Episode 2 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-Let's introduce ourselves.

-Have a High Court writ to attend.

If it's not paid, we'll remove 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'll remove vehicles to that value.

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'll call a locksmith, effect entry into the premises

-and remove all the items.

-Whoa, whoa, whoa.

They are enforcement agents of the High Court.

-And the law says they're on your side.

-Just collected 42 grand.

Coming up:

Lucy Horton was left scarred for life after a tattoo removal

went badly wrong.

A minor procedure like laser tattoo removal

shouldn't cause third-degree burns.

Can the sheriffs get the beauty salon that caused her injury

to pay the money a court says she's owed?

Got a High Court writ to attend here today.

When repairs to Mohammed Razaq's dream car went wrong,

it cost him a fortune.

It's cost me £8,000-£9,000 and left me

without a vehicle for six to seven months.

But sheriffs Lawrence and Kev have their work cut out

when they visit the garage which carried out the repairs.

Nobody is telling you how it is other than me.

When the sheriffs visit a wedding photographer,

they are surprised by what they find in his studio.

-Could I have a word with you in private?

-Not now.

I've got a half-naked woman in here.

As the model covers up, will they recover the debt?

And some all-time children's favourites

have fallen into dispute.

You just can't come along and take someone's creation and use it.

It is stealing.

Hey!

Can the sheriffs pull strings to help them out?

Can you pay it off in full?

High Court enforcement agents, commonly known as sheriffs,

can go anywhere in England and Wales

to enforce a writ.

Today, looking to get another member of the public money they're owed

is sheriff Pete Spencer.

He's in west Yorkshire on the case

of a tattoo removal that went badly wrong.

We're off to Mytholmroyd, which is near Halifax.

The person Pete's on his way to help is

Lucy Horton from Todmorden in West Yorkshire.

She's a professional beauty therapist dedicated to making

other people look as good as she possibly can.

I do nails, massage, eye treatments, waxing,

that kind of thing.

And when I started at college, I just loved it

and it's been my passion ever since.

But Lucy herself was given a cosmetic procedure

so bad it left her physically and emotionally scarred for life,

forced to go to court and the doors of the sheriffs for help.

Lucy's problem started after she got offered her dream job,

working as a beauty therapist on a cruise ship.

But the job came with a strict condition -

Lucy had a butterfly tattoo on the underside of her left wrist.

If she wanted the job, she would have to get it removed.

When I found out I had to get rid of my tattoo, I was devastated,

but turning down the job on the ship was never a consideration for me.

She'd heard about a laser procedure offered by a local beauty parlour -

Hair & Beauty World of Mytholmroyd, near Halifax,

run by Howard Pilling.

Howard, the man that carried out the treatment for me,

made me feel really confident that it was going to work.

He showed me evidence of other people that he'd treated.

He was a professional, he was the one that

I was taking the advice from, so I believed everything that he told me.

It wasn't cheap but it was what she wanted, so Lucy paid them

£800 for as many sessions as it took to complete the job.

The first few treatments were unpleasant

but fitted in with what she'd been told to expect.

But when Lucy went back for her fifth session, something had changed.

Howard informed me that he'd got a new machine.

It'd be quicker and less painful which, obviously for me,

was a bonus.

It's a painful process to go through anyway and to have it

a bit easier was obviously something that I was thrilled about.

I was happy to go forward with the treatment.

During the treatment, I found that it was more painful

with a lot more heat and a lot more depth to it.

It had me in tears. I couldn't breathe properly.

The machine kept cutting out.

I had a friend with me and she asked me

if I was OK because I was crying that much.

And I just said to her, "Don't talk to me. I'll be sick."

And then, at that point, Howard asked me if I was OK,

to which I replied that it was a lot more painful than usual

and he just told me that we were nearly finished.

He rubbed some aloe vera gel on it at the end and told me that everything would be fine.

But a few days after the procedure, Lucy's wrist became inflamed.

It wasn't until about a week later that

I realised things weren't going as they normally would.

When you touched it, after the blisters had popped, it was like jelly under the skin.

I went to the doctors' and it was there that they told me

I had an infection and I was put on antibiotics.

Then after that, it still didn't heal.

The skin came off and you could see all the jelly underneath.

Lucy took herself to accident and emergency.

The doctors told her she had third-degree burns

and a serious infection.

When I found out that I had third-degree burns,

I was obviously a little bit mortified.

It's not something you expect from a procedure like that,

from having a tattoo lasered.

Sorry, I'm a little bit emotional about it.

But Lucy still didn't realise how serious the situation was.

I was a little bit naive

and carried on thinking that it would heal normally and I'd carry on

with the procedure and still get to go on the cruise ships.

The wound took weeks to heal,

and Lucy's dream of working on the cruise ships faded.

Far from disappearing, the burn formed a disfiguring scar.

Lucy was still in considerable pain

and, for a while, lost some use of her hand.

The hospital told Lucy she would need a skin graft.

They took skin from my thigh and put it onto my wrist.

As you can see, it's still quite a severe scar

and it's not going to heal any more than that.

Appalled at what had happened to her, and determined to get justice,

Lucy, with mum Hazel's help, took salon boss Howard Pilling to court.

He contested the case.

So when we were attending court for the final hearing,

it'd been a very emotional and difficult time for me

and I struggled with it, I really did.

Sorry.

The case was heard in the small claims court,

where Lucy got the maximum personal injury award of £1,000,

a refund of the treatment fee and costs.

When the judge awarded the case in our favour, I broke down.

I couldn't believe it.

It was such a relief for it to all finally be over and to know that

I'd got what I deserved and that I wasn't fighting a lost cause.

The judge praised my mum and I for what we'd done.

In total, Mr Pilling was ordered to pay Lucy £2,430.

He agreed to pay in £500 instalments but the payments stopped.

Despite all the pain caused,

Lucy still hasn't been paid what she's owed.

Now over four years after the treatment,

it's time for Pete make sure the salon boss pays what's due.

Pete doesn't know the details of Lucy's story but he knows

he has to get her the money.

Hiya. OK. I'm looking for a Mr Pilling.

-Yes?

-Is he about?

He is, yes.

The staff seemed surprised to see Pete,

who is fairly obviously not a customer.

He's looking for Howard Pilling,

the man who performed the disastrous tattoo removal.

Hiya. Good afternoon. Got a High Court writ to attend here today.

-Do you want to speak through here?

-What?

-High Court writ.

Do you want to speak through here, rather than in front of your customers?

Well, you're not filming me.

Mr Pilling doesn't want to appear on television and our camera is

asked to go outside while Pete outlines why he's there.

He says he's come to collect the money owed to Lucy

but Mr Pilling says he's got no money.

Because of this,

Pete says he'll have to remove goods to auction to pay off the debt.

The salon owner suggests Pete take just one item that's worth

the amount owed.

He shows Pete a laser he claims cost £25,000

and will be worth at least £2,500.

Selling around £25,000, a tattoo removal machine which,

I mean, looks maybe £3-£500 auction value to me.

With the costs involved in Pete taking goods,

it would be cheaper to pay the full amount.

I've given him ten to 15 minutes to make a few phone calls to raise

the funds rather than us remove goods.

And Mr Pilling uses the time well.

Faced with having several items removed and sold,

he realises it's a no-brainer and has a change of heart,

getting on the phone and finding someone to pay the money for him.

Pete comes out again to fill us in.

He's got his daughter en route with a credit card

that's going to pay the balance in full.

She's about five to ten minutes away, so hopefully, once she arrives,

the credit card'll work and we'll have a full payment.

Moments later, the card arrives.

Do you want to do it out here, so we're not disturbing your customers?

OK. All right.

Although Pete offers the option of doing the payment discreetly,

Mr Pilling doesn't seem to mind

people knowing the sheriffs have called.

Pardon?

Yeah, yeah. It's all right. I've already told this lady.

PETE CHUCKLES

When Lucy Horton came here in 2009, she left scarred for life.

Finally, the salon has paid her the money she's due.

All cleared up. Paid in full.

The money'll be going to the claimant now.

This money that I'm going to be receiving, it just means I'll have

closure on everything that's happened in the last four years.

It means that I can move on with life

and aim for that dream job that I've wanted to do for the past four years

and that I can finally go ahead and do that.

It'll help finance my time in London during the training period

before I actually get on the cruise ship.

This morning, sheriffs Lawrence Grix

and Kev McNally have had an especially early start.

They've already put some miles under their belts before breakfast.

Just coming into Bristol at the moment.

It's 8:30 in the morning.

We're going to a business called Clayton Cars

who are a BMW specialist garage.

The person they're on their way to help is Mohammed Razaq from Bristol.

-He owns and runs an off-licence in the city.

-Thank you. Cheers. Thank you.

Recently, he decided to invest in a new car for pleasure

and for work, buying a BMW 3 Series.

My car was really important to me because I've got two businesses.

You need to get around if you've got two businesses.

Obviously I need to carry stock, carry my staff members.

It's part of life, having your own car.

Mohammed bought the car for £16,000 and looked forward to driving it.

But only a few days after purchasing it,

the car encountered some minor problems.

Needing to get it fixed, Mohammed looked online

and soon thought he'd found the perfect place.

It was called Clayton Cars, BMW specialists.

So I thought, "Why not take it to them?" They looked really professional.

Clayton Cars looked at the car and told him

there were major problems with the engine.

They said they could fix it

and Mohammed said he'd cover any costs and left it with them.

After three weeks, I called up the garage

and said, "I haven't heard anything, what's the latest?"

They said there seemed to be a problem

but they cannot seem to work out what's wrong with the vehicle.

I then was kind of losing faith in the garage

but I thought, "They know what they're doing, they're BMW specialists,

"and quite a few people actually recommended me to them."

And then after about six or seven weeks, I got very impatient.

Mohammed says that over six weeks after they got the car,

Clayton Cars told him they'd diagnosed problems

with the catalytic converter and exhaust manifold.

They said it would cost £3,169 to fix.

Mohammed was happy to bear the cost for his beloved BMW.

A few weeks later, with the work done,

Mohammed paid up the £3,169 and drove his car home.

After three hours, the car was shaking again.

The gearbox was shaking, the exhaust manifold was making a noise.

Something's not right.

Mohammed decided to take his car to another BMW specialist.

They now diagnosed a fault with the knock sensor,

which detects potentially damaging gases in the exhaust of car.

Mohammed says they told him

it should have been replaced before any of the other repairs

because a faulty knock sensor could harm key engine parts.

