Episode 4 The Sheriffs Are Coming

What do you do if you're ripped off and don't know where to turn?

I did outline all the faults in the vehicle. He rejected all those.

A court of law backs you, but you still don't get your money?

Little did I know how long it would take to try and recover the money from him.

Sorry.

It's time to call the sheriffs.

We have every right to enter the premises by force if necessary.

We will be entering that building.

Sheriffs are High Court enforcement officers,

who recover what a court judgment says is owed.

The writ orders us to come here and seize goods to the value of this debt.

They're the experts in getting cash that's rightfully yours.

£1,323.

But fighting for the underdog isn't a job for the faint-hearted.

Mind yourself, Lawrence.

I will back that truck straight through your windscreen!

Debtors aren't pleased to see them.

They're harassing me!

Because they hate paying up.

-Are you happy for me to leave some paperwork?

-No, I'm not! Go away!

In today's programme...

David Hart bought a beach buggy to enjoy with his son.

But he found out it was stolen.

There's my dream on the back of a low-loader going up the road.

When the sheriffs go to get David's money back from the man who sold it to him,

things turn nasty.

-You're entitled to your opinion.

-I'm going to take your head right off your shoulders!

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

The sheriffs brave a torrential rainstorm, as they visit a pub

on behalf of a former employee who'd been unfairly dismissed.

-We're looking to collect some money.

-You're not having this jumper!

And a customer wants his money back from an art gallery

who didn't give him the print he'd paid for.

But before the sheriffs can get his cash, they need to get in.

He's in!

David Hart owns a care home for people with Alzheimer's and dementia.

It's a demanding job, but David still enjoys his work.

It's a 24/7 occupation, really. You're always on call.

There's no holidays. There's no weeks off.

You can get it covered by other people, but you're literally on call 24/7.

Two years ago, David had a heart attack and it 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.

And they said, "If you have any problems, you're in the right place."

Sorry. Erm...

And I thought, "Yeah. I know I'm in the right place."

But it still doesn't make it any easier when you're thinking about what you should do,

what you would like to do and what you can do.

So I thought... That's when I think it all came into perspective then.

Spend some more time with the people that you love NOW, cos you never know.

David used to enjoy going for long motorbike rides,

but after his heart attack he decided to spend more time with his family.

I thought that I should share a little bit more.

So I thought I would buy myself something where my son, my daughter and my wife

could all join in, type thing.

And I thought, "Oh, I know what I'll do. I'll buy a beach buggy."

I've always fancied one, but I've never had one.

David sold his motorbike and saw a beach buggy advertised for £4,000 on eBay

by a local man called Colin Humphreys.

The buggy was just what he wanted.

So he sent Mr Humphreys a £500 deposit and went round with a friend to pick it up.

He pulled it out

and it wasn't really what it was cracked up to be.

Really. It had, erm... It wasn't running right.

It didn't go right. There were bits and pieces missing.

It wasn't finished. It didn't have any number plates on it.

It just wasn't as tidy as it could have been.

David decided not to buy the buggy, after all.

I said, "I'm sorry.

"But it's not how you described it and it wants a bit too much work doing to it.

"And I'll walk away, I'm afraid.

"And I'll just arrange to get my deposit back."

And he said, "OK, fine. No problem at all."

But David didn't get his deposit.

Instead, he got a surprise phone call from Colin Humphreys

saying he was willing to take a much lower figure for the buggy.

I said, "£2,000."

He went, "No, no." Definitely, that wasn't happening.

So, in the end, we decided on £2,500.

David and his son, Jack, were thrilled with their new wheels.

David applied to the DVLA for the buggy's log book.

But rather than sending David the log, the DVLA gave him some bad news.

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

I said, "Well, 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 it WAS stolen.

Arranged for it to be picked up, which was gutting.

There's my dreams on the back of a low-loader going up the road and I've done nothing wrong.

David phoned Colin Humphreys, who said he'd reimburse him, but he never did,

so David took Mr Humphreys to the County Court.

