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Who do you turn to if you're ripped off? | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
I did outline all the faults in the vehicle. He rejected all those. | 0:00:04 | 0:00:08 | |
A court of law backs you but you still don't get your money. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:12 | |
Little did I know how long it would take to recover the money from him. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:18 | |
Sorry. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:19 | |
It's time to call the sheriffs. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:22 | |
We have every right to enter the premises by force if necessary. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:26 | |
We WILL be entering that building. | 0:00:26 | 0:00:29 | |
Sheriffs are High Court enforcement officers | 0:00:29 | 0:00:32 | |
who recover what a court judgement says is owed. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:35 | |
The writ orders us to come here | 0:00:36 | 0:00:38 | |
and seize goods to the value of this debt. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:41 | |
They're the experts in getting cash that's rightfully yours. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:47 | |
£1,323. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:49 | |
But fighting for the underdog isn't a job for the faint-hearted. | 0:00:49 | 0:00:53 | |
-Mind yourself. -I'll back that truck through your windscreen. | 0:00:53 | 0:00:57 | |
Debtors aren't pleased to see them. | 0:00:57 | 0:00:59 | |
-They're harassing me. -Because they hate paying up. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:02 | |
-Are you happy for me to leave you this paperwork? -I'm not. Go away. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:06 | |
In today's programme... | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
Robert Baker was made redundant after trying to return to work | 0:01:13 | 0:01:17 | |
following a kidney transplant. | 0:01:17 | 0:01:19 | |
He won an employment tribunal but his ex-boss hasn't paid a penny. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:24 | |
Can the sheriffs put that right? | 0:01:24 | 0:01:26 | |
The total outstanding, £8,621.20. | 0:01:26 | 0:01:31 | |
And they might be worth £31.4 billion in revenue, | 0:01:33 | 0:01:37 | |
but no company is too big for the sheriffs to take on, | 0:01:37 | 0:01:41 | |
on behalf of an unhappy customer. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:43 | |
High Court enforcement. We've been issued a writ for Barclays Wealth. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:48 | |
And office manager Joan Wales won compensation for unfair dismissal | 0:01:50 | 0:01:54 | |
but never got her cash. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:56 | |
The sheriffs go to the home of her former boss. | 0:01:56 | 0:02:00 | |
If you want to call the police, Mr Lydford, call them. | 0:02:00 | 0:02:03 | |
They want to take his car to pay the debt | 0:02:03 | 0:02:05 | |
but he's got different ideas. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:07 | |
-If you obstruct a court officer, you can be arrested. -Right, Mr Lydford. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:11 | |
Try it. Go for it. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:13 | |
Robert Baker lives in Witham, Essex. | 0:02:20 | 0:02:23 | |
Robert used to work for a central heating company | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
as a domestic heating and plumbing engineer. | 0:02:26 | 0:02:28 | |
But one day he had an accident at work | 0:02:28 | 0:02:31 | |
and it changed his life for ever. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:33 | |
I was taking out an old cast-iron bath | 0:02:33 | 0:02:35 | |
and a bit of the metal had got stuck in my foot | 0:02:35 | 0:02:39 | |
and I ended going to hospital and my foot had become infected. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:44 | |
Robert had blood tests and the next thing he knew, a kidney specialist came to see him. | 0:02:44 | 0:02:49 | |
He told me that my kidneys were only functioning at 10%, | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
so I had to go back and see him a few weeks later | 0:02:52 | 0:02:57 | |
and they confirmed that I was going to need a kidney transplant, | 0:02:57 | 0:03:02 | |
which all came as a bit of a shock. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:04 | |
The consultant told Robert his kidney problems were related | 0:03:04 | 0:03:08 | |
to the diabetes he'd had since childhood. | 0:03:08 | 0:03:11 | |
The blood test following his accident had revealed | 0:03:11 | 0:03:14 | |
a life-threatening underlying problem. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:17 | |
I was quite bewildered by it all and frightened, I suppose. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:21 | |
I thought, "What next?" | 0:03:21 | 0:03:23 | |
Despite the shock of his diagnosis, | 0:03:25 | 0:03:27 | |
Robert wanted to continue life as normally as possible. | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
He returned to work while he waited for his transplant. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:34 | |
Robert tried hard to minimise the impact of his health issues on his employer. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:40 | |
I just got on with my work. | 0:03:41 | 0:03:43 | |
I had to have various tests and all that done over the next 12 months. | 0:03:43 | 0:03:47 | |
The hospital appointments I took out of my holiday entitlement, | 0:03:47 | 0:03:52 | |
so it wasn't like I'd been off | 0:03:52 | 0:03:53 | |
and put them in an awkward situation by keeping having time off. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:58 | |
It took about a year having all the tests done | 0:03:59 | 0:04:01 | |
and got put on the waiting list in October 2008 | 0:04:01 | 0:04:05 | |
and within two weeks, I'd had the transplant done. | 0:04:05 | 0:04:09 | |
Robert was in hospital for four weeks after the transplant | 0:04:09 | 0:04:13 | |
and then spent five months recovering at home, | 0:04:13 | 0:04:16 | |
before feeling strong enough to go back to work. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:19 | |
He called his boss to let him know he was ready to return. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:23 | |
He said, "I'll have to see what I've got for you." | 0:04:23 | 0:04:27 | |
And I thought, "What do you mean, what you've got for me? | 0:04:27 | 0:04:31 | |
"That's my job." | 0:04:31 | 0:04:32 | |
And then the next thing I know I got a letter in the post | 0:04:32 | 0:04:35 | |
saying, like, your job's at risk and you'll be invited into the office | 0:04:35 | 0:04:40 | |
for a meeting to discuss redundancies. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:43 | |
Robert was the only employee made redundant. | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
He went to an employment tribunal | 0:04:46 | 0:04:48 | |
which found the correct procedures hadn't been followed | 0:04:48 | 0:04:51 | |
and awarded him £10,000 compensation. | 0:04:51 | 0:04:54 | |
But the company only paid £3,000. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:57 | |
