Episode 8 The Sheriffs Are Coming

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

I told him all the faults. He rejected them.

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 is rightfully yours.

£1,323.

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

I'll put it 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 you some paperwork?

-No. Go away!

In today's programme, former office manager Shelley Summers was sacked by text.

She won a tribunal but never got the compensation.

At one point, I had everything, then I was left with nothing.

Can the sheriffs put that right?

Steve Knock had always dreamed of buying a boat,

but when he finally got one, it became a nautical nightmare.

He took the company which sold him the faulty vessel to court and got an out-of-court settlement,

but he still hasn't got his money.

The sheriffs try to pay them a visit.

Every asset on these premises is now seized.

And this garage sold a car for a customer but didn't give him the cash they got for it.

The sheriffs go to the garage to get the customer what he's owed, but they get a frosty reception.

If you try to shut me in here by pulling the shutter down, that's an arrestable offence. I'm warning you.

Shelley Summers is an office manager who lives in Bournemouth.

Shelley had a traumatic experience when employed at a building firm near Manchester.

Now she needs the help of the sheriffs.

I started working for MJ McCaul in 2005

where I was basically an office manager.

I helped run the business, mainly office work,

went to the site now and again, paid the wages for the lads. Yeah, I did enjoy working there.

But in July 2010, the firm moved to bigger offices,

and the atmosphere at work changed for the worse.

One day, there was a row that was absolutely unbelievable.

There was swearing. I thought that someone was going to get hurt.

I really did think there was going to be some kind of fight or something.

At the time, I was on the phone, speaking to a client. He was asking me what was going on.

I said, "I'm sorry, I'll ring you back." I didn't feel professional with running the business.

Shelley mentioned to her boss she was uncomfortable with the shouting

and asked if she could work from home for the afternoon.

He said, "If you leave the office, you don't come back."

I'd worked there for five years, and he'd never spoken like that before.

I was always treated quite fairly. He's never said anything like that before.

So by this stage, I was very upset. I was extremely upset.

And in the end, he just went out the office.

Shelley was so distressed by what had happened, she went to see her doctor.

She was put on sick leave for a week and went home.

Soon after she got there, Shelley received a message from her boss.

I got a text later on, saying that I had been suspended

and I shouldn't have left the office without his authority.

He was going to come and take the company car away at 12 noon the next day.

I was devastated, absolutely devastated.

I couldn't believe that I'd worked there for so long and I was treated so bad,

knowing I was at home with nobody.

I had no other source of income, no car. I was left with nothing.

A week later, the boss texted Shelley, telling her to call him straightaway.

I was about to give him a ring, then I get the text.

"You are now sacked for gross misconduct. You had your chance and blew it."

The shock made Shelley ill.

It's just the stress of basically having no money coming in,

no car. At one point, I seemed to have everything, then the next, I was left with nothing.

Shelley decided to fight back.

I really felt, "This is wrong,"

so I went to my local Citizens Advice Bureau who were shocked,

they couldn't believe what had happened also.

They were basically trying to help me, so they found me a legal aid representative.

With their help, Shelley went to an employment tribunal which decided she had been unfairly dismissed.

I was awarded £11,650, approximately.

I've been paid nothing.

It's now a year on, and Shelley's tried everything to get her money.

She's at the end of her tether, but the law allows her to do one last thing -

apply for a High Court writ.

Shelley got one, and now a sheriff is going to enforce it.

High Court enforcement officer Pete Spencer is on his way to where Shelley used to work,

his aim - to track down her former boss Martin McCaul and get him to pay what he owes.

Every place is different, really. You get very different reactions from various different people.

He'll obviously know of the tribunal case that's been set against him and he'll know he's lost that case.

He won't be aware of our visit today until we knock on the door.

The High Court enforcement officers, who are also known as sheriffs,

do a job that goes back to Saxon times.

They don't need to forewarn people about their visit.

The element of surprise can prove useful when tracking down debtors.

Sheriffs are legally allowed to walk straight into commercial premises on behalf of people owed money.

Before he starts removing goods, Pete wants to find Shelley's former boss

and give him the opportunity to pay her what the tribunal awarded.

-KNOCKS ON DOOR

-Hello?

-Hiya. Good morning. Mr McCaul of McCaul Building Contractors?

-That's it here.

Enforcement officer from the High Court. It's regarding an employment tribunal matter.

-Would it be yourself I need to speak to?

-Let me see if anyone's around.

-Cheers. Thank you.

-Where were you from?

-I'm an enforcement officer working on behalf of the High Court.

-Right.

It doesn't take long for Mr McCaul to appear, but he isn't keen on being filmed.

-No, no, no, I'm not having any filming.

-That's all right. I'll step outside.

Pete starts his negotiations on behalf of Shelley.

Mr McCaul tells Pete his business is being wound up

and all the assets transferred to another company.

However, Pete points out this transfer isn't listed with Companies House,

and that's against the rules.

Mr McCaul agrees to make an initial payment of £5,000 to Shelley with more to come.

It's not the whole amount, but without Pete, Shelley wouldn't be getting anything.

Unfortunately, most of the assets that were at the premises were no longer there

and they've been transferred to another company, but he was also a director of it.

He did decide in the end to make an initial payment of £5,000, which he has done by bank transfer.

Then he's emailing in, once he seeks legal advice, to pay the remainder over a monthly period,

to resolve it, but he's doing that personally, rather than through the company, as it has no assets.

Shelley is pleased that she enlisted the help of the sheriffs.

I've worked for big companies and I know what goes on.

Things are always correct, the way they do things.

So I don't feel that they should get away with it, even though they're a small company.

It's too easy. People say, "A small company might not be making the same money." That's not the point.

This needs to be sorted out for the future.

It's happened to me, and if this help to stop it happening to someone else, that's why I've done this.

David Carter is joint managing director of this High Court Enforcement Office in London.

The recovery rates of the High Court enforcement officer are far greater than that of a County Court bailiff.

We're paid on results, we're not salaried and we have greater powers than the County Court bailiff

in terms of seizure and forcing entry to various types of premises.

A High Court writ costs £60.

If the sheriffs are successful in settling the debt,

there is nothing more to pay, because the debtor foots the bill.

£1,323.

If the sheriffs don't get the cash owed to their client, there can be an admin fee to pay, also £60.

-Why are you here?

-The money is still owed.

-What are you here for?

-To collect the money.

Every month, this Enforcement Office helps over 1,000 people who are owed money,

and another case has just been added to the list.

High Court enforcement officers Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally are on their way to a garage in Middlesex.

The garage advertised a car for a member of the public for £27,995.

The car was sold, but the customer never got his money.

After trying everything to get his cash, the car owner went to the High Court and got a writ

for the money he is owed.

Now the sheriffs are about to enforce it.

They visited the garage before, but the boss went to court

to get a stay to delay them removing goods to cover the debt.

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. If he doesn't pay in full, we'll be removing the Ferraris.

It's not just cars that the sheriffs are after today.

There are computers at the garage and two Ferrari diagnostic kits worth £40,000.

As High Court enforcement officers, they're entitled to pick them up and walk straight out with them,

but the owner might not take too kindly to that.

Once we'd left and the stay was in place, he phoned me up and was quite threatening over the phone,

so we'll see just how threatening he is when we turn up.

The sheriffs have yet to meet garage landlord Mr Birdi or his son Mr Verdi,

the owner of the business, face to face.

They don't even know what they look like.

Is Mr Verdi here at all?

Is 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?

The paperwork the sheriffs left after their first visit made it clear

none of the assets could be removed by the owner while proceedings were in progress.

That's one of the first things they'll be checking today.

How are you doing?

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

I'm a High Court enforcement officer.

OK, I was here before.

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

-Right.

-To cover a debt, basically.

Mr Verdi managed to get a stay last time.

That's now been overturned, so we're here today to complete the execution of the writ.

The guy who was trying to get him on the phone has walked off, so we'll start removing goods now.

Those computers need to be backed up. If you've got any sensitive data on them, you need to delete it,

because we'll unplug those and remove those within the next five or ten minutes.

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, but has the garage boss sold it to prevent it being removed?

-That's the one we want.

-It doesn't belong to us.

-Who does it belong to?

-Another company.

-What other company is that?

-Read it.

What I have noticed going round is a lot of stuff has now got stickers with "asset tag" on,

so it looks like he might have attempted to defeat distress

by basically borrowing money against those assets.

It could be just a nominal amount, so that some other company can try and claim title to them.

It doesn't affect us, because they were already seized.

Anything that was seized previously, which was the entire contents of the workshop,

can't then be passed on to an asset finance company.

Go and get that diagnostic stuff off there, mate.

I don't care what asset tag they've put on it. It wasn't on there last time.

We've seized it last time, 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.

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

That's not unexpected, because they were, we believe, customers' cars being worked on.

It's not surprising.

