if they'd accept that.

What part payment?

That's up to you.

A part payment of £2,000?

If that's what you're saying I'll have to run that

by the office and see what they say.

Can you try that, please?

At last, there's some sign of movement.

But the amount offered is still a long way short of the £8,500 owing.

Pete checks back in with the office.

Will £2,000 be enough for the director to get Pete off his back?

OK then, speak to you soon, thanks. All right. Cheers, mate.

No, they want to remove.

That's not to say you can't up the offer

and I can put a larger offer in to them,

but he's looking at half the amount minimum today or we're removing.

I certainly can't go to £4,000. I certainly can't go to £4,000.

Let me come back to you.

No problem, thanks.

The director heads back inside to reconsider his offer.

Having made more calls, he's back with an improved one...

Can you just try 3k it's really squeezing it.

But the office is digging its heels in. £3,000 won't wash.

He says we're not here to discuss it, we're here to remove items today

because you got the opportunity last time to prove.

So we're not here really to even enter into a discussion on how much.

You said 50% earlier.

I've said we can negotiate

but the least we'll take is 50% of the outstanding value.

Once again, it's the long walk back to the office for the director.

Shortly after, he returns again with news from his legal team.

I've spoken very briefly

because the guy I need to speak to is in hospital.

He said he applied for a suspension of the warrant on Monday.

That wouldn't stop our enforcement today.

I'm just saying what he said.

I believe he hasn't got that piece of paper in his hand yet.

Until he's got it, I guess it's not going to do anything.

No. And that takes time as well.

I've just spoke to our office, quite happily take the 50% today

and then give you the opportunity to sort the offer out

to pay the rest off.

What I'll do because I've got to shoot off soon,

I'll squeeze 4.2. out.

-Is that on card or...?

-It'll be a bank transfer.

Do you want me to come in and sort it out with you?

I've got all the bank details - where you need to pay it to.

The director goes off to transfer the £4,200.

It's gone well for Pete.

His tough negotiating has got Lesley Stonier the 50% minimum payment

she and the office were after, with a payment plan to come for the rest.

And he has only got five days now to sort out the rest.

But despite Mr Wrigley's promises, no further payment was received.

Which means Pete, has to pay the company another visit.

Still to come, we'll see what happens when Pete returns.

-Not on camera, again.

-That's your choice.

But I'm coming in today whether you let me in or not.

Once again on their way to Verdi Ferrari in west London

are enforcement officers Lawrence and Kev.

The garage sold a car on behalf of a customer,

but never paid them any of the money from the sale.

Last time the sheriffs visited, Mr Verdi wouldn't identify himself

until the intervention of the police.

The sheriffs then managed to collect £5,000 of the £32,000 debt owed.

But despite promises to pay off the rest in instalments,

no such payments have been made.

So today, the sheriffs are planning on taking it to the next level.

We're not looking for money today.

Unless they happen to pay in full,

we're actually going to be removing goods.

They've arrived at the garage - but there's a problem.

The shutters are down and there doesn't seem to be anybody home.

They've disappeared.

I'll just give the shutters a try.

With the shutters locked tight,

Lawrence decides to phone the number above the front door.

Hello, is that Verdi?

It's the enforcement officers, we're outside knocking on your door.

If you're not going to let us in, I'll be calling some locksmiths.

You call the police then.

If you give them CAD number 4895 of the 5th December

they'll know all about it.

OK then, bye.

There's little option

but to wait for the locksmith in the warmth of the van.

Lawrence wants the police to be present

when the locksmith arrives to reduce the chance of trouble.

I think it just might be advisable if some of your officers come down -

we are going to be effecting an entry by force using locksmiths.

Lovely, thanks very much.

But before the police or the locksmith arrive, Mr Verdi,

the landlord of the building, turns up.

-Who are you?

-I'm the landlord.

Mr Verdi? Yeah.

What have you come here to do, sir?

Have you come to let us in, save the locksmiths drilling the locks out?

We've called the police, they're on their way, sir.

Police are here.

The police coming and the impending arrival of the locksmith

appear to have done the trick.

Mr Verdi invites Lawrence and Kev upstairs to talk.

At this point the camera operator is asked to leave the building.

Mr Verdi tells Lawrence that a new company

is now his tenant in the garage and it owns all the assets.

But when Lawrence checks the name of this new business

with Companies House, it doesn't exist.

And Lawrence finds cash receipts in the office

in the name of Verdi Ferrari.

His patience has run out.

You've put down a name on a lease that doesn't exist.

Come on, let's get this stuff out of here. We're taking it.

Do you want to back these up before I unplug them all?

Just unplug it, Kev.

He's been given the chance to back it up and he's not backed it up.

You can't stop us, sir. We seized these goods months ago.

Don't...get in my way,

don't obstruct me or you're liable for arrest.

Move out the way.

Having had more than enough of Mr Verdi,

Lawrence and Kev get on with their removal.

But the most valuable piece of equipment,

the £20,000 engine diagnostic kit, is nowhere to be found.

Disappeared - the diagnostic kit.

Without a trace.

I believe he was here this morning

cos the power lead's still plugged in.

So I think potentially it's in the boot of a car somewhere.

The garage owner has five days to pay up what he owes

or establish the removed property doesn't belong to him.

Lawrence and Kev head off.

Since filming at Verdi Ferrari, the company's gone into liquidation.

The items seized by the sheriffs were sold at auction

and went to pay off part of the debt owed to the former customer.

In the North of England, Pete's back on the road,

making a journey he never thought he'd have to take again.

He's on his way, for the third time,

to Southern UK Road Services in Manchester.

It's some months since he last visited them,

but despite their promise to pay off the debt they owe Lesley Stonier,

the payments they agreed to make have stopped.

She was dismissed by the company and the case was settled out of court.

Pete's plan is to get the remainder of the debt they owe her

paid in full today, or he'll be removing the company's assets.

He won't be given a final option to catch up with his payment plan.

He's failed that and that's been his last option now.

Arriving, they give the office a knock.

If they're un-co-operative, this time Pete's taking no prisoners.

They need to be letting us inside

otherwise we'll be getting a locksmith.

But moments later, the door does open, to reveal a familiar face.

Not on camera again.

That's your choice. I'm coming in anyway today.

Not on camera.

We're told to wait outside

while Pete gets on with the familiar task

of putting the squeeze on Mr Wrigley.

Obviously, you've failed your monthly agreement, haven't you,

by the sound of it?

Inside the yard, Mr Wrigley is adamant he can't pay any money

and says Pete will just have to wait.

He also says the majority of the equipment is leased

through a third party and so can't be removed.

This isn't good enough for Pete.

He tells the director, "Pay up or the goods are going."

It's going to be probably

three, four, five, six, seven, eight traffic light generators

and probably some road cones.

The one in there's going.

The one that they're putting in there's on charge -

he says it's going out, so it's not going out anywhere now.

Resigned to the inevitable, Mr Wrigley heads off,

leaving Pete to it.

Satisfied there are more than enough assets inside,

it's time to call the tow truck.

Director's disappeared. Said just take what we need to take.

He's planning on paying in full tomorrow,

he's got the five days anyway.

So what we've done is we've seized a fork-lift truck,

some battery-operated traffic lights,

a trailer and a couple of LED screens.

If necessary, these can now be sold to clear what's left

of Southern UK Road Services' debt to Leslie Stonier.

Hopefully he's going to pay in full and that will be all sorted.

For Pete, with a truck full of assets

it's a case of third time lucky.

He did say he'd be paying full tomorrow.

And he would be getting the goods back tomorrow

once he's paid in full,

so we'll just have to wait and see if he does or the items in five days

will go into the auction to recover the outstanding amount.

That's a job well done today.

Southern UK Road Services reiterated to us

that the case was settled out of court

and said they were a caring and nurturing business.

But despite saying they would pay off their debt the next day

to get back their removed assets, they didn't.

The goods were therefore sold by an auction house online

and the funds raised paid off the debt to Lesley Stonier, in full.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd