Episode 3 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-Let's go and introduce ourselves.

-We're High Court Enforcement Officers.

-We're here today to execute a High Court writ.

Their job is to get you your money back.

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

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

-I'm not waiting any more.

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

which would be 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'll 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...

Sue Bodkin's van broke down after just a few days.

I was left without a van and I was devastated.

Sheriffs Lawrence and Kev visit the garage that sold it to her.

Can they get her what she's owed?

You need to sort this out today or we will strip this garage bare.

-This one going?

-Yes.

-This one's going. Sorry, mate.

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?

And sheriffs Darryl and Mark are in pursuit of an old adversary

with a huge debt.

I was gobsmacked. It was a figure in excess of £7 million.

But where is the elusive debtor?

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

But first,

at Greenwich in south London,

a commercial building has been occupied by squatters.

Since squatting in residential property was criminalised,

they're occupying a wider range of commercial buildings.

But wherever they go,

if the landlord gets a writ of possession in the High Court,

the squatters can be evicted within days,

with the help of the sheriffs.

This morning they face a real challenge -

the building has been barricaded by the squatters.

Can the landlord's locksmith get the sheriffs in?

Leading the eviction is enforcement officer 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 re-develop 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 are just assessing around the building

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

With the locksmith on stand-by for now,

the sheriffs will attempt to talk their way in.

RAPPING

Hello?

Hello?

KNOCKING

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.

Good morning. We're enforcement officers from the High Court.

We've got a writ of possession.

-You're being evicted, want to wake everyone up?

-Excuse me, what are you doing?

We are enforcement officers from the High Court. I've got a writ of possession

and you are 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.

You'd better start packing your belongings.

Defeated by the jammed lock, the locksmith's 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. 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...

Don't film me. 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're now

attempting 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.

That's not how it works.

No, no. That's not how it works.

Well, there's no point shouting from up there

"Show me the papers" and I've got them in my hand. Come on down I'll show you it.

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

Come on down, 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.

SIREN WAILS

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

-I'll tell you what it is.

-Yep.

-I'm a High Court enforcement officer.

-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.

-All right.

The locksmith is still unable to get into the building

but the squatters have got out.

Now that you've got out, let's talk. MAN CHATTERS

No, no, no, listen! I'm 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 are in a commercial building, you are squatting, OK? Right -

"Writ number 66 - Claimant..." the person that owns the property.

"Defendant - persons unknown..." ie, you and your colleagues. Right?

-Yeah.

-A bit about the Queen, a bit about the authorised officer.

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

which means I've got to cause the complainant

to have possession of this property which you are in.

What else would you like to know?

-They are still arguing about the legality of the eviction.

-No, no.

There's no talking to be had with your lawyer, you're being evicted.

No, listen, listen, listen...

No, listen...

MAN CONTINUES ARGUING

Excuse me, you keep saying you are still in a democracy, yeah?

This gives me the power to remove you.

You are 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.

Another of the squatters thinks there's something wrong with

the date of the writ.

But the sheriffs have heard enough, and so have the police.

Listen...so, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt,

this is to give you a chance to pack your belongings, otherwise he'll lock it, put a padlock on it

and your stuff will still be in there.

You have probably been evicted by the County Court bailiff

which is a different process than High Court.

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, I don't...

-Right...

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 any way 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 stick your hand and see if you can open that front one, please?

-So, we're in?

-We've managed to open the first door

and now we're going through the shutter door.

It's not a joke, is 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.

I've got a legal document to evict you...

Enforcement officers, known since Saxon times as sheriffs,

have special powers

We're High Court enforcement officers.

We're higher than a bailiff.

Sheriffs can enter residential premises

through an open or unlocked window or door.

Don't put your hands on me!

Once inside, even the police can't get them out.

If you want to phone the police, that's your prerogative, sir, not a problem at all.

I'm not leaving, no, I'm an enforcement officer with a High Court writ.

But refuse a sheriff entry to a commercial building...

Your director says you're not allowed to let me in.

..and you can't keep them out.

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

They are permitted to force entry...

I'll get the crowbar out of my van.

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

Sheriffs Lawrence Grix

and Kev McNally are heading down to the seaside.

We're heading down to Hastings, down the A21.

Is that where Harold got one through the eye?

Allegedly...

Lawrence and Kev turn to the matter in hand.

It's quarter past eight in the morning,

we're going to a Hughenden Road Garage Limited

on behalf of a Ms Susan Bodkin.

And we're looking today to seize goods to the value of

£1,857.90p.

They're on their way to help professional puppeteer Sue Bodkin.

And he's called Pirate Pete.

My name is Pirate Pete...

She's been entertaining children

and adults with her puppet performances for more than 15 years.

Oh, ohh! That's nice, thank you, you've got very kind children.

Sometimes she uses an innovative portable booth.

The way my booth is made, I disappear,

so they really can create a world of wonder for them

and they think it's much more real than it actually is.

Sue planned to offer more ambitious puppet shows,

but for that she would need transport.

Before, I'd just been using my small, little booth

which I could take on a bus or walk about in.

And I thought it was about time I make a bigger show,

and have someone help me. I thought, "Well, I've only got a small car.

"So, I need to get a larger vehicle."

But I actually live on very little money and...

I'm on, sort of, Working Tax Credit, so it can be a bit of a struggle.

Looking round for a vehicle that would fit the bill,

she happened to pass local dealers, Hughenden Road Garage,

when she spotted a bright-yellow van.

I was quite excited, but I thought, "No, calm down, it might be a wreck."

He took me out - the garage owner, Philip - and it seemed OK.

And it wasn't too expensive.

Loving the van, she paid £400 in cash for it

and traded in her old car, making a total of £750 for the van -

a big investment on a small budget.

She took it home, but just days later, she ran into problems.

I tried to start the van and it wouldn't start

and I noticed the warning light was on and I thought,

"Oh, no!"

Sue got the van restarted

but she continued to have problems with the engine cutting out.

I began to get more and more concerned

because as I was driving about, the van would suddenly cut out

and then I'd be stuck on a roundabout

or up a hill and I felt quite scared in that position

because I had people honking their horn, getting impatient.

And I thought, "I don't feel safe in this vehicle

"and I won't be able to drive it any more.

"And I need to go back to the garage

"and definitely sort this out for good."

Sue asked Hughenden to fix the van

and was told the problem was a fuel filter.

She paid £40 to fix this and drove the van away.

But it was far from the end of her problems.

And the next day it was still as bad. I thought,

"No, this is not good enough." So, I decided to go to another garage

and get it fully checked out.

The new garage told her the problem was the engine control unit, or ECU.

She went back to Hughenden to demand they fix this.

Basically, he said that he could fix it for me

but it would be another £450.

And I said - "But...if this was the problem,

"surely you should be fixing it?

"Because I bought it from you and it's only a little while ago."

DOG BARKS

If the car wasn't fit for purpose, consumer law means

Sue had the right to have it fixed or get a refund.

Encouraged by her family, Sue contacted Hughenden Road Garage,

insisting they fix the faulty van they had sold her.

Every time we tried to contact the garage by letter,

or by telephone, he just refused to have any contact.

Sue's plans to expand her business had to be put on hold.

And then I was left without a van and I was devastated

because I had no way of doing my work

and I had no vehicle to get about.

Sue was left with no alternative but to take the garage to court.

Hughenden didn't attend the hearing,

and a judgment was issued in Sue's favour.

The garage then applied to have this set aside,

but their appeal was thrown out.

But despite the court awarding Sue £890, she's still not been paid.

Her only hope of seeing her money now rests with the sheriffs.

Lawrence and Kev have arrived at Hughenden Road Garage

in pursuit of Sue's money.

The garage is full of equipment the sheriffs could seize,

but the one thing missing is the boss.

A few minutes later, one of the engineers gets him on the phone.

Hello there, sir...

The garage owner tells Lawrence that he's aware of the debt,

but claims he doesn't have to pay it.

But Lawrence knows otherwise.

The court ordered you to pay, didn't it, sir?

Well, yes, it did.

The owner says he'd agreed Sue would return the faulty vehicle to him,

but as she hasn't, he won't pay.