Mr Humphreys claimed he bought the buggy in good faith

from a person who later reported it stolen.

But the court didn't accept this argument

and Mr Humphreys was ordered to repay David's money, plus court costs -

over £3,500.

The judge basically said

you have to pay the lot within 14 days.

But, erm, he hasn't and I haven't seen a penny since.

David was left with little option.

He went to the High Court and got a writ for the money.

And now sheriffs Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally are on their way to Colin Humphreys' house

to 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, hopefully, if the defendant was at work,

they'll either be on their way home or at home.

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

We'll see when we get there.

Lawrence and Kev have arrived.

Because this visit is to a domestic residence rather than a commercial property,

they can't break in to seize goods.

They will have to try and get David his money back some other way.

-Hello, sir. We're looking for Colin Humphreys. Would that be yourself?

-Yeah.

Hello, sir. Enforcement officers, here to execute a High Court writ...

-Yeah.

-..Against you in favour of a...David Hart.

-Yeah.

-Here today to seize goods to the tune of £4,717 and 63 pence.

-You ain't coming in, brother.

-Have you got any way of paying this?

-No.

-Or some of it?

-No. Not a tanner. I ain't got no work, no nothin'.

-Erm, are you on benefits?

-Well, I'm signing on, but I ain't getting nothin'.

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

-Yeah.

-Can I have a see of that?

Stay there and I'll show you it. All right?

At this point, our camera operator was asked by Mr Humphreys to go away from the house.

Mr Humphreys started to shout so loud it could be heard down the street.

I ain't bothered about you, the old bill or anything else.

-I don't give a

-BLEEP!

-for any of you.

-Fair enough.

-Right, then go away.

-Can my colleague get a picture of that?

-No, mate.

DOOR SLAMS

Because they can't break into the house,

Lawrence has little option but to post a copy of the writ through the letterbox.

-Ain't you gone yet?

-I've just got to leave you some paperwork, sir.

-You, you

-BLEEP! BLEEP!

-How am I being cocky?

-Don't get lairy with me, you

-BLEEP!

-I'll take your face off.

-If you fancy your chances, come round the back.

-I'm just here doing a job.

-Come round the back. I'll show you. I'll take your head right off.

-BLEEP!

Can we just calm it down. I just need to leave this paperwork, sir.

-Listen, mate, take him and

-BLEEP!

-BLEEP!

-Now

-BLEEP!

-the pair of you off.

-You've got a choice...

-Right, are you happy for me to just leave you some paperwork?

No, I'm not. Go away!

-All right...

-I'll count to three and then we're going to kick off.

You can go and get the old bill, do what you like. One...

-Right, sir. What I'll do...

-Two.

-..I'll fill out some paperwork and put it through your door, OK?

Lawrence will call the police if the situation does become violent.

From a safe distance, he lists property

that could be removed on a second visit to auction to pay off the debt.

-What have we got here? A couple of pot plants.

-He's coming back out now.

-What's he up to then?

-Don't know.

They may not be at a safe distance, after all.

Mr Humphreys has come out to the road.

There you go, sir.

-What I've put on here is...

-Before we go any further.

Before you come round here, as far as I understand,

-by law you've got to give me seven days' notice.

-No, sir, no.

We're not County Court bailiffs. Do you want to take this, sir?

-I ain't got to take

-BLEEP! You don't have to take it, no.

Before going back into his house, Mr Humphreys threatens Kev again.

-Come here!

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

-I'll take your head right off.

-I'm here doing a job.

-Come here!

Come here! Step here! Let's see how good you are.

-And then you can have a go, an' all.

-Sir, we're not sent out for aggravation.

-All right? We're just trying to get a job done.

-You're scumbags!

-You're entitled to your opinion, sir.

-Go away! And you!

If I see you again, mate, I WILL take your head off.

-See what I'm saying?

-You're entitled to your opinion. I'm here doing a job, aren't I?