It would cost another £3,500. Mohammed agreed.

He says he asked Clayton Cars for a refund

so he could pay this second bill but they wouldn't pay.

He was left with no option but to take Clayton Cars to court.

It made me feel like they were taking me for a joke

because I'm just a young boy

and they think that they could just fob me of.

I thought, "Right, I'm going to go to court and get my money off them."

Clayton Cars didn't contest it.

In their absence, the judgment went against them.

Despite this, they still haven't paid the money awarded by the court.

It's now time for Lawrence and Kev

to finally put an end to Mohammad's misery.

-What's the name of them? Clayton Cars?

-That's it.

First challenge, find the boss.

-Mr Grix.

-Yeah?

A High Court writ to execute against Clayton Cars

-on behalf of Mr Mohammed Razaq.

-OK, yeah.

Are you in a position to pay or do you need to

-contact the governor or...

-I can try and contact him.

-Yeah, if you can do. Yeah.

Kev has a look round the workshop.

As expected, there are plenty of assets which, if need be,

they can remove and auction to cover the debt.

Diagnostics as well. Do you want to show that to us?

We've got that thing over there.

-That's yours, yeah?

-That's actually ours.

-OK.

Kev lists the diagnostics equipment.

This kit is valuable,

portable and vital to the everyday working of the garage.

Got this four-post lift over there.

There's another four two-post lifts as well.

There's assets here if we need to remove.

Lawrence doesn't like hanging about but, if he's forced to,

it might as well be in a well-equipped workshop.

He'd love a workshop like this. Four-post lift, that's his dream.

That's his lottery win, that is.

Yes, indeed.

But it's time to stop dreaming. The boss, Mr Sowden, has arrived.

Morning. How you doing?

-I'll just show you my ID. The amount outstanding is £5,483.86.

-How did it get to all that?

-Because it's been transferred up to the High Court for enforcement.

-Sheriff's fees?

-Yes.

-Who's the sheriff? Are you the sheriff?

-Our company, yes.

The owner has already spoken to his solicitors, who have assured him they are dealing with the case.

This is what the solicitor's just sent you?

-He sent this across today.

-Well, can you just scroll it down so I can...

The paperwork is an application to set aside the case,

but no decision's been made.

Unfortunately, an application doesn't prevent enforcement.

It needs paying now, or we're going to carry on enforcing the writ.

-We've taken an inventory of goods.

-Can't you just wait?

We can't because we have a live writ which orders us...

-Yeah, but it's... That's...

-It's not a case of waiting.

There was an order made for you to pay.

You didn't and you've got plenty of goods to clear the debt.

What bits do you want to take out of this place? You are going to take some bits then?

The main thing that leaps out to me is the diagnostic kit over there.

I'm quite happy to wait for your solicitor to phone you back, providing they're not hours,

because we've been here an hour and 40 minutes already.

Lawrence is frustrated that the owner won't deal with the writ

until his solicitor calls back.

While they wait, Mr Sowden wants to explain his side of the story.

Mohammed's car came into us

probably about September, October last year, a non-start.

It was here for probably a month or six weeks.

In the end, we got to the bottom of why it wouldn't start.

He had to have a couple of parts on the exhaust system

and a catalytic converter.

We got the car running, so it was all good, but there was still one

other thing to get done which we advised him to do.

He continued to drive the car, so if he'd have had it done

at the same time, we would not be talking about this.

Meanwhile, Lawrence is hoping to enforce his writ if Mr Sowden

ever speaks to his solicitor.

If you could get on there as quick as you can, I do appreciate it.

I think he considers us taking his stuff as an option whereas,

realistically for him, that would be a very expensive option.

Again, the owner tries to get hold of his solicitor.

And again, he's told that they will call him back.

Mohammed waited weeks for Clayton Cars to fix his BMW, the sheriffs

have waited hours for the garage to respond to their writ.

Frustration is growing.

When we return, we'll see if Clayton Cars pays up.

Sheriffs Tom Coyle and Craig Wild are in the Midlands again,

on their way to help some disgruntled newlyweds.

Right, we are in Worcester today.

Another lovely rainy day we've got ahead of us.

We're after an individual, a Mr David Purslow.

The claimant is a Mrs Anna Edinburgh.

It's a balance of 7,527.37 we're after today,

which is not a small balance.

Anna Edinburgh hired photographer David Purslow to take

pictures of her wedding in August 2011.

But after the newlyweds returned from honeymoon,

she had not received her photos.

The proofs on David Purslow's website looked good but despite

Anna chasing him, Mr Purslow never sent the full quality photos.

-I reckon we've passed it.

-Over a year later,

there were still no photos, so Anna took the photographer to court.

He didn't contest the case

and now he hasn't paid the money awarded by the court, which,

with costs and interest, is just over £7,500.

Determined to get Anna Edinburgh her money,

the sheriffs approach the photographic studio.

-Hello.

-David Purslow?

-Yes.

-Could I have a word with you in private?

-Not at the moment,

-I'm in the middle of something.

-I need to speak to you.

-You're going to have to wait.

-I can't wait, unfortunately.

I've got half-naked woman in here. Do you want to come in at the moment?

-Can you give me ten minutes?

-Do you want to cover her up now?

-I can't let the door be shut because I'm from the sheriffs.

-Oh... OK.

Defendants give the sheriffs many reasons for not entering premises.

But the presence of a half-naked woman is among the more unusual.

Tom has powers to enter commercial premises

so he's not going to let the studio door close but he agrees to

avert his eyes, while the model covers up, before continuing.

-We're here with a High Court order.

-OK.

We're here for a balance of £7,527.37 to do with a Mrs Anna Edinburgh.

You haven't got that today?

No. I'm completely unaware... I've no idea. Who is Anna Edinburgh?

To jog Mr Purslow's memory, Tom looks through the court paperwork.

It doesn't reveal much.

She supplied evidence to a County Court that you owe that balance.

I've had no paperwork here or anything like this.

But Tom's sure the debt is genuine and his live writ

means he needs to resolve it today.

-Our job here today is to ask you for the money.

-Right.

Unfortunately, if you can't pay,

we'll need to remove goods in lieu of payment.

So anything that's here...

Craig calls HQ to see if they can shed more light on the case.

One second, I'll put you on speakerphone. All right. One second.

Craig and Tom know they've got the details right and should press on.

-So it needs be settled.

-OK.

Mr Purslow says he hasn't got £7,000.

For a debt of this size, we have to take everything that's here.

Right, anything else in your name as well. Any vehicles?

At auction value, they're normally about 10% of true value.

As you can imagine, we'd have to remove a lot of stuff.

Faced with the prospect of the sheriffs removing

a lot of goods to pay off the £7,000 debt,

Mr Purslow realises he'll have to try to raise funds.

It's best for you to start making some calls.

Checking through his e-mails, the photographer

finds one from his former client,

complaining that she has not received her disc of wedding photos.

But he's sure he's had no letters from her or the court.

Mr Purslow is no longer denying any knowledge of the debt

but he's not paying either.

Time to tell Mr Purslow where things stand.

We'll start listing everything down, serial numbers, you know,

and if you can't raise it - we've got roughly an hour -

then we'll have to start looking at taking the goods.

Mr Purslow doesn't have the money

but he's convinced his sister to pay.

20 minutes later, she arrives and pays.

Job done for the sheriffs.

-All right.

-All right, David. Thank you for your time.

-You take care.

-Not a pleasure but thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks again. Thank you for your time.

-Bye-bye.

With the debt settled, Mr Purslow wants to put his side of the story.

There's Anna Karina and David's photos all online,

all accessible, which she's had.

However it does say in the contract

and the paperwork that they would get a disc of images of this.

Which I believe I had sent. She says she hasn't got.

The paperwork went to an address I was at eight years ago, seven to eight years ago,

which the court guys say is probably my fault

because it was on the bottom of my paperwork and everything.

Being a small business and running out of cash flow, I didn't have

the money, so I called my AMAZING sister, who I love very, very much.

He says it's not an excuse,

but Mr Purslow tells us

he was being treated for cancer shortly after the wedding

and that may explain why this job didn't get his full attention.

It's a good result for claimant

Anna Edinburgh who was unable to get her wedding photos but now,

thanks to the sheriffs,

will be getting the money a court says is hers.

In Bristol, Lawrence

and Kev are trying to get BMW owner Mohammed Razaq over £3,000

from Clayton Cars, who, he says, didn't repair his car properly.

It made me feel like they were taking me for a joke

because I'm just a young boy

and they think that they could just fob me off.

The garage owner won't deal with the writ

until he's spoken to his solicitor.

But all his solicitors can tell him is that someone will call him back.

Mr Sowden instead consults his book-keeper.

The sheriff turned up today to get some money off of us.

The book-keeper suggests he contact the solicitor.

Yes, I tried to get hold of the solicitors

and they are taking time to come back to me.

He's got a High Court writ in front of him.

So I can just do that, you reckon?

Yeah, apparently we shouldn't be...

it's all in the hands of the solicitors...

..and they're going to sort it out.

LAWRENCE CHUCKLES

Well, they may well do but they haven't sorted it out today, have they?

-If you don't pay us...

-PHONE RINGS

..then we've got an awful lot of stuff to take to clear the debt.

Nothing personal but you've got the assets there to enable us

to clear this debt, I believe.

Once again, Mr Sowden tries to speak to his solicitors

and convey how urgent the situation is.

The solicitors say someone will call back.

Thank you very much. As quick as you can. That'll be much appreciated.

Thank you. Bye.

And we're all getting hungry.

They're not going to lunch, are they?!

They probably are.

Finally, some three hours after the sheriffs arrived at the garage,

the owner gets through to his solicitor.

-Do you mind having a chat with them?

-Sure, not a problem.

-I'll pass you over.

-On the back like that, I think.

-Hello there.

Mr Sowden's aware that there has been an application to set aside.

We have a live writ.

It's a simple question, yes or no, and I know the answer.

Does an application prevent enforcement of a writ?

Right. Can I just hand you to Mr Sowden, so you can tell him that?

Hello?

Have you not done something you should have done for me?

Mr Sowden doesn't seem to like what he's hearing from the solicitor.

I'm going to have to be on your case, aren't I?

I just left it to the experts, the solicitors,

and I've suddenly got the guys knocking on the door.

The owner calls his book-keeper and seems to be talking about payment.

If we do it that way.

That's the account name, the account number and the sort code.

I don't think that's the right way.

I don't think it's as easy as ringing the police up, they'd probably...

