Episode 3 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-Let's introduce ourselves.

I'm a high court enforcement officer. We're here to execute a writ.

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

It's an arrestable offence to stop me.

-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 means clearing this place out.

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

Why don't you tell me who you are? This is an absolute crock!

..the high court enforcement officers are charged by law

-to recover what a court says is rightfully yours.

-I've seized your car, sir.

-Let us through the door or we'll go through the window.

-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

-It's time to call the sheriffs.

-We've just collected 42 grand.

Coming up...

Ronnie Wright carried out £1,800 of electrical work for a builder who never paid him.

If the work has been done and people are happy, I expect to be paid.

The sheriffs go in search of his money.

Hello?

Marketing consultant Louisa Nightingale doesn't work for free.

So, why didn't this college pay her for her work?

You can't hire someone and you can't just not pay them!

The sheriffs try to find out.

Whether I kill off the business or not is irrelevant.

I'm here to execute a writ on behalf of our claimant.

And all doesn't go to plan

when sheriffs Marc and Tony go off-road looking for a 4x4.

That vehicle's going to be reported stolen.

The latest person to need the help of the sheriffs is marketing consultant Louisa Nightingale,

from the Docklands area of London.

Her problem started when she left the company she was working for

to go freelance.

It was a big step for her to lose the safety net of a steady employer.

When I decided to take the jump,

I just told all my contacts that I was setting up.

Everyone was like, "It's so brave."

I've always wanted to do my own thing

and try and make it on my own.

Being self-employed, she takes it on trust

that she'll get an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.

That was certainly what she thought when, the day after turning freelance,

she was approached for work by Jatinder Kaur

of the College of Accountancy & Management Studies.

They were looking for ways to get more students into the college.

It was my first client. I was really excited.

I went away and did loads of work for them.

I thought of all these plans that we could draw up

to help the college get more students in.

I guess that's what freelance is. You never know when your next job is coming.

You've got to be there to jump at the opportunities, haven't you? So I did.

Louisa worked for the college for a month,

putting in long hours and hard work.

Then she submitted her first invoice to them.

I sent it off but I didn't get a response.

Normally, you would get a confirmation of receipt.

So I called them up and they went, "Oh, yes, we did get it.

"We're processing it." "OK! Great."

So when the 14 days came and I hadn't received any money, I thought I'd chase them.

They kept saying, "It's coming. Don't worry."

Because I was a new client, new business,

I didn't want to, you know, rock the apple cart, so I just thought, "I'll carry on."

In the end, Louisa carried on for two more months,

working for both the College of Accountancy & Management Studies

and their sister business, Genius Tuition,

still without getting a penny in payment.

And then it got to the point where they started saying, "We don't have any money."

So I just thought, "OK, this isn't good."

I just thought, "How is this even possible?"

You can't hire someone and you can't just not pay them!

Erm... So that's when I started to think,

"Right, OK, this might actually be a bit dodgy."

At her wits' end, Louisa didn't know where to turn.

Really, you can't make someone pay you.

I'd done all the things - I had a contract,

we'd signed everything, I did the invoices properly,

I did late payment invoices, final reminders. There was nothing else I could do.

I think they were hoping I would just forget about it.

But I only had a handful of clients and not enough to live on, so I really needed the money.

These are some of the invoices I sent to them.

These are the final payment notices.

It didn't do anything because they just ignored them.

There's so many because I've had to issue them so many times!

So a lot of work...

The experience had a big impact on newly self-employed Louisa.

After this whole experience,

I really wasn't sure if I should carry on with the freelance work,

because this could literally happen with every client that I had

and I just thought, "I don't know if it's worth it."

I felt like a bit of a mug that I had let them do that to me.

Finally, Louisa got advice that her best option

was to take the College of Accountancy & Management Studies

and their sister business, Genius Tuition,

to the small claims court.

They didn't contest the case

and the judge awarded in Louisa's favour.

But still a month on, Louisa hasn't been paid.

Her only option now lies with the sheriffs.

I've got to have my fingers crossed I'll get at least some of it back,

because even a few thousand, it's just so unjust.

And all these months, I just want something to happen so that it has been worth it.

Hoping to get Louisa her money back are Lawrence and Kev,

fighting through traffic on their way to northwest London.

Today, they're chasing two writs on Louisa's behalf

from the two trading names that she worked for, both based at the college.

We're in Hayes now,

on our way to the next job.

It's a bit strange. We've got two different debtors, one claimant and one address.

One writ's for £6,200

and the other one's for just under £3,000.

And it's not too long before they find the address they're after.

There it is - College of Accountancy & Management Studies.

They park up and head in.

The name's Mr Grix. I'm an enforcement officer. I'm here to execute a writ.

What is it? Which company is it?

College of Accountancy & Management Studies Ltd, and Genius Tuition.

There's a CCJ against each company.

We're here today to seize assets

sufficient to clear that debt.

The reception staff tell Lawrence

that the college director is currently seeking a company voluntary arrangement,

a form of insolvency.

They think this should stop the enforcement.

But unless the company is insolvent, it won't stop Lawrence and his writ.

It doesn't mean anything to us at the moment.

Just because she's got an insolvency practitioner involved two days ago

to prepare a voluntary arrangement, that doesn't stop us enforcing today.

It might not stop him enforcing,

but a CVA does present Lawrence with problems.

If a company is insolvent, they won't be able to pay him.

His only option would be to seize goods - a laborious and expensive process.

With that in mind, he sends Kev off to see what assets are on the site.

Whether he seizes them or gets any payment,

we'll find out later.

Sheriffs can travel far and wide

in search of the money people are owed.

Today, Marc Newton and Tony Smith are crossing the border to help James Riley,

who, after leaving his job at a building company,

waited patiently for his final month's paycheck, which never arrived.

We're off to Wales, to...

er,

Mid Glamorgan.

The defendant's DTM Construction Ltd.

James took legal action against DTM Construction.

The company fought the case at an employment tribunal.

But the judge agreed with James and ordered DTM to pay him the month's wages.

He was awarded £3,500.

But DTM Construction has still failed to pay.

The sheriffs have been on this company's trail for a while.

In August, Lawrence and Kev found assets, including several vehicles, at the business address,

but no sign of its director.

He's leaving that here.

Yes.

They carried out a full seizure,

allowing the vehicles to remain on the premises,

but now the property of the court on paper.

They left the director a notice, explaining he had five days to prove they didn't belong to his company

or the sheriffs would be back to remove them,

to settle the money owed to James Riley.

So today, Marc and Tony are going back to DTM Construction

to finish what Lawrence and Kev started.

And this time, there is someone around.

Are you from DTM?

-Who are you looking for?

-DTM Construction Ltd. We've got a high court writ.

It's the man they've come to see,

the elusive company director Darrell Matthews.

Since Lawrence and Kev's visit, the sheriffs have received paperwork from him

he claims proves none of the vehicles they seized belong to his company.

It's a story he's sticking to.

It has got no assets at all, DTM.

Well, it's got some, hasn't it?

-It hasn't got any.

-It's got a vehicle.

But the sheriffs ran their own DVLA checks on the seized vehicles and found something different.

There's one vehicle Lawrence previously seized

that's still registered to the company - a Toyota Hilux.

But it doesn't appear to be on the property any more.

Marc demands to see this vehicle's logbook

and calls Lawrence to discuss his next move.

He's saying DTM's gone. There's no DTM. It has nothing.

Right. And there's stuff up there.

All right, I'll have a look around and say, "We're going to start looking at stuff."

Moments later, Darrell Matthews produces the Toyota's logbook

and immediately Tony notices something.

The vehicle is registered in the name of a new owner,

but the date this log was issued suggests Mr Matthews sold it after the sheriffs seized it.

That's because he must've had stuff at the time.

-He's changed them over. But they're not here, anyway.

-No.

It's still active now.

It's illegal to sell or move any vehicle seized by a high court sheriff.

Marc wants answers from Mr Matthews.

-Our guy came here on the 8th August and listed the vehicle.

-Yes.

This logbook was printed on the 14th of September.

This can't be changed. Once it's seized, it's seized. It's no longer your property.

Mr Matthews maintains the vehicle was sold to his partner in June,

well before the sheriffs' visit.

But the dates on the paperwork he sent through

don't match the official DVLA records

of when the vehicle was transferred into the new name.

Marc thinks he knows why.

It was seized prior to it being changed.

If it states it was in your name in June...

It doesn't state it was in our name in June. It was in our name from the 14th September, 2012.

That's when it states.

Well, I disagree with it.

-You can disagree, but it's there, from the DVLA.

-I disagree.

-It's there. The date's quite clearly there, isn't it?

-OK.

Marc isn't buying Mr Matthews' story.

He thinks he's broken the law and sold a seized vehicle,

which should rightly be removed

and sold to pay off the debt owed to disgruntled former employee James Riley.

You need to show me where the money was transferred to.

-I'll show you.

-OK.

-I can't show you at the moment. Give me time.

No. You've had time,

because you've had since the 8th of August!

With Darrell Matthews unable to prove he sold the Toyota before it was seized,

it remains the property of the court, on paper.

The sheriffs know if they can find the vehicle, they can tow it away

and sell it to settle the debt.

-None of these are on here, mate. Oh, that is.

-Huh?

-That is.

But that's not... That's not in his name.

-There's only that Hilux.

-Which ain't here.

-Which ain't here.

Right.

They still can't find the Toyota.

None of the other vehicles are registered to DTM and so can't be seized.

It's now time to widen this search.

Unfortunately, wellies aren't part of a sheriff's normal attire.

Bit muddy here!

There's a gym in here!

Not a bad little gym, is it?

Having your own gym doesn't suggest a lack of money.

But there's still no sign of the crucial Toyota.

A frustrated Marc calls Lawrence again

to tell him the vehicle he previously seized has vanished.

I'll tell him that we'll report that.

I said, "You had no right to sell that on at that stage

"because it wasn't your property."

That's what I'll tell him.

Theft of it, yes.

If it was here, I'd be clamping it up.

See you, mate. Bye-bye.

Marc wants Mr Matthews to know how serious this has now become.

That vehicle's going to be reported stolen.

It'll go onto the ANPR database for the police as a stolen vehicle.

Preventing a person getting the money they're rightfully owed by breaking a court order

isn't something the sheriffs take lying down.

If Marc's right, the case has now changed from a civil to a criminal matter.

-All right. Cheers. Thank you.

-I hope things pick up.

Let's cut to the chase. He's got the money to pay

and he obviously doesn't want to pay.

We can't find assets that belong to that company,

and, er, as long as we can't find assets,

there's not a lot we can do.

Over a month on from their visit,

the ownership of the missing Toyota is still being disputed by Darrell Matthews.

The car has now been declared off-road, its location still unknown.

Until it is found, Mr Riley will have to wait for the money a court awarded him.

Back in north London,

Lawrence and Kev are still at the College of Accountancy & Management Studies,

trying to get over £9,000 on behalf of marketing consultant Louisa Nightingale.

She carried out work for the college but was never paid.

Our job is to seize assets and that's what we're here to do.

With the college so far not producing any payment,

Kev's looking for assets to list and seize on paper

which, if push came to shove, he could remove and sell to pay off the debt.

They haven't got very much stuff. Nothing of any value, really.

Kev's not finding much of value. But one item does catch his eye -

a full set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

I don't know what they are, but I imagine a full set are quite desirable.

I imagine they're more than any of the computers.

Second-hand computers are worth next to nothing at auction.

Lawrence is equally pleased at protege Kev's find.

-That's a good little spot.

-Excellent.

They're whole editions, one to 25 or something.

The only knowledge Lawrence seeks is how much it's worth.

He hot-foots it to eBay to find out.

There's loads of them on here.

1984 complete set, £700.

It is a full set, as well, because it's giving 25 as a full set.

1994 - £318.

Soon after, a consultant for the college arrives to talk to Lawrence.

He says they're planning on challenging the court award,

which should prevent Lawrence seizing goods.

I believe there is a, erm,

defence being put through, as well,

that you can't take anything away without anything, er...

We can if we believe the goods are in jeopardy, erm,

which, to be fair, I do.

Two days ago, wheels have been put in motion for a CVA.

So basically,

the company is trying to get out of the majority of its debts, by the sound of it.

The man says the college is hoping to get accreditation from the local council,

which would enable them to get funding

to pay off all their creditors.

Because of this, he says the sheriffs should hold off their enforcement.

Lawrence disagrees.

That's something that is, as it were, in the pipeline.

It doesn't prevent us enforcing today.

The bottom line is, it needs paying. It should've been paid before now.

It's got to the stage where CCJs have been issued and not paid.

The college's solicitor is brought in to discuss the situation with Lawrence on the phone.

He warns that enforcing payment might mean the end for the company.

But with a live writ,

it's not something that will stop Lawrence.

Whether I kill off the business is irrelevant.

I'm here to execute a writ on behalf of our claimant.

If that kills the business off, then so be it. That's not my responsibility.

It's the responsibility of the directors of the business.

My belief is, the only way to satisfy this writ is to remove the goods today

unless payment is received in full,

and that is the route I'll be going down.

Dissatisfied with what the college has told him so far,

Lawrence is getting worried they're not going to pay up.

So, has the college got funds to settle certainly one of these today,

the one in the name of the limited company, College of Accountancy & Management Studies Ltd?

Is there sufficient funds - £6,212.26 - to clear this today?

Right. Then, we'll be removing goods.

Having been at the college for nearly an hour and getting increasingly frustrated,

Lawrence decides to up the ante

in the hope that it might provoke the college into paying up.

He calls in the removal truck, or rather removal trucks.

Can you tell Kathy I need her, erm...

We're going to need a few 7.5 tonners, aren't we?

Erm, at least four 7.5 tonners.

And the four trucks seem to be helping to grease the wheels towards payment.

Back again.

I just had a call from the accountant.

-Yeah.

-They're trying to raise something and they'll get back to you in a few minutes.

-OK.

-Trying to raise something? Funds?

The signs are that at least one of the named companies is going to pay up.

But Lawrence wants to keep the pressure up until the money's in his hands.

Have you managed to, erm, find four trucks?

Good, good.

Good, good. Let me know how long they'll be.

-Are we getting full payment on this or...?

-Yes.

Right. Just hold off on the trucks for 15 minutes or so,

because we might be getting full payment.

Lawrence's generous 15-minute offer gives him time to check back in with the office.

He wants them to let him know as soon as the money's transferred. But there's a problem.

I just need to check a payment, so Sophe or Bev or somebody, please?

What about Frankie?

Oh, God! What about... Is Dave in?

To Lawrence's frustration...

You're having a laugh!

..the office is out to lunch.

-No-one?

-No.

Mike's on holiday, Dave's not in,

Bev's on holiday, Frankie's at lunch, Sophie's not in today.

Finally, 20 minutes later, someone's back in the office to check on the payment.

All right. Cheers, Frankie. Bye.

Yes, they're all in the account.

It's a sparkling result for Lawrence.

I'll do you a receipt.

Of the two court orders, he's collected payment in full for the main one

and seized goods on paper with a view to collecting the second at a later date.

We eventually collected full payment on one of the cases. It was the larger one.

Genius Tuition is still outstanding.

We weren't going to get that out of them today.

A successful afternoon's work for the sheriffs

and, more importantly, for Louisa Nightingale.

While the second writ against Genius Tuition is still being disputed in the courts,

she's got the money she was owed by the College of Accountancy & Management Studies in full.

She's come with her sister to celebrate.

I did expect it to be quite hard for them

because I wasn't sure what assets they actually had, or if they would pay there and then.

Really massive weight off my shoulders. I can't believe it. I'm so happy.

All this hard work's been worth it. It's just great news.

-So cheers!

-Cheers.

-Cheers to the money!

I'm an enforcement officer. I've got a high court writ.

Would you like to send somebody down to speak to me?

Sheriffs are one of the oldest law-enforcement offices in Britain, dating back to Saxon times.

But they've come a long way since then.

They can now enforce wherever and whenever they want...

We've seized every vehicle on here.

..to get people back money that's rightfully theirs.

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

Their fees are added to the debtor's bills,

so if they're successful, there's no more for the client to pay.

Thank you.

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

They'll accept debit cards, credit cards, bank transfers

and cold, hard cash.

But it must be cleared funds, so they don't take cheques.

-You won't take a cheque, will you?

-No.

We cannot leave until that money hits our bank account.

About to wrestle with the thorny issue of payment methods once again

are sheriffs Darryl Oreton and Mark Povey.

They're on their way to Stoke to try and help someone else get back what's rightfully theirs.

The defendant is from AG Plant Hire Ltd.

The claimant is a colleague.

A wall at the home of Colin, who doesn't want us to use his full name,

was damaged by one of AG Plant Hire's vehicles,

which was mistakenly driven down the narrow road where he lives.

Colin took legal action, AG Plant Hire didn't contest it.

Despite a court ordering the company to pay him £1,018.76,

he's not received anything.

So Darryl and Mark arrive at AG Plant Hire's headquarters,

determined to get Colin what he's owed.

It's out of the van and inside for the sheriffs.

-I'm looking for a Mr Gimbert.

-Mr Gimbert?

-Yes.

-He's not here at the minute.

-I could tell you who could help you.

-Who?

-The girls in the office.

-Is that through there?

Cheers.

-Hiya.

-Hiya.

We're enforcement officers from the high court, here to see Mr Gimbert.

I've got a high court writ to execute against Mr Gimbert.

-You'll have to bear with me.

-That's fine.

-Wait in reception.

-Yes, no worries.

While the office worker tries to get in touch with Mr Gimbert,

Darryl and Mark size up anything they might be able to seize.

Soon after, Mr Gimbert comes on the phone for Darryl.

He says the legal case is ongoing and he therefore shouldn't have to pay the money.

But Darryl's not there to be convinced.

He's got a writ, and the director's legal action

won't stop him getting Colin the money he's owed.

The problem is now, he's gone through the county courts and he's won his case.

Now it's gone through the high court.

Our job is to collect full payment or to seize goods to the value of.

As far as we're concerned, we've got a live writ. It needs to be paid now, sir.

I can appreciate your situation

but, as I said, my hands are tied. I need full payment now.

Understanding Darryl's situation,

Mr Gimbert accepts he's got to make a payment.

He asks to pay by cheque.

I can't accept a cheque. If I could, I would, but I can't.

No, I'm not being awkward. It's just our office's procedure.

The director says he'll try and pay by card.

He goes to try and find some funds and says he'll ring Darryl back.

15 minutes later, things are looking good for Darryl.

The company boss rings back to say he's happy to pay.

The only problem is, he wants to do it by card, over the phone.

Darryl needs to have the card to physically put in his machine

and someone to put in the PIN to go with it.

Despite his displeasure, the owner finally calls back

with a PIN for a card that's in the office.

-The only problem is...

-It's blocked.

It's blocked.

..it's not exactly what Mr Gimbert wanted to hear.

I daren't ask what he said!

The director finally agrees to do the online transfer.

Darryl gets back in touch with his office to confirm whether it's gone through.

Can you check on a payment for me, please?

Thank you.

And...

the payment's gone through.

Job done for Darryl and Mark.

All paid. He wasn't very happy.

We had a few differences over the method of payment.

Obviously, we can't accept payment over the phone

so he was having a bit of a moan, but eventually we got it paid via an online transfer.

So all done. Balance nil.

It's a great result for Darryl

and, more importantly, for Colin,

meaning he'll finally get the money a court says is rightfully his.

AG Plant Hire told us...

They added...

It's 7am on the Norfolk coast.

Sheriffs Lawrence and Kev are on their way to settle a case

brought to court after a disgruntled electrician saw this programme.

Lawrence and Kev have already been up for four hours

and have driven 130 miles.

I don't like early starts. I don't like it.

We're looking for a gentleman by the name of Martin Tayt, from HMH Maintenance Ltd.

The writ's got his name on it, so we're going to his address

and we'll see what we find when we get there.

The person they're crossing the country to help

is electrical engineer Ronnie Wright.

Ronnie has been running his own business for over 40 years,

and at the age of 73 it's still a job he loves.

I still enjoy the work I'm doing,

although my wife keeps pressuring me to stop and retire.

But I think if I retire I don't know where I'd be going to, so I still carry on working.

It's just myself and young Adam, my electrician,

who's been with me for 28 years.

But Ronnie came to regret taking on one particular job for a local Norfolk builder

that's left him stressed, out of pocket

and forced into legal action.

I felt let down because, erm, we'd done a good job for him,

we'd done it in time and we worked well with him,

we had no problems in working with them.

So if the work has been done and people are happy,

I expect to be paid.

Ronnie's troubles began when the builder,

Martin Tayt of HMH Maintenance Ltd, got in touch

needing some electrical work done in two office units he was refurbishing.

I felt he was a good contractor.

I gave him a quotation to do the work, which he accepted.

He did ask me if I could reduce the cost

and I said, "No, my prices would have to stand,"

so he accepted my quotation.

With the price agreed,

Ronnie and Adam worked hard for six long days,

completing the job to their usual high standards.

Basically, putting light fittings,

recess light fittings in the ceilings,

wiring them in and wiring in sockets,

moving sockets, putting new sockets in

and also IT equipment from the ceiling to the floor.

These were all installed by us.

With the job finished, bowls enthusiast Ronnie invoiced Martin Tayt

for the £1,800 he'd agreed to pay for the work.

That's where the problem started.

At this point, the builder seemed to vanish.

And while Ronnie continued to chase him,

as weeks and then months passed, his invoice went unacknowledged and unpaid.

It upset me to feel that I'd been let down in this way.

Had he contacted me to say that he'd got problems, he couldn't pay me,

we could've come to some arrangement,

but I didn't hear anything at all.

With the money already over two months late,

Ronnie finally received a call from Mr Tayt, promising to sort out payment.

But after this, Ronnie heard no more from the builder for some time.

Still thousands of pounds out of pocket,

Ronnie grew increasingly frustrated as his letters, calls and emails went unanswered.

I felt really that I'd been let down in the fact that I hadn't been paid and I wanted to be paid.

Had it been someone that was just starting business,

it could've finished them.

Months passed and Ronnie still didn't receive any payment from Martin Tayt.

Getting nowhere, he realised he needed to take action.

Luckily, he found a possible solution after watching TV one morning

and tuning into The Sheriffs Are Coming.

I made a decision, enough was enough.

And after seeing this programme on TV,

I thought, "I'll try it this way."

So with that, I got onto the sheriffs.

Using the internet, Ronnie sued Mr Tayt for the money he owed him.

When Tayt didn't contest the case, a judge ruled in Ronnie's favour

and awarded him £2,000,

which Mr Tayt still failed to pay.

It's now up to Lawrence and Kev

to get Ronnie back the money he worked hard to earn.

After their epic drive, happily they have little trouble finding Mr Tayt's address.

Well done, mate.

As the sheriffs make their way up a very lengthy driveway, they spot someone.

-Is there someone there?

-She's popped out of there.

-Did they?

-There she is, behind that gate.

However, it looks like they've been spotted, too.

She just dived into the doors behind there.

And her dog.

DOG BARKS

-Hello?

-By the time Lawrence gets to the gate,

the person is nowhere to be found.

Kev is already sensing defeat.

The figure Lawrence saw has vanished without a trace

and the rest of the house seems empty, too.

-You definitely saw someone?

-Huh?

-You definitely saw someone?

-There was a lady.

-The door was open.

-Was it?

-The side door was open, but the gate was locked.

Lawrence has the legal power to climb the gate,

but the dog seems to have put him off.

Hello? DOG BARKS

I don't know how aggressive it'd be. I'd rather make friends with it.

Lawrence looks for another way into the property.

-What have we got here?

-Look at him, he loves rummaging.

Rummage, rummage, rummage.

Nothing worth having in there.

-There's no movement.

-No Bentleys or Porsches in the garage.

Open the door!

Resigned to the fact that whoever Lawrence saw isn't going to talk to them...

-We'll just drop the paperwork off.

-There's not much we can do. There's no way of getting in.

..the sheriffs post their paperwork and retire to the van...

-It's freezing!

-Yes.

We'll just sit in the van so it looks like we're not going anywhere.

Brr!

..where Lawrence has another good idea.

Let's pretend we're making a phone call.

"Blah-blah-blah-blah..."

He pretends to be on the phone in the hope whoever's home

might think he's ordering tow trucks and decide to talk to him after all.

"..blah-blah-blah-blah, blah-blah, blah-blah, blah-blah-blah."

Cunning!

But even tactics like that aren't going to work.

What a pile of... Open the door!

The effort we've made to get here this morning...

The sheriffs would normally put a clamp on the Mini in the driveway

to try and elicit a response from inside,

but their information tells them it doesn't belong to Martin Tayt.

Whether he's inside, or anyone else today, they don't know.

But whoever's there isn't going to open up.

-She's not going to answer, is she?

-I don't think so.

-No chance.

She knows who we are and she's not answering the door.

Defeated for the moment, Lawrence and Kev leave the house,

which, since we filmed, Mr Tayt has now moved out from and sold.

Bye-bye, little dog. We'll be back!

But it turned out Lawrence and Kev's long journey wasn't in vain.

Sometimes, the mere presence of the sheriffs and the delivery of their paperwork

is enough to make a difference.

The day after their visit, Martin Tayt had the judgement against him annulled by the court,

which ruled it shouldn't have been brought against him personally.

The real debtor was HMH Maintenance Ltd,

the building company.

The company's director, one Martin Tayt,

contacted the sheriffs to pay the debt in full.

It means Ronnie finally gets the payment

he should've received all those months ago.

I had an email saying that everything had been settled by Martin Tayt.

As soon as I saw the photograph of the house, I was thinking

his own assets looked quite high -

why couldn't he afford to pay some of his debts off?

I was very pleased and relieved.

Mr Tayt reiterated to us that...

..but by HMH Maintenance Ltd,

of which he is a director.

Chris, navigate a postcode and...

This afternoon, sheriffs Lawrence and Kev are on the road again,

this time in Essex. They think.

It hasn't found the satellite. I've never known anything so bizarre!

-Stop going on about that and...

-I haven't even turned it on!

-Where am I going?

Lawrence and Kev are having a few teething problems

with their new sat-nav,

en route to a substantial new assignment.

We're looking for a company called Danimak Ltd at CMS House.

They're visiting this engineering firm's head office on behalf of a former employee

who took them to an employment tribunal after he was fired from his job.

The company didn't contest the case and a judge awarded him over £19,000 in compensation,

which Danimak Ltd of Dagenham has failed to pay.

But even with two sat-navs now on the case,

there's no sign of CMS House, where the company is based.

This is a CSM truck, so you would hope that that would be a CSM House, wouldn't you?

Over there, around the bend a bit...

I don't think that's it. It's not CMS House or anything.

-Enough is enough for Lawrence.

-Pull over. This is getting stupid.

That's it. This'll do. It's nice and shady here.

Let me just do an internet search for Danimak and his house.

-Oh, CSM House. Right, he's up there.

-Right?

-Yes.

It's CSM, not CMS House,

they should've been looking for all along.

Now armed with the correct address, Kev's convinced he's found the mysterious Danimak.

-Two containers.

-Where?

-That's it. I'm telling you.

-Lawrence isn't so sure.

-That's Alloy Tyres, blah, blah, blah. Grand opening.

Still, with over 20 grand at stake, it's definitely worth checking out.

Hello?

Hello?!

HE JANGLES GATES

See if that brings somebody out.

But it soon becomes clear it's not the right address.

It looks like the sheriffs have had a wasted journey.

Time to fire up the sat-navs and head for home.

Just as they're leaving, Kev notices a familiar name on a neighbouring unit.

Danimak.

-That's it.

-Yeah. "CSM House" on the postbox.

At last, they've found it.

But will this business have the cash they're after?

Blimey, you take some finding!

My name's Mr Grix.

-I'm an enforcement officer.

-OK.

We're here to execute a high court writ on Danimak Ltd

for the sum of £22,535.96.

We're here to seize and, if necessary, remove goods to that value

-to clear the debt if you can't pay in full.

-OK.

-My solicitor sent a set-aside claim.

-When was this?

My paperwork's just there.

The company director's paperwork confirms

he's applied to have the court's judgement set aside and is appealing the case.

But with a live high court writ, this changes little as far as Lawrence is concerned.

The original order would've said pay by whenever.

It's normally 28 days or 14 days.

-Sometimes it says immediately.

-That's why we appealed.

It doesn't matter what action you're taking,

until a judge has said, "This is what's going to happen," that judgement stands.

If you want to prevent further action, you need to pay us

£22,535.96 in cleared funds.

It's a large amount for any business to have available,

especially one based in a Portakabin.

Lawrence outlines the methods of payment he'll accept.

Bankers draft, building society cheque, direct transfer,

-cash, or credit or debit card with a Chip and PIN.

-Yes.

It can't be done over the phone. It has to be done in person.

-Have you got a Chip and PIN machine?

-Yes.

-We'll do it.

-Yes?

-Yes.

-Get the machine, Kev.

That was a lot easier than Lawrence was expecting.

But will the huge sum owed to the ex-employee actually go through?

You might not get a signal. You might have to hold it...

-No, it's looking good.

-OK.

Yes, done.

Five minutes in the office and over £22 grand in the bank. Result.

-You can't normally do a payment like that on a debit card!

-No!

Nice refreshing change!

There you go. I'll write you out a receipt.

Transaction complete.

Lawrence is leaving with the full payment he came for.

-Okey-dokey.

-OK.

-We'll leave you in peace.

-Lovely. That's quite a slick operation!

-Thanks. Cheers, guys.

-Cheers. Bye.

That was about as straightforward and easy as you can get.

Erm...

We just went in and explained the situation to the man, who was a director,

gave him the payment options,

and he just pulled out a company debit card and paid in full.

-The A-Team are here!

-Dream Team!

-A-Team.

-Dream Team.

A-Team, BA!