This is something Sue Bodkin strongly disputes.

That's not what we're here to sort out today.

We have a writ here ordering us to seize goods to clear this debt.

You need to sort this out today...

or we will strip this garage bare.

Faced with the alternative, the owner agrees to come down.

But Lawrence warns him not to delay any further.

Quick as you can, because we do charge

waiting time per hour that we're here.

OK, cheers, bye-bye.

If the owner doesn't pay, gear will be seized

and in a workshop full of tools and equipment, there's plenty of choice.

There's well enough equipment to warrant seizing it

and removing it if need be. Hopefully it won't come to that.

And then Kev spots something

that chills even a seasoned enforcement officer.

Freddy Kruger in the corner.

Not sure we'll be taking him.

HORROR MUSIC

Probably quite collectable cos he's quite realistic.

Collectors' auction, he'll probably go down quite well.

I'll list Freddy Kruger down, just in case.

The owner's not yet in, but his son is and he's familiar with the story.

Know about the case, do you?

Lawrence and Kev have already been at the garage over 40 minutes

when the owner, Mr Choronik,

the man who sold Sue her yellow van, arrives.

Lawrence loses no time in setting out the situation.

The bottom line is, Ms Bodkin got judgment against you

and with all the additional court costs and our fees

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

If you want to pay us in full, that will prevent further action today.

I can't pay because I need time to sort this out.

If you're telling me that you can't pay it

then I'm going to call in the trucks and start emptying the place now

because, obviously, the longer it takes, the more money it costs

and it's quicker to get it done now

than it is to drag out an argument for two hours.

But the garage owner believes none of the goods can be seized.

I can assure you that everything is personal tools

and the rest of it's all on finance and I've got proof of all finance

and you know you can't remove finance.

Right, do you want to get your finance paperwork?

-I've got all my finance paperwork.

-Do you want to show us that?

-I can do, yes.

You can't tell us things, you need to prove things.

The owner phones for advice...

-SON:

-Do you want us to...?

Yeah, come on, on your way.

At this point, our camera is asked to stay outside.

The owner says he can't afford to pay.

The guy's just been on the phone to the bank to see if he can get

his credit card limit upped.

Two and a half hours after the sheriffs walked into the garage

a business adviser arrives at the request of the garage owner.

He gets the owner to produce paperwork showing

much of the kit in the garage is on finance

and can't be seized.

But having counted up the agreements, Lawrence believes

one of the diagnostic machines is not on finance.

He just has to find which one.

Obviously that one we can tie in cos of the number.

At the moment, this one we can't.

Bingo. They find the machine owned by the garage

and seize it to help repay Sue's debt.

Kev's keen to get the machine into the van as quickly as possible.

It's left the premises.

That's theft. That is on finance.

-Bring that back.

-You haven't shown me the agreement.

-We're sorting it now.

-My colleague's just said. Hold up. Hold up.

Wait there. My colleague's just... Lawrence!

-Yeah, on my way.

-This one going?

-Yes.

This one's going. Sorry, mate.

-We've looked at...

-We're trying to sort it out.

We've looked at all of the agreements and it isn't on there.

So, we've just got a bit of diagnostics kit here.

Generally quite expensive.

Continue to go through the list to see what else they've got.

Hopefully there will be some other stuff that we can remove as well.

With only one diagnostic machine,

Kev and Lawrence are keen to take some smaller items

so that their value at auction covers the debt owed to Sue.

These are skates.

Put them under the wheels of a car.

It's a multi-function fuel pressure tester.

Timing tool kit for a Renault.

It appears Freddy's coming with us for today.

I might put him in the front with Lawrence.

He'll be more use, wouldn't he?

He'll be a lot more interesting to talk to.

Their equipment is disappearing out the door,

but Hughenden Road Garage is still refusing to pay.

The sheriffs have already been here almost four hours.

How much longer will it take

for Lawrence and Kev to get Sue Bodkin the money she's owed?

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

The sheriffs and plain clothes 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.

I'm just going to smash it to smithereens.

Just smash it a bit. Smash it on the lock side.

Just bash it.

That's it. That's it. That's it.

Get in.

Nice work. I've got a legal document to evict you.

-We are just packing our stuff.

-Now you're packing.

It's an arrestable offence

if you don't adhere to the command of High Court enforcement officer.

With the sheriffs finally inside, the mood changes.

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...

cos once you're outside you won't be able to get back inside.

-Fair enough.

-No problem. Thank you.

At this stage, they have 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...

-So, I believe the law is wrong.

But I understand that you are saying this is the law and we have to leave,

and this belongs to this person. I understand.

I'm not in a position to question.

I know you're not because you follow the law.

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

As the squatters prepare to leave,

Conrad assesses the state of the property.

We don't want to be funny about the occupancy side

and we respect everybody's beliefs,

but it's the state and the condition

that they are able to get these properties into,

and that causes a lot of financial damage

to the owners of these properties.

-Come on, young man.

-Young lady.

Come on, young lady.

HE LAUGHS

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...

and it just seems you get nothing at the end of the day.

Once they take it over, they have the right to use

all your electric, water, waste, whatever you need.

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

All on the owner again.

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

We are inside. Now we are occupying the premises.

They are out and we're inside.

They're all evicted. They're in front of the premises now,

obviously waiting to go.

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

Last series, the sheriffs paid an early morning call

to Leicestershire dentist John Hammond.

He'd borrowed money from an elderly lady for a business venture,

but hadn't paid her back.

We're ordered here by the court today

to seize goods to the value of £10,706.66p.

With two High Court enforcement officers on his doorstep,

he soon decided to pay up in full.

You might have thought that would be the end of the matter, but it isn't.

The elderly lady isn't the only person owed money by the dentist.

One of the others is IT contractor Andrew Dixon

from Kegworth in Leicestershire.

Andrew has known Mr Hammond for many years.

I've known him since my late teens to early 20s

as my dentist, and he's always been very affable and approachable.

I never had any fear with him.

Andrew had been saving for his upcoming retirement,

looking forward to spending less time working

and more on his pastimes, like metal-working.

His problems started when,

during one of his regular visits to the dentist's surgery,

they got to discussing a business plan Mr Hammond had.

He was explaining to me that he had an interest in commercial property,

warehouses in particular,

and he was looking for an investment of £100,000.

And over time we talked about it,

and it ended up I made an investment of £10,000.

The dentist told Andrew he'd earn 10% interest a year on his loan,

and would receive the interest in regular instalments.

He always backed it up with, "I have a dental practice that turns over

"£200,000 a year, so I personally will guarantee this."

I never felt my money would be under any risk at all.

Andrew received two interest payments and was awaiting his third

when Mr Hammond came back to him with another request for money.

He approached me for a short-term loan, 60 days,

and allow him to take up an opportunity of buying shares in a vehicle,

which he thought was going to be very productive and rewarding.

I loaned him £35,000, which he said would be useful for the 60 days.

But after 60 days, the promised full repayment hadn't materialised.

Andrew chased him.

He said to me he'd forgotten.

And during the course of that conversation,

he explained that he was struggling to find the money to repay me

and would need a few more months before he'd have the money

to pay me the £35,000.

I also noticed there'd been a shortage of interest payments

on the original £10,000 loan.

I realised, after various conversations with John,

that this money was not going to be coming back.

Andrew visited a financial advisor who told him

he was by no means alone in being owed money by Mr Hammond.

When I first saw the paperwork

showing the amount that was owed by John Hammond,

I was gobsmacked. Absolutely floored me.

The amount John Hammond owes, my understanding is,

it's a figure in excess of £7 million.

Knowing he was one of many owed money by Mr Hammond

hasn't made it any easier dealing with the financial impact.

The loss of the £45,000 has meant I've had to

slow down preparation for retirement,

and it's taken me some time to work out what I need to do

and reassess my whole life.

In an attempt to get back his money, Andrew took his ex-dentist to court.

Mr Hammond didn't contest the case

and a judgement was issued in Andrew's favour,

but he still hasn't been paid.

The court awarded Andrew just under £80,000,

but with interest, costs and sheriff's fees,

that amount's now risen to over £87,000.

It's now up to the sheriffs to try and get this money back.

The £87,000 owed may be only a fraction of the £7m

that's claimed by Mr Hammond's creditors,

but it's a big total for enforcement officers Darryl

and Mark to collect today.

But they've got a good idea of what assets might be available

to use as leverage.

We're going to his home address. We know he's got a Jaguar,

which we are hoping is going to be on the drive.

Get that blocked in. I don't think it's of great value.

Let's hope we can get into his house,

put a bit of pressure on, see if we can get this money raised.

There's no sign of the Jaguar and it doesn't seem anyone's home,

but eventually Darryl's persistence pays off.

-Good morning.

-Sorry, but I'm not having that.

Right. We're looking for John. Is he at work?

We're High Court enforcement officers.

Could you get him on the phone for us?

Mr Hammond's wife tells Darryl her husband has applied for

an individual voluntary arrangement, or IVA, a form of insolvency.

She says it will be agreed within the week

and makes all of his debts unenforceable.

Right. So, there's nothing in place at the moment then?

Can you just get John on the phone for me?

Mrs Hammond goes inside to try and get hold of husband John,

leaving the door open.

Darryl uses his powers as a sheriff and makes peaceful entry.

Just need to wait in here.

Mrs Hammond quickly gets her husband on the phone.

He claims he has an interim bankruptcy order

that protects him from creditors until the IVA is in place.

Worried, Darryl needs to know more.

What date did this interim order come?

Have you been given a bankruptcy number?

Have you got any paperwork here to back that up, John?

All right, John. Bye.

Do you want to just step in here?

He's telling me there's no money available.

He's telling me I can't do anything in there

because of this interim order,

which, if it is all above board, then that is correct.

If Mr Hammond can prove the interim order is in place,

the sheriffs will have to stop the enforcement.

But until proof arrives, Darryl isn't giving up.

He seizes goods in the house that might be set against the debt,

then he and Mark set off in pursuit of Mr Hammond's Jaguar.

And arriving at the surgery, there's the Jag.

They seize it, prevent it from being driven away,

and head to reception.

We'll see what he's got to say for himself.

But who's that heading inside?

It's Mr Hammond.

Unfortunately, the dentist has also spotted Darryl and Mark.

He's locked us out. That's not very nice, is it?

Morning. I've come for my molars to be done.

While Darryl tries the polite way in, Mark checks round the back.

And with the tradesman's entrance unlocked,

he seizes his chance to make his own peaceful entry.

-Has he locked his door?

-Think so.

But where's Mr Hammond?

He doesn't seem keen on talking to the sheriffs.

John?

John?

Come on, John!

I was looking for John.

John?

We'll hang around for a bit and see if he surfaces.

Got his car blocked in.

Darryl's not had a hider like this before.

We've had them walk off...

..leave us in the house,

tell us to lock the door and be there and do one.

But I've never... We haven't played hide-and-seek before, have we?

With Mr Hammond refusing to come out,

Darryl makes a call to Lawrence in the office to discuss his next step.

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

OK, cheers. Bye. Bye.

Blocked the car in. 04 plate. I'll have a little look on AutoTrader.

I'll see what the value is, but it ain't going to be 87 grand, is it?

With Mr Hammond refusing to talk, Darryl and Mark can

do nothing else but join the patients in the waiting room.

After 10 minutes, Mr Hammond still doesn't want to show his face,

but he sends an employee with the paperwork

confirming his interim order.

Has that just come through now or is it...?

It's a body blow for Darryl and Mark's hopes

of getting Andrew back the money that was rightfully his.

"No other proceedings or no execution or other legal process may be

"commenced or continued against the debtor

"or his property, except with the leave of court."

The order means, for the time being,

no debts can be collected from Mr Hammond.

It's a disappointing end to Darryl and Mark's game of cat-and-mouse.

The worse news for Andrew Dixon is it looks unlikely he,

or any of Mr Hammond's many creditors,

will ever see their money again.

I think, by the time the bankruptcy process is followed through,

I'll have let go fully, emotionally, and learnt my lessons

and get on with things, which I'm starting to do now.

Although they couldn't get his money,

Andrew is pleased he asked the sheriffs to help.

They've tried their best and it's very pleasing to know

they've been around, rattling his doorknob.

At Hughenden Road Garage in Hastings, sheriffs Lawrence

and Kev have been trying to get payment for puppeteer Sue Bodkin.

She bought a van, which broke down only days later.

Lawrence has been patiently going through all of the garage's

equipment, seizing items that aren't on finance.

Now, after more than four hours, garage owner Philip Choronik

realises the sheriffs won't be put off.

When the sheriffs visit, the debtor must pay their fees.

Lawrence and Kev have been kept waiting for hours...

..so the total bill is now £2,500.

We've stood around and waited and waited and waited.

We've looked at every piece of paperwork you've...

Look, I've said I'll cut it to two-and-a-half,

which, by the time the money gets here, will be three, so I'm basically

knocking 500 quid off your bill, plus the other however many hundred

would go on as soon as we turn away from here to the auctioneer's.

So I know it doesn't seem like it because there's a lot on top,

but you're getting a good deal at two-and-a-half.

When she came here, we did say, if we're going to be here all day,

then you're charging waiting time.

If you're going to do it, do it now.

If the two-and-a-half grand arrives, we'll unload the van,

leave your paperwork and we'll be on our way. Simple as that.

The owner agrees, but says he can't afford £2,500.

Lawrence settles for £2,000 now,

with an agreement for the rest to be paid later.

Now the owner wants to put his side of the story.

Bearing in mind this is a year ago

and she's had this van for all this time, she only tells me

out of court afterwards that she's got rid of the van,

so I just walked off and said, well, get me the van

and I'll give you the £750 back,

not knowing that I probably had to go back into the court at the time

to actually understand, to say to the judge that, but I didn't.

I just thought it was game over, finished, and I haven't got

the van back and I've just been given a load of grief.

But the court didn't order Sue to return the van

and, on legal advice, she disposed of it.

The court did order the garage to pay up

and that's what they're doing now.

The money will be paid on a card by the owner's wife.

To make it as quick as possible, the sheriffs, the owner

and the seized goods are all on their way to meet her.

So we're off to Eastbourne,

it's basically to save the effort of going...

the debtor going there and back.

We're following them there, we'll take the payment from them there

and then we'll make our way from there.

The garage owner still disputes how much he has to pay.

But Lawrence points out that the only way

he'll stop the total going up any more is to settle now.

We got there at 8.30. It's 2.30. That's six hours.

If your wife's got £2,000 now, she had £2,000 at 8.30 this morning.

You live in Eastbourne, you could have come and seen her this morning,

got her card, come up and paid it

and we'd have been six hours better off.

If you're not going to pay, I'll leave you some paperwork.

I'm willing to pay £2,000, that's it.

No, because if you pay £2,000,

-it still leaves it open for them to come down the workshop.

-Oh.

I'm totally in dispute over this and you know I am

because it started off as a £750 debt.

It started off as a £750 debt.

But the sheriffs are here to collect today's debt,

which arose because the garage didn't refund Sue Bodkin her money

and then didn't pay when the court ordered.

As a compromise, Lawrence says that £2,000 can be paid now

and the rest of the debt settled by payment plan,

paying off a small amount each month.

It still has to be paid,

but it'll be X amount a month as opposed to a big lump.

Finally, they do agree to pay.

But disaster strikes -

the card machine isn't working.

I've literally just turned it on

and it's coming up, "Return terminal to base station."

As Lawrence works out how to take the money off him,

Mr Choronik reflects on the case.

Unfortunately, I seem to have mucked up on this one, because...

What with the shortfall of paperwork

and not going back into court afterwards,

when the judge sent us out.

So that's it. Yeah, very unhappy.

Now it seems there's a problem with the phone mast in Eastbourne.

So they all set off in search of a signal.

What are we going to do if we're not getting a signal? Nothing we can do.

I don't know.

But it becomes clear the problem is the machine

and it isn't going to be fixed, so they all pull over.

What I propose we do is we go our separate ways,

you make your payment by whatever method

and then we'll bring your stuff back.

It's our fault the damn machine isn't working,

so, you know, I'll put myself out now to sort it out. Yeah?

Lawrence and Kev drive the seized goods away.

It's not been a great end to the day.

That's as bad as it could yet.

Nightmare On Elm Street? Nightmare in Hastings!

Nightmare in Hastings.

All in all, really, we were about eight hours

and didn't manage to secure a payment.

So we've still got the goods in the vehicle.

Freddie has got to stay with us overnight tonight.

And I'll be returning him in the morning.

Is that the oddest thing we've taken?

-Um...

-It's one of the most peculiar.

It's got to be getting there, hasn't it?

Get you home.

But the nightmare had a happy ending.

Some days later, the garage entered into a payment plan

and puppeteer Sue Bodkin finally got the money

that is rightfully hers, in full.

Sue is visiting a unique piece

by Britain's best-known street artist, Banksy.

She's chosen this location

because she knows her favourite sheriff, Kev, is a Banksy fan.

So was it worth taking her claim all the way to the sheriffs?

It shows that if you are struggling

and someone takes you for a ride...

that, if you find the courage, you can go forward

and fight for your rights and get people made accountable.

I'm really, really grateful to the enforcers for all they've done.

So, thanks, Kevin and Lawrence.

On a sunny afternoon in Norwich,

enforcement officers Darryl and Mark are on their way

to a rather different sort of debtor.

It's not the usual small business.

The company they're about to visit

is the world's sixth largest insurance company.

We're going to Aviva Insurance today in the centre of Norwich.

It's not a huge debt, it's just over £1,600.

They have paid a substantial payment anyway.

For whatever reason, the full balance was never paid, so they've...

obviously upgraded now to the High Court, so we're there to enforce it.

The case centred around an insurance claim on behalf of a child.

Aviva paid the claim amount, but failed to pay the legal costs.

The sheriffs are here to get the money that's owed.

It's like our usual sort of line of work, isn't it?

Yeah, just a normal, run-of-the-mill job, isn't it?

Reinforcement officers from the High Court, we need to speak to somebody.

-I'll just get somebody down.

-If you could, please.

Take a seat, gentlemen, I'll get someone down for you.

OK, brilliant, thank you.

This is one building Darryl and Mark don't mind

having a bit of a wait in.

-The Marble Hall.

-It's very nice, isn't it?

But the sumptuous surroundings aren't just easy on the eye.

The room is chock-full of potentially valuable

and seizable decorations.

But, before we can get a closer look at them,

more senior staff arrive and ask us to leave the premises.

Remaining inside, Darryl outlines what he's there for.

We've got a High Court writ to execute.

You have paid just under £3,000,

so I don't know why the remainder hasn't been paid.

The Aviva representative tells Darryl

he'll need to look into the case but that, whatever happens,

he won't be able to pay the sheriffs today.

However, he's happy for them to carry out a walking possession,

listing goods that could be removed and sold

if they don't pay the next day.

Mark gets listing.

I didn't need to seize much.

Everything's made of marble in there. I seized, er...

a few marble items, really. A few things in the glass cabinets.

A few minutes later, the Aviva man's back.

He confirms he can't pay today

but will put a bank transfer in place,

which might take a few days to go through.

Give us some printed proof that's going, I can give you a receipt.

-We know you're not going anywhere.

-Yeah.

And, with that, the walking possession is signed

-and the enforcement is over.

-Yeah, that was a good result.

It's all been paid in full, paid just over £1,600,

direct into our account by BACS.

It was a bit of an oversight on their half.

They had a look into it,

they paid a substantial amount but it was just a small...

small bit that was missed for some reason.

So it's all cleared up now, so that's a good result.

Following Darryl and Mark's visit, the payment did clear.

It's further proof that, whether your debt is from a small business

or one of the very biggest, it can be recovered by a High Court writ.

Aviva told us the judgement related to a claim involving an infant

and that they had paid the damages owed to the claimant promptly

and in full, as well as the majority of the costs.

They said a misunderstanding over

whether the costs were negotiated to a lower level led to an oversight

in paying the remaining balance and hence the delay in payment.

They said they did not know about the latter claim

until the visit of the enforcement officers and, had they known,

they would have paid before any judgement had been issued.