-I will take your head right off your shoulders.

-I'm here doing a job.

Come round here again - with him or a couple more. I ain't bothered.

Step inside this gate. Just step inside here.

Come on. Me and you.

Right, sir, we're not here for aggravation.

God help me, I'd rather get locked up than see you take anything. I'd rather hurt the pair of you.

On my life, I'm 55 year old, but me, I've done more prison than...

-I don't give a

-BLEEP!

-for you people. Let you be told.

-Yeah...

-Stay away. If I see you

-BLEEP!

HIS THREATS BECOME INDISTINCT

With Mr Humphreys threats becoming more extreme,

it's clear that nothing can be achieved by staying further.

The sheriffs make their exit.

It's not the first time Lawrence has been threatened in the line of duty and it won't be the last.

Everybody develops their own way

of dealing with confrontation and aggravation.

It's just something you learn over the years.

We're not out for aggravation and we try to avoid it.

As far as I'm concerned, your mouth is your best weapon.

You cannot beat experience when it comes to dealing with people,

particularly aggressive people.

You have to sort of learn to read the signs.

Read, er, you know...

Read into people what buttons make them get aggravated

and not press those buttons.

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.

Erm, we're never welcome.

You know, that's just a fact of life.

And it's another fact of life that the sheriffs don't give up.

Lawrence is already planning a return visit to Mr Humphreys during daylight hours.

We'll have to go with the police because I've got no doubt he will kick off.

-He just seemed that sort of person.

-It was going to go then...

-Yeah.

He's obviously highly volatile.

So that's one where you would potentially have to go with the police.

Mr Humphreys can expect another visit soon.

High Court enforcement officer Mark Newson has joined Kev for the sheriffs' next job.

They're going to a pub in London,

whose owner owes a former employee over £1,200.

Three years ago, the employee won an unfair dismissal case against the pub,

but wasn't paid the compensation, so she got a High Court writ.

With court costs and interest, the debt now stands at £2,100.

We're in Hackney.

And we are looking for a company called Seamless Ltd.

We just drove past the address. It looks like it's possibly changed,

but we'll just go over there and see what's happening,

and see if it is the previous tenants or whether it's the same people that are still there.

The former employee has now moved back to her home country, Brazil,

and it looks like a tropical rainstorm has just descended on Hackney.

-Hello, there. You from the pub, yeah?

-Yeah.

-I'm after Seamless Ltd.

-Yeah, we're part of Seamless.

Well, the pub is part of Seamless Ltd.

-I'm from the High Court about a High Court writ that's been issued.

-Right.

-One second.

-Yeah, no worries.

-Who are you looking for?

-Seamless Ltd.

-Oh, right. OK.

-Yeah.

-Eh? It's owned by Seamless Ltd.

-Yeah.

We're looking to collect some money from the High Court.

That's a good start. The man in the cellar has shouted up to Mark

that the ownership of the pub hasn't changed.

Now Mark has to find the owner and get the owed money.

Is there any way you can get hold of someone?

Basically, if we can't get payment, we have to seize goods.

-You're not having this jumper!

-LAUGHTER

I don't think it will fit me. LAUGHTER

-I'll make a call for you, mate.

-Yeah, no worries.

The man in the cellar says he's going to come up and call his boss.

High Court enforcement officers are legally allowed

to walk straight into commercial premises.

So Mark and Kev enter the pub

and look for possible property to remove to pay off the debt.

They could take £2,000 worth of alcohol right now.

With the pub due to open in 20 minutes, that may affect custom.

Who's going to want to buy our bottle of Scotch apart from the bloke on the bench down the road?

It's the inconvenience though, innit?

I've spoken to the general manager. He's spoken to the owner.

He's saying this is an ex-employee and he's actually sent a cheque,

a week before Christmas to her home in Leeds.

It obviously hasn't been received.

Erm...

What, he sent a cheque direct to her?

OK, let me ring and just make sure that it's still...

