Episode 14 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-Let's go and introduce ourselves.

We're High Court enforcement officers.

We're here to exercise a High Court writ.

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

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

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

I'm not waiting any more.

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

which would mean clearing this place out.

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

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

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

..the High Court enforcement officers are charged by law to

recover what a court says is rightfully yours.

I have seized your car, sir.

You can have a letter through the door or the window.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

It's time to call the sheriffs.

I've collected 42 grand.

Coming up - this Central London guitar store sold a customer's

classic guitar and then kept her money.

Can the sheriffs change their tune?

I'm going to call out locksmiths and effect entry and I will be

removing all the goods from the premises today.

Parking officer Charles Senior was dismissed on the spot

and denied the money he was entitled to.

I felt wrongly treated. I'd been dismissed there and then.

Can the sheriffs make his former employer pay up?

And the sheriffs meet a debtor with something to get off his chest.

The sheriffs collect 93p for every £1 they're asked to enforce.

But despite this high ratio of success,

life isn't always easy for them.

This morning, Lawrence and Kev are on their way

for a return visit to a guitar shop in Central London.

First time around, they found the shop closed,

so left paperwork from the High Court

commanding the owner to get in touch.

Which he's failed to do.

Right, we are heading to London Guitar Centre.

We have attended this address previously before and we've had

no correspondence from the last lot of paperwork we left there.

The woman they're trying to help, Emma,

doesn't want us to use her full name.

She agreed to let the London Guitar Centre sell

a classic guitar on her behalf - a 1959 Fender Jazzmaster.

But when the sale was made, the shop didn't hand over the money.

Emma took them to court

and, when the London Guitar Centre's owner didn't contest the case,

a judge ordered him to pay Emma the £3,120 she was owed.

But since then, the shop has failed to pay a penny.

Now it's up to Lawrence and Kev to make him pay up, one way or another.

It's a fair amount of money

but if there is a few nice guitars there, which we are hoping for,

it wouldn't take many of them to have the debt settled.

So that's what we will be looking for. We'll go there maybe with

the intention of forcing entry with locksmiths

and hopefully seizing possible guitars on the premises.

So, hopefully, we'll get a result on this one.

-It's literally there, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Have we got space?

-I think we have got space.

-There's loads of spaces up there.

15 minutes later they arrive at the shop,

just yards away from the world-famous bustle

of Leicester Square.

It's not open.

Didn't expect it to be, did we?

Despite the busy street, the shop appears to be closed today.

But this isn't going to stop Lawrence.

He finds the manager's phone number stuck to the front door

and wastes no time calling to introduce himself.

Hello there, is that the London Guitar Centre?

Hello, my name is Mr Grix, I'm an enforcement officer.

I'm at your premises now.

I don't know where you are cos the place is locked.

Right, are you in the vicinity, sir?

Right, well, we are here to execute a High Court writ.

I did come here previously and leave paperwork.

Nobody has got in touch with me

so unless you can get somebody here in about the next 15, 20 minutes

to open up, I am going to be employing locksmiths to effect an

entry into the premises and I will be removing all the goods from within.

OK, sir, thank you. Bye, bye.

The manager gives Lawrence the mobile phone number

of a second person, the owner, and says he needs to speak to him.

But when Lawrence tries to call, the owner's phone is off.

Things aren't looking good for The London Guitar Centre.

Lawrence is fast losing patience and is ready to call in a locksmith.

He tries the owner's number one last time.

And this time, he gets through.

Hello there.

The owner asks him to leave paperwork at the shop,

detailing the money owed so he can then deal with the matter.

But given he ignored the papers left on their last visit,

he's hitting all the wrong notes with Lawrence.

No, I can't, sir, because I came here before, I left paperwork,

you haven't been in touch at all.

With all due respect, you could just be spinning me a line now.

I'm not saying that you are but you have made no attempt to

get in touch with me so, if you are not able to come here,

I am going to call out locksmiths and effect entry

and I will be removing all the goods from the premises today.

Surprisingly, despite the prospect of his shop soon being emptied,

the owner maintains he isn't prepared to pay today.

Calling a sheriff's bluff is never a good idea.

Lawrence decides it's time to get this removal started.

OK. Bye, bye.

-Did he say, "Take them?"

-Yeah.

Well, he didn't say, "Take them," but he's got no choice, has he?

But as they prepare to phone the locksmith, the first man they spoke

to, the guitar shop manager, calls again with an unexpected offer.

OK, lovely.

Not wanting the sheriffs to force entry,

he's willing to come and open up for them

to remove enough goods from his shop to pay the full amount owed to Emma.

The other fellow's on his way.

If his offer proves genuine,

this enforcement just got a lot more straightforward for the sheriffs.

So now is the long wait.

There's nothing for Lawrence and Kev to do

but soak up the sights and sounds of London's West End.

We'll find out later if the manager does indeed turn up.

The parking industry is a common port of call for the sheriffs,

who often find themselves trying to help the victims of clampers

recover the money they're owed.

Well, at this stage the writ is live.

But today,

they have a very different type of dispute to resolve.

Northern sheriffs, Pete Spencer

and Dave Lockwood are on their way to Leeds

to visit a parking company

who have failed to settle a debt owed to a former employee.

We're off to a company called UKCPS Ltd in Leeds.

It's an employment tribunal case and we're looking to collect today.

All it says is work vans and cars are kept at this address

so whether or not they're there when we arrive

or it's just a registered address that they use,

we won't know till we get there.

The man they're trying to help is Charles Senior, also from Leeds.

Charles worked as a team leader for a parking company for eight years.

When this job folded he then found a more a frontline role

as a ticket inspector for car park management company UKCPS Ltd.

It was a difficult job, which at times he found very challenging...

You were face to face with more aggression

but it's a matter of just learning to walk away from that aggression

and to carry on with what you're supposed to be doing.

..but one which he worked hard at to raise money for his family

and grew to like over the year and a half he worked there.

I used to have to work...

I more or less worked anything from a five- to a six-day week

to make a living.

I enjoyed the job cos, once you were out on the road,

you were your own boss sort of thing, you didn't get bothered by anybody.

Charles's troubles began when, out of nowhere, UKCPS Ltd asked him

to sign a new contract,

agreeing to a £750 excess on his company vehicle insurance.

Feeling this was an unfair arrangement,

Charles said he wouldn't sign it

and was told he would have to work night shifts as a result.

When he refused, the company informed him

his services were no longer required.

I said, "Well, no, I won't work night times

"because it's not in my contract to work on a night time."

It were only up to a certain time.

They said, "In that case, if you're not prepared to work nights,

"you'd best bring your uniform and camera back to the office."

And dismissed me there and then on the spot.

I felt wrongly treated by the fact that I'd been dismissed

there and then for something that shouldn't have happened, really.

While disappointed to have lost his job, Charles was even more

shocked to learn he wouldn't receive any redundancy or notice pay.

Unable to find work and with no money to tide him over,

his financial situation quickly became dire.

Of course I was worried about money.

I've got a home and bills like everybody else.

I was just getting basic Jobseeker's Allowance,

so it was a very bad time for us.

'Christmas that year was a bad time for us because at the time'

I had one young grandchild which I wanted to buy gifts for.

I couldn't buy gifts for my wife or anybody.

Angry at how UKCPS Ltd had treated him, but unsure of his rights,

Charles turned to the Citizens Advice Bureau.

I got some advice from them and

they helped guide me through everything.

'From just writing a letter to them appealing against the decision'

to taking it on from there.

Learning he had a case for unfair dismissal, Charles made

the daunting decision to take UKCPS Ltd to an employment tribunal.

When the case was contested in court,

the company argued they'd done nothing wrong.

However, a judge disagreed

and ruled Charles had indeed been unfairly dismissed.

He ordered UKCPS Ltd to pay Charles £7,075 in compensation

and strongly criticised the way they'd treated him.

He made a few comments about UKCPS saying they were a company

from back in the Dark Ages, they didn't have a clue as to what they

were doing with regards to procedure and disciplinarily procedures.

But despite the court order, the company still failed to pay up.

His last hope of getting the money owed to him

now rests with Pete and Dave

who are being chauffeured today by Pete's partner Lisa.

The enforcement address is...

this is where the work's vans and cars are kept,

at this address. I assume that's why we've been asked

to attend that address. That's where the assets, potentially, will be.

Arriving at the address on the writ,

it looks like they're in the right place.

There's some vehicles in there.

However, there's a problem.

That's it. UKCPS.

So, how do we get in there?

Must be another way round.

Several of UKCPS Ltd's vehicles are parked tantalisingly in view

but inside a compound with no obvious route in.

I don't know if we can get through, you know, looking at it.

Needing to find another way in,

Pete tries his luck at the building next door.

Open all day.

If necessary, sheriffs have the right

to force entry to commercial premises.

Pete. UKCPS is here.

It's looking like Dave Lockwood may need to practise his fence climbing.

But then Pete notices something.

And they're in.

But is there anybody around to deal with them?

Hiya, you OK?

Looking for UKCPS Ltd.

No?

They are the vans, aren't they?

Whoever owns these vans, I need to speak to.

Is he not?

Is anyone in at all?

Pete, it's this gentleman I think you need to speak to.

No?

Is anyone about from there?

Who are you? Are you to do with the company?

-I am, yeah.

-OK.

-What's your position?

-I'm operations manager. Why?

At this point, we're asked to leave as Pete explains they've come

to collect the full amount owed to Charles

or the company's vehicles will be seized.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, with two sheriffs

ready to pounce, the man says he needs to make a phone call.

It's exactly what Pete wants to hear.

Half an hour later, Pete and Dave emerge

and it seems their tough stance has had the desired effect.

Another member of staff has brought a debit card down to the office

and the man's made a payment.

The guy's paid 50% of the outstanding debt at the moment.

And he's looking to pay the other 50%

over a period of three or four months.

Obviously if the client doesn't accept it,

we'll be back for the full amount that's outstanding

but we've seized four vehicles as well, so obviously

if he doesn't keep the payments up or if it's not accepted,

we'll be back out, and potential to remove the four vehicles.

With £3,500 in the bank

and a concrete arrangement to pay in place, it's a satisfying result

for Pete and Dave and great news for Charles Senior.

Absolutely brilliant, yeah,

cos it has actually brought a company that wouldn't pay

and would have had no intention of paying me, they have actually

got them thinking now that they are having to start and pay something.

So the final result on that is marvellous.

Back in Central London, Lawrence and Kev

are still in Leicester Square, waiting for the guitar shop manager

who's offered to come and open up for them.

They're planning to remove enough goods from the shop

to settle the debt owed to Emma.

She sold a valuable vintage guitar - a 1959 Fender Jazzmaster -

through the London Guitar Centre

but never received a penny of the money.

The manager's co-operative stance is not something the sheriffs

encounter very often, if at all.

There's a chance it could be nothing more than a time-wasting ruse.

So, now is the long wait.

But, as promised, after just over an hour,

he arrives and invites them in to start seizing his guitar stock.

-Hi.

-Hello there.

-Come in.

I'll just show you some ID.

It's now simply a case of working out how many guitars

Lawrence and Kev need to take to get Emma her money.

How much is the amount for?

It was £4,924.95

but obviously there's an hour's waiting time to go on that now.

With the manager's expert eye to guide them,

Lawrence and Kev are eager to get started.

However, there's a snag.

The valuable electric guitars are all being sold

on behalf of customers and so don't belong to the shop.

Electrics are a bit more robust to transport

and they are obviously higher value.

I mean, that is £950.

There isn't a £950 acoustic guitar downstairs, is there? That's 1,200.

-They're all consignments.

-You'll need to try and pay for those then.

With the sheriffs unable to go electric, they need to make sure

the more delicate acoustic guitars reach the auction in one piece.

Shall we go and get the bubble wrap out the van?

We'll case them up. We've got cases for everything.

As the guitars are likely to only fetch a fraction of their retail

price at auction, being able to raise enough money isn't guaranteed.

We're looking for... You're going to be looking at six grand.

You've got auctioneer's costs. You'll be looking at six or seven grand.

So, 13 at 300 is 4,000, isn't it?

That's mine. 759 rubs.

-Put that one on.

-I think that's about it for that box.

An added complication is that all the guitars have security tags,

which must be removed before they leave the shop.

Let's do it the sensible way.

Just slacken the bloody string off, don't you?

There's the engineer.

Might be out of tune.

But it's off without damage.

Can't believe we haven't taken one of these. Got to have one of them.

Hang on.

GUITAR OUT OF TUNE Perfect.

That was perfect, yeah.

Finally, with the walls of the shop growing bare,

Lawrence thinks they're getting close to the required amount.

We are getting there. We still need...

Is there anything else you'd recommend here?

We've still got quite a way to go yet.

You've got quite a lot here.

If there's a couple of guitars

that are sort of 300-ish each, that might do it.

With the last guitar safely de-tagged and wrapped,

this seizure is bringing back musical memories for Kev.

Are you a guitar player yourself?

-I used to.

-Yeah?

I used to, sort of, have a bash about.

I don't know if it qualifies as playing.

Making a noise.

With that over, it's time to concentrate on the day job

and loading up the van.

Removal of goods is the ultimate sanction sheriffs can impose.

But on this occasion, they had no choice.

Unless the owner has a swift rethink and arranges to pay the debt

himself, his valuable stock will be sold to the highest bidder.

Either way, it's a successful outcome for Lawrence and Kev,

who have ensured Emma will get her money back.

Ended up taking 23 guitars in total in the back of the van

and they will be off to auction.

So, yeah, taking guitars, gone and job well done.

I would imagine it would cover well over what we were there to collect.

Obviously, you've got auction costs to go on top of that.

The guitars probably won't make a retail price at auction

but I think we seized enough to gather what monies we need.

It has been a textbook removal for the sheriffs,

who are heading back to base to get these valuable guitars

safely stored, ready for auction

to raise funds to get Emma her money.

The London Guitar Centre told us they thought the situation with

former customer Emma was most unfortunate.

They said the reason she hadn't been paid

was because the shop had run into difficulties after becoming

involved in a dispute with Westminster Council

over business rates,

which has severely restricted their ability to trade.

They added that they hoped the sheriffs'

removal of the guitars would provide

Emma with the money she was chasing.

As officers of the High Court,

the sheriffs play a vital part in enforcing our legal system.

There's a CCJ against each company

and we're here today to seize assets sufficient to clear that debt.

I haven't got anything here, look.

But it's also a job that can draw them

into disputes that prove to be far from black and white.

This morning, sheriffs Lawrence and Kev are on their way

to just such a case,

tasked with enforcing a live High Court writ

against a boss of a taxi firm in Essex.

Twenty to seven in the morning,

we're just coming into an address in Basildon.

We're looking for Essex Minibuses, part of Sky Transfers Group Ltd.

We're actually coming to the residential address,

which is why we're here at this time to day, to catch them before they go to work.

The people they're trying to help

are Martin and Donna Bradley from Basildon in Essex.

Their problems started when Martin decided to change careers

and become a cab driver.

Driving past a local taxi firm, Sky Transfers,

he decided to investigate job vacancies.

I saw a sign outside the premises where they were

and thought...

Well, it was local so I thought I'd try my luck.

Martin worked for Sky Transfers and Essex Minibuses,

both run by Colin Bland.

He seemed like a very nice guy, a decent guy.

Yeah, he gave me a job on the spot

and thought everything was hunky dory.

Martin enjoyed his work, driving people to London's airports.

For me, it was just the perfect job.

I worked the night shift and the roads are so clear.

Wonderful to go round the M25

at three and four o'clock in the morning.

When there's no-one else on the road.

At first, all was fine.

Until after five months working for Essex Minibuses,

payment began to dry up.

We was getting dribbles of money, little bit here, little bit there

and, you know, it just got worse and worse,

we were getting into more and more debt.

Worried by the lack of pay, Martin thought about resigning.

Didn't know whether to sort of cut and run.

Obviously if I'd left I'd have been out of work,

so that wasn't an option.

I just carried on and carried on working and just getting more

and more in debt.

You know, and it was a really stressful time.

But worse was to come.

Colin Bland wrote to Martin, informing him he was winding up

the company and making all the drivers, including him, redundant.

It was horrible when I lost my job.

We sat in the living room with our head in our hands

and we didn't know where to go.

You know? It wasn't just the money, I'd lost my job.

Martin believed he was owed several months' wages,

as well as redundancy money. But Mr Bland didn't agree to pay this.

The loss of earnings had a serious impact on the Bradleys

and their four children at a difficult time.

Pretty much wrecked their Christmas.

We borrowed money to get over that and we still owe that money.

You go to work, you expect to be paid for it.

And I'm afraid that just wasn't the case.

Our youngest is 13 now.

If you work, they think you get paid for it.

And trying to explain to them that you've got no money

to pay for things is very difficult and it can be very upsetting.

And it does, it affects everybody, the whole family.

After closing Essex Minibuses, as he was legally entitled to do,

Colin Bland started up a new taxi business from the same offices,

under a different name.

Frustrated, Martin and Donna took Mr Bland to an employment tribunal

to recover the money they felt Martin was still owed.

Mr Bland didn't contest the tribunal

and he and his company were ordered to pay the Bradleys £2,241.52.

But this was far from the end of the matter.

Mr Bland strongly disagreed with the judge's verdict

and refused to pay up.

At this point, the Bradleys turned to the sheriffs.

They're now relying on Lawrence and Kev to do what they do best.

Arriving at the Blands' house, they head in.

But before they've even knocked on the door,

Lawrence spots a potentially seizable asset.

He makes sure it's going nowhere fast.

Kev.

-Go and get the van and block it in.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

I'm just waiting for a second now just for Kev to get the van

and block this car in before we knock on the door.

Kev secures the car. With it blocked in,

it's time for the sheriffs to make their presence felt.

But not before Kev has sought the approval for his motoring skills

of ex-driving instructor Lawrence.

See that reversing round there? That was skills, that was.

-Yeah. Proper bit of driving.

-Can't teach that.

I used to.

When I was a driving instructor.

Morning. I'm looking for Colin or Nina Bland.

I'm here today to execute a writ on behalf of a Mr M Bradley.

We're here to seize goods to the value of...

Would you like to get your husband on the phone so that he can come back and pay it?

Mrs Bland gets through to husband Colin and passes the phone across

to Lawrence, to introduce himself and explain why they are there.

Hello there, sir. My name's Mr Grix, I'm a High Court enforcement officer.

You were found liable at an employment tribunal.

Did you attend the employment tribunal?

Right, well, your name is liable on the writ, sir.

We're here today to collect £3,101.67 and we're here today to seize goods

to the value of, which will be removed if the amount isn't paid.

OK?

Right, Sky Transfers Group Ltd.

Right, well, that just leaves you and your wife then, sir.

Because you're named on the writ.

Mr Bland says he's already put an application in to the court

to challenge aspects of the judgment.

But with a High Court writ to enforce,

this doesn't change the job Lawrence has been sent to do.

As it is today, we're here with a live writ,

an application doesn't prevent enforcement.

So we're here to enforce this writ, which means

unless we collect payment in full, we will be removing goods

to the value of £3,101.67 from the property.

He's gone. He's on his way back.

Soon after, Mr Bland arrives.

Hi, there. Hello there, sir.

He says the court has made a mistake,

and that as his was a limited company,

neither he nor his wife should be held responsible for its debts.

Therefore, he says their personal names shouldn't be on the writ.

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

pay you the courtesy of doing that. However...

it doesn't prevent us enforcing today.

But Mr Bland doesn't want to go quietly.

-Do you want to come in and film this?

-I'd love to, yeah.

Because this will be really good for you, OK?

He asks us into his house so he can tell his side of the story.

Just so that you know,

these people here have a misrepresented document.

It's not their fault but it was actually done wrong at the courts,

but they are here to actually try and enforce something

which the employment tribunal has already told me was wrongly...

has been corrected at their end, so therefore they're trying to enforce

it on the wrong people.

So it's a bit of a thing that may go a bit further on this one.

If that doesn't get paid...

Whatever the status of his own legal action,

it won't prevent Lawrence enforcing today.

Mr Bland realises his best option is to pay now

and appeal the verdict later.

You need to enter your PIN again.

-Right, that's gone through.

-Yeah.

-There's your receipt for that. OK?

-No problem.

After paying the full amount by credit card,

Mr Bland again decides to talk to us.

We'll have to take more people to the airport now

with Sky Transfers, won't we? A lot more.

So, people, if you want to get to the airport from Essex,

it's the cheapest way to get there.

And we're doing a lot of work at the moment, we need you.

We need your help, now.

With full payment collected as ordered by the court,

it's job done for Lawrence and Kev.

The money will now be held by the sheriffs for 14 days,

pending any further legal action.

Since we visited the home of Colin Bland,

he later went back to court and obtained a stay of execution,

stopping the sheriffs releasing his money to Martin and Donna Bradley.

He argued that as his was a limited company,

neither he nor his wife should be held responsible for its debts,

and therefore their personal names shouldn't be on the writ,

but only his company's, which is now dissolved.

A judge ordered a new hearing to decide whether

Mr Bland's argument was correct and the case should be set aside.

Finally, four months on, the Bradleys attended

Croydon County Court for this hearing, along with Mr Bland.

The new judge ruled Colin and Nina Bland's names shouldn't have

been on the original writ and that the Bradleys would need to bring

a new case against his company, the now dissolved Essex Minibuses,

an action which is unlikely to succeed.

For Martin and Donna, it was hugely disappointing news.

It's been taking so long. It just wears you down.

We're going to have to go away and think about this

to see what we do next.

Anyone managing to obtain a County Court judgment

of over £600, can upgrade it to the High Court and get a writ.

Hello, I'm an enforcement officer

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

The Sheriff's enforce over 1,000 High Court writs every month...

I'm an enforcement officer.

I've got a High Court writ to attend here today.

..and recover over £24 million of money rightfully owed

to their clients every year.

We are here today to collect £20,741 and a penny.

Only sheriffs can execute High Court writs and it gives them more

powers than County Court bailiffs to enter properties and seize assets.

It needs to be done by immediate payment,

so we cannot leave until that money hits our bank account.

I'm coming in any way today, whether you let me in or not.

If no payment is forthcoming,

sheriffs can seize goods to auction to pay off debts...

At the moment, we've seized every vehicle on here.

..although removing goods is rare,

happening in less than 1% of cases.

You're not going to be able to leave at the moment.

I've just seized this aircraft.

These days, a High Court writ costs £60.

If the Sheriff's are successful,

there's nothing more for the client to pay.

That's the cash, there.

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

Hallelujah. Hey?

Today, Sheriffs, Pete Spencer and Dave Crabtree,

are heading to Blackpool, for a follow-up visit at a seaside hotel.

They're going there on behalf of a disabled former guest,

left so dissatisfied with the service he received,

he went to court to get his money back.

The New President Hotel didn't contest the case,

and a judge ordered them to pay the disabled guest,

who wishes to remain anonymous, £1,095 in compensation and costs.

But not one penny has since been paid.

I've been here, previously.

The defendant's name was actually in a different name last time

when I attended.

What they've obviously done, is they've taken it back

and got the defendant's name plus the limited company name, as well.

She has been sent a copy of the new order, supposedly, according to this.

Last time Pete was here, he listed all the goods inside the hotel

but the owner, Emma Walsh, claimed nothing belonged to her,

but instead, to a limited company, East View Leisure.

Now with this company also on his high court writ, Pete's going

back to finish what he started and won't be taking no for an answer.

Time to head inside and ring for service.

Hiya. Mrs Walsh? Enforcement officers from the High Court.

We've got a High Court writ to attend here today.

-Can you get her on the phone if possible?

-I'll try.

-Thank you.

The receptionist says the owner, Mrs Walsh, isn't around.

You need to get hold of her.

We are removing goods today, so she needs to be in touch.

-Just bear with me.

-OK.

While the receptionist tries to get the owner on the phone,

Dave gets on with the familiar task of sizing up the hotel's assets.

I've actually listed all the beds and TVs here, previously.

Meanwhile, the hotel's accountant turns up to talk to Pete.

-Good afternoon.

-All right? Do you want to come through?

-That's fine.

He doesn't wish to be identified and so, not to

get in the way of the sheriff's work, our camera stays out the way.

While Dave sizes up any assets on site,

next door, Pete gets straight to the point

on behalf of the disgruntled disabled guest.

I've been previously and I spoke to Mrs Walsh.

We're back again, unfortunately,

to collect full payment or remove goods.

It's important to get her down here or get in touch with her.

The accountant says the owner is at the dentist and won't be back

until the afternoon, and he has no means of paying.

This isn't good enough for Pete, who's staying put

until he's got the former guest his money.

They've been given an hour.

They get the hour free when we arrive and after that, they've been advised

they're going to get charged £191.50 plus VAT per hour

for us being here.

We will start unplugging the computer systems

within the next 15 minutes, if they haven't come up with the payment.

With the minutes ticking by, Pete and Dave take the time

to work out what goods will be best to remove.

-There's tables, isn't there?

-We can't fit them in the van, Dave.

And this looks like being a big removal for the sheriffs.

Big hotel, isn't it?

But just in time, a woman arrives with a bank card and agrees to pay.

So Dave fires up the trusty chip and pin machine.

Meanwhile, our camera is asked to stay outside.

It's declined it, Pete.

But the payment won't go through.

Sometimes they can be a bit funny.

Sometimes, if you put two numbers in,

they think something suspicious is going off.

They sometimes query it and knock them back.

Finally, the woman tries a different card and the payment goes through.

With their mission complete, it's checkout time for the sheriffs,

and payment in full for the former guest.

Yeah, that's a good one. Paid in full on a credit card.

Erm, it did come down to potentially unplugging the computers,

giving the option to put things on a memory stick.

Yeah, good. Payment in full, 265807 with the card charge on there,

so...the claimant will be happy with that one.

Today, sheriffs Lawrence and Kev are on the road again,

heading just north of London to a commercial cleaning company

who haven't paid a member of staff the money he was entitled to.

We're on our way to Welwyn Garden City now,

to a company called New Green Services Limited.

It's an employment tribunal matter.

The man they're trying to help is Kieran Hook,

who, after being let go by New Green Services,

didn't receive the notice or holiday pay owed to him.

He took the case to an employment tribunal,

and when the company didn't contest it,

a judge ordered them to pay Kieran Hook £1,250.

But New Green Services have since failed to do so.

Any chance of getting his money now rests with Lawrence and Kev.

We're going to what looks like a business address,

a unit in a business centre, so hopefully,

we'll find some company assets there.

The address the sheriffs have is an industrial estate

with several different businesses trading.

As they arrive on site and park up,

locating the company they're after is the priority.

Let's get in there.

Lawrence and Kev head straight to main reception.

New Green Services Limited.

Hello, there. We're enforcement officers. We've got a High Court writ for them.

A woman appears at the front desk who wants to talk to them.

-Are you from New Green?

-You're from New Green?

-Yeah.

-Right.

The female employee doesn't wish to be identified, and so,

not wanting to get in the way of the sheriffs' work,

we keep our camera pointing down.

OK, we've got a High Court writ on behalf of a Kieran Hook.

It's an employment tribunal that's been transferred to the High Court.

The amount outstanding is £2,112.27

and we're here today to seize goods to clear that debt.

-Right, OK, well...

-You can prevent further action by paying in full.

OK, can I ask you guys to wait here?

The female employee says she's aware of the debt

but it's someone else at the company who's dealing with it.

She asks Lawrence and Kev to wait at reception

while she goes to speak to him.

This isn't good enough for Lawrence.

Now he knows he's in the right place,

Lawrence isn't prepared to wait around.

We're ordered here to seize goods by the court,

so that's what we have to do, and we'd be in contempt of court

if we didn't do it.

Once inside the company office,

Lawrence outlines to the woman the methods of payment he'll accept.

Cleared funds, so it can be credit card or debit card

but whoever is the cardholder would have to be present to do a chip and PIN payment.

Or cash.

With the boss on his way,

Lawrence and Kev get on with listing assets that could, if necessary,

be removed and sold to pay the debt owed to former employee Kieran Hook.

Minutes later, with everything in his office already seized,

including a signed Manchester United shirt,

the company boss, Edward Dixon, arrives.

But will he be able to settle the debt?

-Is it?

-Yeah.

He's come with a confession and, more importantly, his bank card.

Mr Dixon agrees to pay in full.

I don't know. It's saying "connecting"...

Still mucking about, isn't it?

So near and yet so far.

The payment isn't going through.

No, see, it's come up as declined but it hasn't declined for...

-Shall I try this card?

-..for normal... No, it's a problem with the, erm...

It's a problem with either this machine or the card company.

If he wants payment, Lawrence has no choice

but to contact the card machine's control centre.

The terminal's showing a false signal and it still won't connect,

and it's just come up declined again but it's not...

It's declined cos it can't connect, it's not declined cos of lack of funds.

Time for another go.

Fingers crossed!

Connection made! Look at that.

Marvellous!

This time, to Lawrence's delight, the payment goes through.

Transaction complete.

There's your copy of that and I'll leave you in peace.

OK, thanks.

Just 40 minutes since they walked in,

Lawrence and Kev are walking out

with the full amount owed to Kieran Hook.

It's a great result for the sheriffs.

£2,112.27.

So, yeah... No...

Another successful one. Can't argue with that.

When we eventually got the PDQ machine working,

just needed all rebooting. Just turn it off and then on.

New Green Services told us they had not been made aware of the tribunal hearing,

and therefore had not submitted a defence.

They added they had no intention of not paying the court judgment,

and once they realised it was unpaid, they paid it immediately.

Since Lawrence and Kev visited the London Guitar Centre

and seized 23 valuable instruments,

the company hasn't made any payments to settle the debt they owe.

The sheriffs have now put the guitars up for auction,

through an online auction site.

The money raised will go to paying off

the £3,120 owed to former customer Emma.

That's the money she was owed by the company

when they sold her 1959 Fender Jazzmaster guitar.