-The police won't do anything.

-No, they won't do anything.

It's a hell of a lot of money and I don't want to hand it over.

Come on, you've got to do or die.

You're still having a conversation about how you can get out of paying it.

It's the full amount now, I've had enough.

Lawrence calls up a truck so they can start removing goods.

Yeah, if you can do urgently.

It's the full amount. You can deal with Mohammed in court.

End of.

The guy's been going round in circles, really, literally

asking anyone in the world for advice, or how not to pay, basically.

He's asked his solicitor, he's asked someone else's solicitor

and anyone else who wants to put their 10p-worth in

has been doing so and it hasn't really got him anywhere.

Advice is coming from everywhere.

Nobody is telling you how it is other than me.

There's no arguments to be had any more.

This is the bottom line, this is the way it is.

A few minutes later, Lawrence's message seems to have got through.

The book-keeper arrives at the garage.

Listen, this is the sheriff.

She tells Lawrence that the case is in dispute and going to court.

No disrespect to yourself,

I know you've just sort of come into this, but I'm not going into another

lengthy discussion about the whys and wherefores of us being here.

We are entitled to be here.

That is how much needs paying, or we will be removing stuff.

I've already cued the office up to line up a truck

to come down and take it, with some men to lift the stuff out.

She tells Lawrence he can't take the tools of the trade.

They are not tools of the trade.

The only things that are tools of the trade

are the guys' personal hand tools.

Are you acting on the gentleman's authority to come down and pay this?

Because we have been going on for four hours, 45 minutes.

We are not going to stay around while you discuss

whether he has spoken to his solicitors.

That is something for you to deal with afterwards.

If you are acting on his authority to pay it, pay it.

And finally, that's exactly what the book-keeper does.

There's your receipt.

OK, then, Mrs Howden, we will leave you in peace.

-Obviously, whatever the court say, we will comply with.

-See you later.

-OK.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

That was not the job from hell, but it was a war of attrition.

Nearly five hours there, but we got payment in full in the end.

We've got two weeks to hopefully go to court and try to

reclaim our money back, which I think we fully will win the case.

Since we filmed, Clayton Cars pushed on with that application

to have the judgment set aside.

The judge threw out the garage's case, which means Mohammed

keeps the money the sheriffs extracted from Clayton Cars.

And he has a message for any individuals wondering

if they could take on a business and win.

Do go to the courts because there is justice out there

and look up how to fight a case in court.

Another success for a member of the public who fought for his rights.

These days, sheriffs are officially called

enforcement agents of the High Court.

Yeah, who are you, sir?

I've got a High Court writ I'm executing.

We're here to collect £1,930.20.

They enforce High Court writs. They also have protection under the law.

Right, do you want to ring the police?

This gentleman is stopping me doing my job.

Anyone stopping a sheriff from doing his job

has committed a criminal offence.

We've got a legal document to evict you.

They could be arrested by the police,

charged and taken to court...

You do not have to say anything, but it could harm your defence...

..leaving the sheriffs to recover the money their clients are owed.

It's £1,857.90, which needs to be paid today.

-A High Court writ costs £60.

-Thank you very much.

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

HE CHEERS

If they are unsuccessful,

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

On a bright autumn morning,

sheriffs Chris Pearson and Steve Hockborn

are outside an industrial estate near the east coast.

We're in Carnaby, East Yorkshire.

We are looking for a Mr Robert Redshaw on behalf

of a Mr Ian Richard Allen

for the amount of £8,968.79.

The person they are on their way to help is Ian Allen from Norfolk.

You might not recognise him, but if you are one of the millions

of children he has inspired and entertained over the years,

you would certainly recognise one or two of his creations.

# We followed Mr Spoon

# Button Moon, Button Moon... #

This is Mr Spoon.

Called Mr Spoon because he's got wooden spoons for his arms.

This is his wife, Mrs Spoon.

This is their daughter, Tina Teaspoon.

This is the best friend, Egbert.

Ian is a puppeteer and the man responsible for

the all-time children's classic series Button Moon.

Oh, hello, Mr Spoon! Welcome to Button Moon!

At the time, I didn't realise it was going to be such a hit.

It was a low-budget TV series.

Five, four, three, two, one...

Blast off!

Although still regularly repeated on TV around the world,

the last of its 91 episodes was made in 1988,

but since then, people have regularly approached Ian

about ways of capitalising on its success.

Among them was Robert Redshaw,

who runs a TV and film merchandise company near Bridlington.

I said no to Mr Redshaw

because I've already got Button Moon T-shirts out there

and if I do any work with you at all,

I've got to approve the designs for the mugs and didn't hear anything.

So, there was no-one more shocked when, some months later,

his attention was drawn to a range of Button Moon inspired merchandise

being sold by Mr Redshaw's company.

I switched on the computer,

I saw they were being sold all over the internet.

I contacted Trading Standards.

They were very sympathetic and said, "Yes, it's truly Button Moon."

I was heartbroken, angry.

Someone coming along and altering your creation for their own means

was just awful.

Ian contacted Mr Redshaw, who claimed the merchandise

was just a parody, but this didn't satisfy Ian.

He went back to Trading Standards who told Mr Redshaw

to stop selling it and destroy what stock he still had.

When he was called by Trading Standards to destroy them,

he sold them on and I found one ad on Amazon and another ad on eBay.

He decided to take legal action to protect his creations

and stop the sale of the merchandise. The case went to court.

It's a painful experience to have to go to court.

I can't say I enjoyed it. I was very scared, stage fright, it's...

It's theatre, court, and I didn't have the script.

It was a new experience and I don't want to have to go through it again.

Robert Redshaw contested the case, maintaining it was

a parody of the brand and not infringing Ian's copyright.

The judge disagreed and was unimpressed by Mr Redshaw's failure

to prove how much money he had made from the merchandise.

He just can't come along and take someone's creation

and use it, it is stealing.

The judge agreed it was a clear infringement

and awarded Ian the judgment,

ordering Mr Redshaw to pay him £7,158.12.

Hooray!

However, despite this order, Ian still hasn't been paid.

He has now had to bring in some other stars of TV

to help get him what is rightfully his.

In East Yorkshire, Chris and Steve are paying a visit to the man

who produced the offending merchandise, Robert Redshaw.

Redshaw House? It's not really a lot of help.

In Button Moon, Mr Spoon went to the moon in a baked bean can rocket.

Equipped only with a van,

Chris and Steve aren't doing quite as well,

failing to find Mr Redshaw's business.

This is where we went before.

The trouble is, all of the units on the estate look the same.

Honest, mate, it could be anything around here.

We could be driving around all day to be honest.

Let's pull in. I'll have a little run in and see what I can find out.

Even the locals don't seem aware of Mr Redshaw.

I'm looking for a Robert Redshaw, Redshaw House. No idea?

Thanks for your time anyway. Cheers, buddy.

That postcode covers most of the trading estate.

And nobody seems to know where it is.

Steve has gone to the bakery over there, so he's either

getting some information or eating them out of house and home!

Returning baked potato free, Steve instead has some hot information.

Down here on the right. It is called Kapow Gifts or something.

A few more minutes driving around

and it is starting to get frustrating.

She just said it is on this side.

You have verified it is on the trading estate, then?

Yes, it is here somewhere.

Why didn't you get an exact place? Why didn't you ask her?

You'll have to go back in and say, "Sorry, I'm that stupid,

"I didn't ask for full information last time I came in."

What are you stopping for?

Because I'm going to have to do what you didn't do.

Right, let me out.

I'll go and have a... I'll go and have a walk round this one.

I'll just wait and see what he comes up with.

But as Steve heads off,

the location of Kapow Gifts hits Chris between the eyes.

There it is! Redshaw House! There you go. We'll just leave him.

PHONE RINGS

-'I'm talking to Mr Redshaw. Can you get down here?'

-I'm here now.

Right, here you are.

Not only has Steve found Mr Redshaw,

he's got himself inside his premises

and, once a sheriff is inside your commercial premises,

by law, you can't get him out.

OK, and it is to do with Mr Ian Richard Allen.

-Yeah, well, I thought it might be.

-Do you know what it is about, yes?

I've e-mailed him countless times, saying, "Can you send me an invoice?

"Can you send me an invoice and where to send the money?"

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

I've actually... I can show you the e-mail now if you want.

I've actually e-mailed him, "Where do you want the money?"

Right, can you pay it off in full, first of all?

-Yeah, as long as it's not...

-£8,968 in total.

Well, I've got a bit of a...

Obviously, I'd like to dispute that, extras that

he is obviously going to charge you to collect it

because he has just never asked me for the money.

Far from disputing the case, Mr Redshaw claims

he has tied to pay Mr Allen the money, but it hasn't been paid

and Mr Allen has gone to the High Court,

so Mr Redshaw's bill has gone up.

That was your original bill with your judgment costs,

which is around what you said you had to pay him.

This is the interest accrued. This is the sheriffs' fees.

-Let's have a look.

-But... But on what basis... How can I dispute that?

I can't give too much advice because I'm working on his behalf, you see?

But, at the end of the day, if you have any grievances, take it up with

him, and if you have any grievances with the court, take it up with them.

I mean, if you are in a position to pay it...

the best thing to do is pay it

and then take it up in your own time, pretty much straightaway next week.

And with two sheriffs on site and the prospect of his property

being removed, Mr Redshaw agrees to pay.

With the debt paid, Mr Redshaw wants to put his side of the story.

I could understand why, you know, if it's his creation, it's his baby.

He describes it as his baby

and his children being kidnapped or something.

You know, it's a bit melodramatic. I can understand what he's saying.

It's his main creation. I'm not aware of anything else he's created,

really, that's taken off like that. It was a big show at the time.

But he still thinks it's a big thing 30 years later

and that we've made a massive amount of money out of it.

That's not the case. We only made a few hundred mugs

so the licensing he would've got off that, the royalty,

would have been 10%,

which would have only been something like £100 or something.

You know, it's totally disproportionate

to what was awarded.

It's a good result for the sheriffs

and Button Moon creator Ian Allen.

We've done a bank transfer in the end

and he's cleared the full lot off, which is a result.

And finally, in the interests of justice, a decision must be made.

Who was responsible for the hour it took to find the address?

So, really, it's more Steve's fault than mine, to be honest.

As is everything that goes wrong.

LAUGHTER

And no-one's more delighted at the outcome than Ian Allen,

and a couple of his friends.

Well done. The sheriffs got the money.

Hey!

Today, Darryl Oreton is in the Midlands on his way to one

of the country's largest insurance companies - Direct Line.

Just coming into Birmingham city centre now.

The defendant is Direct Line Insurance.

We're there looking for just over £12,000.

Quite a large amount. They've got to be one of the leading

insurance companies, aren't they?

So, yeah, not short of a few quid, let's put it that way.

The claim is being made by Devinder Ubhi.

When his BMW was in an accident, he had it repaired by

a Direct Line-approved garage, but there were numerous problems.

Eventually, he had them fixed by another garage

and sent the bill to Direct Line, but they refused to pay.

When he took Direct Line to court, they didn't contest the case

and an award was made in Devinder's favour.

But it was never paid.

Although £12,000 is a lot to Devinder, with revenues

of over four billion, it should be a drop in the ocean for Direct Line.

With High Court writ in hand, Darryl heads in to ask for the money.

Afternoon. I need to speak to somebody managerial or in accounts.

-I'll see if I can contact someone.

-OK, yeah, thank you.

Darryl's only too happy to take the comfy seat.

But it's more than just a chance to have a sit down.

Just listing a few assets of what's here. Not a great deal.

He gets to work inspecting assets he could potentially remove.

Just these four sofas, two coffee tables and that big...

that big yellow picture.

It depends who the artist is, though,

but a few hundred pounds, I would have thought.

Moments later, a Direct Line representative

comes down to talk to him.

Hiya. We're here to execute a High Court writ.

It's against Direct Line Insurance PLC.

-It's on the behalf of a Devinder Ubhi.

-Right, OK.

I'm here to collect just over £12,000.

-Can I just take that with me for a second?

-Yeah, of course you can.

-I'll be back.

-OK.

After another brief wait,

a second person comes down to deal with Darryl.

-He asks our camera to leave.

-Hi.

The man says the matter relating to the writ is still in dispute.

He says they want to have the judgment set aside

and insists he's not going to pay the writ today.

Darryl agrees to list Direct Line assets instead with a view to

removing them at a later date if the debt's not settled satisfactorily.

Darryl is taken to view what's on offer for his list.

It's mainly office furniture and computers and he lists it all.

Now they're technically the property of the High Court.

If Direct Line don't win their set-aside,

it acts as a guarantee on the debt.

So, they weren't going to pay any money there and then.

They want their day in court, pretty much.

So if they go back to court and lose, I'm sure they'll pay.

And since we've filmed,

Direct Line's application for a set-aside was dismissed.

Devinder Ubhi now has his money.

Direct Line told us that they

had tried to engage with Mr Ubhi to better understand his allegations

about the disputed repair work and resolve the matter.

They said at the time they received the court's order, these

discussions remained outstanding

and their solicitors had applied to the court

to have the judgment reviewed

but this was not processed in time to prevent the sheriffs' visit.

With dawn approaching,

sheriffs Lawrence and Kev are heading to West London.

But this morning they're not looking for a debtor.

Instead, they've got a writ of possession

to evict a group of squatters.

It's just after five o'clock at the moment

and we're on our way to a repossession in London.

It's a pub we've done before - the Cross Keys.

A year ago, Lawrence and Kev visited the same pub

after it was occupied by squatters,

having become vacant while the owner sought to develop it.

Sheriffs forced entry and were lucky enough

to avoid a booby trap left for them at the door.

They managed to evict the squatters

and return the pub to its rightful owner.

But the development process has again become drawn out,

leaving the building empty,

and now a new bunch of squatters has moved in.

So it's Lawrence and Kev's job, along with some colleagues

and a team supplied by the owner, to get the new squatters out.

The sheriffs are keen to make entry before the sleeping squatters

realise what happening.

There's no sign of any movement in there at the moment.

They've gained entry through the rear, we believe.

We'll be going into the front.

If they want to run out the rear as we go in the front, you know,

that's entirely up to them and suits us.

Normally, the sheriffs bring in their own experts to do this.

The men supplied by the client are making a lot of noise.

LOUD BANGING

They're awake. It's hard not to be, isn't it, really?

The doors open but they can't get in.

The entrance is barricaded.

Until the gear's out, the sheriffs won't be going in.

BANGING

Guys, take it easy.

That stuff's got to come out.

Come on, you lot. Start moving some of this stuff.

We're doing your job for you. You're supposed to be getting us in.

Bring everything out.

The sheriffs have a dilemma.

They need to get in quickly to stop the squatters barricading any

more doors but, having experienced the booby trap last time,

Lawrence doesn't want his men taking unnecessary risks.

James, careful.

The booby trap is back in place.

With the barricade cleared, there's a second door.

I'll need a crowbar again.

Right, that's the ground floor. You don't want to go that way.

Up the stairs.

Right, we've got a writ of possession. You all need to leave.

We'll give you a bit of time to get your stuff together, OK?

-How many of you are in here?

-About 20.

-About 20. OK.

It's a lot of bodies to shift, along with all their stuff.

At least some of the squatters realise the game is up,

take advantage of the newly opened door, and leave.

-Yeah.

-Thanks.

You've got an easy way out.

You don't have to risk life and limb on the roof this morning.

The squatters' normal route in and out is perilous,

but has to be checked and shut off.

This is the door they were using and there is a ladder down there

I believe they were using to drop down to the ground floor then

climb up the ladder and come in this window.

Although some of the squatters are now out, many of those

remaining have been here a while and have a lot of stuff.

The procedure now is to empty and check off each area of the pub

and make sure no-one gets back in.

-All out now.

-Yeah, everybody's out of there.

Roof's clear.

It looks like the squatters are all out

but the sheriffs know only too well that just one person

left behind can let the rest back in,

so every nook and cranny is checked,

though Lawrence leaves the attic to the younger members of the team.

Make sure you walk on the rafters.

Now we're all done here. All the squatters are out,

about 20 of them in total. They're loitering around...

around here for a little bit. So, let them carry on with that.

It's been a fairly smooth operation for the sheriffs.

For the second time in just over a year,

the Cross Keys pub has been cleared of squatters.

It's a mess but not that badly damaged.

Thank you, Richard. See you later.

And since we filmed, the pub has been sold to a new developer,

who plans to reopen it as a working pub in the near future.

In West Yorkshire, it's the sort of weather that makes

some people think of jetting off to sunnier climes.

But, for sheriffs Chris and Steve,

the only warmth they'll feel as a result of their visit to

Leeds Bradford Airport will come from knowing they've helped

someone to get the money that's rightfully theirs.

CHUCKLING

-What was that?

-Have you seen the price list?

You'll have to sell your van to get it back.

We're at Leeds Bradford Airport, looking for Jet2.com.

The man the sheriffs are helping today is David Stevanovic.

His profession is chartered accountancy but his passion is golf.

And that's what he likes to do on holiday.

20 years ago, we discovered a really nice resort called

Lagos in the Western Algarve.

So every year I take the opportunity to book an apartment.

In August 2012, David and his wife, Catherine,

went on their annual holiday to Portugal.

Two weeks booked of pure rest and relaxation.

Their holiday teed off brilliantly.

We had a fantastic time. The weather was perfect.

And it's always nice to say I played quite well.

I came back from the holiday feeling good about my game.

You want it to run smoothly

and the last thing you need on holiday is a hiccup.

The hiccup occurred on their flight back home.

Not the result of too much bubbly, but thanks to airline Jet2.com.

It was about ten minutes into the flight.

The captain came on to the tannoy to say that

unfortunately there was a problem with the aircraft.

Because of that, they had decided they would have to go back to Faro.

An hour and a quarter later, the 140 passengers landed safely.

Then they spent another hour on the plane

while engineers tried to fix the problem.

Eventually they got to the point where they said,

"Sorry, we can't fix this. We'll have to take you off the aircraft."

Although there were Jet2.com staff on the ground,

they themselves didn't really know what was going on.

Two to three hours later,

passengers were informed that the plane couldn't be fixed

and they would have to wait for a replacement to arrive from Italy.

It's frustrating. It's just inconvenient.

And there's nothing you can do about it yourself.

You're totally dependent on Jet2.com sorting this out for you.

The spare jet finally arrived from Italy

and was ready to take them home.

In total, they were over 12 hours late.

David was disappointed with how Jet2 dealt with the delay.

He was determined to get what he was entitled to and sought legal advice.

He and his wife wrote separate letters to Jet2

explaining they were on the 12-hour delayed flight

and, under European legislation, they were entitled to compensation.

The response was mixed.

They didn't ever get round to acknowledging my letter.

Mine was just completely ignored.

But my wife got a letter back saying, on this occasion,

they'd looked into the complaint but they had decided that it

was a delay there, certainly, but it was beyond their control

and therefore there was no compensation due.

But no details on the letter. It was simply, "Not our fault."

David wrote again,

threatening legal action if they didn't supply more information.

But, again, there was no response.

This was the final straw and David took the matter to court.

Jet2 didn't contest the case and a judgment was

issued in the Stevanovics' favour, awarding them 400 euros each.

But, like the flights, the payment is delayed.

To get what's rightfully his, David has called in the sheriffs.

The weather at Leeds Bradford Airport is distinctly un-Portuguese.

It's lovely. This is summer up here.

Jet2 is based here, so Chris and Steve are heading

for the airport check-in desks in pursuit of David's money.

Jet2 isn't hard to spot.

I need to speak to somebody in regards to a High Court writ.

-A High Court writ?

-Yeah, there's been a High Court writ issued.

Our camera is asked to take the emergency exit.

Inside, Chris and Steve are taken to meet the Jet2 boss.

With the sheriffs in their office wielding a High Court writ,

Jet2.com consult their lawyers.

Following a recent European Court ruling,

dozens of airlines are being pursued by thousands of passengers

for the compensation they are due for flight delays.

It's not long before Jet2.com agree the debt should be settled

and, as soon as they have worked out how to pay, they do.

Relatively speaking, it was pretty brisk. Got rid of it quite quickly.

-So, yeah, we're happy with that.

-It was fine. Nice, comfortable seats.

A couple of cups of coffee. A bit of chat. That was about it.

And even happier than the rain-soaked sheriffs is the man

delayed by Jet2, David Stevanovic.

I'm really pleased.

I think it demonstrates just what can be done if you're minded to.

I'm really pleased with the outcome.

Jet2 told us that a miscommunication between their solicitors

and the courts led to the default judgment and lack of payment.

They said they'd reviewed their compensation review

processes in light of this.

They added that, given the size of the debt,

they were very surprised by the extreme way the writ was served.