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.

The shutter's come down over there.

The shutter move may be a warning shot.

Lawrence and Kev need to act fast.

The sheriffs have been told the garage owner is on his way.

Is he coming to settle his debt to the disgruntled customer or to try and stop them removing his property?

High Court enforcement officers can't take tools of the trade,

equipment necessary for the running of the business,

but this rule only applies if the equipment is only used by the owner.

These computers are also used by his colleagues.

I'll dig out the power lead for the...

-for the other tower unit.

-What's this?

That's ready to go. The printer's ready to go. There's a power lead there for the printer.

The new arrival seems to know the place. It could be the elusive owner.

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

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

We'll see.

Lawrence and Kev can't take any risks.

If it is the owner, he may try to lock them out.

We're leaving one of us on the premises at all times.

We can effect re-entry, but if they were to pull the shutters down and lock them,

it's added time and aggravation, and we don't need it.

-Are you just taking what you think is to that value?

-We have to have a fair estimate, yeah.

But this should have been dealt with when we were here last time.

You know? We've got to take decisive action.

Lawrence can't prove any of the vehicles on site belong to the garage owner,

so he's going to remove the posts which hoist the cars into the air for maintenance work.

Can you get a wheel on that Ferrari there, so it can be pushed off when the specialists take the lift away?

Next, the CCTV system is stripped out.

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

-Have you got the light bit?

-I've got the bit I can carry in one hand with my briefcase in the other.

The removal of the kit has clearly upped the ante.

Another 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, I'll put the trucks on hold for half an hour.

-A bit more than half an hour.

-The maximum is an hour, purely because of what happened last time.

Is it a genuine offer or a delaying tactic? Lawrence will find out soon.

It's Pete's last job of the day in Bingley, Yorkshire.

All he knows about the case is it's about a man who owes over £13,000.

No idea what it's about. There's no case notes to give me any background information.

So we'll give it a knock and see if the defendant's there.

DOORBELL RINGS

-Hi. Is there a Mr...

-BLEEP

-?

-No.

-No? Do you know of that name or...?

Can I ask what's going on?

Yeah, I'm an enforcement officer enforcing a High Court writ at this address.

-You don't know who that is?

-They've got my address?

-It's gone through court at this address.

Sometimes High Court enforcement officers chase the wrong lead,

and it costs them valuable time and money,

but of the 70,000-plus writs they deal with every year, they collect over 65 pence for every pound owed.

Obviously, it's not you. And you've no idea who this person is at all?

-No, I've no idea at all.

-OK.

Because the address on this writ is incorrect,

an innocent member of the public has become unwittingly involved.

-It's quite concerning that somebody has used your address.

-Yes.

We'll do a re-trace on the defendant name and hopefully get a trace address somewhere else maybe.

-If anything comes to light, the office number and my number is on there to contact us.

-I will.

Pete gives the house owner some important advice.

You might just want to report it to the police that somebody might have used your address fraudulently,

so they're aware of it, just in case you get any other items cropping up that you're not aware of.

-OK.

-I'll do that.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Sorry that I can't be of more help.

Pete will check the name on the writ against a national database and the electoral roll.

Hopefully, that will help him track down his man.

Back at the garage in Hayes, Lawrence and Kev are still waiting for the money they were promised.

The £17,000 isn't the full amount owed to the owner of the car the garage sold, but it is a start.

A man who won't reveal his identity approaches Lawrence.

-Have you got the writ there?

-I have.

-Can I see that, please?

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

If you show me some ID showing me you're Mr Verdi... You keep saying you are and then you're not.

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

And 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 is approached by the man who offered £17,000 to stop the removal of goods.

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

So, um, we shall see.

-How far away is your aunt?

-About 20 minutes.

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

The police will throw you out. The police are coming here to throw these guys out.

Confusion reigns.

Is the aunt coming or the police?

Soon the question is answered.

-Hi. Who called us?

-No idea. I'll show you some ID.

-Enforcement officers.

-Cool.

-Here to enforce a High Court writ.

-On this premise here?

-Yeah.

We seized goods about three months ago, and they got an emergency stay.

The judge threw it out when he actually got a hearing.

There was no grounds for dispute whatsoever.

Now the police have arrived, the elusive landlord Mr Birdi suddenly appears out of nowhere.

Hello, mate. All right? Sorry, who are you?

-I own the property.

-All right. We'll come and have a chat in a sec.

-Is that Mr Birdi?

-I believe it might be.

I believe that might have just been our defendant.