Robert went to a solicitor and now has a High Court writ for the money | 0:04:57 | 0:05:01 | |
but he still hasn't been paid. | 0:05:01 | 0:05:03 | |
I've done as much as I can to get the money back, | 0:05:04 | 0:05:06 | |
in a legal way, as it were. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
There's only so much you can do. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:10 | |
I've gone about it in the right way, going through the solicitor. | 0:05:10 | 0:05:14 | |
At the end of the day, there's only so many things a solicitor can do. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:18 | |
It's almost two years now since, you know, since the judgment | 0:05:18 | 0:05:23 | |
and it's gone on for too long. | 0:05:23 | 0:05:25 | |
Robert had one last option. He called in the sheriffs. | 0:05:27 | 0:05:32 | |
This High Court enforcement office despatched two officers | 0:05:32 | 0:05:36 | |
to execute Robert's writ. | 0:05:36 | 0:05:38 | |
It's 7.30am. Sheriffs Lawrence Gricks and Kev McNally | 0:05:40 | 0:05:45 | |
are going to Chelmsford to see Robert's former boss. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:48 | |
When we get there, I would hope, in an ideal world, | 0:05:48 | 0:05:52 | |
they'll just put their hands up and say, "Yeah, we owe the money," and pay it. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:58 | |
But we are there to remove goods. That's what the writ orders us to do. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:02 | |
We're not actually there to collect money, | 0:06:02 | 0:06:05 | |
we're there to seize the defendant's goods to clear the debt | 0:06:05 | 0:06:08 | |
and the only way they can prevent that from happening is to pay us in full. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:12 | |
Lawrence and Kev have arrived but the office looks closed. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:19 | |
-No, not here yet. -Let's see. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:28 | |
HE KNOCKS | 0:06:28 | 0:06:30 | |
Sheriffs don't give advance warning of visits. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:34 | |
The surprise element makes it easier to track down debtors. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:37 | |
-Give them a call or not alert them? -Not going to alert them yet. | 0:06:37 | 0:06:42 | |
The van in the car park could be removed to help pay off the debt, | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
if it belongs to the business. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
We've blocked it in. If it's clear on finance, | 0:06:48 | 0:06:50 | |
chances are we'll be able to take it if we need to. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:54 | |
So it's just a bargaining tool. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
-Wait for them to turn up. -We might as well sit in the van and keep warm, | 0:06:56 | 0:07:00 | |
finish off the coffee. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:02 | |
While Lawrence finishes his early morning coffee, | 0:07:02 | 0:07:05 | |
Kev checks out the company's website. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:08 | |
Time for a little wind-up. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:10 | |
-Half ten it opens. -No? -No, I'm joking. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:14 | |
At ten to nine, a car appears. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
This is it. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:22 | |
Lawrence manoeuvred the van to get an early sight of any arrivals. | 0:07:24 | 0:07:29 | |
A4 S-Line. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:32 | |
The driver goes into the office and the sheriffs pounce. | 0:07:33 | 0:07:37 | |
Game on. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:39 | |
Hello! | 0:07:49 | 0:07:52 | |
Sorry to nab you the second you walk in but we've been waiting a while. | 0:07:52 | 0:07:55 | |
-High Court enforcement officers. -Right. | 0:07:55 | 0:07:58 | |
We're here today to enforce a writ of execution | 0:07:58 | 0:08:01 | |
against PD Lawrence and Son Ltd. | 0:08:01 | 0:08:03 | |
It's an employment tribunal case and a former employee, Robert Baker. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:10 | |
-Yeah. -The total outstanding, £8,621,20. -Right. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:16 | |
And we need to collect that today in cleared funds or we're here to remove goods. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:20 | |
-I'd better ring Andrew. -Yeah, sure. -I don't know anything about it. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:24 | |
OK, no problem. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:25 | |
Yeah, I've got the High Court officers here. | 0:08:25 | 0:08:29 | |
Just here as I've just come in the door. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
About the money that we owe Rob. Do you know what's happening with that? | 0:08:31 | 0:08:36 | |
Well, I can't, can I? Shall I just write a cheque? | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
We don't take cheques, unfortunately. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
-Oh, they don't take cheques. -Needs to be cleared funds. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:46 | |
It can be bank transfer. We've got a chip and pin machine, so we can do a card payment. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:52 | |
Is it 8,000 something? | 0:08:52 | 0:08:54 | |
£8,621.20. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:57 | |
£8,600 odd. | 0:08:57 | 0:08:59 | |
The company owner has a debit card but he's over an hour away. | 0:09:01 | 0:09:05 | |
The sheriffs can wait but will charge for the privilege. | 0:09:05 | 0:09:09 | |
It's in the owner's best interest to settle this as quickly as possible. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:14 | |
So do you have to stand here and wait? | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
We have to remain on the premises, | 0:09:17 | 0:09:19 | |
although technically we can force an entry anyway, | 0:09:19 | 0:09:22 | |
because it's a commercial premises. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:24 | |
But we need to wait on the premises. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
If you don't want us here, if there's somewhere we can sit out the way, | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
we're quite happy to do that. | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
-We don't want... We're not here to... -Yeah, but... | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
..to get in the way of your customers and stop you running your business, | 0:09:35 | 0:09:38 | |
by any means. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
There's not really anywhere else to go, to be honest. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:43 | |
Lawrence is quite happy where he is with his new best friend. | 0:09:46 | 0:09:50 | |
Five minutes later, the receptionist, who's also a company director, returns. | 0:09:53 | 0:09:58 | |
She's transferred funds into an account with a debit card. | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
Robert may be about to get his money at last. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:05 | |