A cheque sent to Leeds may not have reached the former employee in Brazil.

Mark calls the office to see if the debt has indeed already been paid off.

At this point, our camera operator was asked to leave the pub.

It's still live this case, cos the guy is saying they sent a cheque to the claimant

before Christmas.

Yeah, no problem. Give us a shout back. Lovely. Cheers.

-They're just going to try and get hold of her.

-OK.

Speak to her and then go from there, yeah? All right.

While Mark and Kev wait to hear the status of the case,

the pub staff get ready to open up,

although anyone venturing out for a drink today would probably need a snorkel!

Ten minutes later, the manager phones back

and says a cheque was sent to the employee's solicitors in Leeds.

Mark tries to get more information from him.

Do you know the name of the solicitors at all?

Yeah, if you could get the name of the solicitors and the amount that was sent.

Then we'll go from there and see if we can give them a call.

See, at the moment, it's still outstanding and needs to be paid. That's where we are at the moment.

Thank you. Bye-bye.

He said, "Look, 100%, it's definitely been sent."

He's sent it to them. Solicitors, they don't...

-How can you be unsure who it's gone to?

-Eh?

-How can you be unsure...?

-He has to speak to the other guy.

The owner. He's the manager. He has to speak to the owner.

I don't think we'll get any money out of 'em, without a big...

But you never know.

Mark may have spoken too soon.

Half an hour later, the manager turns up at the pub

and asks Mark the total amount owed and how it needs to be paid.

2125.60.

Debit card, credit card.

Paying by debit card incurs a £5 additional cost,

so the manager decides to pay the full amount with cash.

The former employee will get her money after all.

Mark has a theory about why the situation changed so quickly.

High Court enforcement can be bad for business.

They were cooking the food up, so obviously expecting people to start coming in around lunchtime now.

It would have caused him a lot more aggro than the £2,000 was worth.

So probably best for him just to pay.

Yeah. So it's a good result for us.

Mark and Kev got to the van with the owed money just in time.

The monsoon has now reached biblical proportions.

Mark has learnt from personal experience to be careful when he has a wad of cash to look after.

I went in the caff with Tony one morning.

And I put the folder on the table, yeah?

We was having something to eat. We had about four grand in it. And he put it on the chair.

So we left the caff, drove about four mile down the road.

I was like, "Where's the folder?" He's like, "You had it." I went, "No, you had it."

He's like, "I left it in the caff!"

We went back to the caff and the bloke behind the thing went, "Oh, you left your folder here!"

LAUGHTER

And with that, the sheriffs return to base,

without any cafe stops on the way!

The sheriffs have been despatched on another job.

Kev and Lawrence are going to an art gallery in London.

A customer purchased what he thought was a limited edition print from Atom Rooms Ltd

for £1,500, but then discovered it was just an artist's proof, which isn't as valuable.

The customer asked for his money back and got nowhere,

so he went to the High Court and got a writ for the cash.

But before the sheriffs can execute it, they need to get through the front door.

Quite a lot of the time, the galleries are locked.

They're reluctant to let people in if they don't know who they are,

if they don't think they're a genuine customer.

Erm, and two of us rocking up

doesn't really look like we're customers.

So almost better to just go one at... One of us go up and just get in first.

Especially, when one of us is bald and ugly and the other one's got a briefcase under his arm!

HE LAUGHS

The sheriffs have arrived at the gallery. Lawrence hangs back,

while Kev charms his way into the premises.

..Just to see if he can get in. Let him get in. He's in!

Hello, sir. I'm an enforcement officer.

-Oh.

-Here today to execute a High Court writ.

-Are you Mark Feathers?

-No, he's not here.

-You're not? He's not here? Are you able to get him on the phone?

-Not at the moment.

-Can you come back later?

-No, we can't, sir. We're here to execute a High Court writ.

We're here to seize goods, so you need to get Mr Feathers on the phone.

We're quite happy to wait while you do that,

but we need you to get Mr Feathers on the phone, cos he's the one who needs to deal with this.

