Episode 8 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,

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 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?

..or a household name...

We're here to see somebody from G4S.

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

I'm not going anywhere. Get him to come in here.

We're not going to be waiting around. It needs to be done now.

I just collected 42 grand.

Coming up, David Goddard was sold a family car

with more faults than features.

Coil springs at the back were gone,

the exhaust manifold nuts were missing,

so that was leaking, um...gases.

Can Lawrence and Kev get his money back?

Is the owner about?

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

A care provider which owes thousands of pounds in unpaid wages

doesn't want the sheriffs in its office.

We'll come and have a look because obviously...

-We can, sir.

-We can.

-We have a legal right to do so.

His attitude was that we're going to leave some letters and walk away, but we don't.

Sheriff Ken Warby is playing the waiting game at the Post Office HQ.

I'm starting to lose my patience now.

I'm just going to dig my heels in and insist on full payment.

If they don't, I'm just going to march around their offices,

list their items with a view to remove their goods.

It's a bright spring morning

and Lawrence and Kev are in South London

on the trail of a car dealership which owes a debt to their client.

What is it, 11.30 in the morning?

We are in South Norwood, South London.

We are going to Prestige Car Sales.

They owe £3,958.

Prestige Car Sales of South Norwood,

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

was taken to court by painter and decorator David Goddard.

His dealings with the business began

when he was looking for a family-sized car for his wife.

I have actually got about 13 grandchildren

and six great-grandchildren.

And my wife takes them, especially in the summer holidays,

takes them down, we've got a caravan in Selsey Bill.

So, it was always ideal to have a bigger car

to carry the children around.

They hadn't been looking for long

before they found a car which seemed to fit the bill.

My wife looked through the internet and found a Vauxhall Zafira,

um...at Prestige Cars of South Norwood.

So they went to have a look

and took the car for a test-drive.

We'd taken it out on the Saturday and it sounded quite nice.

It was fine. The MOT was only 3-4 weeks old, the MOT.

And unfortunately, I left my bag there, in the back of the car,

after test-driving the vehicle.

Um...and when we got home, my wife said, "Well, that's an omen.

"You know, that car must be for me."

So, they bought it for £2,290.

But the problems began immediately.

The next day, there was a puncture,

so we put a new tyre on the vehicle.

Um...then I said, "Well, you'd best go down to the tyre place

"and get the tyres checked."

Um...and it needed another two tyres.

Um...and this is only two days after we bought the vehicle.

And that was just the start.

It was only a matter of days

before it started misfiring about two cylinders.

It started to rock all over, it was jumping all over the place,

with misfiring, so on and so forth.

And then, finally, it just gave up the ghost, basically.

So we had to abandon the vehicle and get it back home.

David called up Prestige Car Sales

to report that the car had broken down.

He said, "Well, can you get the vehicle to us?"

I said, "No, we can't really because it's immobile."

Instead, they agreed he'd take it to a local garage.

Their inspection revealed a plethora of problems.

The coil springs at the back were gone,

the exhaust, um...manifold nuts were missing, so that was leaking gases.

He said, "If I was you," he said, "I've got it running for you,

"but you shouldn't really spend any more money," he said,

"because the misfiring's still there

"and diagnostically, it's telling me that it could be the engine,

"it could be the gearbox or it could be a sensor."

I mean, what do you do? Do you replace the three?

It could have been anything up to about £2,000-£3,000.

It was very, very frustrating that they'd sent the vehicle out

in that sort of condition after me telling them

and explaining to them what the vehicle was going to be used for.

David spent £600 fixing just enough to get the car back on the road

and contacted Prestige Car Sales about the remaining problems.

He said, "Well, bring the vehicle back", he said,

"and we'll sort it out for you."

So, David returned the car to the dealers.

But while he waited for it be repaired, he took a closer look

at the service history documents which he still had.

He found a cylinder head had previously been replaced

and the car had experienced recurring issues

with the engine misfiring.

I said to my wife, I said, "Look,"

I said, "this car isn't any good."

I said, "It's just not fit for purpose, basically."

David decided he no longer wanted it

and asked Prestige Car Sales to keep the car and give him a refund.

They told him to put it writing, so he did.

I just said I'd forgo the £600 and £200 I spent on tyres,

just pay me that, I think, £2,290.

I said, "All I want is my money back, basically,

"so we can get another vehicle."

Um...no reply. Nothing. Nothing at all.

I couldn't believe that someone could think that they could

just take £2,000-plus off somebody, a working person,

and seem to think they'd forget all about it.

David took Prestige Car Sales to court.

They didn't defend the case, so he won a default judgment

for the full cost of the car

and the repairs he'd made at his own expense.

They still haven't paid.

So, now David's put the sheriffs on the case.

It's a necessity and it's got to be done.

Otherwise, um...I don't know,

I've no other way of getting the money back, anyway.