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

So that's the elusive Mr Birdi.

He was actually the first person Lawrence saw when he arrived.

Mr Birdi wants a private chat with the policemen upstairs.

20 minutes later, the police officer reappears.

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

-He says this company went into liquidation two days ago.

No, what they've done is write to a liquidator.

Yeah. It's still got the name on there. They're saying it's trading in a different name.

You've got the correct paperwork to say you can take the goods. And that is basically it.

-Have we got the name of the chap we're after?

-Verdi Ferrari Aftersales Ltd. He's a director,

but we're not after his personal assets. It's assets of the company, which is here.

-And whether it's in liquidation or not...

-It's not in liquidation.

If it was actually properly in liquidation, we couldn't take the assets.

They become in the custody of the liquidator.

-They've failed to give me anything.

-The lady on the phone said, "They wrote to us two days ago

"and asked us to act for them. We've had no paperwork."

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

-Yeah.

-I've got to give him this paperwork. He's got to sign.

Right. I'll ask him down, then.

Lawrence isn't surprised by the delaying tactics.

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

Which we usually win.

-Mr Birdi doesn't want to come and talk in front of the cameras. Would you come upstairs?

-Sure.

-We'll give him a receipt.

-Not a receipt, but effectively.

-No problem.

-Without the cameras.

The sheriffs seem to be making progress. Soon after Lawrence gets upstairs, Mr Birdi's wife appears

and pays £5,000 by credit card.

I'll do you a receipt in a sec. Just got to do the balance.

And the Birdis offer to organise scheduled 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.

As it transpires, there aren't the assets there. The cars do belong to customers,

so there's no real leverage there to get any more money.

So we've handed the goods back. They can't function without them.

While, generally speaking, if our actions cause a business to close,

but we've cleared the debt, then that's not an issue.

A limited company, there's no protection. All their assets are liable to be seized and sold.

But if we're not going to clear a debt, only a fraction of it,

there's little point in removing the assets and preventing them trading.

So they can carry on trading and meet the payment arrangement

if it's accepted by the client.

But if it isn't accepted, or the owners don't meet the repayments,

the sheriffs will be back.

Steve Knock's another unlucky member of the public who needs the help of the High Court Enforcement Office.

Steve was an aircraft engineer until an accident ended his career.

In 2004,

I had an accident, and, unfortunately, it left me with what they call nerve root impingement,

which is basically down my left arm and in my left hand, I can't feel properly.

I haven't any real sensation. Also my right leg.

As a result of his injuries, Steve lost his job.

-He started to rethink his approach to life.

-That was when really we appreciated your health,

and life is a lot more important.

One of the things we had always dreamed of, because we live close to the River Thames,

was to have a boat and use that to trundle up and down the Thames when it was nice.

Steve and his wife bought this luxury cruiser from Regency Marine Ltd, trading as Gibbs Marine,

in Shepperton. The price - £62,000.

It had always been a lifetime ambition.

The dream, if you know what I mean. Dreaming about having a boat

and, initially, seeing people go past, especially in the summer,

going down the Thames on the boat, pulling up at a little pub and having a pub lunch,

that seems such a nice thing to be able to do.

I'd always dreamed about having a boat but could never justify

the expense of having one.

When I had the accident, you know, justifying buying a boat realistically went out the window,

because you realise that money isn't the be all and end all,

and it's about enjoying your life, enjoying what you've got.

But Steve's dream became a nautical nightmare.

The boat looked great, but he says it turned out to be a disaster.

Looks can be deceiving. Certainly with my experience of this boat,

-it was the biggest pile of junk going.

-Steve had problems from day one.

There was probably about 20 or 30 defects on the boat.

One of the faults was particularly concerning.

Steve was worried about the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The exhaust fumes were getting into the cabin area and sleeping area.

So much so that it was setting off the carbon monoxide alarms.

To add insult to potential injury, as soon as it rained, it became apparent that the front cabin

-had a leaky roof.

-It just leaked like a sieve!

After about 5 minutes of it raining, you might as well be stood outside.

Steve asked for a meeting with the owner of Regency Marine to insist he fix the problems

or give him his money back.

The meeting basically broke down. He still had no intentions of repairing, and so on and so forth,

so as I left his office, which is upstairs,

as I walked down the office steps and out of the actual showroom,

he shouted down to me, "OK, Steve, let's have fun in court, then!"

Steve didn't have fun.

His legal costs were £35,000, but he did get an out of court settlement with Regency Marine.

However, Regency Marine failed to pay Steve what he was owed.

In fact, a year on, they still haven't paid a penny.

Steve had little option. He transferred the claim to the High Court and got a writ against them.

And now sheriffs Kev and Lawrence are on their way to enforce it at the showroom in Shepperton.

They've got a debt, as it stands at the moment, of just over £57,000.

Boats sell for lots of money, so they should have sufficient assets.

Hopefully, they'll realise that and pay, or if not and we do have to remove,

there will be sufficient stuff there to cover the debt.

The first job will be to check if Regency Marine is still trading

and if these boats belong to the company and can be removed.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Regency Marine Ltd, trading as Gibbs Marine Sales?

I'll show you my ID, sir. I'm an enforcement officer.

I'm here to enforce a High Court writ against Regency Marine Ltd

on behalf of Stephen Knock and Andrea Knock.

I'm here today to collect £57,078.06.

Right.

That needs to be paid, sir, or we'll seize goods to cover it.

Lawrence needs to find out if he's talking to the Regency Marine man named in the writ.

-Mr Shields? Is that you?

-No. I'm Mr Pearcey. A different company.

Oh, all right.

Mr Pearcey tells Lawrence that the debtor company, Regency Marine, trading as Gibbs Marine,

is no longer in business.

And none of these boats belong to it. Instead, he says they belong to Gibbs Boat Sales.

Any idea why then, sir, this has got Gibbs Marine Sales on it? If it's Gibbs Boat Sales?

-It's all Gibbs, but these are Gibbs Boat Sales.

-I definitely need to see proof.

Everything here says Gibbs Marine Sales, so I will be seizing them.

Lawrence could remove and auction this boat to help settle the Steve Knock case.

It's down to Mr Pearcey to prove his company owns it, not Regency Marine.

While they wait for his accountant to fax the ownership documents,

Mr Pearcey takes Lawrence to see the boat at the centre of the dispute.

-This is Mr Knock's boat, which has sat here...

-If it's Mr Knock's boat, we can't touch it.

-We can only remove...

-Have that one.

-We can only remove the defendant's goods to pay the debt.

If there's a dispute over this and it's Mr Knock's boat and he's been awarded money on top,

then if this is Mr Knock's boat, we can't remove it

to clear Regency Marine's debt. It's not their boat.

-What the SP is is that we're selling this on behalf of Mr Knock.

-Yeah.

-To clear the debt.

But it seems like he doesn't want to wait for the money. We've had the boat up for sale for 5-6 months.

It hasn't sold, because boats aren't selling fantastically.

-So you're selling HIS boat to clear Regency Marine's debt?

-No.

-To clear a debt to Mr Knock. The proceeds will go to Mr Knock.

-But that's Mr Knock's boat.

-Yeah.

In other words, we're selling it so we can pay Mr Knock £50,000 or whatever it is.

-What do you owe him the £50,000 for? For not selling his boat?

-Yeah.

In the out of court settlement, Regency Marine did agree to sell the boat so he got his money back.

Lawrence goes back inside to make completely sure Regency Marine isn't selling boats

-under its previous trading name, Gibbs Marine.

-PHONE RINGS

Gibbs Marine. Good morning.

Gibbs Marine.

I'm afraid he's not here at the moment...

I don't know off the top of my head. Can I take your number?

-Answering the phone "Gibbs Marine".

-Some paperwork's been faxed to Mr Pearcey.

Does it prove the boats don't belong to the company that sold Steve Knock his boat and can't be seized today?

I just find it very strange that you answered the phone, "Gibbs Marine".

-Yeah, we always do.

-But you're not Gibbs Marine.

-Gibbs Marine's been here since 1987.

-Yeah.

-So just to keep it all running...

Let me have a look at this paperwork.

The paperwork doesn't include bank account transactions confirming the boats were sold to Mr Pearcey.

Lawrence isn't convinced.

There appears to be some doubt over the ownership of most of the vessels here,

so I'm going to list down every boat in here and you'll have five days...

If your company's claiming to be the owner, you'll have five days to submit paperwork.

If, for example, the boat outside has a lien on it from a bank,

the bank will have five days.

You can see where I'm coming from? Every asset of the defendant company on these premises is now seized

and no longer belongs to the debtor company.

I do have to tell you, because this is commercial premises,

if we deem it necessary, we can effect an entry using locksmiths or any other means.

Now it's down to Mr Pearcey to prove the boats belong to his company and not Regency Marine.