He must be contactable. Is he on the phone?

Yeah. Can you exit and then I'll see?

No. We don't go out again, sir.

We're here to execute this writ.

So you just need to get Mr Feathers on the phone.

In the past, the sheriffs have seized Formula 1 cars, aeroplanes and gold bullion.

The biggest settlement they've had is £5 million.

So £1,500 worth of paintings isn't a daunting task.

We're here to seize goods to cover an outstanding debt.

I can't disclose the amount or anything to you at this time.

While they wait for the assistant to call the owner,

Lawrence and Kev take time out to appreciate a work of art

similar to the one at the centre of the dispute.

When you see it full size in the flesh like that,

-you can see it's quite a powerful piece, innit?

-It is.

How are we doing?

-What time does he normally get in?

-What time is it now?

Quarter to three.

About four or five?

Lawrence decides to up the ante.

I'm going to start taking an inventory of the stuff that we're seizing.

And it seems to have an effect.

That's going to be eight by 12, innit?

But Lawrence is no art expert.

I'm just going to take a picture of the ones I've written down so far,

obviously, we're going to have to have photographic evidence to back these up,

cos my descriptions aren't going to be

necessarily accurately descriptive.

-What is the whole procedure then?

-Procedure?

He's got debt outstanding and it needs to be settled

to us here and now.

And then we go.

Past experience tells Lawrence that if artwork does need to be removed,

it's wise to take it as soon as possible.

We would have to remove stuff from here today,

because it's movable.

This is small, easily transportable

and, basically, I believe the goods would be in jeopardy if we didn't take them from here today.

In other words, we come back and the paintings will be gone.

Lawrence looks for documents which provide proof of ownership for the artwork on display.

He can only remove paintings which belong, without doubt,

to Mark Feathers - the person named in the writ.

That's got to be his.

These have got to be his prints, Lawrence, haven't they?

-What's that?

-Well, prints in a tube with his name on.

You'd guess so, wouldn't you?

The High Court writ Lawrence is executing just names the individual, Mark Feathers,

not the company, and a name on a package isn't definitive proof of ownership.

And Lawrence's analysis of the ownership documents has revealed another problem.

Everything's coming in in the name of Atom Rooms Ltd.

Not Mark Feathers trading as Atom Rooms.

Erm, so I think...

Erm, potentially...

Atom Rooms Ltd owns what's here.

Everything seems to be in the name of Atom Rooms Ltd, not in Mark Feathers' own name,

so I'm just going to leave seizure paperwork.

I don't think it's worth waiting round, cos I don't believe he's going to turn up.

Lawrence will seize the paintings which don't have documentation,

but he won't physically remove them until he can be certain they're owned by Mark Feathers.

Mr Feathers now has five days to prove they aren't his.

I'll leave you this paperwork to pass on to him.

OK, this is a notice of seizure, which tells him how much is owed.

I'll put it in an envelope in a second, OK?

-If he doesn't own the stuff...

-Yeah.

-If it's owned by Atom Rooms Ltd, he'll have to provide paperwork to that effect.

-Yeah.

For everything that's in here.

-Erm...

-Paperwork that it's owned by Atom Rooms?

Or by third parties. Third parties will have to claim their own goods.

I'm just going to take pictures of, er...

..most of the rest of the bits of artwork now,

so that nothing disappears. If he does dispose of any of it, it's actually a criminal offence.

I'd like to point that out to him as well, seeing as how he's not bothering to, er...

..return your calls.

It might also be worth pointing out to him

that we can come back and inspect that the stuff is here at any time,

and if necessary force entry, OK?

Cheers.

The Mark Feathers' case is proving far from straight forward.

Another case, potentially, where the client sued the wrong entity.

All the paperwork there, everything,

seems to be in the name of Atom Rooms Ltd.

I don't believe Mark Feathers trades as Atom Rooms.

He's, I would guess, the person who's dealing with it most of the time in there.

But I don't think it's him trading as. It's a limited company.

So we wouldn't be able to remove any limited company assets to cover a debt in his name personally,

which is why I haven't wasted too much time. I've done a seizure of everything in there.

He's now got five days to provide proof of who owns it,

be that the limited company or the artist, if they still own any of the pictures in there.

But I don't believe he's going to turn up today.

So I think it would be a waste of time to sit around and wait for him.

If the sheriffs don't succeed in getting the customer the cash he's owed,

they'll only charge him a £60 admin fee for their efforts.

This case provides a clear lesson for anyone thinking of trying to get their money back

by going to the High Court.

We're trying to drum it into claimants, be careful that you get the correct entity on the writ.

You actually sue the correct person or the correct company.

And sometimes it just needs a little bit of digging

to actually find out who you have been dealing with.

The customer may need to go back to the High Court

and apply for the company name to be included on the writ.

If he is successful, Lawrence and Kev will be back to get his money.

Lawrence and Kev work for this High Court enforcement office.

If it's a commercial property, then we can force entry to levy, if necessary.

Enforcement officers have been known as sheriffs for centuries.

Their job dates back to Saxon times.

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

This company has 40 full-time sheriffs

and pursues over 1,000 cases a month.

Advance planning is a key factor and Lawrence is already liaising with the police

about an upcoming late-night visit to a nightclub in Dover.

The police want the sheriffs to go during the day, when it will be quieter,

but Lawrence has different ideas.

They're suggesting that we go out of hours. Well, that's no good.

We need to verify that our defendant has goods within those premises,

or we can't force an entry. Well, we can.

But if we find that they don't have goods in there, then we can be found guilty of trespass,

which is, obviously, not something we want to do.

So we need to go there first to seize goods and ascertain who those goods belong to.

High Court enforcement officers can list

or seize potential goods for removal at a later date.

In most cases, this proves an effective way of getting debtors to pay up,

and moments ago, Lawrence closed just such a case.

A debtor just arrived downstairs wanting to pay.

So I went down there with a PDQ machine, expecting it to be a card payment.

They offered to pay by cheque, which we didn't have.

We don't take cheques. So he just opened his bag and got out £1,300 in cash.

So, yeah, that's another case cleared up. He's cleared his case in full.

Will Lawrence have similar luck at the nightclub - with or without the police?

It's 9.15pm and he and Kev are on their way to Dover.

We're going to a club called Club Karma.

Erm...

The, er, defendant is Karma Leisure Ltd, trading as Club Karma.

And I believe the money's owed to a private individual,

who actually arranged their licence for them

when they opened the club and he's never been paid for it.

At the moment, we're looking at a debt of just under £2,300.

It's not ideal to be on the hunt for owed money late at night

in an establishment with alcohol present.

Lawrence has reached a compromise with the local constabulary.

They're reluctant to attend with us when we actually get there,

but they are on alert, so if we do encounter any trouble,

they will have patrols in the area.

So we'll just be able to call 999 and we'll have a fairly rapid response to that

should we need it.

The sheriffs have arrived at the club.

It's 30 minutes to opening time.

-Hello.

-Hello there. I'll show you some ID.

I'm an enforcement officer here to execute a High Court writ.

Right.

Their first task is to find the owner and enforce the writ for the owed money.

Hello, sir.

-I'll show you some ID.

-Yep.

-We're enforcement officers.

-Come.

-Here to execute a High Court writ.

-Yeah.

-Erm, against Karma Leisure Ltd, trading as Club Karma.

-Yeah.

The amount outstanding is £2,257 and 18 pence.

Unfortunately, sir, we are here to seize goods,

erm, to clear this debt.

-How much was it?

-£2,257.18.

-Have you got a bank account?

-We've got a machine you can do a debit card payment on to.

-Yeah, someone can do it over the phone then?

-Not a pin.

-If you've got a card...

-No, not me, but someone else.

-No, it's chip and pin. They'd need to come here.

-Will they?

Er... See, they're in London.

The nightclub manager calls his father in London,

who owns the business and has the company credit card. He asks to speak to Lawrence.

Hello.

Right. This needs to be paid, sir.

This needs to be paid.

Whether you've appealed or not, sir, we have a live writ,

which we're here with tonight to enforce, so this needs to be paid.

You can't... Well, I'll carry on with my seizure of goods then, sir.

-OK?

-Let me speak to him.

The owner told Lawrence nothing in the club belongs to the debtor company, Karma Leisure,

so there's no point removing anything.

But unless Lawrence sees paperwork proving that,

he'll still seize goods to pay the debt.

I've got a couple of these papers. I can show you the lease papers.

-The lease papers for what, sir?

-Everything, basically.

So you've got lease papers for everything here?

Pretty much. Well, all the equipment, fridges, everything of value, yeah.

Well, you will need to show us that, yeah.

-All right. Hold...

-The alcohol as well, is it?

Hold on. Is there anything we can pay now to stop it?

-Yeah, £2,257...

-I could give you half or something.

-No.

We have to take full payment.

Not being funny, that's not a massive amount of money in this day and age.

The owner asks to speak to the High Court enforcement officer again.

Lawrence couldn't be clearer in explaining what he's here to do.

We can seize, and we will seize, all assets within the premises

until such time as we have proof that they don't belong to Karma Leisure.

The only way to prevent further action is to pay in full.

No, it needs to be paid tonight, sir, now.

I'll hand you back to your son.

Hello.

Well, they're not listening, so there's not really anything I can do.

-OK, can you wait here then, till he comes here?

-For how long?

How long will you be?

Two hours. He's coming from London.

It's £181.50 plus VAT per hour waiting time.

-It's 180 quid plus VAT.

-Per hour.

So that will be 360 quid plus VAT.

The mention of overtime costs and the fact the club is due to open in 15 minutes,

has focused the owner's attention.

The sheriffs seizing property like alcohol, chairs and tables

could affect custom.

Can 1,000 be paid now, or...?

But how is the 1,000 going to be paid?

-I've got my card. You could transfer it over. I'll pay it now.

-Well, you can pay the 2,257 then.

No, it needs to be full, so...

They're saying it has to be full.

Because the owner isn't willing to pay the full amount, Lawrence takes it to the next level.

-I'm going to start doing an inventory now. I'm getting...

-Can I just wait?

We're not getting anywhere. We've been having this conversation now for 20 minutes.

No! I do, I do, but not everything!

What about couches? What about all the furniture?

Yes, but everything else. Everything else, like the CCT...

-What about everything else?

-CCTV, lighting, sound system...

-We're about to open as well.

-Wet stock.

-Right now, we're about to open.

We're about to open now!

We're about to open now, all right? Right now.

It's quarter past.

OK, listen, we can't talk... We need to sort it out right now, basically.

Everyone's here as well, you know.

It's now five minutes to opening time.

The owner wants to ask Lawrence why he wasn't given advance warning about the sheriff's visit.

No, it doesn't work like that, sir.

We don't notify people we're arriving,

because otherwise the club might well have been shut when we got here.

We've come when... We've come...

We've come at this time of night because the club is open.

If you can be here in an hour, you can be here in an hour, sir,

but we will be charging £181.50 plus VAT on top for waiting time.

Right, sir. You need to... You need to come here and pay us in full

and pay whatever waiting time has clocked up by the time you get here. That's all I can say.

Lawrence's tactic of raising the stakes has worked.

Hello.

The owner says he'll put cash into his son's account so he can pay by card.

He said he's going to put it in now, so...

The thing is, I'm not... Hello.

It won't go now, no, the card?

No, he's... No, don't... Make sure he's put it in there.

What you don't want is, to put it in there, have it declined and then you try again,

and then the card company will tell you to go away.

You need to wait till you've verified with your dad

that he's put the money in and then we'll do the payment.