Right, OK. Just give it a sec. It's configuring itself for some reason. | 0:10:05 | 0:10:10 | |
But the chip and machine isn't playing ball, | 0:10:11 | 0:10:15 | |
so Lawrence sees if he can get better reception in the open air. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:18 | |
If you'd like to just put your card in there. | 0:10:22 | 0:10:25 | |
At last, the machine comes to life. Robert's money is paid in full. | 0:10:25 | 0:10:31 | |
All that's left is some final paperwork. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:36 | |
OK, I'll leave you a notice of seizure. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
I've just written down your shredder and your printer, | 0:10:39 | 0:10:43 | |
should anything go wrong with the payment | 0:10:43 | 0:10:45 | |
and for whatever reason it not get in our account. | 0:10:45 | 0:10:48 | |
It's not likely to happen because it's a chip and pin payment | 0:10:48 | 0:10:51 | |
but that's basically, I've just seized those goods in case. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
-There's a copy of the writ for you. -OK. -OK? | 0:10:55 | 0:10:59 | |
The sheriffs retrieve on average £2 million a month from debtors. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:04 | |
They can now add £8,621.20 to that total. | 0:11:04 | 0:11:09 | |
Happy days! Job done! | 0:11:09 | 0:11:11 | |
We asked PD Lawrence and Sons to comment. | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
They told us Mr Baker was not dismissed due to ill health | 0:11:16 | 0:11:19 | |
but because of the economic climate at the time. | 0:11:19 | 0:11:21 | |
The judge found that there was a valid case for redundancy in the company | 0:11:21 | 0:11:25 | |
but the correct procedures had not been followed. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:28 | |
Back at home in Witham, Robert is pleased he enlisted the sheriffs. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:35 | |
It was never about the money. I didn't do it for the money. | 0:11:36 | 0:11:39 | |
It was the principle, just purely, I wanted, you know, | 0:11:39 | 0:11:43 | |
I wanted to be able to turn round and say, "What you done was wrong." | 0:11:43 | 0:11:47 | |
I was awarded that money in a court. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
Why should they get away with it? | 0:11:50 | 0:11:51 | |
Executing High Court writs is a job that dates back to Saxon times. | 0:11:56 | 0:12:02 | |
We're looking for just under £5,500. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:06 | |
I'm here today to execute a High Court writ. | 0:12:08 | 0:12:10 | |
Your vehicles are going to be seized and if necessary removed. | 0:12:10 | 0:12:14 | |
High Court enforcement officers have more powers than bailiffs | 0:12:14 | 0:12:19 | |
to seize goods for auction to settle debts. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:23 | |
We're here today to remove. | 0:12:23 | 0:12:24 | |
-Did you put that clamp on? -Yeah. -Why? | 0:12:24 | 0:12:27 | |
Because we're going to take it away. | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
The name on the lease doesn't exist. Let's get this stuff out of here. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:34 | |
Britain's High Court enforcement industry executes | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
over 70,000 writs every year. | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
We have a live writ and we are here to seize goods to clear the debt. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:47 | |
Sheriffs return tens of millions of pounds to people owed money. | 0:12:49 | 0:12:53 | |
That's brilliant. I've got my money back. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:56 | |
When the cheque arrived, I thought that was wonderful | 0:12:56 | 0:13:00 | |
because it made me feel there was hope. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
The office employs 40 full-time High Court enforcement officers | 0:13:02 | 0:13:06 | |
and one man looking for their help is Dave Simpson. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:09 | |
He runs a security firm in Bromley | 0:13:10 | 0:13:13 | |
and feels mistreated after investing in a share scheme | 0:13:13 | 0:13:16 | |
that ended up losing him money. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:18 | |
He wants it back. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:19 | |
The problem is, the people he wants it back from aren't any old company. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:24 | |
They're Barclays Bank. | 0:13:24 | 0:13:26 | |
Dave's problems started after Barclays Wealth department | 0:13:28 | 0:13:32 | |
convinced him to invest £50,000 in a five-year share scheme | 0:13:32 | 0:13:36 | |
whose value would go up or down | 0:13:36 | 0:13:38 | |
in line with the FTSE 100 share index. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:41 | |
There are risks with that, I understood the risks | 0:13:42 | 0:13:45 | |
and I was happy to invest the money for five years | 0:13:45 | 0:13:47 | |
on the basis of what was going on with the stock market. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:50 | |
Two years into the five-year scheme, | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
Barclays offered the chance for investors to leave it early, | 0:13:53 | 0:13:57 | |
an opportunity that suited Dave. | 0:13:57 | 0:14:00 | |
I decided that when I had the opportunity to get the £52,000 back, | 0:14:00 | 0:14:04 | |
it would be very useful because I've got four children | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
and they've all got various needs, education and housing, | 0:14:07 | 0:14:10 | |
and I was going to help them out. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
Dave rang Barclays who confirmed that if he cashed in his shares with them there and then, | 0:14:12 | 0:14:18 | |
he'd make £2,700 profit on his £50,000 investment. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:23 | |
He decided to go ahead. | 0:14:23 | 0:14:25 | |
So I wrote them a letter that specifically said, | 0:14:25 | 0:14:28 | |
on the basis of what I was told on that day, | 0:14:28 | 0:14:30 | |
that I would like to get my money back | 0:14:30 | 0:14:33 | |
and also I put my email address, my mobile phone number down there | 0:14:33 | 0:14:37 | |
and said this was what I expected to get back, what I was quoted. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:41 | |
If there was a problem, because I realise things can change, let me know. | 0:14:41 | 0:14:45 | |
Some weeks later, Dave received a cheque from Barclays. | 0:14:47 | 0:14:51 | |
They'd cashed in his shares for £47,994, | 0:14:51 | 0:14:56 | |
considerably less than the telephone quote for £52,000 | 0:14:56 | 0:15:02 | |
that had prompted him to sell them. | 0:15:02 | 0:15:03 | |
Dave feels his letter was clear, | 0:15:03 | 0:15:06 | |
that if the value of the shares had dropped, | 0:15:06 | 0:15:08 | |
Barclays should've checked with him before selling them. | 0:15:08 | 0:15:12 | |
I was pretty livid with it, pretty upset with what they'd said | 0:15:12 | 0:15:16 | |
and the way they were sort of being dismissive. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:19 | |
So I wrote a letter back to them saying, "I'm not happy. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:22 | |
"I want you to escalate this complaint to somebody higher." | 0:15:22 | 0:15:26 | |
Barclays refused to refund Dave any money. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:30 | |
In response, he decided to go to the small claims court. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:33 | |
Dave's claim was uncontested and the court awarded in his favour, | 0:15:33 | 0:15:37 | |
so now he's been able to turn to the sheriffs. | 0:15:37 | 0:15:40 | |
They will send officers along to the bank to claim my money | 0:15:41 | 0:15:46 | |
and to get the cheque sent to me without further ado. | 0:15:46 | 0:15:50 | |
I'm hoping to put myself in the position I would have been in | 0:15:50 | 0:15:53 | |
previous to this whole thing going wrong. | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
That's all I'm looking for | 0:15:56 | 0:15:57 | |
and obviously any compensation for interest and the court fees. | 0:15:57 | 0:16:01 | |
My understanding is that when you've got enforcement officers going in, | 0:16:01 | 0:16:05 | |
that's pretty serious. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:07 | |
If it was me owing the bank, | 0:16:07 | 0:16:09 | |
they would have done the same actions as I've done. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:12 | |
Dave called the High Court enforcement office | 0:16:15 | 0:16:18 | |
and they swung into action. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:22 | |
This time, sheriff Kev is joined by Mark Newton. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:25 | |
We're just heading down to Docklands in London. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:30 | |
We've got a writ for Barclays Wealth. | 0:16:30 | 0:16:33 | |
The amount that's outstanding on this is £6,500. | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
A High Court writ costs £60. | 0:16:39 | 0:16:41 | |
If the sheriffs are successful, there's nothing more to pay. | 0:16:41 | 0:16:45 | |
If not, there's an admin fee, also of £60. | 0:16:45 | 0:16:49 | |
Barclays has revenues of £31.4 billion a year, | 0:16:49 | 0:16:54 | |
Dave Simpson considerably less | 0:16:54 | 0:16:57 | |
but as long as there's a High Court writ the sheriffs will do all they can | 0:16:57 | 0:17:01 | |
to help Dave take on Goliath. | 0:17:01 | 0:17:05 | |
We can walk in. If that's the address we've got, that's where we go. | 0:17:05 | 0:17:09 | |
It doesn't matter what they do or who they are. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:12 | |
I think they've definitely got the money at the moment. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:16 | |
-They'll get their legal team on it. -Yeah, the likelihood is | 0:17:16 | 0:17:19 | |
they'll either just accept it and pay it | 0:17:19 | 0:17:22 | |
or they'll get their legal team to talk to us. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:26 | |
But we'll see. We'll see what happens when we get there. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:30 | |
Hopefully, we can get to speak to the relevant person. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:33 | |
Our first problem is going to be finding somewhere to park. | 0:17:33 | 0:17:36 | |
But before they can tackle the parking issue, | 0:17:37 | 0:17:40 | |
sheriffs Mark and Kev have got to get past Canary Wharf security. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:44 | |
Hiya. I'm from the High Court. We've got a writ for Barclays Wealth | 0:17:45 | 0:17:50 | |
at 1 Churchill Place. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:53 | |
The sheriffs aren't the only special guests | 0:17:54 | 0:17:56 | |
that security need to deal with. | 0:17:56 | 0:17:59 | |
The guard tells them Seb Coe's coming with his Olympics committee. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:03 | |
Canary Wharf security successfully negotiated, | 0:18:06 | 0:18:10 | |
Mark and Kev head to Barclays head office. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:12 | |
-Churchill Place. -He said come back on yourself, didn't he? | 0:18:14 | 0:18:17 | |
-He said park outside, didn't he? -Yeah. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
-But not where Lord Coe's going to go. -But it don't say "Lord Coe's parking space". | 0:18:20 | 0:18:25 | |
I don't know but that looks like one of his... | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
-That looks like the security. -It does, doesn't it? | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
Coe or no Coe, they park up in front of head office and head in. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:40 | |
It's all going to go off now, isn't it? | 0:18:40 | 0:18:42 | |
A minute. I said a minute, didn't I? | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
-Hiya. -Gentlemen, have you got...? -I just need to... | 0:18:49 | 0:18:53 | |
Barclays front door is as far as the security will let our camera go | 0:18:56 | 0:18:59 | |
but Mark and Kev are allowed in to enforce Dave's High Court writ. | 0:18:59 | 0:19:04 | |
-We'd better go to Barclays Wealth. -We're from High Court enforcement. | 0:19:04 | 0:19:08 | |
We've been issued a writ for Barclays Wealth. | 0:19:08 | 0:19:10 | |
The sheriffs have delivered the writ paperwork. | 0:19:13 | 0:19:16 | |
Now all they can do is wait. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:18 | |
Half an hour later, Mark and Kev have finished their business at the bank. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:24 | |
Unsurprisingly, Barclays haven't handed over any cash just yet. | 0:19:24 | 0:19:28 | |
They weren't going to pay today. | 0:19:28 | 0:19:31 | |
The writ was in the name of Barclays Wealth | 0:19:31 | 0:19:33 | |
and they're saying that's a non-entity, | 0:19:33 | 0:19:36 | |
it's just a name that they use for a little department. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:39 | |
The guy said he's going to take it away, look at the paperwork | 0:19:39 | 0:19:43 | |
and then if they have to pay it and it's owed, they'll pay it. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:48 | |
It seems Dave's sued under the wrong company name. | 0:19:48 | 0:19:52 | |
To get his money back, he'll have to bring another court action | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
or get this one amended. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:58 | |
It's all part of the lengthy process Dave will have to go through | 0:19:58 | 0:20:01 | |
in his battle with Barclays. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
But thanks to the sheriffs, | 0:20:03 | 0:20:05 | |
Barclays are at least now taking a great deal of notice | 0:20:05 | 0:20:08 | |
of his complaint. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:11 | |
Barclays told us that they regret any distress caused to Dave Simpson, | 0:20:11 | 0:20:15 | |
but said that due to an oversight, | 0:20:15 | 0:20:17 | |
the relevant department wasn't made aware of Dave's claim | 0:20:17 | 0:20:20 | |
until the sheriffs visited their office | 0:20:20 | 0:20:22 | |
and are in the process of arranging for the judgment to be paid | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
in order to resolve the matter. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:27 | |
6.30am and it's the first job of the day for sheriffs Kev and Lawrence. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:39 | |
They're acting on behalf of an office manager | 0:20:39 | 0:20:41 | |
who was sacked with minimal notice | 0:20:41 | 0:20:43 | |
from a company called Classical Flooring Ltd. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:46 | |
She won an employment tribunal and is owed over £10,000. | 0:20:46 | 0:20:51 | |
On a previous visit, the sheriffs went to the company showroom | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
and tracked down one of the owners. | 0:20:58 | 0:21:01 | |
Hello, sir. | 0:21:01 | 0:21:03 | |
He informed Lawrence that all the assets | 0:21:03 | 0:21:05 | |
had been transferred to another company | 0:21:05 | 0:21:07 | |
and so couldn't be removed to clear the debt to his former employee | 0:21:07 | 0:21:11 | |
and he had documents to prove it. | 0:21:11 | 0:21:15 | |
I'm quite happy with the paperwork I've seen | 0:21:15 | 0:21:17 | |
that none of the major assets in there, the equipment, the tools, | 0:21:17 | 0:21:21 | |
actually belong to the two gentlemen personally. | 0:21:21 | 0:21:23 | |
So there's nothing really at that premises we can actually remove. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:29 | |
Lawrence left empty handed but still noted the details of vehicles | 0:21:30 | 0:21:34 | |
that could potentially be taken at a later date to clear the debt. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:39 | |
The office manager, Joan Wales, was awarded £13,500 | 0:21:39 | 0:21:44 | |
by an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal | 0:21:44 | 0:21:47 | |
but hasn't received any of it. | 0:21:47 | 0:21:50 | |
They just thought I'd walk away and I wouldn't fight for this. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:54 | |
But I do fight and I am fighting because it's... | 0:21:54 | 0:21:59 | |
it's wrong. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:00 | |
Joan was dismissed after over a decade of loyal service. | 0:22:00 | 0:22:04 | |
It's very hard. I didn't think they'd do it to me. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:09 | |
Fortunately for Joan, she has Kev and Lawrence on her side. | 0:22:12 | 0:22:15 | |
They're going to the home of one of Classical Flooring's former owners | 0:22:17 | 0:22:20 | |
to see if any property can be seized to clear the debt. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:24 | |
We've got a couple of cars to look for, | 0:22:24 | 0:22:26 | |
one of which shows up on the HPI register | 0:22:26 | 0:22:30 | |
and it shows up as a personal loan. | 0:22:30 | 0:22:32 | |
Now, a personal loan doesn't normally have any hold | 0:22:32 | 0:22:37 | |
over the vehicle at all. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:39 | |
It is just a personal loan | 0:22:39 | 0:22:40 | |
but sometimes the companies put it onto the HPI register | 0:22:40 | 0:22:44 | |
just to try and protect it. | 0:22:44 | 0:22:46 | |
We haven't got in touch with the finance company. | 0:22:46 | 0:22:49 | |
We want to find the car first or stop it from being driven away, | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
then we'll try and make contact with the debtor | 0:22:52 | 0:22:56 | |
and if necessary, we'll contact the finance company | 0:22:56 | 0:22:59 | |
to see if they have got any hold over it. | 0:22:59 | 0:23:01 | |
The sheriffs have arrived. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:06 | |
It's first thing in the morning to increase the chances of the owner being home. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:11 | |
The car in question, an Audi TT, is parked right outside the front door. | 0:23:11 | 0:23:16 | |
Mr Lydford? | 0:23:16 | 0:23:17 | |
He's not here? | 0:23:17 | 0:23:19 | |
Right. Are you able to get him on the phone, at all? | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
I'll show you some identification. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:27 | |
We're enforcement officers here to execute a High Court writ. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:31 | |
Basically, we're going to take away the Audi. | 0:23:31 | 0:23:33 | |
The person answering the doors says the Audi TT is on hire purchase | 0:23:33 | 0:23:38 | |
and doesn't belong to Mr Lydford. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:41 | |
It's not HP. It's a personal loan. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:44 | |
Are you Mr Lydford? Yeah? | 0:23:46 | 0:23:48 | |
Mr Lydford has suddenly appeared | 0:23:48 | 0:23:50 | |
and he's shut the door on the sheriffs. | 0:23:50 | 0:23:53 | |
Take the Audi, then. | 0:23:53 | 0:23:55 | |
But first the sheriffs need to call the finance company. | 0:23:55 | 0:23:59 | |
The Audi cannot be taken if it's on hire purchase and belongs to that company. | 0:23:59 | 0:24:04 | |
However, if Mr Lydford bought it with a personal loan, he owns it | 0:24:04 | 0:24:08 | |
and it can be removed. | 0:24:08 | 0:24:10 | |
-Hi, there. -All right? | 0:24:10 | 0:24:13 | |
Hello, sir. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:15 | |
Mr Lydford asked the camera operator to leave his drive. | 0:24:15 | 0:24:19 | |
He tells the sheriffs that the Audi is definitely on hire purchase. | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
Right, we did a HPI on it and it's come back as personal loan, | 0:24:28 | 0:24:32 | |
which isn't financed. | 0:24:32 | 0:24:33 | |
I'm going to try and contact them now. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:35 | |
It's probably a bit early for them | 0:24:35 | 0:24:37 | |
but if it's a personal loan, we will be taking the vehicle. | 0:24:37 | 0:24:41 | |
Mr Lydford gets into the other car in his drive. | 0:24:41 | 0:24:44 | |
He may be making room to move the Audi before the sheriffs can take it. | 0:24:44 | 0:24:48 | |
He asks the sheriffs to move their van. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
We won't be moving at the moment, no, sir. | 0:24:51 | 0:24:53 | |
Lawrence, mind yourself. | 0:24:56 | 0:24:59 | |
Lawrence, mind yourself, Lawrence. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
We're not moving that, no. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:04 | |
-We won't be moving that. -That will be criminal damage. -We'll phone the police, you'll get nicked. | 0:25:07 | 0:25:12 | |
You'll be obstructing court officers from doing their job. | 0:25:13 | 0:25:17 | |
-Right, Mr Lydford... -Try it. Go for your life. | 0:25:17 | 0:25:20 | |
Go for your life. I'm telling you, you'll get arrested for it. | 0:25:20 | 0:25:25 | |
You're now hitting my van, so... | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
Mr Lydford, we'll seize this vehicle as well... | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
Mr Lydford says Lawrence can't. The vehicle doesn't belong to him. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:35 | |
Right, well, you need to show proof of that, sir. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:38 | |
Yes, you do, sir. | 0:25:38 | 0:25:40 | |
It looks like Mr Lydford is giving up trying to force his way out. | 0:25:47 | 0:25:50 | |
He gets out of the car | 0:25:57 | 0:25:58 | |
and angrily tells the sheriffs the Audi is definitely on hire purchase | 0:25:58 | 0:26:02 | |
and cannot be removed to pay off the debt. | 0:26:02 | 0:26:05 | |
Right, sir, I've said to you, if it turns out that you're correct... | 0:26:05 | 0:26:09 | |
Because that vehicle is seized. | 0:26:09 | 0:26:11 | |
Mr Lydford accuses Lawrence of shouting at him. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:14 | |
He's not shouting. Why are you getting in his face? | 0:26:14 | 0:26:16 | |
I've got a loud voice. Stand back and I'll try and talk more quietly. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:20 | |
I'm not shouting, I just have a loud voice. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:23 | |
One of my colleagues came here before Christmas | 0:26:23 | 0:26:26 | |
and left seizure paperwork on the Audi. | 0:26:26 | 0:26:28 | |
Now, when you got that paperwork, | 0:26:28 | 0:26:30 | |
you were then obliged to notify, if it was owned by a finance company, | 0:26:30 | 0:26:36 | |
you were obliged to notify the finance company | 0:26:36 | 0:26:39 | |
that the vehicle had been seized. | 0:26:39 | 0:26:41 | |
They then had to get in touch with us | 0:26:41 | 0:26:43 | |
and make a claim for that vehicle. | 0:26:43 | 0:26:46 | |
You didn't do that, therefore we're obliged to remove it. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:49 | |
Mr Lydford goes back into the house. | 0:26:50 | 0:26:52 | |
Having successfully blocked the Audi in, | 0:26:52 | 0:26:55 | |
the sheriffs will wait until 9am, | 0:26:55 | 0:26:57 | |
when they can call the finance company to confirm who owns it. | 0:26:57 | 0:27:01 | |
But it's a bitterly cold morning. | 0:27:01 | 0:27:03 | |
Have we driven to the North Pole? | 0:27:05 | 0:27:07 | |
Mr Lydford comes back out and wants to know who the sheriffs are. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:13 | |
We're here to execute a High Court writ. | 0:27:13 | 0:27:16 | |
We came to you at your business. | 0:27:16 | 0:27:18 | |
He says if the sheriff's van isn't legally entitled to be there, | 0:27:18 | 0:27:23 | |
he's going to smash it. | 0:27:23 | 0:27:25 | |
-He's a bit more shirty than last time. -I knew he would be. | 0:27:25 | 0:27:29 | |
The sheriffs wait in the relative warmth of the van. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:32 | |
-Half an hour later, Mr Lydford emerges again. -He's coming out. | 0:27:36 | 0:27:41 | |
Stay in here for sec, see what it looks like. | 0:27:43 | 0:27:46 | |
Mr Lydford says he's taken legal advice | 0:27:46 | 0:27:50 | |
and the sheriffs must move their van off his drive. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:53 | |
If they don't, he says he will call the police. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:55 | |
Well, we've stated why we're here. | 0:27:55 | 0:27:58 | |
If you want to call the police, that's entirely your prerogative. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:02 | |
If you want to call the police, Mr Lydford, call the police. | 0:28:02 | 0:28:05 | |
-Excellent. -It suits the sheriffs for the police to come. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:10 | |
The law is on their side. | 0:28:10 | 0:28:12 | |
They're in the process of enforcing a High Court writ | 0:28:12 | 0:28:15 | |
and they've done nothing wrong. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:18 | |
An hour later, there's still no sign of the boys in blue | 0:28:21 | 0:28:24 | |
but it may be the sheriffs who'll need to call the police. | 0:28:24 | 0:28:27 | |
Mr Lydford decides to escalate the situation. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:30 | |
What do you think he'll do now? Block us in? | 0:28:32 | 0:28:34 | |
-He can't, though, can he, without blocking the road? -Oh, I don't know. | 0:28:34 | 0:28:38 | |
It looks like this could become a war of attrition. | 0:28:45 | 0:28:48 | |
That does make me laugh. | 0:28:50 | 0:28:52 | |
Have you called the police, Mr Lydford? | 0:28:52 | 0:28:55 | |
-It makes him look really stupid. -I think so. -Don't you think? -Yeah. | 0:28:55 | 0:29:00 | |
It's now 9am, so Lawrence calls the finance company | 0:29:00 | 0:29:04 | |
and asks them to fax the paperwork relating to the Audi. | 0:29:04 | 0:29:08 | |
If the car is on finance and they hold the title to it, | 0:29:08 | 0:29:12 | |
the sheriffs can't remove it. | 0:29:12 | 0:29:13 | |
Hello, there, it's Mr Gricks, the High Court enforcement officer. | 0:29:13 | 0:29:17 | |
Half an hour later, the paperwork is faxed to the High Court enforcement office | 0:29:18 | 0:29:23 | |
but it is somewhat inconclusive. | 0:29:23 | 0:29:25 | |
I've got an email of the fax received by our office | 0:29:27 | 0:29:31 | |
from the finance company, with its covering letter. | 0:29:31 | 0:29:35 | |
I've been told to have a look at it myself for my own peace of mind | 0:29:35 | 0:29:39 | |
because it doesn't appear to say on it anywhere | 0:29:39 | 0:29:42 | |
that they actually hold title to the vehicle. | 0:29:42 | 0:29:44 | |
It just says, "Purpose of loan, if known," | 0:29:44 | 0:29:48 | |
if there are any assets, | 0:29:48 | 0:29:51 | |
which does... it immediately implies | 0:29:51 | 0:29:53 | |
that there's no actual hold over the car. | 0:29:53 | 0:29:56 | |
But when it comes to High Court writ enforcement, | 0:29:56 | 0:29:59 | |
sometimes it pays to be cautious. | 0:29:59 | 0:30:02 | |
Having seen the Audi close up, | 0:30:02 | 0:30:04 | |
Lawrence doesn't think it will get more than £2,000 at auction, | 0:30:04 | 0:30:08 | |
so it might not be worth an expensive emergency legal battle today to prove ownership. | 0:30:08 | 0:30:15 | |
Lawrence decides to leave the ball in the finance company's court. | 0:30:15 | 0:30:18 | |
They have five days to prove without doubt they own the car. | 0:30:18 | 0:30:22 | |
Hello, Mr Lydford. | 0:30:22 | 0:30:25 | |
Right, I've spoken to my governor | 0:30:25 | 0:30:27 | |
and he said because of the value of the car and the legal costs involved, | 0:30:27 | 0:30:31 | |
we'll leave it. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:32 | |
OK? Because it's going to rack up costs for everybody concerned | 0:30:32 | 0:30:36 | |
unnecessarily. | 0:30:36 | 0:30:38 | |
I'll leave you the paperwork, OK? It's paperwork seizing that. | 0:30:38 | 0:30:43 | |
I've also, because we've not seen any paperwork, seized that, OK? | 0:30:43 | 0:30:48 | |
I'll get in touch with your guy from the finance company myself | 0:30:48 | 0:30:52 | |
to tell him what we're doing. | 0:30:52 | 0:30:53 | |
I imagine he'll get in touch. | 0:30:53 | 0:30:55 | |
He'll have to make his proper third-party claim against the vehicle, OK? | 0:30:55 | 0:30:59 | |
And the legal people will battle it out | 0:30:59 | 0:31:02 | |
without the necessity for it to actually go to the court, which it would. | 0:31:02 | 0:31:05 | |
Because if it ends up going in front of a master of the court, which it would, | 0:31:05 | 0:31:10 | |
then you're looking at more than the value of the car | 0:31:10 | 0:31:13 | |
just to have a hearing with the master and somebody has to pay that. | 0:31:13 | 0:31:16 | |
OK? So just to keep the legal costs down, that's what we'll do. | 0:31:16 | 0:31:20 | |
OK, so I'll give your guy a ring in a moment. | 0:31:20 | 0:31:22 | |
If you want to let us off your drive, we'll be out your hair. | 0:31:22 | 0:31:26 | |
Lawrence and his colleagues have one of the highest collection rates in the industry | 0:31:29 | 0:31:33 | |
but sometimes they do have to bide their time | 0:31:33 | 0:31:36 | |
before they can get the money for their clients. | 0:31:36 | 0:31:39 | |
I'm now going to get on to the finance company | 0:31:39 | 0:31:42 | |
and let them know what we're doing | 0:31:42 | 0:31:44 | |
and invite them to submit their third-party claim | 0:31:44 | 0:31:46 | |
in accordance with RSC Order 17, | 0:31:46 | 0:31:49 | |
which should have been done when we last left the paperwork with Mr Lydford. | 0:31:49 | 0:31:52 | |
I've no doubt this time they'll do that. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:55 | |
If it turns out it goes our way, we'll be back and take the car. | 0:31:55 | 0:31:58 | |
But it just saves the unnecessary legal expense | 0:31:58 | 0:32:01 | |
of actually having to battle it out in a court | 0:32:01 | 0:32:05 | |
and storage costs racking up on the vehicle. | 0:32:05 | 0:32:08 | |
Because nobody wins then | 0:32:08 | 0:32:10 | |
and the legal costs outweigh what you're going to get for the vehicle. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:14 | |
So Joan Wales may still get her money | 0:32:15 | 0:32:18 | |
but for the time being, she and the sheriffs must remain patient. | 0:32:18 | 0:32:22 | |
It's early morning and Mark and Kev are in the West Midlands. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:34 | |
The sheriffs' mission? | 0:32:34 | 0:32:36 | |
To get another member of the public the money they're owed. | 0:32:36 | 0:32:39 | |
We're off to Solihull now. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:43 | |
We're going to see a Mr Kent. He owes £1,900. | 0:32:43 | 0:32:48 | |
He used to run a post office, which he no longer does, apparently. | 0:32:48 | 0:32:54 | |
We're just going to his, like, private address now, | 0:32:54 | 0:32:57 | |
so we'll give him a knock this morning and see how we get on. | 0:32:57 | 0:33:00 | |
At the post office that the debtor, Pradeep Kent, used to run, | 0:33:01 | 0:33:05 | |
an elderly customer broke her foot in an accident, | 0:33:05 | 0:33:08 | |
leaving her housebound and in plaster for several weeks. | 0:33:08 | 0:33:12 | |
When lawyers representing her wrote to Mr Kent to pursue an injury claim, | 0:33:12 | 0:33:16 | |
he wouldn't confirm that he was the post office owner. | 0:33:16 | 0:33:20 | |
The lady and her lawyers have managed to prove | 0:33:20 | 0:33:23 | |
that he was the legal owner | 0:33:23 | 0:33:25 | |
but it's cost them thousands of pounds in court costs to do so. | 0:33:25 | 0:33:29 | |
The court awarded the legal costs against Mr Kent. | 0:33:29 | 0:33:33 | |
Some of this debt is still outstanding, | 0:33:33 | 0:33:35 | |
which is where Mark and Kev come in. | 0:33:35 | 0:33:37 | |
DOORBELL CHIMES | 0:33:39 | 0:33:40 | |
Here we go. Hold on. | 0:33:45 | 0:33:46 | |
Hiya. Mr Kent? | 0:33:46 | 0:33:49 | |
Mr Kent isn't in but his wife is. | 0:33:49 | 0:33:53 | |
Our camera operator has a conversation with her | 0:33:53 | 0:33:56 | |
and agrees to film from the road. | 0:33:56 | 0:33:59 | |
Mrs Kent says they've already paid off the money to the claimant. | 0:33:59 | 0:34:02 | |
..thought it was the same case, that's what I'm wondering. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:06 | |
You may have thought it was the same case that you've just paid. | 0:34:06 | 0:34:10 | |
And you thought it was all finished with. | 0:34:10 | 0:34:12 | |
Mark checks back in with the office to find out what's going on. | 0:34:12 | 0:34:16 | |
Yes, it's the costs. It's the costs of the last one. | 0:34:16 | 0:34:19 | |
The costs wasn't paid from the last case. | 0:34:19 | 0:34:21 | |
Some of the legal costs are still outstanding | 0:34:21 | 0:34:24 | |
and Mark and Kev aren't going anywhere until they've been paid. | 0:34:24 | 0:34:30 | |
We need to collect that amount or we'll start seizing goods. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:34 | |
Mrs Kent accepts she must pay the injured lady her money | 0:34:34 | 0:34:38 | |
but she's got to find the cash first. | 0:34:38 | 0:34:42 | |
We have to wait here while you sort that payment out. | 0:34:42 | 0:34:45 | |
Unfortunately, we have to charge if we have to wait. | 0:34:45 | 0:34:48 | |
We'll give you an hour and after an hour we'll start having to charge, yeah? | 0:34:48 | 0:34:52 | |
No problem. All right. | 0:34:52 | 0:34:53 | |
All this waiting around is bringing out the team spirit in the sheriffs. | 0:34:56 | 0:35:00 | |
I'm getting cold standing out here. | 0:35:00 | 0:35:02 | |
Come in here, pet. I'll give you a cuddle to keep you warm. | 0:35:02 | 0:35:06 | |
We spoke to the defendant's wife. Apparently, he's not here. | 0:35:06 | 0:35:10 | |
The lady's now trying to get the money together, supposedly. | 0:35:10 | 0:35:13 | |
If she refuses to pay, we'll start clamping up some of these vehicles. | 0:35:13 | 0:35:18 | |
Hopefully it won't come to that. We'll just have to see what happens. | 0:35:18 | 0:35:22 | |
The family should have no problem paying, | 0:35:22 | 0:35:25 | |
as a quick phone call back to the office confirms that just one car | 0:35:25 | 0:35:29 | |
would more than cover the debt. | 0:35:29 | 0:35:30 | |
-That's worth eleven grand. -Eleven? -Yeah. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:34 | |
-Is it? -Yeah. -That much? -I don't know what year it is. | 0:35:34 | 0:35:37 | |
While Mark and Kev wait, an uncle arrives to help the family out... | 0:35:40 | 0:35:45 | |
..but it doesn't speed up the payment. | 0:35:46 | 0:35:49 | |
It's now 10.30am and Mark and Kev have been at the house for over an hour and a half. | 0:35:50 | 0:35:55 | |
There's still no sign of any money, | 0:35:55 | 0:35:58 | |
so Mark decides to try and move things along. | 0:35:58 | 0:36:01 | |
He sets about clamping the cars on the driveway. | 0:36:01 | 0:36:03 | |
He's showing that if he doesn't get the money, | 0:36:03 | 0:36:06 | |
he'll take the cars instead. | 0:36:06 | 0:36:08 | |
But this doesn't go down well with the uncle. | 0:36:08 | 0:36:12 | |
-(INAUDIBLE) -I am. | 0:36:12 | 0:36:14 | |
-What are you doing? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. -I just fell over. | 0:36:14 | 0:36:17 | |
You didn't fall over. You didn't fall over. | 0:36:17 | 0:36:20 | |
-You do not touch him. -You did not fall over. -I did! | 0:36:20 | 0:36:22 | |
-Do you understand? -All right, you fell over. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:25 | |
Did the uncle deliberately knee Mark or did he just fall over? | 0:36:25 | 0:36:30 | |
Whatever it was, it doesn't stop Mark clamping the cars | 0:36:30 | 0:36:33 | |
and it has the desired effect. | 0:36:33 | 0:36:36 | |
Mrs Kent agrees to pay up what the injured lady's owed in full | 0:36:36 | 0:36:40 | |
but she's still got to find the money | 0:36:40 | 0:36:43 | |
and as time goes by, Mark's bill isn't staying still. | 0:36:43 | 0:36:47 | |
OK, just to let you know that the bill is going up. | 0:36:47 | 0:36:50 | |
The amount is not what's on the letter there now. | 0:36:50 | 0:36:53 | |
It's gone up by £181.50 plus VAT. | 0:36:53 | 0:36:56 | |
DOOR SLAMS | 0:36:56 | 0:36:58 | |
It looks like Mark's tactics have paid off. | 0:36:58 | 0:37:00 | |
A family friend arrives with the money. | 0:37:00 | 0:37:03 | |
So I'll do £2005 on this. | 0:37:03 | 0:37:06 | |
No, sorry, hang on. I put 2005p instead of £2005. | 0:37:06 | 0:37:11 | |
-MACHINE BLEEPS -Frozen brain, being outside for three hours. | 0:37:11 | 0:37:15 | |
OK, that's yours. I'll just do you a receipt for the payment. | 0:37:15 | 0:37:19 | |
With the full amount owed now collected for the injured lady, | 0:37:19 | 0:37:22 | |
Mark gets a chance to reflect on his run-in with the uncle's knee. | 0:37:22 | 0:37:26 | |
As I was clamping the vehicle, he sort of walked past me | 0:37:26 | 0:37:30 | |
and I didn't see what he done but he said he'd tripped over. | 0:37:30 | 0:37:33 | |
I think he might have tried to knee me a little bit | 0:37:33 | 0:37:36 | |
but it was all a bit handbaggy, nothing major. | 0:37:36 | 0:37:38 | |
We got there in the end. It took a couple of hours | 0:37:40 | 0:37:42 | |
to get the result we needed | 0:37:42 | 0:37:44 | |
but in the end they paid, like they should have done in the first place. | 0:37:44 | 0:37:49 | |
They'd have saved themselves the money for our waiting time. | 0:37:49 | 0:37:52 | |
They paid the full debt, so that's dealt with. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:56 | |
Sheriff Lawrence is going to see Joan Wales, | 0:38:01 | 0:38:04 | |
his client in the unpaid unfair dismissal case | 0:38:04 | 0:38:07 | |
against Classical Flooring. | 0:38:07 | 0:38:09 | |
-Hi, Joan? -Hello. -I'm Lawrence. Nice to meet you. -Pleased to meet you. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:15 | |
-Come on in. -Thank you. | 0:38:15 | 0:38:16 | |
Lawrence is reporting back on his visit to Mr Lydford's home. | 0:38:18 | 0:38:22 | |
We're not going to get into his house. | 0:38:22 | 0:38:24 | |
He was locking the door behind him, you know... | 0:38:24 | 0:38:28 | |
so he's got no assets that we can get our hands on, basically. | 0:38:28 | 0:38:33 | |
Because the ownership documents for the Audi were so inconclusive, | 0:38:33 | 0:38:38 | |
Lawrence recommends against taking the risk of removing it. | 0:38:38 | 0:38:42 | |
There's a potentially huge cost implication for yourself | 0:38:42 | 0:38:45 | |
if we did go and take it and then they put in a claim for it. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:49 | |
Right, OK. | 0:38:49 | 0:38:50 | |
The finance company could say, "Yes, we have got a title to it." | 0:38:50 | 0:38:54 | |
It then becomes a legal battle and if you dispute the claim | 0:38:54 | 0:38:59 | |
and it goes all the way to the High Court | 0:38:59 | 0:39:02 | |
where you go in front of a master and he makes the decision, | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
just the cost of doing that, and the storage in the meantime, | 0:39:05 | 0:39:09 | |
will probably outweigh the value of the vehicle. | 0:39:09 | 0:39:12 | |
But Joan was prudent enough to include both the Classical Flooring owners, | 0:39:13 | 0:39:17 | |
Mr Lydford and Mr Barnard, | 0:39:17 | 0:39:19 | |
in the High Court writ she obtained for her money. | 0:39:19 | 0:39:23 | |
If you'd like us to go round to Barnard's and try and catch him, that's what we'll do next. | 0:39:23 | 0:39:27 | |
So how do you feel about that? | 0:39:27 | 0:39:29 | |
-It's been very draining... -Yeah. -..personally wise, | 0:39:29 | 0:39:34 | |
through all of this, | 0:39:34 | 0:39:36 | |
because nobody wants to be on the receiving end of this | 0:39:36 | 0:39:39 | |
and nobody wants to be sat here like we are... | 0:39:39 | 0:39:41 | |
You shouldn't have to do battle to get what's yours. | 0:39:41 | 0:39:45 | |
I shouldn't have to worry about having to pay for anything that those people owe me. | 0:39:45 | 0:39:51 | |
Because a judge has sat there and said, | 0:39:51 | 0:39:53 | |
-"Joan, you are awarded £13,500," and this is all wrong. -Yeah. | 0:39:53 | 0:39:58 | |
Totally wrong. | 0:39:58 | 0:40:00 | |
You won't get any disagreement from me there. | 0:40:00 | 0:40:03 | |
Joan wants the sheriffs to keep up the battle on her behalf | 0:40:03 | 0:40:07 | |
for as long as it takes. | 0:40:07 | 0:40:09 | |
I'll never let them get away with it, never. | 0:40:09 | 0:40:12 | |
I'll fight to the bitter end, so, yeah. | 0:40:12 | 0:40:15 | |
I will. | 0:40:15 | 0:40:17 | |
And Lawrence will continue his fight to get money for all his clients | 0:40:17 | 0:40:21 | |
who are owed cash. | 0:40:21 | 0:40:23 | |
The majority of people pay their way through life, | 0:40:23 | 0:40:26 | |
don't get into debt, don't refuse to pay for things. | 0:40:26 | 0:40:29 | |
It's the minority, the won't-pays. | 0:40:30 | 0:40:36 | |
There's systems in place to help the can't-pays. | 0:40:36 | 0:40:40 | |
But the won't-pays shouldn't be allowed to get away with it | 0:40:42 | 0:40:46 | |
and we're redressing the balance by going after them. | 0:40:46 | 0:40:49 | |
Since Mark and Kev visited former post office owner Pradeep Kent's house, | 0:40:54 | 0:40:59 | |
the injured customer is delighted to have received her money back in full | 0:40:59 | 0:41:04 | |
and is very glad she turned to the sheriffs. | 0:41:04 | 0:41:06 | |
A month after Lawrence and Kev went to Joan Wales's former boss's home, | 0:41:08 | 0:41:12 | |
Joan's considering forcing both of her former employers into bankruptcy, | 0:41:12 | 0:41:17 | |
to try to get the money she's owed. | 0:41:17 | 0:41:19 | |
The sheriffs will soon be carrying out another early morning seizure. | 0:41:19 | 0:41:23 | |
Hopefully next time things will prove more clear-cut. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:26 | |
And in Essex, kidney transplant patient Robert Baker is delighted | 0:41:28 | 0:41:33 | |
that he finally he got his £10,000 employment tribunal award, | 0:41:33 | 0:41:37 | |
thanks to the sheriffs. | 0:41:37 | 0:41:38 | |
I'm just ecstatic, to be honest, to have got the money at last. | 0:41:39 | 0:41:44 | |
Knowing that it's all done and dusted and I can just get on with my life, | 0:41:45 | 0:41:50 | |
it's just a huge relief. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:53 | |
Next time... | 0:41:53 | 0:41:55 | |
Plumber Ray Millett paid for and fitted a full central heating system | 0:41:58 | 0:42:02 | |
for a building company but he didn't get paid a penny. | 0:42:02 | 0:42:06 | |
To treat people in this way, it's pretty despicable, really. | 0:42:06 | 0:42:09 | |
Can the sheriffs get Ray his money back? | 0:42:09 | 0:42:14 | |
We're here to collect the payment, which is £11,100 now. | 0:42:14 | 0:42:17 | |
Sheriff Pete Spencer revisits a road services company | 0:42:17 | 0:42:21 | |
that owes a former employee thousands. | 0:42:21 | 0:42:24 | |
I'm a director of the company, I'm asking you to leave the premises. | 0:42:24 | 0:42:27 | |
-Phone the police. -I will do. -OK. | 0:42:27 | 0:42:30 | |
And when Jan Smith sold valuable items through a local auctioneers', | 0:42:30 | 0:42:34 | |
she expected a hefty cheque. | 0:42:34 | 0:42:36 | |
Instead she got an antiques no-show. | 0:42:36 | 0:42:40 | |
I haven't had any money whatsoever. It's just outrageous. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:44 | |
It is outrageous. | 0:42:44 | 0:42:45 | |
The sheriffs go in search of the cash she's owed. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:49 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:43:11 | 0:43:13 |