They have five days now to do a third-party claim to those goods

and submit proof to us that they actually own those boats. It's a bit of a legal exercise,

but it wasn't clear who owned what, so I've just done a paper seizure.

To clear up the ownership issue, Mr Knock went to court, and it held

Gibbs Boat Sales were a separate company, legitimately trading.

So Lawrence couldn't take any of their boats.

It looks like Steve Knock won't be getting his money back from Regency Marine.

It's disappointing for Steve, but he takes time to reflect on the few happy moments he had on the boat

before it all went badly wrong.

It was something we had always really dreamed about, especially me, if I'm honest with you.

So when we got that, it was unbelievable. It was such...such...good fun.

Just being around the water, being around the wildlife as well. Everything about it

was just absolutely fantastic. It really was. I'd genuinely recommend it to anyone,

just be wary of where you buy your boat from!

Kev and Lawrence have one more job to do today at a property investment company in Wandsworth, London.

They're acting for someone selling a house with the company, but there was a dispute,

-leaving the vendor out of pocket.

-We're here to collect £5,500.

We've just pulled up now. It looks like offices, so we don't know what assets they'll have.

But hopefully they'll be able to discharge the debt.

Because the sheriffs don't forewarn debtors they're coming, things can get heated when they turn up.

You'll always get the odd nutter. You've got to go in prepared,

but, generally speaking, most situations aren't too bad.

And if you really need to, you can call the police, and they will come and assist you.

Hello, there. I'm looking for Quantum Investment Properties Ltd.

-I'll just give them a call. Can I take your name?

-Mr Grix.

-Hiya.

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

-Enforcement officer. Are you happy to speak here?

-No, go through.

-What is it?

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

-on behalf of a Mr Steven Savage and Mrs Susan Hibbert.

-Yeah?

The amount outstanding at the moment is £5,521.61.

-OK.

-Which is what we're here to collect today.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-So...?

-How would you like to pay?

-Erm, debit card if we could.

-Yep.

-OK?

-Yeah.

We've got a chip and PIN machine. My colleague will go and get it.

-I'll go upstairs. Two seconds.

-OK.

Result! That was quick, even by Lawrence's standards.

Sometimes that throws them. If you just come out with it, "How would you like to pay?"

and don't give them the choice, it sometimes works, as in this case.

He hasn't come down yet, so... we can't count our chickens, but a good way to finish the day.

It's a debit card, yeah? There's a £5 surcharge for a debit card payment.

For the company director, settling with the enforcement officers was cheaper than a long legal battle.

I knew it had to be paid, but the whole thing's frustrating.

If we had got lawyers involved, it could have been a different case.

If only they could all be like that!

You know? "We're here to collect this amount. How would you like to pay?"

"Debit card all right?" "Thank you." If only!

It's nothing against these guys. They've got to collect the money. You win some, you lose some.

Back off to the office now. Job done for the day.

A welcome early finish for the sheriffs.

It's now two months since Lawrence and Kev paid Regency Marine a visit.

The company is now in administration.

Steve Knock has taken his boat back to sell and try to recoup some of his losses.

Shelley Summers is being paid £175 per month by her previous employer, Mr McCaul.

The debt will be paid off in just over four years.

Shelley says she wants to put this episode of her life behind her

and looks forward to a brighter future.

And the customer whose car was sold by Verdi Ferrari

was pleased to get some of the money he was owed, but the story doesn't end there.

The owner of the garage promised monthly £500 repayments to pay off the rest of the debt,

but he's missed the first deadline, and there's no sign of that money.

If they don't make the first payment, it appears obvious that they're intending not to pay,

so we go back to remove goods.

The sheriffs will be revisiting the garage within days

and this time, they'll remove property for good.

Karen Steadman's employers were supposed to deduct money from her wages to pay for her rent.

The money was deducted, but they didn't pass it on to her landlord,

so Karen and her family were threatened with eviction.

It's very stressful, and I wouldn't want any person to go through it.

The sheriffs pay her employers a visit. Will they get Karen's cash?

-What do I need to do now?

-Pay it.

The sheriffs go to the home of a businessman who failed to pay an employee her wages.

-They're told he's moved out, but is it the truth?

-If he's lying, why give us a forwarding address?

Cos the chances are you're going to get rumbled.

And Lawrence and Kev return to the garage in Hayes.

This time they do take property to settle the debt to the customer who the garage didn't pay.

However, a £20,000 piece of equipment is missing.

It was here this morning. The power lead is still plugged in. It could be in the boot of a car.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd