Episode 7 The Sheriffs Are Coming

If you're owed money but aren't getting paid,

it's time to call the sheriffs.

My name's Mr Grix, my colleague and I are enforcement agents.

I'm here to issue a High Court writ.

I've got to do what I'm instructed to by the courts.

They're enforcement agents of the High Court.

HE RINGS DOORBELL

And if a court's ruled in your favour, they're on your side.

If the debtor doesn't want to pay...

You currently owe £9,461.80.

..the law says the sheriffs can get you what you're owed.

If you don't come to the door,

we'll have to remove the vehicle off the drive.

You'll have a week to pay in full before it gets sold at auction.

Whether it's a small company...

-Can I speak to the person in charge, please?

-..or a household name...

We're here to see someone from G4S.

..if they owe you money, the sheriffs get it paid.

I'm not going anywhere, you get him to come in here.

We're not going to be waiting around like that, it needs to be done now.

I just collected 42 grand.

Coming up, Kevin Emmerson was left financially crippled

after he was sold an unroadworthy car.

I was mad. I was mad because I'm going to be stuck with this now

for the rest of my life.

You just can't pick £4,500 up.

The sheriffs pay the dealer a visit...

-How are you? Is the boss about?

-He's not here yet.

..but will they be able to get Kevin's money back?

The yard is quite fully stocked with motors.

And the sheriffs are called on

to remove a group of squatters...

-Wake up!

-Wakey-wakey! You're being evicted.

Hard night?

..but will they be able to save a valuable and unusual artwork?

Definitely the dearest and valuable door I've had to deal with.

The air turns blue when we visit a car dealer's in Wales.

Definitely an angry man.

It's a wet and windy winter's morning.

Enforcement Agents Craig Wild and Tommy Coyle are heading to Derby.

They've got a writ to enforce against a car dealership

with a bit of a reputation.

It's called Derby Car Centre Ltd.

We're here on behalf of Mr Kevin Emmerson.

He bought a car from this company, it wasn't fit for purpose.

Mr Emmerson took the company to court,

and despite winning a judgment in his favour, he's not been paid.

We're here now to enforce that order,

which is just short of £5,500.

The claimant, Kevin Emmerson, is a farm worker.

And his troubles with the car dealer's began

when he needed to buy a new vehicle for work.

I wanted a 4x4, because I need to be able to

get up and down fields and that,

even with my job at the farm.

After seeing an advert, Kevin went to Derby Car Centre.

His first impressions were good,

and on the forecourt he saw a Hyundai which he liked the look of.

He started the car up, it sounded all right and it looked all right.

And I told him I'd have the car,

providing they delivered it to Bolsover, to my house. I paid...

..£2,995,

but they took my car in part exchange.

The car was delivered to Kevin's house as promised.

But when he drove it, he immediately found problems.

There was a noise coming from the gearbox, the clutch was slipping.

Another problem with the car was the light

on the dashboard from the airbag.

Kevin was worried, so he took the car to a local garage

to have it properly checked over.

And what they found was worse than he had feared.

There was oil coming out from under the gearbox.

The clutch was about worn out,

plus the car was pulling to the middle of the road.

The garage told me,

"It's not roadworthy, don't drive it."

Kevin couldn't believe it.

I was mad. I was mad.

I'd just spent £2,500 on a car which I couldn't drive.

Kevin contacted Derby Car Centre to complain.

They offered to look at the car if he returned it.

He told them it couldn't be driven, but that fell on deaf ears.

And all they kept saying was, "I'll have a word with the gaffer

"and get back to you." And they never got back.

No matter how many times I rung, they just didn't want to know.

As he needed a car for work, Kevin had to borrow money

to buy another one,

while also paying to have the unroadworthy Hyundai

stored at the local garage.

His sister-in-law Sue decided enough was enough,

and began to intervene on his behalf.

I just thought it would be a simple matter of writing a letter

to Derby Car Centre and they'd play ball.

So that's what I did.

I sent a letter, no response.

So we followed it up with a second letter, "letter before action",

all advised by Trading Standards.

Still no response.

In the end, Sue managed to get hold of the company boss,

Mark Whitfield, by e-mail.

He offered to collect the car, but then didn't turn up.

He kept promising dates he'd come and collect the vehicle,

he let the garage down, the storage garage,

then he started with different excuses,

"I can't come and collect it, you didn't tell me it was unroadworthy."

I said, "Of course we did, you had the report from the garage."

Eventually, the car was collected from the garage,

but it had been there so long,

Kevin had to pay a massive bill.

Price of the storage by the time they fetched the car was £1,620.

Now that Derby Car Centre had the vehicle back,

Sue rang up to demand a refund.

But it seems the company had other ideas.

And he said they're going to repair it

and sell it, then we'll get the proceeds of what's left,

minus the depreciation of the vehicle,

because it's been stood a long while.

The Emmersons weren't happy.

Even if they did get some proceeds from the sale,

Kevin was going to be substantially out of pocket.

I'd bought the car with money that I've saved.

And then I find myself in a position where then I had to go

and borrow some money to buy another car.

I'm going to be stuck with this now for the rest of my life,

because you just can't pick £4,500 up.

And the stress was starting to take its toll on his health.

I'd never had no problems with sleeping or anything

until I bought that car.

And, you see, after that...

..my head was just filling up with it.

There was only one thing for it.

Sue helped Kevin to file a claim

against Derby Car Centre in the county court.

And after doing some research, she discovered this wouldn't be

the first time the business was in court.

I thought, "They're not a very good company."

So I started looking into them.

And I found out Mark Whitfield had got a court order from 2013.

Derby Car Centre had been the subject of 181 complaints

to the city council over a two-and-a-half-year period.

Mark Whitfield was served with an order under the Enterprise Act,

compelling him to play by the rules or face jail.

As for the Emmersons, Kevin won a judgment by default,

after Derby Car Centre didn't offer a defence.

They were ordered to pay him back the price of the car,

as well as costs incurred.

Naively, I thought they'd do the right thing.

You know, I thought they'd just give him his money back.

They'd do anything but that.

Derby Car Centre later applied to have the judgment set aside,

only then missed the hearing.

Kevin and Sue still haven't seen a penny

and now they're turning to the sheriffs.

I think the last resort, it's the High Court sheriffs.

I've seen how they go about their business.

I think they're the people you need

to be assured of getting your money back.

Tommy and Craig are on their way to Derby Car Centre.

Keep it on the left, left, left.

From the sheriffs' research,

it sounds like not only is Kevin one of many unhappy customers,

but the manager is no stranger to the occasional TV appearance.

He was on Rogue Traders.

So he's quite familiar with the cameras...

..and obviously having people coming to see him with a complaint or two.

But what will Mr Whitfield make of the sheriffs?

Derby Car Centre. Nice big sign there on the left.

Let's get it done.

The sheriffs head for the office, and are met at the door.

You all right?

How are you? Is the boss about?

Is he not? Can you get him on the phone? Cheers.

Mark Whitfield isn't here, so the sheriffs explain to the staff member

they're here to collect a debt.

We need that paid today.

-Fine.

-Obviously, the quicker it's paid, we'll be out of here.

-The man goes to get the boss on the phone...

-No problem.

..while Craig eyes up the assets.

The yard is quite fully stocked with motors.

Doesn't mean to say that all these vehicles

are all bought and paid for outright.

A lot of these businesses tend to work on a finance deal.

But all the sheriffs would need to find is one or two cars

owned by Derby Car Centre that they could remove,

and that'd be enough to cover the debt if it came to it.

-I can see you in that, Wild.

-The Boxster?

-Yeah.

-I can't afford cars like that.

-It's got you all over it, that, though.

-HE LAUGHS

The white one looks nice, actually, to be fair though.

-The soft-top one.

-What is that?

-A Beemer, or something?

-Is it a Beemer or an Audi?

Craig goes for a closer look,

just to check whether he can afford an upgrade.

Quite like the Audi. The Audi there.

But at £23,000, it's well out of my league.

I'll stick to my old, little banger.

Back in the office, the employee's got someone on the phone.

But it's not the boss, Mark Whitfield, it's his solicitor.

She says she's appealing the judgment

and doesn't think they have to pay today.

Tommy tries to convince her that they do.

Until you actually go to court, and have the hearing and win,

it's still a live High Court order, and we'll have to execute it today.

The solicitor is now talking about making a last-minute application

to the court to grant a stay of execution -

which would postpone any enforcement action.

But Tommy isn't planning to leave today without the money.

The money is held for 14 days by the Sheriffs Office

before it goes to the claimant.

So if you could get a hearing in that time, and you do win the case,

then obviously the money wouldn't go over.

I will, I'll put you back on to him now.

Derby Car Centre has now got a choice -

pay the sheriffs the full amount owed,

or else they could see one of the cars on the forecourt removed.

It only takes ten minutes to decide.

The director of the company has authorised somebody

to come down here with the money. In cash.

But will they be true to their word?

After everything they'd heard about Derby Car Centre,

the sheriffs had expected to have a battle on their hands.

Now it looks like the company's about to pay up without a whimper.

And, just as promised, a bundle of cash soon arrives.

Tommy and Craig count it out - £5,478.

After months of the Emmersons trying to get their money back,

a visit from the sheriffs has sealed the deal.

Though that may not be the end of the story.

They're going to try and challenge this order,

which is their legal right to do so.

But that won't happen today, so, in order for us

to stop our action, they've paid the money in cash today.

This gives them then the legal time

to go back to court and challenge the order.

And if they win the case, then quite clearly,

the money will get returned to them.

But that doesn't happen.

Derby Car Centre Ltd's application

to have the judgment set aside was rejected.

Received a letter from the sheriffs.

They've been and fetched the money in full.

Which is a big relief, because now I can pay the storage fee for the car.

That's something off me mind.

I can also give my friend his money back,

which I borrowed to buy this new car.

So, hopefully now, I'm done.

The director of Derby Car Centre told us...

If you've been ripped off,

and the person or company responsible refuses to pay

you back, the first step is to make a claim in the county court.

It's simple to do this online for a small fee,

depending on the size of the claim.

The court will review the evidence,

and if it finds in your favour, the debtor will be ordered to pay up.

If they don't, then for a further £66, the High Court will grant

a writ, authorising the sheriffs to act on your behalf.

If they're successful - you get all your money back.

Lawrence and Kev are racking up the motorway miles.

Writ in hand, they're heading for Wales.

I don't mind a road trip, to be honest.

It's, you know, it's just part of the job.

The debt stems from the purchase

of a second-hand car from a dealership.

We are going to Cars R Us on behalf of a Mr Gordon Desborough.

£1,455.

Car dealerships are usually OK to go to,

because obviously they've got...

You presume they've got cars on front,

so they've got assets there.

I've had a look at the website,

and they seem to be decent enough cars that he's got there.

They're not just old poopers.

And sure enough, as they approach,

it's looking good.

Cars R Us, there you go.

-There it is.

-Down the end.

It's a large dealership,

and it soon becomes clear there are dozens and dozens

of cars crammed onto the forecourt.

See what I mean about decent level of stock and decent cars?

The chances of getting paid this morning are already looking up.

Now they just need to find the owner.

-Hello?

-Hello, mate.

Cars R Us, yeah?

My name is Mr Grix. My colleague and I are enforcement agents.

We've got a High Court writ against Cars R Us

in favour of a Mr Gordon Desborough.

He was a customer, I would imagine.

We're here today to take control of goods to the value of £1,455.99.

Is your office up there, is it?

It's unwelcome news, but if the man's not happy about that,

it's nothing compared to how he reacts to our camera.

-All right.

-He'll go out.

The man has gone berserk at the sight of our cameraman,

who retreats to the car park

while Lawrence and Kev try to calm the situation down.

Inside, they're told the case against Cars R Us is in dispute,

because the company were never told about the court hearing.

They say they're due back in court in a week's time,

when a judge will decide whether the case can be re-heard.

But with a live writ in place,

the sheriffs still need to get paid today.

If that's not enough to get under the owner's skin,

our camera's still proving like a red rag to a bull.

BLEEPING

Our cameraman is forced to retreat even further,

while, inside, Lawrence and Kev continue negotiations.

They explain that as the case hasn't yet been re-heard,

the original judgment still stands,

and they're here to collect in full or remove assets.

It hasn't gone down well.

Yet just 15 minutes after arriving,

Lawrence and Kev are getting back in the van.

Once they're on their way, they reveal what happened inside.

Definitely an angry man.

He had one of the shortest fuses,

if not THE shortest fuse I've ever seen.

I think within ten seconds

he'd gone from zero to absolutely spitting feathers.

Coffee cups went up in the air.

He was effing and blinding and he was up in our faces.

He wanted to go outside and fight.

He was so enraged. He was spitting.

It took a little bit to defuse the situation,

but it worked out all right in the end. We got paid.

All's well that ends well.

Cars R Us paid in full.

The courts rejected the company's application for a set aside,

and Mr Desborough has got his money back.

Sheriffs are now officially known as High Court Enforcement Agents,

and they'll collect the money you're owed.

My job is to collect in full or remove goods.

They've got more powers of entry than bailiffs.

We don't have to take any notice of your security protocols, I'm afraid.

And there's no limit on the size of the debts they can pursue.

£1.6 million.

Every year, sheriffs enforce more than 70,000 writs

across England and Wales

and recover more than £75 million.

I'm here today to take control of goods to the value of £41,086.

We have to insist on full payment.

Their fees are set by the government,

which debtors have to pay on top of what they already owe.

Thank you very much. See you later.

If the sheriffs can't recover any of your money,

there's a fee of £75 plus VAT.

Sheriff Ken Warby is in Camden in north London.

He's got a writ to execute against a company

which provides security services for construction sites.

We're going to a place called Permanex CCS Group Ltd.

They've got an outstanding bill for 14.5 grand.

The money's owed to a sub-contractor

called Pro-Tex Security Solutions Ltd,

who didn't get paid.

They took the case to court and were awarded a judgment

by default, as Permanex CCS Group Ltd didn't offer a defence.

Today will be the sheriffs' second visit.

We've previously been before and there was no response.

So give it another whirl.

Hopefully I'll be more successful.

When Ken arrives, it looks much like it did last time.

The shutters are down, but is anyone in?

There's no response from the intercom.

The gate, however, is unlocked.

Ken has a nose around the yard, which is full of clutter and junk.

A door into the unit's been left ajar.

Hello?

As no-one's answering, he goes in.

Hello, anyone home?

It's not what he was expecting to find.

This is a weird one.

The place is a complete mess.

There's nothing around here.

It's just been abandoned.

Whoever was trading here has definitely gone,

and fairly recently too.

It's pretty obvious Ken isn't about to get the claimant's money,

but he does have a look around

to see if there are any clues to who was here.

Certificate of registration for Clarke Construction Security.

And there's another one, too, in the name of Permanex UK Ltd.

That's their company certificate.

Although none exactly match the name Ken's looking for,

they sound like related companies,

so it's likely the debtor was here until recently.

While that's useful info for the file,

there's not much more Ken can do today besides the formalities.

I'll take some pictures of this place.

Report this back to the office.

Right.

Ken finishes up and heads off.

In his time as a sheriff, he's just about seen it all -

even so, this strikes him as a bit odd.

This is a weird one.

Looking upstairs and downstairs, there's rubbish strewn everywhere.

The gate is not locked.

We've just come straight through the gate.

We've gone straight into the unit.

Prime candidate for a squat, actually,

being in this part of London.

He's not wrong.

Every year, dozens of buildings across London

are occupied by squatters.

And just a few streets away from this abandoned unit,

another empty building has recently been taken over.

The sheriffs have been engaged by the landlord

to help remove the squatters and get the office block back.

Under cover of darkness, the team is gathering.

I'll just give you a copy of the writ, so you've got one, yeah?

Squatting in residential premises is a criminal offence

and the police will take action.

In commercial premises like this one, it's a civil matter,

and landlords can get a writ and employ the sheriffs.

Enforcement Agent Mark King is running today's operation.

Possibly about 18 people in there,

but that was last week, so that's going to change.

There might not be anybody in there,

there might be 50.

There's only one way into the property,

and he thinks the squatters have barricaded the door.

We'll have a bit of trouble getting in, I think, this morning.

It's got a couple of bolts across it, but there's...

At the bottom, there's a metal bed frame laid on the floor.

It is only an aluminium bed frame,

but it stops the door from opening inwards.

It's much easier for the sheriffs

if they can surprise the building's inhabitants -

they'll not have the time to add to the barricade

or organise any resistance.

Locksmith Andy Marsh has a pneumatic press

to try and force the door quietly

without resorting to smashing it down.

Only someone inside is up early and comes to the door.

-SQUATTER:

-Hello, guys.

-All right, mate?

Do you wanna open the door, open her up?

Cheers, mate.

The squatters realise straightaway what's going on.

Just open the door, mate, and we'll give you enough time

to get your stuff ready,

but you need to open the door straightaway.

Go, go, go, go.

As soon as the door opens, the sheriffs pile in.

They can't take any risks,

even if the early riser seems to be cooperating.

Do you want a copy of the paperwork?

You know the craic, get your stuff.

Upstairs, they set about waking everyone up and moving them out.

Wakey-wakey, you're being evicted.

Come on, mate, wake up.

We're just doing a quick headcount, find out exactly

how many people we've got on the premises, give them the time

to pack their stuff and, yeah, they can leave politely.

There appear to be only a handful of squatters left,

and so far, they seem happy to go quietly.

The only resistance is from one man and he might just not like mornings.

You need to get up and leave, mate.

Hard night?

Come on, then, you need to get up and leave.

Where? Outside.

Come on, get yourself up.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Go and get it then, mate, quickly.

The sheriffs want people to take as much of their stuff

as possible with them. It avoids arguments over people wanting

to re-enter the property once it's secure.

You got all your stuff, sir?

Have you got all your stuff, yeah?

-Yeah.

-OK, cool.

But they won't wait forever.

Right, come on, fella, stop looking at it.

Pick it up and take it out, yeah?

With most of the former squatters outside and their belongings

piling up on the pavement, Mark has a chance to

look around the building.

This is a new lot, I've not seen this lot before.

It's not too bad in here though, not a great deal of mess.

It might look like a pigsty, but the mess is mostly superficial.

Given the damage the sheriffs have seen in other squats,

the landlord can count themselves relatively lucky.

Outside, tempers are rising.

OK.

But it comes to nothing.

The man, instead, offers the sheriffs his doughnuts.

Meanwhile, Andy's turned his attention to the front door.

Someone's obviously come along and spray-painted

a picture of Nelson Mandela.

They want to take the metal steel sheet off the front

and keep it at home, I guess.

The painting is by the street artist Bambi, and it appeared

on the door when the building was still occupied by a courier company.

Now that the building's set for redevelopment,

the landlord has decided to keep it.

Apparently, it's quite valuable.

That's an understatement.

Bambi's work has sold for over £100,000

and this door alone's been valued at 25 grand.

No wonder the landlord wants to hang on to it.

Certainly is definitely the dearest and valuable door

that I've had to deal with.

There's no margin for error.

But after half an hour of careful grinding and banging,

Andy manages to separate it from the door in one piece.

A lot easier than what I thought it would be.

Completely different to what we're used to.

Just had to take it a little bit steady.

So, we've freed Nelson...

again.

Without its front plate, the door needs a little work

to make it secure.

The last thing the sheriffs want is squatters getting back in.

Everything's done, client's got possession back of the property,

but we are leaving a guard here as well until further notice.

And with the building secure, it's job done.

No problems at all, nice and easy.