Episode 1 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-Let's introduce ourselves.

-Got an High Court writ.

If it's not paid, we'll be removing the stock.

-Their job is to get you your money back.

-It's about to get physical.

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

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

-We need to deal with it now.

-We're going to remove vehicles.

If you're acting on his authority, pay it.

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

Are you going to open this building, or am I going to force entry into it?

-You need to pay this.

-..it's time to call the sheriffs.

Don't put your hands on me.

I'm going to call a locksmith, effect entry and remove all the items.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

They're enforcement agents of the High Court,

and the law says they're on your side.

Just collected 42 grand.

Coming up...

..when Charandeep Sandhu arranged to have his spectacular wedding filmed,

he never dreamt it would take 18 months

to see the disappointing results.

My wife broke down in tears.

Sheriffs Lawrence and Kev have to get tough

when they attempt to get Charandeep his money back.

Are you going to pay in full, sir?

Right, I'll get the crowbar out of my van.

In London, the sheriffs are evicting squatters

from a barricaded building.

I've got a writ of possession for the property

and you're getting evicted this morning.

But as tensions rise, can the eviction be completed peacefully?

Got a legal document to evict you.

And electrician John Marsh wasn't paid for work he carried out

for a loft conversions company.

You know, you may as well just open your wallet

and throw your money on the floor.

But when sheriff Pete Spencer goes in to collect the debt...

things turn nasty.

-Let go of the camera, mate.

-Let go of the camera one second.

Just let go.

While much of Britain sleeps,

enforcement agents Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally

are already out on a case that centres around a wedding video.

Just coming up to 6.20am.

Just coming into Harrow, on our way to a residential address.

We are actually looking for a company,

Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited.

They're wedding photographers.

We're looking today for goods to the value of £3,705.57.

They're on their way to bring a happy day to a very unhappy couple.

This is Charandeep Sandhu.

Three years ago, he was getting married to Amarjeet.

As with anyone's wedding,

it was to be one of the most important days of his life.

And as a Sikh, it was to be a week-long extravaganza.

Our wedding ceremonies, they go on for almost a week or so.

It's just full of fun.

It is one of the most special days of our lives, really,

and especially for Amarjeet, I know,

she had been looking forward to this day for such a long time.

And wanting to remember their perfect day for ever,

they arranged to have it filmed

by specialist wedding videographers Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited,

not to be confused with any other company of a similar name.

It was run by Mr Pankaj Jethwa.

We chose Adreamwedding simply because they had recorded a video

of one of our family members, my sister-in-law,

and the video was actually good.

You don't mind paying a little bit extra

if you get a good quality at the end of it.

Having paid Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited £3,000 up front,

with a further £1,000 to come on receipt of the edited video,

Charandeep and Amarjeet got married.

The day was all they'd hoped for, but problems started soon after.

They asked for their video, but received nothing.

Eventually, after a full year and a half of waiting,

Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited sent them a DVD of their special day.

My wife's reaction was, basically, she broke down in tears.

When I was looking at the video,

I realised that there's some problems there.

Most importantly,

some key moments of the wedding never made it onto the video.

See, at this point now,

there was all my family dancing in front of the car,

there was the drummers there,

and this is the first part

where the groom's family meets the bride's family officially.

But, disappointingly,

this was one of the scenes that wasn't on the DVD.

They also spotted some technical problems.

When you watch it on the TV,

you cannot have it on a constant volume,

because, suddenly, the sound will drop

and then, suddenly, the sound will go up.

Of course, the missing scenes could never be recaptured,

but the family listed changes that needed to be made to the video

and informed Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited.

Mr Jethwa agreed to make the adjustments.

Seven months later,

they contacted Charandeep to say the work was finished.

He could have the DVD on payment of the outstanding £1,000.

Charandeep insisted on a second viewing.

But the bulk of the changes hadn't been made.

We tried to work out a way that we can actually get the job done

and, obviously, you wouldn't want to pay the full amount

for something that you're not happy with.

Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited e-mailed Charandeep,

saying he would be charged £100 per week

for every week he hadn't paid the outstanding £1,000.

Charandeep and his solicitors

attempted to contact the company a number of times,

trying to negotiate a workable deal, but Mr Jethwa wouldn't respond.

Charandeep felt he had no option but to take the company to court.

Mr Jethwa contested the case,

but a judge agreed with Charandeep and awarded in his favour.

The company was ordered to refund £2,500

and send them the finished project within 21 days.

But since that date, Charandeep's not had the money or the video.

Their company is called Adreamwedding.

I'll be honest with you, they need to rename that

to A Nightmare Wedding, because that's what they've left us with.

It's been a three-year nightmare.

Charandeep and Amarjeet's only hope of seeing their money

or their wedding DVD now rests with the sheriffs.

As they approach Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited,

Lawrence shows his soft side.

You've got to have a certain amount of sympathy for the claimant.

It's likely to be the most expensive day of anybody's life, really,

unless you get divorced.

You can't relive the day.

It's there and then, and it's got to be captured.

Lawrence and Kev have been told that, although this is a house,

it's where the video company is based

and there's a studio in the garage.

So, while Lawrence tries the door, Kev goes round the back.

But the owner of Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited

is still in the land of dreams.

Morning, sir. I'm looking for Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited.

Mr Jethwa, is it?

No, it's Mr...

-Sorry?

-You can't come in.

-I'm trying to show you some ID.

-Give me a minute.

Give me a minute. Give me a minute.

Mr Pankaj Jethwa is the boss of Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited,

and with our camera present, he wants to talk from behind the door.

No, sir, I'm quite within my rights to stand in the porch.

Are you going to open the door and speak to me and deal with this?

Right, my name's Mr Grix, I'm here to execute a High Court writ

against Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited,

and I'm here today to take goods to the value of £3,705.57.

The only way to prevent further action is to pay in full.

Are you going to pay in full, sir? Are you going to pay in full?

Right, well, I'm going to be forcing entry

into your photographic studio at the back of the house, then, sir.

OK? I'll get the crowbar out of my van.

The sheriffs aren't interested in getting into Mr Jethwa's house,

but they are interested in his studio at the back.

As it's a commercial premises,

they have the right to force entry into it if necessary.

They assess the options.

We will effect entry into your photographic studio

and remove everything if you don't pay.

Who does it belong to, then?

-It belongs to your wife?

-Yeah.

This needs paying, otherwise we're going in the studio.

Have you got the key to it?

Are you going to open it, or am I going to force entry into it?

I'll give you a few minutes, but all I'm going to be entertaining

is you paying or you opening this building,

or I will be effecting entry into it, OK?

Lawrence tries to deliver the paperwork.

No, I just want to give you that, because it's got the amount on it.

-Just give me...

-It's got the amount you need to pay and how to pay it.

I know, but I need a few minutes.

It doesn't make any difference to you to take it.

-Why don't you take it?

-It's not serving you with anything.

It's for your information.

-We're not going to wait outside.

-We're not waiting outside.

You need to concentrate on how you're going to get this money together.

Mr Jethwa suggests Lawrence posts him the notice.

KNOCK ON DOOR

There's no letter box, sir.

How do you expect me to post it through the door?

Yeah.

Well, I'm standing in the letter box, then, aren't I?

You need to just take the paper from me, sir.

All right, I've left it on the windowsill.

Mr Jethwa asks for time to get dressed.

OK, you get dressed, then, sir.

OK.

He's saying he can't pay.

I said, "Is there anybody to help... who can help you with it?"

That's what we're trying to do now. He's just...

He's very reluctant to let me into that building, for some reason,

but we will be going in there.

Our camera is asked to leave the property.

With time passing, if Mr Jethwa won't pay,

the only way Lawrence and Kev will get Charandeep the money he's owed

is by forcing entry and removing goods from the photographic studio.

Kev looks for the crowbar.

A-ha!

-I'm dressed up, I can talk to you.

-Last chance, sir.

Are you going to open it,

or am I going to get it open with the crowbar?

It's commercial premises. It's a limited company.

It has no protection.

It's a detached building, it's not attached to your residence.

It can be forced entry.

Are you going to open it?

-I'm not going to open it until...

-Right.

-Wait.

-Don't be...

-Are you going to open that building?

-Yes.

-Right, go and do it, then.

-Not now.

Right... I'll rephrase my question. Are you going to open it now?

-No.

-Right, then we're going to force entry into it.

Mr Jethwa continues to argue about opening the studio.

-Lawrence has had enough.

-Go on, Kev, just do it, mate.

With the studio crowbarred open, Mr Jethwa lets the camera back in.

Told you what I was going to do.

Inside, there are plenty of goods to list

with a view to remove and auction if necessary.

It includes several computers and some video equipment.

Make yourselves comfortable, I guess that's all I can say,

is show you a bit of hospitality.

But, despite appearances, the forced entry seems to have had an effect.

Inside the house, the owner's son has paid the debt by bank transfer.

So, if you can just sign there and print there.

Mr Jethwa has a parting shot.

I'm going to let every videographer

know not to do business with these guys, you know.

Charandeep and Amarjeet's family

is unlikely to do business with Adreamwedding.Co.Uk Limited again.

But now, thanks to the sheriffs,

they have the money they were owed by the company,

who took over three years

and still failed to deliver a satisfactory video.

Obviously, us forcing entry and getting our hands on it

actually forced them to make the payment.

After we filmed, Mr Jethwa asked to put his side of the story.

He explained the scene Charandeep said was missing

was because the cameraman stayed filming the groom

rather than filming the procession.

There was also a complaint about sound quality.

The piece of distortion in the sound could be removed.

If you remove it and just leave the rest of the dancing,

it would be fine.

I'm really angry, really upset about this,

because they never communicated with me.

They never wrote to me.

There is absolutely no document that I have received from them saying,

"Pankaj, we are unhappy.

"Adreamwedding, can you sort this out?"

If they had complained at that stage,

we would have addressed to it immediately.

Not all the writs enforced by the sheriffs

involve getting money out of people.

Sometimes, they turn their skills to enforcing judgments

which concern getting people out of buildings.

Like in Greenwich, South London, today,

where a commercial building has been occupied by squatters.

It's part of a growing problem.

Since squatting in residential properties was criminalised,

a wider range of commercial buildings is being occupied,

like this one.

This morning, the sheriffs face a real challenge.

The building has been barricaded.

Leading the eviction is enforcement agent Conrad Van Zyl.

We don't know how many occupants are inside. We've got a locksmith.

With a High Court writ, we've got the power to force entry

and obtain possession back to the client.

The landlord wants to redevelop this one-time photographic studio,

but this is the second time

squatters have occupied the building.

It has several entrances, all with high security doors.

We're just assessing around the building

and as soon as we find a suitable place, we'll attempt to go inside.

The landlord supplied a locksmith,

but the sheriffs are going to try and charm their way in first.

Hello? Hello?

KNOCKING ON DOOR

Anybody inside?

There's no response from inside the building.

The landlord's locksmith will now try to force entry.

The new approach gets some attention.

Got a High Court writ of possession for the property.

-You're being evicted.

-Excuse me, what are you doing?

We've got a writ of possession. You're getting evicted this morning.

Yeah, but nobody gave us papers or anything.

I've got a legal document that gives me the power

to obtain possession of this property.

Better start packing your belongings.

Defeated by the jammed lock,

the locksmith is going to try the second door.

Meanwhile, some of the squatters have come down into the alleyway.

-I've got a writ of possession for the property.

-Let me see.

-You can have a look at it.

-Can you not film me, please?

While Conrad talks to the squatters,

the locksmith attempts the second door.

I'm showing it to you. Once inside, I'll show you.

-Put the camera away.

-This time, the outer door opens.

At the minute, they've barricaded the property from the inside.

There's a couple of them on the side of the building,

and we now attempt a negotiation process

to see whether they want to open or not.

At the alleyway fence,

the squatters are claiming they should have seen paperwork.

But the sheriffs know that a live High Court writ is all they need.

Say again.

No, that's not how it works, mate. That's not how it works.

It's not how it works.

It's not how it works.

There's no point shouting from up there.

Come on down, I'll show you it.

I haven't got massive arms to give it up to you.

Come on down and I'll show you it.

The roller shutter has been jammed from the inside and won't open.

It can't be saved.

We'll just cut it with a grinder, just go through it.

Meanwhile, the police have arrived, called by the squatters.

I'll tell you what it is.

-There's my badge.

-Yep, lovely.

That's the writ from the High Court

-that gives us the power to enter the property this morning.

-Right.

The locksmith is still unable to get into the building,

but the squatters have got out.

We're here to take them out.

Let's talk, yeah? No, no, no, listen.

I am going to explain it to you, yeah?

Stop talking over the top of me.

I've already explained to your colleague. Listen.

This is a High Court writ of possession for this property.

You're in a commercial building, you're squatting, OK?

Right, writ number 66. Claimant, the person that owns the property.

Defendant, persons unknown - ie, you and your colleagues, right?

Bit about the Queen, bit about the authorised officer.

Tells you a bit more what I'm commanded to do,

which means I've got to cause the claimant

to have possession of this property which you're in.

What else would you like to know?

They are still arguing about the legality of the eviction.

There's no talking to be had with a lawyer. You've been evicted.

No, listen, listen... No, listen.

OK... Excuse me, you keep telling me you're still in a democracy, yeah?

This gives me the power to remove you.

You're unlawfully in this property. Simple. OK?

I've showed you it two or three times, I've told you who I am,

I've explained this to you.

We keep going round in circles.

What you need to do is start packing your belongings.

And explain to me in great detail, what's old about it?

That's the date last year. You've put a new stamp on it.

-You've probably been evicted by the County Court bailiff.

-Yeah.

-Which is a different process than High Court.

-Mm-hm.

County Court bailiff will tell you when he's coming

and they'll turn up at a date and time.

-I don't.

-Yeah.

-That's how it is.

-The paperwork...

The locksmith has gone back to the first door.

One of the landlords has arrived.

We can't waste longer to attempt to go in.

Is there anyway we can smash this and get inside?

Although the police were called by the squatters,

the law is on the side of the sheriffs,

so now they're going to assist with the eviction.

The locksmith ramps up his efforts.

But as the door continues to give the locksmith trouble...

..one of the landlord's colleagues arrives

with something that should help.

He has the keys.

This one? I think this is for the front one.

Do you want to see if you can open that front one, please? Thanks.

-So, we're in.

-We've managed to open the first door,

and now we're going through the shutter door.

It's a joke, isn't it?!

The shutter doors are still jammed from the inside

and the police are talking to the occupants.

When we return, we'll see what happens

when the sheriffs get inside.

Got a legal document to evict you.

Being a sheriff often involves a little detective work.

Debtors can be hard to track down. Sometimes they try to evade payment.

Sometimes they just move.

Sheriff Pete Spencer has been trying to track down

Innerspace Loft Conversions Limited for a while,

not to be confused with any other company of a similar name.

They owe money to an electrician who did work for them, but wasn't paid.

But they've proved hard to find.

I've been to three or four other addresses for this company already,

so this will be the fourth address that we're attending for them.

The man Pete is on his way to help is John Marsh from Preston.

John's been an electrician for 13 years

and has been running his own electrical business since 2004.

I set this business up from scratch on my own and made my own contacts.

All my work comes from word of mouth.

Recommendations from other people

is how I've managed to build a strong business.

It was John's desire to grow his company

that led him to start working for Andrew Bond,

the director of Innerspace Loft Conversions Limited.

They met through a mutual friend, when Mr Bond needed an electrician

to wire the loft conversions he was doing.

What I found was, with Andy, he had a lot of business,

we were in and out of a lot of different people's houses.

You know, for me it was like a win-win situation.

It was more work, leading to more work.

It all started as John hoped, but it wasn't long

before cracks started to appear in the business relationship,

and always for the same reason, according to John.

So, we started having problems with Andy when he...

when he stopped paying on a regular basis.

John would invoice Innerspace for each completed job,

but John says he started to receive just part payments.

I'm asking for payment,

he's promising me that he's going to come up with money

when money gets released from other jobs.

He makes promises and then... and then doesn't follow through.

There's already a lot of money outstanding.

You're thinking, "Well, if I stop doing work for this guy,

"he's then...you know, there's a good chance

"that I may not get paid for what's outstanding."

John says he continued working for Innerspace,

hoping he would get paid as promised.

But as the months rolled on, nothing changed

before, finally, the situation became untenable.

And when we're talking about periods of, you know,

up to nine months without payment,

you don't want to start doing any more work for him,

because that means you've got to put your hand in your pocket

and you've got to pay out for more...

either materials, petrol, you know, diesel.

Whatever it is, you're having to pay out.

You may as well open your wallet and throw your money on the floor.

So, I had to turn round to Andy and say, "Enough is enough."

We got to around £5,600 and I was well out of my comfort zone.

Still having to pay business costs and suppliers,

and fearing the money would never materialise,

John refused to do any more work for Innerspace Loft Conversions Limited.

He decided to take legal action to get the money he was owed.

He wrote Mr Bond a letter, stating that Innerspace Loft Conversions

had a 14-day mediation period in which to pay the money owed

or face him in court.

I just wanted to make him listen, start taking me seriously,

because before that,

I didn't feel like he was paying any attention to what I was saying.

Although John says he did his best

to try to resolve the situation amicably,

Mr Bond refused to settle his debt, so the case went to court.

Mr Bond didn't contest the case

and a judgment was issued in John's favour.

Innerspace Loft Conversions Limited was ordered to pay him £5,600.

Despite this, John still hasn't been paid.

Will Pete Spencer be able to find Innerspace Loft Conversions Limited

and get John the money that he is lawfully owed?

This time, Pete's done a trace on the company,

and they've turned up in Leyland, Lancashire,

sharing premises with another unrelated company.

As Pete rolls up to the address, it looks promising.

We've got a vehicle parked outside

belonging to the company we're looking for.

Just go and have a look.

If Innerspace are here, they must be in an inner space.

-I'm looking for Innerspace.

-You're looking for me, mate.

How are you doing? You all right?

-I'm looking in the right place.

-Take it off, mate.

But before Pete gets any further, the man grabs the camera.

-Get it

-BLEEP

-off.

This is Mr Bond.

He tells our cameraman to leave and turns his attention to the sheriff.

He tells Pete to leave.

Despite the Innerspace-branded van outside

and his own Innerspace shirt,

Mr Bond tells Pete Innerspace Lofts is not here.

He says Innerspace has shut down, but Pete knows otherwise

and wants to hear about assets he could remove if necessary

to pay off the debt.

-You need to get that

-BLEEP

-off, mate.

Mr Bond discovers our cameraman is outside

and comes down to tell him to stop filming.

-Give me the

-BLEEP.

-One second.

He grabs the camera, breaking the viewfinder.

..of the camera. If not, I'm phoning the police.

-Phone the police, mate.

-You've just broken the camera.

Still holding the camera,

he asks for the memory card containing the pictures.

-Give me the memory card.

-Just let go of the camera.

-You're not making me look like a

-BLEEP.

-Just let go.

Then he drags the camera and cameraman back into the building.

Just give us one second. Let go. One second.

Once he has the cameraman inside,

he says he's not letting him or Pete Spencer out.

You're not going out of here with that.

Give me that memory card, mate.

-BLEEP,

-you're getting pulled out of here, mate.

-I

-BLEEP

-promise you, mate.

-You want to come in here with your

-BLEEP

-on.

Effectively held prisoner, Pete calls the police.

I'm at a premises in Leyland. RAISED VOICES IN BACKGROUND

I need police assistance.

I've got a BBC cameraman with me

who's having problems with the people on the premises

and they're refusing to let us leave.

You can hear in the background now,

they're refusing to let us leave the property.

Problem is, what you're doing is assault on the cameraman,

so that's why the police are going to have to come.

-You've touched him.

-I have touched him.

-I've not assaulted him.

-No, that is assault. Touching him is assault.

The police arrive in force.

Our cameraman is released,

but the police ask us to stop filming inside

while they sort out the situation.

The police were a very good response,

I mean, to be fair, when we did explain to him you can't kidnap us

and keep us imprisoned and I had no other choice but to call police.

Finally able to get on with his job,

Pete checks the status of the Innerspace van with the DVLA.

It's on finance.

This means it can't be removed,

as it doesn't belong to Innerspace Loft Conversions.

It's a disappointing end to what's been an eventful visit.

Unfortunately, there's no assets here,

there's no property inside belonging to that defendant.

He's just sharing a desk. So, that's where we're at today.

We've left paperwork,

and we're just en route to the police station now to do statements.

Since we filmed, Mr Bond appeared before Leyland Magistrates' Court,

where he admitted assaulting our cameraman and grabbing the camera.

He was given a 12-month conditional discharge.

For the moment, John Marsh still does not have the money

the law says is rightfully his.

On this occasion, unfortunately,

the sheriffs haven't been able to recover any money for me.

But I feel like it has given me a bit of closure

and I do hope the cameraman's all right.

Andrew Bond of Innerspace Loft Conversions told us his firm was...

He said he...

..by sending relevant documentation to the court.

..pointing out this was not proven in court.

..and blamed our cameraman

for antagonising it

by continuing to film from outside.

Back at the squat in Greenwich, it's crunch time.

The sheriffs and plainclothes police

have been explaining to the squatters

that they WILL be evicted today.

The squatters aren't cooperating

and, even though the landlord's locksmith

has failed to get through the barricaded doors,

the sheriffs WILL get in.

To be honest with you, Conrad,

I'm just going to smash it completely to smithereens.

Just smash it to bits.

Smash it on the lock side.

Just bash it.

That's it, that's it, that's it.

Right, let's move.

Nice work. Got a legal document to evict you.

-We're just packing our stuff.

-Now you're packing. Now you're packing.

Start packing up, please.

Is there anyone else asleep?

The majority of the squatters realise the game is up

and start packing their things.

You've got ten minutes to pack and leave.

The sheriff's job now is to get the occupants packed

and out as quickly as possible.

-When you pack up, just make sure you've got all your stuff.

-Yep.

Once you're outside, you won't be able to get back inside.

-Fair enough.

-No problem, thank you.

At this stage, they've been quite helpful

and they pack up their stuff

and they are most willing to leave the premises.

The squatters are cooperating, but they still believe in their case.

Rich people have lots of property and poor people have nothing.

-The very same...

-I believe the law is wrong.

I understand that you're saying, "This is the law

"and we have to leave and it belongs to this person," I understand.

-I'm not in a position to question...

-I know, because you follow the law.

I'm in a position to question it, because I've got a free mind.

-Come on, young man.

-Young lady.

-Young lady. Come on, young lady.

HE CHUCKLES

Although the mood is lifted, the landlord isn't as positive,

because he's been through it all before

with a previous group of squatters, evicted just a few months ago.

It's just a circle of...

debt, cost, time.

You know, once they take it over,

they apparently have the right to be here, use all your electric,

water, waste, whatever you need.

There's no relief from the councils on it, no cost put on them.

All on the owner again.

We don't want to be funny about the occupants inside,

but it's the state and the condition

that they're able to get these properties into

causes a lot of financial damage to the owners of these properties.

It's been quite a siege, but now the sheriffs are where they want to be.

We're inside. Now we're occupying the premises.

They're out and we're inside.

All evicted.

They're in front of the premises now, obviously waiting to go,

but we're happy, we're satisfied, and so is the landlord and the owner.

Enforcement agents, commonly known as sheriffs,

can go anywhere in England and Wales to enforce a High Court writ.

Got an High Court writ to attend here today.

I've been sent today with a High Court writ to clear the debt.

At commercial premises, sheriffs are permitted to force entry

to remove goods or return a building to its rightful owners.

I'm going to call the locksmith, then, sir,

effect entry into the premises and remove all the items.

Sheriffs have collected almost £200 million

of unpaid court judgments in the last three years.

That's what we want to see - that coming out of the van.

-All cleared up, paid in full.

-A High Court writ costs £60.

If the sheriffs are successful, there's nothing more to pay.

If they're unsuccessful,

the only cost is a compliance fee of £75 plus VAT for each enforcement.

He's done one! He ran upstairs and hid.

West Midlands-based enforcement agents Craig Wilde and Tom Coyle

are up bright and early today, heading to Wales.

I can do the weather for Wales wherever I am in the country,

I can let you know what it's going to be - wet.

Right, we're on our way to a job today. It's for an individual.

It's in Gwynedd for an amount of £4,498.48.

The case involves two farmers.

Farmer David Hughes rented land from another farmer

to graze his sheep on for about £2,000.

He also bought bales of hay and silage to feed his animals.

The total bill for rent and silage was just under £3,000,

but Mr Hughes has paid only 500.

Now the sheriffs are heading up Mr Hughes's farm track

to get all of the money owed.

A bit of Welsh lamb.

Craig and Tom's tactic of arriving early seems to have paid off.

Hello, Mr Hughes? We're from the sheriff's.

Can we have a word with you, please?

Hello, sir. All right.

Here today to execute a High Court writ.

Unfortunately for you.

The balance on the account is £4,498.48.

-What's that for?

-Do you know claimant at all?

-I know of him, yes.

Yeah. Unfortunately, he's taken you to court for the monies owed.

I don't know anything about this.

Despite Mr Hughes's excuses,

Craig is here to collect the money owed and he needs to be paid today.

-It has to be cleared funds.

-So, that's cash.

It's cash or it's a card payment.

Right, well, I don't... I've got...

At the end of the day...

This... This is nothing to do with sort of...

I don't know what it's about.

How am I going to pay something when I don't know something about it?

I would assume that the claimant had been in contact with you

with regards to payment.

I used to buy silage off him a couple of years ago.

Right. So it could be something to do with that.

-No, I paid him as I was getting it.

-Then I don't know.

All we do is get involved in the High Court writ, sir.

David Hughes didn't contest the case

and a judgment was issued against him.

Mr Hughes says he's received no paperwork about the case.

Because he wasn't paid,

the other farmer has now taken his claim to the High Court

and hope the sheriffs will be able to get him what he's owed.

So what do I do now, then?

Well, either we see the payment or the goods.

-What goods?

-Cars, household items.

-Well, the cars aren't mine.

Craig explains to Mr Hughes

that he will have to prove the vehicles belong to someone else

or they could be removed and sold.

-I'm acting under a court order.

-Right.

That court order compels me today to require the money from you in full.

Now, if you haven't got the money in full,

-I would take that on board.

-Yeah, yeah.

-But how much can you raise today?

-So how much do you want?

-4,498.

-Bloody hell! What's that for?

As again, Mr Hughes, I don't get party to that.

All I get is a defendant and a claimant.

Mr Hughes says he'll have to drive to the bank

to find out how much money he has.

-So how much do you want?

-Well, as much as you have, to be fair.

They normally talk about at least 50% of the liability.

I haven't got that much, I'll be honest with you.

-Well, how much have you got?

-Um...

I don't know. I'd have to speak to her.

-Well, if you want to have a quick chat with her first.

-Janice...

How much money can we pay these people?

It's something to do with silage.

Where are you going?

That's the end of the camera.

At this point, our camera is asked to wait outside

while Mr Hughes looks for funds.

Mr Hughes is trying a couple of debit cards

to see what he's got on them debit cards

to try and alleviate the situation with some payment today.

Craig and the farmer agree on a partial payment of £500 for today.

The sheriffs will list goods they could remove at a later date

to cover the rest if need be.

Thanks very much, sorry to disturb you. Thank you.

With the paperwork signed, Mr Hughes wants to put his side of the story.

I'm speechless.

When these chaps turned up, that was the first I knew of it.

There's been no postal deliveries of any kind here.

Mr Hughes tells us the dispute was about some silage he bought,

which he claims was rotten, so he refused to pay.

He shows us what he says is an example of the bad silage.

How are you supposed to feed that to your animals?

You cannot feed that to sheep.

You just cannot feed it, cos that would kill them.

So I've refused to pay for them.

Mr Hughes claims he received many bales of bad silage.

The other farmer says they left his yard in good condition.

But the silage made up less than a third of the debt,

which was mainly unpaid rent for fields Mr Hughes had used.

And since we filmed, the two farmers went back to court,

where they agreed a payment of the remaining £2,000 from Mr Hughes.

The matter is now closed.

It's early morning

and sheriffs Lawrence and Kev are in the van again, coming into Watford.

They're here to settle a debt with a local gym, Fitness4Less,

whose relationship with a personal trainer hasn't...worked out.

With a gym, you know, I would think you'd find sufficient assets there

to clear the debt, so we'll be looking for full payment.

The man they're on their way to help is Qamar Ahmed from Watford.

His personal fitness is everything to him

and working out is his passion.

But it's not just a hobby.

It's also his livelihood as a professional personal trainer.

Extend your arm for that jab.

After deciding to make personal training his career seven years ago,

Qamar took a job with a local gym, Sportz Academy.

It's the best job I've had. It was fantastic.

Keep your arm up.

But Sportz Academy ran into financial problems,

with wages paid only sporadically.

Let's go. Jab.

The company was taken over by a new firm, Fitness4Less.

They inherited the Sportz Academy wage bill

and Qamar and the other staff

hoped they'd finally get paid what they were owed.

Good. Let me hear two breaths. OK, let's go.

But at a meeting with staff,

the new owner had some hugely disappointing news.

Categorically said that they're not going to pay our wages

in front of the previous owner, who had, five minutes before,

just said that the new owners will pay us our backdated wages.

Qamar was owed just over £4,000 in unpaid wages,

so, together with the other disgruntled staff,

he agreed to help bring legal action to fight their case.

We had to take it through the courts, so we had to stick together.

We had to take this to the tribunal.

When the judge heard the case,

he ruled that when the business was sold,

the new owner should take on the responsibility

for the previous company's unpaid debts, included backdated wages.

It was vindication for Qamar.

Justice. Justice has been done. Absolutely. It was a great feeling.

But getting the money he was owed wasn't quite as simple as that.

Fitness4Less began to settle with Sportz Academy's former employees,

but a signed agreement for Qamar wasn't forthcoming.

So I was waiting and waiting and waiting,

and the money just did not come through.

The stress of the legal fight

and failure to pay him the money he was owed

took its toll on Qamar.

He was diagnosed with acute depression and signed off work.

That was the beginning of my dark path that I had to go down.

Without his unpaid wages,

Qamar's financial situation went from bad to worse.

Eventually, it cost him his home.

That's where I used to live.

As soon as I stop getting paid from Fitness4Less,

I was behind on mortgage payments.

It just became impossible to hold on to my property

and it was repossessed.

Finally, a few months after the tribunal hearings,

Qamar received a part payment from Fitness4Less.

He was promised the rest would follow, but it didn't,

so he went back to the employment tribunal.

Fitness4Less didn't attend the latest tribunal hearing

and a judgment was issued in Qamar's favour,

but despite this, Qamar still hasn't been paid.

So now it's up to Lawrence and Kev to get Qamar the money

and the closure he so desperately wants.

Back in Watford, Lawrence and Kev

have finally found a place to park up.

So we can't stop here, though.

With a deep-seated fear of traffic wardens,

Lawrence leaves Kev with the van.

This is going to be one writ he'll have to enforce alone.

Hello there. My name's Mr Grix.

I'm here to execute a High Court writ against Fitness4Less Watford Ltd.

It's £5,399.58.

Yeah. Qamar Ahmed.

-Give me two seconds, mate.

-OK.

While the manager gets on the phone to his superiors,

Lawrence gets to work making notes on equipment.

If need be, he could remove and auction the machinery

to pay off the debt.

Yeah. It can be prevented by full payment.

So, your manager, your director, whoever...

The manager runs off to call his boss again,

while Lawrence tries to work out which exercise machine is which.

Handily, it's all labelled up with what it is!

Moments later, having made some calls,

the manager's got a message for Lawrence.

Yeah. If he normally starts at ten and he's sorting out his private life

then that's, you know, that's entirely down to him.

Yeah, I think we're going to get paid in full.

It's looking promising, but Lawrence knows better

than to count his pennies until they're firmly in his hand.

Having agreed to wait, it seems he might not even need to.

The gym manager is back with good news.

Oh, right, and he's doing the transfer, is he?

All Lawrence needs to do

is wait to see that the funds have come through

and it's job done.

Can you just keep your eye on the bank account for me?

At this stage, we're asked to stop filming.

But no sooner are we outside than the promised money goes through.

It went all right in the end.

We were sort of hanging around for a while, but in the end,

I got the majority of it by bank transfer

and then the odd little bit by cash.

Let's get out of here.

And, most importantly, they can report back

that Qamar will finally receive the money that's due to him.

I'm very happy.

With that money, I'm going to set up my own personal training business,

and I'm going to make a difference in my life

and I'm going to make a difference in the lives of my clients as well.

Fitness4Less told us

that when they took over the Sportz Academy gym, they...

..and that legal advice they were given at the time

indicated they should not be responsible.

They believe they...

..including writing him a cheque for him to collect from them.

They said, however...

..and that he left them no forwarding contact details.

In the rural north-west of England, there's the prospect

of a day enforcing writs in the countryside

for Chris Pearson and Steve Hockborn

We're in Cumbria, on the way to Egremont.

This morning we are looking for a company,

Cumbria Roofing North West Ltd.

We're looking for £2,913.69.

Kathleen Horton paid Cumbria Roofing North West Ltd,

not to be confused with any other company of a similar name,

£3,000 to apply a special liquid plastic waterproof coating

to the stairs and balconies of her property

but she wasn't happy with the quality of the work.

The company eventually agreed to refund £1,800

but Kathleen never received the money.

She took the company to court, where they contested the case.

Mrs Horton won but the company didn't pay up.

Now she's taken her claim to the High Court

and Chris and Steve are on their way to enforce the writ

and get her money.

The company is located a few miles south of Whitehaven in Cumbria.

It's a bit grey but Chris wouldn't be anywhere else.

It's one of the most beautiful places in the UK, as far as I'm concerned.

The weather's not the best.

The summer is very similar to the winter.

Chris and Steve soon find Cumbria Roofing North West Ltd

on an industrial estate.

It looks like there's somebody in.

-Is there another entrance?

-I'll look.

What do you think?

Hello?

There's something on in there.

-There's a phone number.

-Yeah.

We'll give them a ring and see if we can get somebody here, basically,

to deal with the situation.

Could you give me a ring back urgently, please.

The sheriffs have the right to enter commercial premises

and, if necessary, remove property to auction to pay off the debt.

If need be, they'll call a locksmith and force entry

but Steve is hoping to get someone to open up.

-There's no vans.

-PHONE RINGS

Hello, sir, is it possible for you to get back to the unit for us, please?

It's Mr Pearson. We've a High Court writ.

You're not going to pay it?

Oh, right. Is there anybody who can come and deal with it for you?

No, we can't come back tomorrow, sir.

We do have power of locksmith, if needs be.

I'd much rather deal with one of your employees, or yourself.

I can wait for you.

Thanks a lot. Ta-ra.

Hopefully that will get him here

but all we can do now is have a coffee and wait for him to turn up.

Just two minutes later, someone does turn up

but it's not the boss.

-Hi, are you from this unit here, love?

-Yeah.

-Have you just come to work, have you?

-Yeah.

-Right, OK.

We'll let you get on with what you need to do

and we can hang about and wait for...

-I think it was a gentleman called Kevin on the phone.

-Right.

-We can wait for him.

-Right, no problem.

-OK, thank you very much.

As soon as she goes in, we can follow her in.

But there's something Chris and Steve have failed to spot...

-Do you have a contact number for Mr Musson, love?

-I haven't, sorry.

-They were the keys for the unit.

-No way!

She's been told to come and get them.

How many female roofers do you know?

Yeah, how did we not see them?

The seasoned sheriffs failed to spot that the keys to the unit

were on the window sill

and the woman was able to take them from under their noses.

Kevin, it's Mr Pearson, I've just spoken to you.

Er, the lady, who I believe you've just spoken to

to attend and remove the keys, has done that.

Now that's saying to me that you don't want to deal with this.

Now... How long are you going to be, Kevin, you said an hour-and-a-half

but why have you asked the lady to come and take the keys away?

30 minutes... Right, no problem.

I'll see you when you get back, then. Thank you. Ta-ra.

30 minutes. We'll give him 30 minutes, see if he turns up.

I can't believe we didn't spot them keys.

That shows me that he's not interested in paying today.

The man calls back.

He asks our camera to leave his property.

He says he will meet Chris but not in front of the cameras

and will call again with details of the meeting place.

PHONE RINGS

Hello, can I help?

The man has arrived but, not wanting to be filmed,

has concealed himself away from the company's unit.

Bridge? Oh, yeah.

No problem, mate, OK.

Alone, Chris makes his way to the clandestine meeting place.

Steve waits for a few minutes.

Now he's going to help apply some pressure

and hopefully get this case resolved.

He's had enough time. Chris should've been able to establish

whether he'll to pay or not,

so I will walk down and join him and leave the van here.

But as Steve makes to join the other two under the bridge,

he's stopped in his tracks.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

Yeah? Bring it round, yeah.

He wants the card machine. It appears he's going to pay in full.

Payment in full.

It's a result for the sheriffs.

Steve takes the machine to the man's van on the other side of the bridge

but is quickly back.

The fella's not happy but, then again, who would be?

He's just about to pay three grand out

that he should have paid out months ago.

Finally, the writ is settled in full.

Steve can't help reflecting on the keys he reckons

Chris failed to spot.

I would have thought that Chris would have found them straight away,

so I didn't go looking for them.

The key issue was very funny.

He needs to be back in the classroom for a couple of days

just to make sure he's up to scratch.

He's cleared his debt off.

There was no great concern about that, no grievance about doing that.

A little concern about the costs but such is life.

A good result for Kathleen Horton,

who will finally get the money she's due for the poor work done

by Cumbria Roofing North West Ltd.

For Chris and Steve it's been a straightforward job,

apart from the secret meetings under the bridge,

and, of course, those keys.

I'm going to blame Steve, wholly and fully.

That's the end of the matter.

I don't want to hear anything else about it.

The sheriffs' work isn't all about collecting debts

from small businesses.

Are you going to pay in full, sir?

Sometimes they're tasked

with taking on some of the biggest corporate names in the UK.

This afternoon, Lawrence and Kev are on just such a case.

We're on our way to Luton, at the moment, to Thomson Airways.

It's to do with a delayed flight.

The total due is £1,727.82.

This passenger's case, and soon to be thousands more like it,

have come about due to a recent European Court of Justice ruling.

If your flight is delayed for more than three hours,

without an adequate reason why,

you can demand compensation from the airline at fault.

It's opening the floodgates for passengers

to get back what they deserve.

-That's their logo, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-That top one?

-I believe so, yeah.

Thomson is part of the TUI Travel group,

which, in 2012, made £490 million in operating profit.

Will they be able to rustle up the £1,700 they need

to pay off this debt?

Hello there, I'm looking for somebody from Thomson's Airways

who can deal with a High Court writ.

The receptionist goes off to find someone more senior

to deal with the issue.

How will Thomson's big brass react to having two sheriffs on site

with a writ in hand?

Hello there, right you're from legal, aren't you?

-I'll just show you some ID.

-Right.

At this point, our cameraman is asked to leave the building.

The firm's legal team start looking into the case.

While they do that, Kev gets on with listing goods he can remove,

if necessary, to pay off the debt.

Soon after, Kev comes out to fill us in on what's going on inside.

There's obviously lots and lots of office space in there,

hundreds of computers, desks and sofas and tables and such forth.

Televisions all round the place...

We'll take the full inventory of the place

and they're just sorting out payment at the moment.

Faced with Lawrence and Kev and a High Court writ,

Thomson agree to pay there and then in full.

Lawrence and Kev emerge with the money in the bank

and a smile on their faces.

It was a good outcome in the end.

We got paid in full on the credit card.

As we expected to, really, it wasn't a vast amount of money, £1,700.

A company like Thomson's can easily afford that.

It's good news for the sheriffs but, much more importantly,

for the passenger who brought the claim

and who will finally get the money they're owed, paid in full

and in good time.

Thomson Airways told us they would like to apologise

to the customer for the delay in paying the compensation awarded.

They said they operate a fair and thorough process

to deal with EU delay claims in line with the regulation.

They said, on this occasion, an administration error

meant that the payment was not processed

but that it had now been made.

They said they'd like to reassure customers

that they are committed to maintaining on-time performance

across their flying programme.