In South London, Lawrence and Kev

are about to pay Prestige Car Sales a visit.

Hoping the dealers are still here, for a start.

Hoping they've got some assets,

some cars worth some value.

As they approach, it appears

the garage is tucked away behind the main high street.

They head in to make their introductions.

Hello, mate.

-Are you the owner, by any chance?

-No, mate.

-Is the owner about?

-Sorry?

Is the owner about?

My colleague and I are enforcement agents.

We've got a High Court writ against Prestige Car Sales.

We're ordered out by the High Court

to take control of goods to be sold at auction and clear the debt.

Sorry, are you the owner, are you?

Sorry, he just said you weren't here, so...

I'll show you some ID, my name's Mr Grix.

The boss is here after all.

Now Lawrence has to explain the whole thing all over again.

We're ordered out by the High Court

to take control of goods to the value of £3,958.29.

Those goods can be sold at auction to clear the debt.

The boss leads them into the back.

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

The garage extends behind the row of shops

and is actually much larger than it appeared from the street.

But we don't get to admire the stock for long.

-We'll wait outside.

-All right.

Our camera is sent outside.

Indoors, Lawrence explains that if the owner

doesn't come up with the nearly £4,000 the court demands,

then he'll have no choice but to leave

with at least one of Prestige Car Sales' vehicles.

The boss isn't happy

and says he's applied to get the judgment set aside,

but he doesn't yet even have a court date.

He knows all about it. He's actually got the car here,

so I don't know why he's got the car here and hasn't paid it.

He's actually going back to court at some point.

He hasn't got a date for that yet, but he will be going back to court.

Lawrence has told him the best course of action is to pay up now

and try to challenge it later.

It sounds like that's what he's going to do.

He knows he's got to pay it, so he's going to get a card

from one of his colleagues in there and they're going to pay for it.

The sheriffs have been on site for a mere 20 minutes

when associates of the owner arrive.

Between them, they produce a card and Lawrence takes a payment

for the full £3,958 owed.

All went fairly smoothly.

They will undoubtedly take some kind of legal action, I would think,

to stop the money being paid out until they've had the hearing,

but at the end of the day, we've been paid

and that's all we're worried about.

In the end, Prestige Car Sales' application

to get the judgment set aside came to nothing.

The case never did go back to court.

Five months after buying the car,

David Goddard has got his money back.

I'm very pleased that the outcome is in our favour

and we've received our money back.

It's great, brilliant.

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 £60,

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.

Sheriffs Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally

are heading to Ashford in Kent.

We are going to SBE Ltd.

We're looking for a total of £2,325 today.

Our claimant is Extreme Clean Commercial Ltd.

The cleaning company successfully took SBE Ltd to the county court

over an unpaid invoice.

After the debt still wasn't settled,

they've now transferred up to the High Court and got a writ.

The sheriffs don't know much about the details of the case,

but it does gives the pair the opportunity

to reflect on their own cleaning abilities.

I am quite tidy, actually, yeah.

I'm afraid my cleaning doesn't come up to scratch at home.

My garage is always tidy, everything's in its place.

That's my domain and people aren't allowed in there.

And it's not just Lawrence's garage that's spick and span.

In the van, too, his orderliness has impressed Kev.

We've got a first-aid kit, we've got a hammer around here

just in case the van turns upside down

and we need to smash a windscreen to get out.

-Doesn't have to be my van, does it?

-In case of a werewolf(!)

Could come across an accident on the road

and somebody needs busting out their car.

If the apocalypse was to hit now,

we'd be all right in this van, that's all I'm saying.

There's everything in here you'd ever need.

Ha-ha!

Fortunately, the apocalypse hasn't arrived

by the time they reach the business's premises.

There it is.

They don't know what SBE Ltd does,

or whether there'll be any assets to take.

The signs on the building don't give much away.

"Global Electronic Service Logistics Management."

Whatever that means.

But they'll soon find out.

-Oh, good morning.

-Morning.

Name's Mr Grix. My colleague and I are enforcement agents.

We've got a High Court writ to execute against SBE Ltd

so we probably need to speak to somebody in legal or accounts.

But before reception can call anyone, a woman comes down the stairs.

-Hi, there.

-Oh, hello.

-We're High Court enforcement agents.

We have a High Court writ against SBE Ltd on behalf of

Extreme Clean Commercial Ltd.

We are here today to take control of goods to the value of £2,325.53.

Unfortunately, the bottom line is we have a High Court writ which

commands us to come here and take control of goods to clear the debt.

And the only way to prevent further action is to pay in full.

Pay.

-Transfer.

-Transfer.

Yeah, sure.

The woman takes them upstairs but our camera is asked to leave.

Inside, things start to get complicated.

They've been joined by the managing director

and it seems the company isn't willing to just pay up after all.

The sheriffs have also realised there's a factory

at the back of the building, full of potential assets,

only the MD won't let them in.

When Lawrence demands access, the staff set off the alarms.

ALARM BLARES

Moments later, the police arrive.

What should have been a simple job

has turned into a headache for the sheriffs.

After explaining themselves to the officers,

Kev comes outside to fill us in on what's been happening.

Yeah, it's a big, old company.

Out the back, the workings of the factory,

they're repairing mobile phones.

There are machines and other assets worth thousands.

No wonder the managing director doesn't want to let the sheriffs in.

But it seems light-footed Lawrence has managed to give the MD the slip.

Lawrence, in his nimbleness, went through a door

and we were into the workshop.

With the sheriffs listing assets in the back,

it was game over for SBE Ltd.

We're back dealing with the lady we were initially dealing with.

She has her debit card and she will be paying.

So, we've got the card machine here, we're going in, getting payment,

full payment, and we should be on our way soon.

Kev heads back in with the machine

and, true to their word, the company finally pay up.

Debtors' assets are the leverage sheriffs need to get paid

and they have the right to explore a premises to find them.

We were dealing with it quite sensibly

and calmly initially with the young lady,

but then the managing director came down and started getting himself

involved, telling us we couldn't do this, we couldn't do that,

we were required to stay in reception.

We said we weren't going to so he instructed the receptionist to press

the panic alarm but I managed to nip through a door

when somebody went through it so the young lady came back

and said she would pay it on her card.

And that's what happened. So, we got paid in full.

And with that, the sheriffs head off to the next job.

The cleaning company will now get the £2,325 they were owed.

This morning, sheriffs Tommy Coyle and Craig Wild

are in the Black Country.

So, we're off to West Bromwich this morning with regards

to two employment tribunal cases against the same company.

The company itself is Enable UK Midlands Limited.

The director of the company is an Amjad Mahmood.

One's for £5,100 and the other one is for £11,700.

Enable UK Midlands Limited provides supported living services

for the disabled and elderly.

In 2015, the Care Quality Commission described its services

as "not always safe" and the leadership as "inadequate."

Now, two former staff members have won employment tribunal cases

for breaches of contract and unpaid wages.

Today, the sheriffs are instructed

to collect a total of nearly £17,000.

Whatever amount we collect today,

we will split the money equally to each case so they both get a share

and, hopefully, also, we'll have an arrangement in place

to pay the rest off for them.

The job's the same with two writs as with one

and the first step, as always, is to find the boss.

-Hello.

-Hi.

I'm trying to get in contact with Enable UK Ltd.

Can I help you?

-Take a seat...

-In the waiting room? OK?

They said, can we just wait in the waiting room for a minute.

Bit of courtesy, we will do that,

but once we've explained the situation to them,

they need to pay it or we carry on doing our job

which is taking control of goods.

After a minute's wait, a man comes in to talk to them.

Hello, sir.

Is Amjad about?

My name is Mr Wild.

We're here today with two High Court writs for employment

tribunal liabilities. The total outstanding is £16,962.03.

We're not leaving until we are paid.

We can give you some account details to pay it now. If you want them.

Speak to Amjad first and I will have a chat with him.

-He ain't got the money.

-They ain't got the money, no.

Although happy to wait if it looks like they are going to get paid,

Craig's patience isn't going to last long.

I think his attitude was that we would leave them letters

and walk away, but we don't. Not when it gets to this stage.

We have the power and authority to walk around these premises

and that's what we will be doing.

The man comes back but he has not been able to get

through to the director, Amjad Mahmood.

We've come up because we need to see where you're trading from.

No, we're not going to sit here.

Where are you trading from, office-wise?

We will come and have a look.

-We can, we have the authority.

-We have a legal right to do so.

-I've shown you my identification.

-I showed you mine.

-I can show you again. We're not waiting here now.

-We can't wait.

While Craig investigates what's upstairs,

Tommy heads into the office.

Before he can do anything, however,

our camera attracts the attention of the men present.

We leave and continue filming from the road.

Inside, staff tell Craig and Tommy

that they haven't seen Amjad Mahmood for three weeks

and that there are three other companies in the building

who, between them, own all the goods.

Sheriffs are entitled to carry out a diligent search

for information pertaining to their writ

and, as they hunt through paperwork in the office,

Craig and Tommy discover that not only is Mr Mahmood a director

of at least one of the other companies in the building,

but they also find a document listing many of the office goods

as the property of Enable UK Midlands Limited.

Yeah, it got a bit heated initially inside the building.

They're all claiming not to know the director of our company

which we started to find out is not true.

We started finding more and more paperwork of our company.

Obviously got them a bit irate.

They started to realise we're not just going to go away.

So, the game's more or less up at this point.

The more information we gather, you see them breaking down

and they've come to a deal which is they're going to pay 6,900.

