Episode 7 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-Let's go and introduce ourselves.

-We're High Court enforcement officers.

-We're here to execute 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've seized your car, sir.

You can either let us through the door, or we'll go through the window.

It's time to call the sheriffs.

I've collected 42 grand.

Coming up - Myrna Torres paid £2,450

for a healthcare qualification from a London college,

but got nothing for her money AND was kicked out of the country.

She was really in tears every day, asking, begging them for help, and they wouldn't help her.

Can the sheriffs get her life back on track?

You need to pay, otherwise we're going to be removing goods.

This Yorkshire jeweller mis-sold an engagement ring.

Sheriff Pete goes to show them that diamonds aren't forever.

Your attitude towards me isn't acceptable.

I'm going to take the items with me.

And the careless removals company...

It just got increasingly difficult to get any communication

going with them at all.

The sheriffs go in search of redress.

We need some kind of proof of ownership or we'll be taking it. It's as simple as that.

As another day dawns in West Yorkshire,

in his van and on his way to work is Sheriff Pete Spencer.

Today, he's off to see

if he can bring a happy ending to a love story - gone wrong.

This morning we're going to a jeweller's in Brighouse, West Yorkshire.

Total amount we're looking for is £6,813.87.

The client Pete's on his way to help

bought an engagement ring for £4,100 from Fine Design Products Ltd,

trading as Kingston Diamond Merchants.

But the ring they came away with was a different weight,

colour and clarity to the one they were originally sold.

They went to court and the judge agreed the jeweller

misrepresented the ring he sold them, and awarded in their favour.

It's now Pete's job to make love's young dream come true

and get the unhappy couple their money back.

And if Kingston Diamond Merchants won't pay up, Pete's happy to

show them why diamonds are a sheriff's best friend.

Hopefully he'll have goods in the shop, which we will seize on entry

and remove if need be, to secure the outstanding debt -

or collect the payment in full

which hopefully we will be able to do today.

Sheriffs like early starts,

but arriving at 9am, Pete might be a bit TOO early.

The shop's yet to open.

Pete manages to grab a quick word with the shop staff.

What time do you open?

Half past?

I'll wait half an hour, it's OK.

What she said through the window is the owner's not here till Friday

and they're not willing to deal with it, seemingly,

but I'm sure they'll be on the phone now to the owner

to let them know somebody's outside.

He needs to be getting himself down here, really, because we are looking

for full payment today, or to remove items from within the jeweller's.

Pete takes it on trust that the jewellers will

open their doors to him.

But if they don't, it won't keep him out.

We can force entry if need be with it being commercial premises,

but it is a last resort to force entry.

Hopefully they'll see sense and open the door.

And the moment the doors do open, Pete's first through them.

Good morning.

While Pete explains his visit to the staff,

we're asked to stay outside the premises.

I'm an enforcement officer. I've got a High Court writ.

It's £6,813.87 today as we speak,

so I've come to collect the total amount due today, or seize goods.

Moments later, the shop staff get owner Mr Kingston on the phone.

He wants to know why he's had no warning

he was about to be visited by a sheriff.

It's a High Court writ.

I definitely don't have to serve any warrant on you prior to my arrival.

I'll just explain, I've got a live High Court writ,

which means I can attend here today without prior notice

to collect the outstanding amount or seize goods.

Pete warns Mr Kingston that if he doesn't pay up, he can remove goods.

Mr Kingston continues to argue with him,

and the more he does so, the more Pete's bill rises.

I think you're just delaying tactics, to be fair.

Yes, but I'm here now - that's the only problem.

Well, at the moment, I'm into the next hour so I've got to charge you.

Mr Kingston says he's waiting for the infamous ring

to be returned before he'll consider paying up.

But as the judgment states that the newlyweds don't need to

return the ring until they get their money back, this won't stop

Pete enforcing the writ and doing his bit to stop trouble in paradise.

The case of him returning the ring

isn't anything to do with me collecting this money.

It's not relevant whatsoever. That's something...

That's up to you. At the end of the day,

best thing is pay it, you've got 14 days

to put a claim in against it and then you sort it from there.

If the shop owner won't pay, Pete will have no choice

but to remove some products from the store.

He lets Mr Kingston know this, but the shop owner doesn't seem

bothered by his threat, and it's not long before Pete's had enough.

Because of your attitude, I'm not going to leave items on site now.

I was going to ring our office and see if they'd allow me

to seize items on paperwork and leave them on site but I'm not going

to do that now, due to your attitude. I'm going to take the items with me.

Your attitude towards me isn't acceptable.

With no payment forthcoming or likely today, Pete decides to

take decisive action and asks staff to round up some rocks.

I'm going to take approximately £28,000 worth of goods today.

I've got to take quadruple the amount on the levy.

Under the orders of an officer of the High Court,

they have little choice but to say "I do".

With the stones now in his hands, Pete's in a hurry to get away.

He might have all the collateral he needs,

but he's also now got himself a security situation

in case any potential robbers have been keeping an eye on him.

So we've moved away from the premises now.

I'm just making sure nobody's following us or anything like that.

Obviously, once we're in the vehicle, it's a safe vehicle -

it locks us in the vehicle.

I'm just going to pull into a safe place, and then we can discuss

what's happened in there and the way we're moving forward with that case.

In a secret location, Pete talks us through what the shop have

told him the diamonds are worth, and what happens next.

Those particular diamonds there have got a retail value,

from what they're telling me, of £10,000,

and the trade value on those is £3,000.

That's a picture of the four diamonds which are one-carat

stones each, and they're retailing at £15,000, trade value of £5,000.

In this bag, you see, the diamonds -

I've asked them, each individual one I've photographed has

actually gone in there. I've asked the shop and I've witnessed them

to seal that bag there and actually sign over the seal.

I've no reason to go into that bag until it's returned to them

or until it goes into auction to sell.

£28,000 of precious stones might mean different things to

different people.

To Pete, however, they're just part of the job.

Doesn't make any difference to me. It's just a bag, isn't it?

What happens to the diamonds is now up to Mr Kingston.

He's got 14 days to pay the sheriffs the £6,000 he owes.

If he does, they'll give the stones back.

If he doesn't, they'll auction the diamonds

and give the proceeds to their client,

who might finally be able to buy the engagement ring they dreamt of.

Someone else looking to the sheriffs for help is solicitor

Sherali Lakhani.

Today, he's using the internet to talk to one of his clients,

Myrna Torres.

Hello, Myrna.

She should be in the UK,

but she's currently 7,000 miles away in the Philippines,

and all because a British college took thousands of pounds

of her savings, only to breach the contract they agreed with her.

Myrna came to the UK four years ago to study

so she could become a professional health carer.

Her first two-year course went well.

She made friends here who were all

warm to her and she loved the atmosphere.

She was very happy here.

But when she enrolled in a further course at William Shakespeare College in South London,

things didn't go to plan.

The college was contractually obliged to supply Myrna with

the form she needed to get a study visa, known as a CAS form.

They gave her one, but when she sent it to the Home Office,

it was rejected.

It turned out William Shakespeare College

wasn't a government-registered sponsor.

The college had been taken over by another school,

A&S Training College, who WERE a registered sponsor.

Surely they could give her the CAS form she needed?

The college refused to give her a new letter and she kept going back

and they kept telling her, "We'll do it next week,

"the week after, or do it tomorrow." They refused to give her the money

back and they really wouldn't do anything about it.

She was really in tears every day, asking, begging them for help,

and they wouldn't help her.

It was a desperate situation for Myrna.

She'd paid 75% of her first year's fees - £2,450.

She hoped the qualification would mean

she could eventually earn the money back.

But whatever she tried, A&S still wouldn't supply a CAS form.

She was at risk of having to leave the UK.

She lost all her confidence.

All she could do is cry every time you talked to her.

She was thinking that she's not only lost the money

but having also lost any future she may have had in this country.

Sherali did everything he could to try

and get A&S to provide Myrna with the accreditation she needed.

They just ignored all our letters.

I sent them by e-mails, faxes, post, recorded delivery.

All means - they just did not even acknowledge any of the letters.

Over three months we wrote to them

and we didn't get any response from them.

No CAS form meant no visa for Myrna.

She was forced to leave the UK without the qualifications

she had set her heart on.

She was telling me that her family was probably in debt

because they had to borrow in order to give her

the monies for her to study and she felt that she's let

everyone down and she was feeling that she was the one at fault -

she's done something wrong. In fact she hadn't done anything wrong,

it was just that she fell victim to circumstances here.

Desperate to get Myrna some redress for the money she'd

spent for nothing, Sherali took A&S Training College to court.

It was a clear-cut case.

All we were asking for was a confirmation on a piece

of paper, required under the law, and they were not just providing it.

A&S Training College didn't contest the case,

and the judge awarded in Myrna's favour.

Despite this, the college has still yet to pay back a penny.

If Myrna can get her money back, she still has a chance

of returning to the UK to complete her studies at a different college.

Determined they are going to get Myrna what she's owed,

sheriffs Marc Newton and Tony Smith

arrive at A&S Training College in North London.

It may be a school day, but that's not enough to put off the sheriffs.

They head straight to reception, High Court writ in hand.

You all right? How you doing?

It's about a High Court writ that's been issued against you,

from Miriam Moncala Torres.

It's against who?

A&S Training College.

Right, OK.

It originally went to the county court in May of this year.

OK, let me just call head office.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No problem.

The man's hoping head office knows more about the case than he does.

And when he speaks to them, they tell him

they think they've got a reason why they don't have to pay.

They've had a name change.

A&S Training College is the old trading name of the college.

So we're now Park Royal College.

All your stuff out in the foyer's still got A&S Training on it.

Well, that's an old trading name.

We've now switched to Park Royal College Ltd.

Right, you're going to need to

provide us with some proof of all this.

Umm, yeah... They need proof of the change to Park Royal College.

I'm just going down to look at stuff on the front wall.

The head office continues to insist they're a new company,

but Tony's not won over that easily.

Yeah, OK.

Well, A&S Training College doesn't exist any more as a trading company.

Well, what's all the stuff you've got in the hall

as you come into reception?

Everything on that wall is A&S Training College.

Well, we switched to Park Royal College.

You need to show proof of that like liability insurance or

a Companies House certificate.

I mean I can go into anywhere and they can tell me the name's changed.

Unless you show me proof, it means nothing.

If Park Royal College Ltd is a different company,

they will no longer be responsible for A&S's debt,

and Marc and Tony will have to leave empty-handed.

While Marc calls the office to ask them to make further checks

on A&S, Tony tries to convince them that they do owe the money.

But you are A&S Training College?

You're Park Royal College?

But all the stuff in reception is for A&S Training College.

Well, I'm looking at your timetables on the walls here

and they're saying the 2012 to 2013, A&S Training College.

It's all over the walls in this office as well.

Well, you need to prove to me that it's changed.

You need to get a Companies House certificate or a liability insurance.

I'm not being funny but a liability insurance certificate

should be on the wall, especially with what you do for a living.

Having called his own office, Marc's got good news.

It's just a change of name so it doesn't matter.

It's on the wall, isn't it?

It's a Companies House certificate to say it's not a new company,

it's changed its name to this company, so they're still liable.

Park Royal College is still the same registered company

as A&S Training College.

They may have changed their name,

but they're still liable for the debts.

Marc rams home the point.

It's just been a change of name.

It's just a change of name. It's just a change of name.

No, it's just a change of names. It's a change of names.

Well, you need to pay, otherwise we're going to be removing goods.

Tony gets listing company assets that the Sheriffs will seize

and sell if the college won't pay up -

something the employees don't like one bit.

I really don't think you have to...

Well, we do, cos unfortunately we have to do that

whether it's paid or not. We still do it.

It's a process, is it?

It's a process. They have to price it up.

I'm not pricing it up, I'm listing it.

We're listing it, we're not pricing it up.

While the employees try to sort out what to do,

the Sheriffs look at assets elsewhere in the building.

The computers aren't high-value items,

but there are more than enough of them to seize to pay off the debt.

Marc and Tony have been at the college for 40 minutes

and they're no nearer to being paid,

as the college officials are still disputing payment.

Marc's rapidly losing patience.

We'll give them 30 minutes or so, and then if we don't get anywhere

after that, we'll start geeing them up

to start removing goods basically.

Moments later, the employee comes back.

He insists the college knows nothing about the case,

and that they want to get the judgment annulled.

We had no knowledge of this.

Genuinely, we have no knowledge of this case.

But obviously we're going to be defending that.

But Marc knows only too well, at this late stage

an appeal isn't going to stop them enforcing the writ.

The thing is, at this stage, it's a live writ.

So it would need to be paid today or we will remove goods.

Whether he said he'll defend it, it's entirely up to him.

He can do that, but today it will need to be dealt with.

Faced with having Marc publicly removing office furniture,

the college finally gives up and agrees to pay.

Do you guys want us to transfer to your account?

Yeah. You do. It's on the bottom of that paperwork.

-Can we do that?

-As long as you're on the faster system,

cos we have to sit here until it's gone through.

You need to do this now...

Now.

Cos it'll start going up.

If payment goes through, it'll be a big score for Marc.

He checks with the office to see if the bank transfer has been made.

I just need to check the bank to see if some money's gone in, please?

Thank you.

OK, lovely. Thank you.

It's a bull's-eye for Marc and Tony, whose persistence has paid

dividends for themselves, and more importantly, for Myrna.

The college meanwhile are keen to give their side of the story.

We didn't know there was a judgment against, you know.

If we knew about it, we would have contested it.

We've got to look at what the judgment says.

She wasn't provided with a letter.

But if her visa was refused by UKBA we can't keep her in the college,

which is against the law of the land.

We'll look into the detail and see what happens.

Marc is understandably delighted at getting the result

he wanted for Myrna.

We got there eventually.

It took a while, but we got paid in full which was a good result.

We've got the money which is a lot better than us having to remove

all the computers, cos they weren't easy to get to,

and it would've taken a while,

it would send the bill through the roof, to be honest.

It would've doubled the price of the bill by the time

we'd started taking that out of there.

Most importantly, the result means

Myrna finally getting the £2,736 she's owed.

I'd like to share the good news

that we have recovered your money from the college.

GIGGLES

A&S Training College reiterated to us they knew nothing of Myrna's

legal claim or the court judgment until visited by the sheriffs.

Had they known about it, they say they would have contested

the case, as they insist there was no breach of contract.

Marc and Tony work for this High Court enforcement company

in South London.

They enforce over 1,000 High Court writs every month and recover

over £24 million of money rightfully owed to their clients every year.

Hiya.

Good morning, sir.

My name's Mr Grix. I'm an enforcement officer.

Only Sheriffs can execute High Court writs and it gives them more powers

than County Court bailiffs to enter properties and seize assets.

We have a High Court writ. We're here today to remove that vehicle.

If no payment is forthcoming,

Sheriffs can seize goods to auction to pay off debts,

although removing goods is rare, happening in less than 1% of cases.

This is New York...

..near Boston...in Lincolnshire.

It may not have Manhattan's skyline, but for Keith and Chris Peberdy

it was the dream life in the country they wanted after deciding

to move from their home of 20 years in Dorset.

I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.

We put in an offer the following day and luckily for us it was accepted.

Unfortunately, this move was also the start of their troubles.

Once the Peberdys decided to move house,

they knew it was going to be no small task.

We'd been in our old house for 20 years,

so we had a lot of furniture, stuff in the garage.

Looking round for a removals company,

they wanted a firm that would take the stress out of the ordeal.

And after searching online,

they found local Dorset firm Christchurch Removals.

Chris spoke to the company boss, John Green.

He was very convincing that he would do a very good job

and take care of our possessions,

so we went with him.

It's the biggest mistake we made.

At first, the 170-mile move went well.

The Peberdys were quite happy with the way the company

packed their stuff and moved it out of their Dorset home.

But when they got to their new New York house,

the removers started to look anything but professional.

There was a reproduction Victorian bedroom chair,

which was badly scratched.

The top was snapped off of a garden parasol.

Mr Green told me that I could glue it together.

There was some shelving that was broken.

A concrete planter, that was smashed.

Our dining room table was scratched very badly.

Upset about the damage, the Peberdys paid £900

to have their table restored,

which, with the other estimated repair costs,

left them wanting just over £1,000 from Christchurch Removals.

Keith then got in touch with company boss John Green.

First of all, we put our complaint in writing

to Christchurch Removals along with an estimate for the damage to

the table, which was the major item.

And I don't think there was any response at all from them.

And it just got increasingly difficult to get any communication

going with them at all.

After a month of trying to get in contact,

Mr Green agreed to come to New York and inspect the damage.

But Mr Green didn't want to resolve the problem,

and no refund of any sort was forthcoming.

Nine months on from their move, insulted at how they'd been treated

and still without any sign of compensation,

the Peberdys felt they had no choice

but to take Christchurch Removals to court.

The company told the court their insurers were dealing with

the issue, but unimpressed by this defence,

the judge awarded £1,085 in the Peberdys' favour.

Since then, there's been no sign of any payment,

so Chris and Keith have had to call on the help of the sheriffs.

And on their way to Christchurch in Dorset to try and get

their money back are sheriffs Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally.

We'll see if there's any vehicles on the driveway when we get there.

Potentially block the driveway or clamp any vehicles.

And then we'll give it a knock. and just take it from there,

see if we can get somebody to answer the door.

It's just gone six in the morning when they arrive at the company

address, which also happens to be owner Mr Green's home.

It's that one with the Transit on the drive.

No sooner have they arrived than Lawrence spots a potentially

seizable van on the driveway of the house they've come to visit.

Kev parks across the driveway to make sure it's going nowhere fast.

Looks like they've got a dog.

Brilliant (!) I'm not getting bitten again.

Gate's locked.

Sheriffs are legally allowed to climb gates or perimeter walls

and fences to gain entry - even at residential addresses.

Luckily, today, Lawrence manages to find the handle.

You got the front door there?

Give it the bailiff knock.

There we go.

Lawrence's knock has the desired effect,

as a bleary-eyed member of the Green family comes to the door.

I'm an enforcement officer.

I'm here today to execute a High Court writ

against Christchurch Removals.

The man says there's no-one else in but him.

Nobody lives here, just you?

So who's Christchurch Removals? Is that your mum and dad, is it?

Right. And the van out the front, is that Christchurch Removals' van?

You've no idea?

You don't work for them. It's not your van?

The son says his parents run the business and that they're away.

Are you able to get one of them on the phone?

You must be able to contact them.

If something happens you need to be able to contact them, don't you?

Well, something's happened.

Well, I've woke you up, you can wake them up.

Because at the moment we're here to seize goods to clear this

particular debt that we've got, which as it's looking at the moment

is going to be the van out the front.

You've just said it's not yours.

It relates potentially to a removals business,

so we're going to be looking to seize that vehicle,

so you need to get your parents on the phone.

I've woken you up. It's only fair you wake them up.

The man says he knows his rights

and that Lawrence has to get off the property.

No, I don't. So you clearly don't know your rights.

Getting the door slammed in their faces

brings the discussion to an end.

If he's to get any money back for the Peberdys,

Lawrence will need to get in touch with the owners,

and to do that, he needs their son to help him make contact.

Lawrence turns his attention to the van on the drive.

It could become a useful bargaining chip to lure the son back out.

It's definitely used for work.

Yeah?

What is there, stuff in the front?

TomTom, street atlas, there's webbing strap.

Time to clamp the van.

Stick a clamp on it, sit in the van.

Yeah? OK.

Usually, seeing the clamp go on is enough to get debtors to pay up.

But today, there's a problem.

Lawrence, where's it supposed to be?

Oh, you're joking me? Oh, you're having a laugh.

It should be there, shouldn't it?

Yeah.

That's not right.

With no clamp and no debtor to talk to,

Lawrence and Kev are limited in what they can do.

They decide to wait it out until either the office opens

so they can check on the ownership of the van,

and potentially get it towed, or the debtor agrees to talk to them.

But this is potentially worst-case scenario with a residential address.

Yeah.

Really, we need to be in dialogue...

..and then we can establish who is the owner of the vehicle

and whether we can actually take it or not.

It's a 200-mile round trip for the Sheriffs,

and the chances of getting any money seem to be fading.

Until suddenly...

There he is.

..the son re-emerges.

Worried that the van's going to be seized,

he wants to show Lawrence paperwork which he thinks proves

the van's owned personally by his father, not Christchurch Removals.

As this quite clearly states, this document is not proof of ownership.

We need some kind of proof of ownership or we'll be taking it.

It's as simple as that.

If we have to take a vehicle, you'll be liable for more money,

so the best way to deal with it is get it paid.

You need to get him on the phone.

That's what phones are for,

for contacting people when they're not around.

Getting somewhere, slowly. Maybe.

Well, he's dealing with it now. That's the thing.

He's actively dealing with it, which is what you need.

Finally, after another wait, the son emerges prepared to pay up.

Did you get in touch with them?

I phoned them up and they said just pay it, so...

Yeah.

As it's not a huge amount of money as well, you know.

It's best to get these things sorted.

Locked out of a residential property and with no clamp,

at one point all wasn't looking good for Lawrence and Kev,

so they're understandably delighted to have got a paid-in-full.

Bosh!

You've just met the A-Team!

Absolutely blinding start to the day.

A residential for what was potentially a non-entity -

that's as good as it gets on that one.

It's another triumph for the sheriffs.

A paid-in-full for them

and, for the Peberdys, finally a letter in the post.

-Oh, we've got the cheque!

-Brilliant.

It says we have made a payment to you of £1,222.59

in full payment of the above matter.

-Oh, that's good.

-Yeah.

We weren't sure at any stage whether we were going to get paid or not.

We're just happy that it's all over and we can get on with our lives now.

Boss John Green told us the Peberdys refused an offer

from the company's insurers.

He said he had now retired

and that Christchurch Removals was no longer trading.

Today, Lawrence and Kev are staying close to their South London roots.

They've got an appointment with a Sidcup mortgage advisor

who owes money to a former client.

We're at a residential address but apparently it is a commercial

property with various companies working from it.

We're looking for an S Williams, we're looking for £2,241.32.

The lady they're on their way to help is Janet Folds.

When she tried to take out a mortgage to buy a new home

for her elderly father George,

she thought it would make both of their lives easier.

Instead, it's seen her out of pocket, forced to go to court

and left relying on the sheriffs for help.

Janet's father George is 87 and not in the best of health.

He's worked all his life, but he's always been disabled.

From the Second World War, he's got three bullet wounds, I believe.

He's always been in pain.

He can't manoeuvre his leg or his shoulder,

and arthritis has set in,

and he's also got a heart condition, he's got anaemia,

and he's in quite a bad way, really.

And the stairs in his house are too difficult to get up and down.

To make live easier for George,

Janet decided to move him out of his old house and find a new flat,

which had the facilities he would need in his old age.

She found just the place in Lewisham, South London.

She took George to see it.

He was over the moon with it, and it would've been ideal for him.

The new flat was going to cost more than selling George's existing

one would raise. They'd need a mortgage to cover the difference,

and looking around for someone who could arrange one,

Janet was recommended Stewart Williams.

She went to meet with him and was impressed.

I've got to say, it looked very professional - and so did he.

Erm, everything in the office pointed at the fact that

he was what he said he was.

And a successful one at that.

He said "This should be no problem at all but I'll need some money

"from you straightaway."

My father supplied the money, put it into my account,

and I gave him a cheque there and then.

He said, "Not to worry, you've got the mortgage."

With Mr Williams' fee paid and the mortgage in the pipeline,

Janet and George thought they could relax.

But a few weeks after paying the £1,500,

Janet received some bad news.

The buyer for her father's house pulled out,

which put her whole flat purchase in jeopardy.

She got back in touch with Mr Williams.

And he suggested that my brother could buy my dad's house...

which sounded a bit odd.

He said, well, if he buys that, you can keep that,

keep the house,

your father goes into the flat and the house can be let.

So he said, right, I want another £2,000. First words out of his mouth.

Thinking it their best option, Janet agreed to Mr Williams' plan

of making two property purchases.

Using George's money, she paid the additional £2,000 fees

Mr Williams asked for.

Days then weeks went by,

and there was no sign of any mortgage.

Janet got back in touch with Mr Williams,

who gave her some bad news.

Because there were now two mortgages needed,

one would have to be buy-to-let, but no mortgage company would allow

Janet's family to take out the riskier buy-to-let mortgage.

He said, "I'm afraid we have got a problem, yeah."

He said, "You can't have the mortgages."

Just like that.

But I thought he would've told me that in the beginning,

but it was purely money. That's what he could see.

And me, like a fool, I let him have it.

Janet then had to tell George that she'd had to pull out

of the purchase of the flat he'd fallen in love with.

My dad was so... He even packed.

And he was virtually living as if he was going to move tomorrow.

So I couldn't stand it no more. That night I've had to get him home,

me and my sister told him.

And he was gutted.

Worse still, Mr Williams was refusing to give back any part

of the £3,500 fees Janet and George had given him.

Despite the fact they'd followed his advice and he had been unable

to get them a mortgage,

he said these fees were non-refundable.

Well, I said to him, "What happens now then?"

Thinking that he was going to say,

"We'll give you some of it back," or just indicate something,

so he said - nothing.

And he looked at me as if I was asking something really strange.

And by now, I was getting up.

"No," he said. "That's the end of it.

"You've got no mortgages. There is no mortgage."

And I just sort of walked out a bit dumbstruck, really,

and it wasn't until I got outside

and thought what I really felt about him

that I've made my mind up, one way or the other I was going to

get the money back, whatever way it took!

Determined not to let Mr Williams get away with her father's money,

Janet investigated legal action.

She took out a county court action against him.

To Janet's surprise, Mr Williams admitted liability

and agreed to pay her what she was owed.

He admitted the whole amount and said,

"but my defence is he's in financial difficulty,"

and I thought, right.

They said, "He's asked you for time to pay."

So, I wrote back and said, "How long will this be?"

So they said, "He'll send you £2,000 within 14 days,

"and the rest he'll pay in February of this year."

Mr Williams paid Janet the first £2,000.

But after that - nothing.

And now, nine months on, she's still waiting for her money.

With nowhere left to turn, her last hope now rests with the sheriffs.

Guided by their trusty sat nav, they arrive at the address

named on the writ, park up and prepare for action.

There's just one problem.

We're looking for S Williams, no?

This isn't the right house.

Stupid sat nav.

The couple at the door tell them the address they need

is actually around the corner.

Thanks very much.

Why do I get the blame for the sat nav being wrong?

No, I said stupid sat nav.

It seems they mistook the sheriffs for something quite different.

They guessed we were bailiffs straightaway. What was that about?

No, they said, "What have we won?"

-What have we done?

-No, "What have we won?"!

They thought we were Lottery?

Two minutes in the van and they find the address they're after nearby.

Time to try again.

But will this house be the office they're after?

Hello, I'm looking for an S Williams?

-I'm a bit worried about the...

-Yeah.

-Cos she's loitering.

Yeah, go and have a word with her. Show her your ID.

Worried about getting a parking ticket,

Kev goes looking for a parking space

while Lawrence goes into the office upstairs

to introduce himself to the man who buzzed him in.

Hello. It was you that buzzed me in, yeah?

I'm looking for Mr S Williams.

No, I appreciate that. So you don't know of a Mr Williams here?

Mr Grix, an enforcement officer. If you can get him on the phone

and just tell him there's an enforcement officer here for him.

As the somewhat surprised office administrator goes to call

Mr Williams with the news he has a visitor,

Kev returns, having had no luck finding somewhere to park.

If you want to keep an eye on the van.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah, I'll shout if I need you.

Lawrence will now have to try and get Janet her money back

without his partner's help.

He tries to find out a bit more about where Mr Williams might be.

Is he out at a client's, is he?

Is that far away?

Perhaps he needs to come here and sort it out then.

He decides it's time to bypass the man in the office

and talk to the broker directly.

Can Lawrence persuade him to come down and pay up?

Hello, Sir. My name's Mr Grix. I'm an enforcement officer.

I'm here to execute a High Court writ on behalf of our claimant,

J Folds?

We're here today to seize goods to the value of £2,241.32.

If you wish to prevent further action,

you need to pay that amount in full.

OK. Cheers. Bye-bye.

That was a lot easier than expected.

He knows who she is. He's not happy about her!

But he's going to the bank to get the money out, I believe.

He said he'd go and get the cash out now.

But a sheriff as experienced as Lawrence knows until

the money's in his hand, nothing's guaranteed.

What I have to do, I have to seize goods within here,

that's what I'm sent out for today, is to seize goods.

We're not here for the money.

We're here to seize goods he should've paid at the CCJ stage.

He didn't, for whatever reason.

What do you want to do then? >

I just have to list everything down. It won't take me long.

To keep the pressure up,

he gets on with listing all the goods in the office.

Is that a shredder, is it?

If any of these belong to Stewart Williams,

and he gets cold feet about paying up,

they can then be removed and sold to pay his debt.

No, no, it's all right.

As Lawrence finishes listing assets,

Stewart Williams calls to say he's minutes away.

But he's also heard about our camera and wants us out of the office. Now.

A few minutes later, Mr Williams arrives and goes in to speak

to Lawrence, who's ready with the figure he's there to collect.

But will Mr Williams agree to pay?

£2,241.32.

Yeah. £1.32.

Stewart Williams hands over the full amount owed - in cash.

Cash. Nil balance. And just sign and print for me.

There you go. There's your receipt.

I'll leave you in peace. Cheers. Bye-bye.

It's the perfect result for Lawrence and great news for Janet,

and her father, George.

He paid in full? Bosh!

Bish, bash.

Finally, they'll now get back their money - in full.

It's all in there. The guy knew about the debt.

He didn't want the aggravation so he went and got the money and paid it.

We're done and dusted and that's the end of it.

This is a letter from the sheriffs to say that they successfully got

my money back. I feel good now to know that we've got it back for

my dad. I'd like to have been there when they went in there.

It's just satisfying knowing that I've got this back.

I hope other people do what I've done.

A few days after Pete removed £28,000 of diamonds from

Kingston Diamond Merchants, owner Mr Kingston paid the £6,000 debt.

The diamonds have now been returned to him and the couple

he mis-sold an engagement ring to have been paid in full.