The owner's son goes to open the club and organise the transfer of funds into his account.

Lawrence is starting to think he may get the unpaid licensing consultant's money after all.

-It looks like it, yeah.

-Don't say that yet.

-Eventually. No.

-Don't say that yet.

-No, it looks like it. Nothing's in the bag yet.

-I wouldn't hold your breath.

The nightclub has just opened,

but the music on offer isn't to Lawrence's taste.

I don't like any of this modern music.

-Once it gets past the '80s, I don't want to know.

-"Can't understand what they're saying!"

-Yeah, a bit of Midge Ure, Ultravox.

-What?

Yeah. "Oh, Vienna."

No?

No idea. No idea, mate.

-No!

-I don't know what you're talking about.

-You don't know who Midge Ure is?

-No.

Kev's music history lesson will have to continue some other time.

The owner's son has returned and he has news.

-Has he done it?

-Yeah. It's all done.

If you want to stick your card in there.

And put your pin in.

There's your receipt. OK? That's it.

-And we're all done.

-All right.

The nightclub owners decided not to respond

to the County Court judgment when they opened the letter.

They didn't take it seriously as they were under the impression

they'd paid the licensing consultant what he was owed.

To be honest, he just thought it was a load of nonsense.

He didn't think he would take it that far if he's been paid.

He thought he was having it on, having a go, so...

-Right.

-But obviously... Yeah.

But obviously not.

It's been a long night and a tough negotiation,

but, thankfully, there was no need to call the police.

They're always a battle. It's very rare you don't get a battle.

But I was just pleased that, you know, we weren't overrun by drunken revellers

and there was just a general nuisance everywhere, but there wasn't.

It took us straight into his office out the back and it was all dealt with quietly and amicably.

Couldn't have asked for more, really.

Lawrence always enjoys getting money back for his clients.

What I find satisfying is no two days are the same.

You never know what you're going to experience.

And it is satisfying collecting money, at the end of the day,

from somebody who didn't want to pay.

Because everybody should pay their debts, in my opinion.

I pay my way through life and I don't see why anybody else should be any different.

And it does stop businesses going under.

It stops people losing their homes, if we're out there collecting money for them.

And it won't be long before Lawrence and Kev are back on the road again.

It's now three months since Lawrence and Kev went to the art gallery in London.

Soon after their visit, the owner made a part-payment to his aggrieved customer.

But the customer wants all his money back,

so soon the sheriffs will return.

And this time, they WILL remove paintings.

Mark and Kev, braving tropical conditions to get the pub's ex-employee

the £2,000 unfair dismissal money, was clearly time well spent.

At home in Brazil, she now has her cash

and she's delighted she enlisted the help of the sheriffs.

But in Bournemouth, despite Lawrence and Kev's best efforts,

David Hart still hasn't got his buggy money back from Mr Humphreys.

Would I do it again?

Trust somebody? Yeah. I would. I do trust people.

He may have had a bad experience on his first buggy venture,

but David isn't giving up on his dream.

My daughter said, "Are we going to get another one?"

Hopefully.

Hopefully. We'll wait and see. We'll wait and see.

And if the sheriffs get their way,

David's dream will be realised sooner rather than later.

Robert Baker was made redundant after he tried to return to work

following a kidney transplant. He won an employment tribunal,

but his ex-boss hasn't paid a penny.

Can the sheriffs put that right?

The total outstanding - £8,621.20.

And they might be worth £31.4 billion in revenue,

but no company is too big for the sheriffs to take on,

on behalf of an unhappy customer.

It's High Court enforcement. We've been issued a writ for Barclays Wealth.

And office manager Joan Wales won her compensation claim for unfair dismissal

but never got her cash.

The sheriffs go to the home of her former boss.

If you want to call the police, call the police.

They want to take his car to pay the debt, but he's got different ideas.

You'll be obstructing a court officer from doing their job, which you can get arrested for.

Try it. Go for your life.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd