Episode 1 The Sheriffs Are Coming

Meet the sheriffs.

Let's go and introduce ourselves.

High Court enforcement officers.

We are here today to execute a High Court writ.

Their job is to get you your money back.

It is an arrestable offence to stop me doing my job.

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

-I'm not waiting any more.

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

which would mean clearing this place out.

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

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

-This is an absolute crock.

You need to pay this.

..it's time to call the sheriffs.

I've seized your car, sir.

You can let us through the door or we will go through the window.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

They're enforcement officers of the High Court

and the law says they're on your side.

Just collected 42 grand.

Coming up...

Lucy Houghton won an injury claim

when a tattoo removal left her scarred for life.

A minor procedure like tattoo removal

shouldn't cause third degree burns.

Enforcement officer Pete Spencer confronts the salon owner,

but will he get Lucy her money?

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

it cost him a fortune.

It's cost me £8,000 to £9,000 and left me without a vehicle

for six to seven months.

Sheriffs, Lawrence and Kev, pay the garage a visit.

Can they get him the money he's owed?

If you're acting on his authority to pay it, pay it!

In East Anglia, Daryl and Mark encounter builder Keith Topman,

who's not happy the sheriffs have come to call.

I feel sick.

He's been taken to court and ordered to pay his debts.

-Next thing, you boys are on my doorstep,

-BLEEP

-wanting the money.

But first, enforcement officer Pete Spencer is on the lookout

for a business in West Yorkshire.

Next, we're off to Mytholmroyd near Halifax.

This is a case of tattoo removal that went badly wrong.

The person Pete's on his way to help,

is Lucy Houghton 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.

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 to the doors of the sheriffs for help.

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

working as a beauty therapist on a cruise ship.

I was trying to mix a little bit of work with pleasure,

be able to meet new people, have fun.

But the job came with a strict condition.

Lucy had a butterfly tattoo on 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 obviously 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 and Beauty World of Mytholmroyd,

near Halifax, run by Howard Pilling.

My mum had been there before. She'd started having a tattoo removed.

I'd been there for my hair done before.

It was a salon that had been recommended by other people.

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 I was taking 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 he'd got a new machine.

It would 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 little bit easier was something

I was thrilled about, so 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 breath properly.

The machine, it 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 or I'll be sick

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

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

everything would be fine.

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

It wasn't until 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 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.

I struggled to have a bath on my own, do my hair on my own,

just because of the pain and not being able to make a fist

or use my hand properly.

Lucy's mum, Hazel, was shocked at how the treatment

affected her daughter.

Lucy changed from being a bright and vivacious young female,

with a life ahead of her.

She more or less overnight into someone that was very withdrawn.

She didn't want to go out.

She didn't really want to communicate with anybody

and she was quite an angry young lady.

The hospital told Lucy she would need a skin graft.

They took skin from my thigh and put it on 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 took salon boss, Howard Pilling, to court.

He contested the case.

So, when we attended court for the final hearing,

it had 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 person 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 be finally 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 to 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. You OK?

-Looking for a Mr Pilling.

-Yeah.

-Is he about?

-He is, yeah.

The staff seem 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. Enforcement officer.

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

Do you want to speak through here? A High Court writ.

Do you want to speak through here, not 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 the case.

Lucy Houghton and Hazel Woodall. We've come to collect the money.

Mr Pilling says he has no money.

OK, we'll be removing goods then.

We'll just have to take whatever we can to try

and recover the outstanding.

I'll order a removal truck.

The best idea is to pay something, to be fair.

Mr Pilling says he has already paid the claimant £1,000,

so Pete asks the office to check with her.

I'm just with the defendant at the moment.

He's just saying two payments, value of £1,000 have been cashed

but there's no credit shown on my paperwork.

OK. No problem. Thanks, bye.

She has confirmed you've paid £1,000.

You're still in breach of your court order, I'm afraid,

so you still have to pay the remainder.

Mr Pilling was supposed to be making five payments of £500.

But he's only made two,

so the court has ordered Pete to collect all of the rest.

But Mr Pilling won't pay.

You're refusing to pay anything, yeah?

With no payment forthcoming,

Pete is going to seize goods to sell at auction.

The salon owner suggests seizing just one item,

that's worth the amount owed.

If you want to show me that item and I'll value it and see if it is.

Pete's shown a laser the owner claims cost £25,000

and will be worth at least £2,500.

This is going to do nothing in auction.

I can get an auction value on that.

It would be £100 or something stupid.

It would cost more than that to remove it.

Mr Pilling produces another tattoo removing laser.

A tattoo removal one, is it?

He's talking about a £25,000 tattoo-removal machine

which looks in between £300-£500 at auction value to me.

Even if Pete seizes goods,

it will be cheaper to pay the full amount.

I'd rather you sort it, rather than lose your goods

and then I'm back next week because I've only got £200.

As we speak it's £2,544.19.

Any time I spend on site will be chargeable after an hour

and then you've got recovery costs and storage fees

and auction fees on top.

Mr Pilling is thinking of paying.

It's got to be cleared funds, yes.

Debit card, credit card, cash or bank transfer.

But in case the payment doesn't appear, Pete heads into the salon

to continue seizing equipment owned by the business.

One of the stylists asks how long Pete will be around for,

as they are expecting a busy Friday afternoon.

It'll be closed today, potentially,

if he doesn't sort it out.

Items have been seized to the value of the outstanding debt.

I've given him 10-15 minutes to make some phone calls to raise

the funds, rather than us remove goods.

Faced with having several items seized

and removal costs on top, the defendant has a change of heart

and finds someone to pay the money for him.

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

That's going to pay the balance in full.

She's about 5-10 minutes away, so hopefully once she arrives,

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

Yeah, will do.

The card has arrived.

Do you want to do it out here, then you're not disturbing your customers.

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?

-I'll try and be as discreet as what we can.

If you can just pop your PIN number

in there and then press the green button, please.

Just need a signature off there. That's your receipt for payment.

When Lucy Houghton 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.

Money will be going to the claimant now.

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

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

It means I can move on with my life

and aim for that dream job that I've wanted to do

for the past four years and I can finally go ahead and do that.

It's going to help finance my time in London, during the training period

before I actually get on the cruise ship.

I'd just like to say a massive thank you

to Pete Spencer. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you.

Thanks a lot!

These days, sheriffs are officially called

Enforcement Officers of the High Court.

We're High Court Enforcement Officers.

We're Enforcement Officers.

I'm an Enforcement Officer. I've got a High Court writ.

If you've been awarded money by a court

but haven't been paid, the sheriffs can enforce a writ and get you what you're owed.

I'm here with a court order to collect the sum of £34,311.

£6,246.99.

We've come to collect £12,056.76

And if the debtor won't pay, the have the power to seize goods

and have them sold at auction to pay off the debt.

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

Effect entry into the premises and remove all the items.

We'll keep them. So, that's now seized.

Freddie's coming with us for today.

In the rural north west of England,

there's the prospect of a day enforcing writs in the countryside

for Enforcement Officers Chris Pearson and Steve Hockborn.

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

We're looking for a company, Cumbria Roofing North West Ltd.

We're looking for £2,913.69 on behalf of a Mrs Kathleen Anne Horton.

It's a relatively small amount,

so there should be enough assets to cover the debt. Let's go.

Kathleen Horton paid Cumbria Roofing North West Ltd £3,000

to apply a special liquid plastic waterproof coating to the stairs

and balcony of her Cumbria 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 paid £60 to take 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 the most beautiful place in the UK, as far as I'm concerned.

The weather's not the best. The summer's very similar to the winter!

Chris and Steve soon find Cumbria Roofing North West Ltd

on an industrial estate.

Looks like there's somebody in.

-Is there another entrance?

-I'll have a look.

What do you think? Hello?

-Something's on in there. There's a phone number.

-Yeah.

Give them a ring and see if we can get someone 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 seize property.

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

But Steve is hoping to get someone to open up.

No vans.

PHONE RINGS

Hello, sir. Is it possible for you to get back

to the unit for us, please?

It's Mr Pearson with 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 need to deal with it now.

We're here to seize goods from the property.

Now, we do at this stage have power to get a locksmith if needs be.

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

The concern you've got, sir, if you can't pay that,

we've got a High Court writ to seize your goods.

I can wait for you, not a problem. About an hour and a half, mate, yeah?

Thanks a lot. Ta ta.

Hopefully, that will get him here.

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.

Are you from this unit here, love?

-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 wait for... I think it was Kevin, on the phone.

-We can wait for him.

-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 him, love?

-I haven't.

-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?

How did we not see them?

The seasoned Enforcement Officers failed to spot that the keys

to the unit were on the windowsill,

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

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

The lady who 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 and 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 ta now.

30 minutes. We'll see if he turns up.

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, 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 now.

I think Chris should have been able to establish whether he's going 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.

MOBILE RINGS

Hello?

Yep. Bring it round, yeah?

He wants the card machine, 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.

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

He's just about to pay three grand out

that he should have paid months ago.

And, finally, the writ is settled in full.

But Steve can't help reflecting on the keys

he reckons Chris failed to spot.

I would have thought that Chris could have found them

straightaway 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 paid his debt off. There was no great concern about that.

No grievance about doing that.

A little concerned 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 just going to blame that on Steve wholly and fully -

that's the end of the matter.

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

High Court Enforcement Officers, commonly known as sheriffs,

have to enforce writs all over the country.

Today was an especially early start for Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally,

who have already put some miles under their belt before breakfast.

We're just coming into Bristol at the moment.

It's half past eight 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.

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 about three weeks, I called up the garage and I said,

"I haven't heard anything. What's the latest?".

They said there seems to be a problem, they cannot seem

to work out what's wrong with the vehicle.

I 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 had recommended me to them.

Then after about six or seven weeks I got very impatient, because

I was at this time worried about my vehicle, I had to catch lifts, I

had to ask my missus for a lift, I had to ask my parents for lifts.

So, I did really need my car.

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.

Really happy, it drove absolutely perfect for the first few hours.

After three hours of not making no issues, it then had the engine

management light flashing.

The car was shaking again, the gearbox was shaking,

the exhaust manifold was making a noise

and the car revs - it wasn't still, it was revving up and down.

Instantly, I knew that something's not right.

Mohammed decided to take his car to another BMW specialist.

They now diagnosed a fault with the NOx sensor,

which detects potentially damaging gases in the exhaust of the car.

Mohammed says they told him it should have been replaced

before any of the other repairs,

because a faulty NOx 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.

But until he paid their bill, the second garage held onto his car.

So the vehicle should have been repaired in one week.

It's cost me £8,000-9,000 and left me without a vehicle

for six to seven months.

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

It made me feel like they're taking me for a joke because I'm

just a young boy and they think that they could just fob me off.

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

Clayton Cars didn't contest it, and in their absence,

the judgement went against them.

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

I've won my judgement. I still haven't received my money.

If the sheriffs can't get the money then no-one will.

It's now time for Lawrence

and Kev to finally put an end to Mohammed's misery.

-What's the name of them?

-Clayton Cars.

-That's it.

First challenge - find the boss.

Mr Grix, I'm an Enforcement Officer.

I've got a High Court writ to execute against Clayton Cars

on behalf of a Mr Mohammed Razaq.

We're ordered here by the court today to seize goods.

Are you in a position to pay, or do you need to contact the guv'nor?

-I can try and contact him, yes.

-Yeah, if you can do.

Kev has a look round the workshop.

As expected, there are plenty of assets that can be seized.

The diagnostics as well, do you want to show that to us?

-That thing over there? That's actually ours.

-OK.

Kev's keen to list the diagnostic equipment.

This kit is valuable, portable, and vital.

If it's seized, it could stop the garage working.

Lawrence and Kev want to pressure the garage into finding

the boss and paying up as quickly as possible.

Taking an inventory

and preparing to seize the gear usually has the desired effect.

They've got a four-post lift over there, there's another four

two-post lifts as well, so 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. Right, I'll just show you my ID.

That's the actual notice of seizure.

The amount outstanding is £5,483.46 because it's been transferred up

to the High Court for enforcement.

-Sheriff's fees?!

-Yep.

-Who's the sheriff?

-Are you the sheriff?

-Our company, yeah.

So, that's the amount that's outstanding, just under 5,500.

I've got 483.

The owner has already spoken to his solicitors,

who have assured him they are dealing with the case.

It's a little bit premature, cos they've done what they can do,

and they're waiting to hear back from the court.

The problem being we are here with a live writ

which orders us to seize goods to clear the debt.

This is what the solicitors sent you? Can you just scroll down?

The paperwork is an application to set aside the case,

but no decision has 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.

-Why can't you just wait?

Because we have a live writ which orders us...

It's not a case of waiting.

There was an order made for you to pay. You didn't.

We've been ordered here today to seize goods to clear the debt

and you've got plenty of goods here to clear the debt.

What bits do you want to take out of this place?

The main thing that leaps out is the diagnostic kit

over there. I'm quite happy to wait for your solicitor to phone you back

provided they're not hours,

cos we've been here one 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.

It wouldn't start. It was here for 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, it was all good.

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 now.

Mohammed disputes this version of events.

Meanwhile, Lawrence is hoping to enforce his writ -

if Mr Sowden ever speaks to his solicitor.

If you could get on it as quick as you can, I'd appreciate it.

I think he considers us taking his stuff as an option.

Realistically, for him, that'd be a very expensive option.

Really, you pay now and the money's held for 14 days, or your goods

are taken and if you want to get them before they're sold at auction,

you're then looking at another two grand on top

just to buy your stuff back in time to stop it being sold.

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 him to respond to their writ.

Frustration is growing.

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

Enforcement Officers Darryl Oreton and Mark Povey are in East Anglia,

about to bring some unwelcome news

to a firm in the demolition business.

Just coming into Suffolk now. Company called KT Demolition Ltd.

They've been sued in the high courts by another company,

and we're there for just under £9,000.

The company took KT Demolition to court for work it carried

out for them but for which it wasn't fully paid.

KT Demolition contested the claim,

but the court awarded in the other company's favour.

But they've still not received the money they're owed.

So now, it's up to Darryl and Mark to get it for them.

Arriving at KT Demolition's trading premises, it's clear

they're not dealing with a multi-national.

Afternoon.

I guess you're Keith Totman?

I'm an Enforcement Officer for the High Court.

We've got a High Court writ. It's not against yourself,

it's against your company, KT Demolition Ltd.

We've come out today to collect the amount, which is just under £9,000.

Who are you?

We're High Court Enforcement Officers. Are you aware of this?

-No, I'm not.

-You're not aware of the debt at all?

I am, because I went to court over this,

and the court,

the court then...

..turned around and more or less threw it out of court.

That is it.

But that's not what the court documents say.

See, we've got the original judgement, Keith,

where the debt was...

You've been ordered that the judgement for the claimant

is £6,869.10 and also to pay £250 costs, payable within 14 days.

-Because you haven't done that...

-I don't know anything about it.

-I mean, did you attend the court hearing?

-Yeah.

-On the 28th May?

-Yeah, I went to Norwich.

-Right.

-I offered to pay the man so much.

I didn't refuse the debt, or nothing. So I said, yeah,

I'd pay, but he wouldn't accept it, he wouldn't accept it.

-He wouldn't accept instalments.

-No.

-He'd only accept it in one go.

And I didn't have it. So what do you do when you haven't got it?

Whatever Mr Totman's excuses, Darryl needs the debt paying today.

So what are you going to do now?

We would generally seize and possibly remove assets.

-Is this where you are trading from?

-Yeah.

What about the vehicle, is that in your name or the company?

-Company.

-That's in the company name.

-Do you want to try...

-That's more than nine grand, that is.

Would you not be better off trying to get the money raised,

as opposed to us removing that today?

Darryl's being as helpful as he can.

If he has to, he'll take the Range Rover to pay off the debt.

But it would be easier for him,

not to mention cheaper for Mr Totman, if he could raise

-the cash another way.

-We'd rather give you a bit of time now to...

I know you say you don't know anyone that can get you that money, but

get on the phone, make some phone calls, see what you can raise,

rather than us phoning a truck to come and collect your vehicle straightaway.

At this stage, Darryl and Mark

are invited in to speak to Mr Totman in private.

We're asked to stay outside.

Soon after, Mr Totman's wife arrives to help him out.

Mr Totman is adamant he went to court

and the judge threw out the case against them.

But Darryl's High Court writ tells a very different story.

I think you're getting confused, Keith. The original judgement

was awarded to him and you were supposed to pay within 14 days.

I think what's happened is you've disputed this,

and in July you've tried to set the application for a set aside which

means to go back to court, but that was dismissed.

You've been to court there, you've lost your case,

you've tried to take it back and that was thrown out.

I can only go on what I've got there.

Faced with a High Court writ, two Enforcement Officers

in his house and a very vulnerable looking Range Rover on his drive,

it doesn't take Mr Totman long to realise this debt isn't going away.

After discussions with his wife,

they agree to pay on her credit card.

Do you want it on credit or debit? Giving him the option.

There's the amount, if you want to enter your PIN and press "OK".

The money goes through without a problem.

I'll just give you the receipt.

Keith Totman, meanwhile, wants to put his side of the story.

I feel sick.

Absolutely sick. When I offered to pay the man,

he wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted the whole lot in one hit.

Like I said, I can't do it. So, next thing, I'm in court.

I told them on the paperwork when I writ to the courts

and told them what the score was.

Went to Norwich and they slung it out.

-Next thing, you boys are on my doorstep

-BLEEP

-wanting

the money, which I've just paid.

I'll put my Jack Russells on you!

HE CHUCKLES

Where are you, Jack?

Don't like dogs. Jack Russells, little dogs - they're fine.

It's a good score for Darryl and Mark, and means the company that

brought the case finally gets the money that's rightfully theirs.

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're taking me for a joke,

because I'm just a young boy, and they think that they can fob me off.

The garage owner won't deal with the writ

until he's spoken to his solicitor, but he's been waiting a while.

It's coming up to half 11. If we go past 12 o'clock,

I will be charging two hours' waiting time.

With no response from his solicitor, Mr Sowden consults his book-keeper.

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

The book-keeper suggests he contact the solicitor.

Yeah, I tried to get hold of the solicitors.

They're 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?

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

..and they're going to...

sort it out.

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

If you don't pay us, then we've got an awful lot of stuff to take

out of here 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.

-You're seizing goods today?

-Yeah.

Yeah, they're seizing goods today.

The solicitors say someone will call back.

Thank you very much - as quick as you can would be much appreciated.

Thank you, bye.

They're all getting hungry.

They're not going to lunch, are they?

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

the owner gets through to his solicitor.

-Do you want a chat?

-No problem.

I'll pass you over.

Hello there.

Mr Sowden's aware that there's 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?

Can I just hand you to Mr Sowden so you can tell him that then?

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?

Because I just left it to the experts or the solicitors

and I've got guys knocking on the door.

The owner calls his book-keeper

and seems to be talking about payment.

We could 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.

The police won't do anything.

No, the police won't do anything.

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

Come on, we've got to do a deal.

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 around in circles, really.

Literally asking anyone in the world for advice on how not to pay.

Basically, he's asked his solicitor,

he's asked someone else's solicitor and anyone else that wants to

put their ten pence worth in has been doing so,

and it hasn't really got him anywhere.

The advice is coming from everywhere and 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.

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

No disrespect to yourself, I know you've just come in to this,

but I'm not going into another lengthy discussion

about the whys and wherefores of us being here.

We're entitled to be here,

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

I've already cued the office 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've been going on for four hours and 45 minutes.

We are not going to stay around while you have the discussion

of whether he's spoken to his solicitors.

That is something for you to deal with afterwards.

If you're 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, Mr Sowden, we'll leave you in peace, and obviously whatever

the courts say we will comply with.

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

nearly five hours, there. But we got full payment in the end.

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

try and reclaim our money back,

which I think we fully will win the case.

Since we filmed, Clayton Cars pushed on with their application

to have the judgement set aside, and this time both the garage

and their solicitor were present in court.

Mohammed Razaq had to face them alone.

The judge rejected the garage's request for the judgement

to be set aside, which means Mohammed

keeps the money the sheriffs recovered 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.

Look up how to fight a case in court.

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