They'll do a controlled goods agreement

until the rest of the balance is paid on both orders.

Tommy heads back inside with the card machine and he and Craig

take payment. It's not long before they're back.

We have a part payment today of £6,900 which brought

the balance down to £10,000 exactly.

As time went by, we kept finding more and more information

sort of contradicting what they were telling us.

They ended up looking a bit silly in the end

and I think they realised and we got the result we did.

They haven't seen Amjad since Christmas,

they don't know where he is, he's uncontactable

and, ultimately, Mr Amjad has 48 hours

in which to get in contact with our office otherwise we

will be back to execute and complete the execution of the court order.

Following the sheriffs' visit, Enable UK Midlands Limited

entered into a payment plan to clear the outstanding balance.

Further money was received, however two months later, the company

was wound up, leaving its debt to its former workers part-paid.

From multinationals to dodgy car dealers,

for the sheriffs it's all the same.

And on the edge of London's financial district,

enforcement agent Ken Warby is looking for a household name.

We're going to see Post Office Ltd and they are the debtors.

The claimant is a small-time landlord who owns

a shop which provided postal services.

When the sub-postmaster left, fixtures and fittings

belonging to the Post Office were left behind for months,

which the landlord claims prevented him from renting the property out.

He took the company to court for storage costs and won

a default judgment after the company didn't defend the case.

Now it's down to Ken to get more than £11,000 owed.

That's our building on the left there,

I think, where the scaffolding is outside.

But there's no parking outside

and a road closure sends him on a long detour.

You couldn't make this up.

By the time he's found somewhere to park, he's got a mile-long

walk back to the Post Office.

Just trying to find the job now.

When he gets there, the offices look like a building site.

Nevertheless, this is the address on the writ so Ken heads in.

Hi there. Sorry to bother you.

I want to speak to someone at the Post Office Ltd.

They're not here any more?

The man says the building is being converted into a hotel.

It was 20 minutes to walk from the car to here and they're not here.

Wonderful.

Satisfied that the Post Office Ltd have moved out,

Ken leaves and the claimant won't get their money today.

There's nothing we can do there because it's totally empty.

They've got no forwarding information on the company.

They've set up somewhere else around here. I'm sure they would have.

So we just have to find them and go from there.

It's not quite as simple as finding the new office and marching in.

The sheriffs are legally obliged to give debtors seven days' notice

of their arrival and it's now looking like the letter they sent

would have gone to the wrong address.

A couple of weeks later, though, and Ken is back on the hunt.

Just like last time, there's been no response to the letter

the sheriffs have sent, but Ken has a theory.

It must have got lost in the post. Don't know.

This time he finds a spot nearby and heads straight in.

But our cameraman isn't allowed to follow him.

We continue filming from the street while Ken explains

he's there to collect more than £11,000.

He's then left to sit in reception while the staff try

to figure out what's going on.

A succession of different people come to talk to him but

so far none of them have offered any payment.

The woman dealing with it in the legal department has left me

sitting in reception now for the best part of an hour.

They're contacting other people at a different legal department,

I believe somewhere in Bolton.

I'm getting a bit bored.

Ken goes back inside where the waiting game continues.

After more conversations with the staff,

the Post Office still haven't agreed to pay up.

Ken could demand to go upstairs and start making

a list of assets to take away.

He doesn't want to escalate the situation unless it's necessary

but, after three hours, that moment is getting closer.

I'm starting to lose my patience now.

Just going to dig my heels in and insist on full payment.

If they don't, then I'm just going to march around their offices,

list their items, call up a van, with a view to remove their goods.

So that's where we are at the moment.

The waiting might be getting on his nerves but to recover 11 grand,

Ken would have to remove a lot of office equipment so,

on this occasion, playing the long game

is the best way to get a result.

It's quite frustrating because they've got about six magazines

in there and I've read them cover to cover so far.

But that's this job sometimes.

You have to wait around quite a long time for payments.

Sure enough, the Mexican stand-off soon reaches its finale.

The Post Office Ltd appears to be on the brink of paying up.

But before the deal is sealed,

Ken has to evade some additional expenses of his own.

Well, the fat lady hasn't sung yet.

But I'm about to take my seat and get in the audience.

Payment is imminent but I just need to relocate this car

otherwise I'll get a ticket.

With his car safe from traffic wardens,

Ken makes his way back to Post Office's HQ.

This time he only has to wait another ten minutes.

Right, well, after just over four hours of waiting,

the sheriff finally got his man.

£11,947.42 -

exactly what I came for to begin with.

Great result and the claimant's got his money.

It's been a long day but it was worth it.

Ken's persistence and patience has got the claimant back

the money they were owed.

The Post Office Ltd subsequently applied to have the judgment

against them set aside but discontinued their appeal.

The Post Office told us they...

And they later reached

an out of court settlement

with the claimant.