Episode 9 The Sheriffs Are Coming

If you're owed money but aren't getting paid, it's time to call the sheriffs.

-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 court.

They're enforcement agents at 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 £9,461.90.

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

If you don't open the door, we have to remove the vehicle off the drive.

You're allowed 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 somebody 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 round like that.

-It needs to be done now.

-Just collected 42 grand.

Coming up, Swikruti Soni was left more than £1,000 out of pocket

after being denied a refund by a dress shop.

That's like near enough a month's wages for me,

so it's a lot of money. I was really, really annoyed.

When Ken goes to meet the boss, it all kicks off.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

-God punish you.

-BLEEP.

-Right.

All your dresses are now on the floor, OK?

Turn my back on the debtor and the debtor has just punched me in the head.

A Soho restaurant hasn't settled a bill for its cleaning,

but do they have the money to pay?

If you're telling me you can't pay it today, that's what you're telling me.

But it's not obvious to me that you can't pay it today.

This morning, Sheriff Ken Warby is in his home patch, in north London.

He's heading to Hendon

to visit a clothing business with an unpaid debt.

We're going to visit a high street dress shop.

The claimant is an individual.

The shop is called Beautiful Dresses

and is not to be confused with any other company of a similar name.

It was taken to court by Swikruti Soni,

a child carer and mum with an eye for a bit of sparkle.

She came across the shop when she was looking for something special to wear for some important social occasions.

I had a friend's christening coming up

and a friend's wedding coming up, both best friends of mine,

and I wanted to make the effort, so I wanted to get something nice,

so I went on the internet, I found a company called Beautiful Dresses.

It seemed to be just what she was looking for.

They were lovely, they were gorgeous dresses.

They were, like, embellished nice dresses, which I love.

You can't just get them in, like, an everyday shop, really.

So I thought I'd order from them.

In fact, she ordered three, telling the store owner that

she planned to return one, once she tried them on.

They didn't come cheap.

The dresses were over £1,000 for three dresses.

They were about £300 each, just over £300 each.

The owner of Beautiful Dresses requested that she

paid by bank transfer.

As Swikruti's events were coming up soon,

she paid extra for next day delivery.

She didn't send them next day delivery.

Over a week, I was waiting.

With the events rapidly approaching, Swikruti decided to cancel

and had to go last-minute shopping for some replacement outfits.

It was a panic to get it all done. I was fretting.

As well as having at the back of my mind about this money, trying to get

this money back as well as trying to find two different outfits.

So it was a lot of stress.

She managed to buy the clothes she needed.

But when it came to cancelling her order with Beautiful Dresses,

that was a different story.

When I asked to cancel them, she just refused to cancel them and sent

me them anyway, even though the christening and the wedding had both gone.

In fact, only two of the three dresses

she had paid for ever arrived and they were the wrong size.

So I was obviously really upset and I was really, really annoyed.

The shop initially agreed to take the dresses back,

so Swikruti put them in the post.

But getting the refund she'd been promised turned out not to be

that simple. First the owner claimed she'd never received them,

but then appeared to back down.

At one point, she did say - give me your bank details

and I'll put the money in, then nothing.

I constantly rang her, she put the phone down on me.

That's like near enough a month's wages for me,

so it's a lot of money to be spending

for her not to send me the money back.

In the end, Swikruti had no choice but to take further action.

I went to Citizens Advice, who recommended Money Claims.

Swikruti used Money Claims online to file a case in the county courts.

Beautiful Dresses didn't defend it,

so Swikruti won a judgment in her favour.

But she's still not got her money back

and has turned to the sheriffs.

It's definitely my last hope, otherwise the money's just gone.

There's nothing I can do about it. The money's just gone.

In London, Ken's approaching the shop

and is determined to get that money back for her.

I'm assuming that there's going to be stock in the shop.

A proper dress shop.

There should be enough in there for me to get payment in full, I'd say.

I'm pretty confident before I even get there.

Ken's confidence seems justified as he enters the shop -

there's clearly value on the rails here.

-Hello. My name's Mr Warby. Are you the owner of the shop?

-No, I'm not.

Is the owner around?

She isn't, but the staff member calls her on speakerphone.

RINGING

Is it Lili?

Lilian.

That's the name I've got down here.

The boss, Lilian Chidoka, isn't picking up.

You hang up, let me have a go.

Never know.

The staff member says her shift ends after lunch and whether or not

they can reach her, Lilian should be arriving later.

She's not due here for another hour and a half,

when she's due to take over from this lady,

so we're just going to have to wait.

In the meantime, Ken starts looking through the shop's assets.

They're certainly not cheap.

£1,200.

550.

420.

Excuse me, madam!

High value, easily removable goods are ideal

for the sheriffs. Ken's in a strong position to demand full payment.

They're all good quality dresses and there's

a couple of dozen of them as well, so yeah, all good gear.

The staff member, meanwhile, has got the boss on the phone.

Hello.

I'm here because we have a judgment against Beautiful Dresses

from Swikruti Soni.

Our company sent a notice of enforcement to this

address on the 10th of March.

Because we haven't had a response from you, I'm here now to

collect in full and the total I'm looking to collect is £1,658.08.

Lilian Chidoka says she hasn't got the money to pay.

Yeah, that is unfortunate. If you haven't got it, I'm going

to have to list the items in the shop and remove them.

That is the normal procedure, yes.

The boss tells him that he can't remove her goods.

Ken is entitled to, but doesn't need to

if he can secure a reasonable payment plan.

Can I just ask you a question? How much do you have to pay now?

If we have to make the phone call and get goods removed,

then obviously the costs are going to go up

and that's what we need to try and avoid.

What do you have now?

She says she won't make a part payment of anything.

There doesn't seem much to be chance of negotiation on the phone

so Ken lets her know where he stands.

What I'll do is, I'm going to wait here

until one o'clock for you to turn up.

However, I am going to require full payment now, OK?

I am not walking out of here without this payment.

Or removement of goods. So that's what you need to sort out.

I'm sorry I can't help you, but we do require payment in full,

so what I would suggest you do is get payment in full

and meet me here at one o'clock.

Otherwise, I'll be listing items and we'll be removing them.

She seems convinced that isn't going to happen.

We can remove goods.

Yes, first visit, we can remove goods.

Thank you.

It hasn't been a very encouraging conversation.

What she's saying is she wants to enter into an arrangement

with me and she has nothing at all to pay me today.

That's not good enough.

We've got goods in the shop that will fetch the value of the debt,

so I'm going to start listing the items here.

She's not due in the shop for another hour.

By the time she gets here,

if she hasn't got the payment then goods listed will be removed.

Later, we find out what happens when Ken gets to meet the boss.

-I don't want you here.

-I wouldn't do that, if I were you.

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.

In the capital,

Lawrence and Kev are heading in to the heart of the West End.

They're on their way to a job that's going to turn out

trickier than expected.

We're in the middle of town today. Going in to Soho.

We're actually going to Soho Restaurants Ltd,

and it is a restaurant we're going to.

They owe £5,259 for cleaning services that have been provided

to the restaurant that haven't been paid for.

To recover the money it's owed,

the cleaning company has taken the restaurant to court

and won a default judgment when the case wasn't defended.

The sheriffs are eager to try to get it paid

and the snail pace traffic en route to the job is trying their patience.

Absolutely abysmal. I detest driving in central London.

-Eventually, they pull into the right road.

-Parking suspended.

-Can't park here, but...

-It's that one on the corner.

I'll just wait here. We're not getting a ticket as well as sitting in traffic all day.

The company they're looking for is based at a restaurant called

Maison Touareg. Lawrence makes his introductions.

-Hello, there.

-Hi.

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

I'm an enforcement agent.

Are you the boss at all?

Are you able to get him on the phone?

I'm here with a High Court writ.

I'll explain it to your boss on the phone.

Moments later, the staff member returns with the phone

and Lawrence gets straight to the point.

Hello, sir.

I'm here today with a High Court writ against Soho Restaurants Ltd.

I'm ordered to take control of goods to the value of £5,259.51.

But he's not expecting the boss's response.

Right.

The boss says he owes thousands for unpaid business rates.

Another debt collection company has already executed a writ

and taken control of all the goods here.

It would be one of the more inventive excuses Lawrence

has heard if it's not true.

-But he needs to make sure.

-Right. Have you got a copy of that here?

As it stands at the moment, unless I see copies of this paperwork,

then I'm going to take control of the goods.

The man says it's obvious he can't pay. Lawrence isn't so sure.

If you're telling me you can't pay today, that's what you're

telling me, but it's not obvious to me that you can't pay today.

If the goods have already been taken into control by someone else,

Lawrence can't touch them.

That means he won't have much leverage to get the debt paid.

And he might have to walk out empty-handed.

While the staff member goes to see if he can find the paperwork,

Lawrence makes some enquiries of his own.

I'm going to make a phone call.

The world of High Court enforcement is a small one

and Lawrence knows just about everyone in the business.

All right, Dave? How are you?

I was just phoning cos I think I'm... Well, I am on your patch.

The other agent confirms his company's already been

to the restaurant, just as the staff member brings through the paperwork.

Lawrence can only hope they've left something valuable off the list.

Right, OK.

He basically lists all that's in here, the tables, chairs,

cookers, fridges, everything, really.

So, nothing left for me, unfortunately, on this occasion.

Lawrence gets back on the phone to the restaurant's boss.

Right, I've seen all the paperwork, so what I'll do,

I'll leave paperwork here with the amount that's owing

and contact details for me and an e-mail address for the office.

He's hoping that the boss will come to an arrangement

-to pay at least something.

-Give me a buzz with how much you want to pay.

-But he's not optimistic.

-Thank you. Bye-bye.

-There you go.

-And with good reason.

The outstanding debt on the other one for business rates

is enormous, compared to ours, so obviously, he's paying that off.

He wants to pay ours off, so I've left paperwork there and

he said he'll give me a ring later today with what he proposes to pay.

Unfortunately, with no goods to take control of, your hands are tied.

The restaurant boss didn't enter into a payment agreement

later that day and to date,

the debt with the cleaning company has not been settled.

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 protocol, 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.

Back in north London,

Ken's in a shop in Hendon called Beautiful Dresses.

He's spoken to the owner, who told him

she isn't going to pay the £1,658

owed to former customer Swikruti Soni.

While he waits for her to arrive, he's checking out

what's available if he needs to take control of goods.

Well, I'm struggling between pink, cerise, beige and salmon.

But we're getting there.

I used to work in a paint shop, so I know the range of colours.

A skill he's keen to demonstrate.

We're getting there. Arsenal red.

A nice turquoise one for a change.

Where was I? In the middle of turquoise, red and plum.

But he's not quite so au fait with the specifics of ladies' fashion.

What would you call that?

That's not a dress. What would you call...?

A cape.

Thank you.

OK.

Cape.

35-40 dresses, ranging retail

price from £1,200

to £350.

As they won't fetch anything like that at auction,

Ken is listing enough of them

to guarantee they'd raise a sum which would cover the full debt.

He's hoping it won't come to that

and the shop will make an offer of payment instead.

Have to see what the lady can come up with when she turns up.

She previously told me she had no money, so that's not good.

Hopefully, we'll get it resolved.

Ken's been in the shop for a little over an hour when the boss arrives.

Hello.

She immediately asks our camera to leave and the shutters come down.

Inside, Ken explains he really is going to remove her dresses

if she can't come up with some money.

She doesn't think he can.

And invites us back in to explain.

What he's trying to do is remove goods first visit.

He's not supposed to remove goods first visit, it's never done.

That's what he's trying to do.

In fact, enforcement agents are entitled to remove

goods on a first visit.

The debtor didn't make an arrangement within the seven days after the notice of enforcement,

so now it's down to the sheriff's discretion to decide the best

course of action to get their claimant's money back.

Ken, meanwhile, has made the mistake of nipping out to his car.

Ms Chidoka tries to shut him out.

You're not locking me out.

Call the police, first.

With Ken back safely inside the shop, Lilian continues.

You make an arrangement, OK?

And then if you breach the arrangement, you come back the first

time, if you breach the arrangement, you come back the second time.

The third time, that's when you remove goods.

He doesn't know his job. Film him.

Look at him. He doesn't know what he's doing.

You don't remove goods first visit.

You don't. It's never done.

But Ken isn't on the phone to one of his wives or girlfriends.

I'm executing a High Court writ of control at a shop.

I just need a police officer here to prevent a breach of the peace.

The woman is already agitated,

and Ken doesn't want to see the situation deteriorate further.

They will be here within the hour.

They are going to turn up here, just to prevent a breach of the peace,

so I'm able to remove these dresses myself.

I understand that. That's fine.

Convinced she's right,

the shop owner has decided to start filming herself.

The third time, that's when they remove goods.

They are here for the first time and he's planning to remove goods.

It's never done. It's against the law.

I watched... What do you call that programme again?

-The Sheriffs Are Coming.

-..The Sheriffs Are Coming, I watch it too.

And what the bailiffs normally say - OK, they list the items and make

an arrangement with the debtor, I am putting this on YouTube, I will send

a copy to you, BBC, and I will send a copy to David Cameron's office.

Once again, Ken's taken the opportunity to pop out

to his car to pick up some more paperwork.

The shop owner thinks she sees a second chance to lock him out.

-I don't want you here.

-I wouldn't do that if I were you.

What will you do?

I don't want you here, you have to leave.

Ms Chidoka has no right to lock Ken out of the shop,

and it's an arrestable offence to obstruct him in his work.

With the atmosphere fragile, it's to his considerable relief

when the police arrive.

-The lady owes some money. I've got a High Court writ of control.

-Yeah.

She's unable to pay any money.

That's the actual copy of the order, court order.

Gives us authority to remove goods.

It's the duty of a police officer to assist an enforcement agent in the execution of a writ.

Ken explains what he's going to do.

My job is, I'm going to remove these dresses,

some of the dresses over there, into the boot of my car,

leave the lady a receipt for everything.

Then my job here is done.

You will go one by one listing, which is done, understand?

The woman is still complaining about procedure.

She is convinced Ken isn't allowed to take her goods away today.

I want somebody that knows the law,

a police officer that knows the law and knows where I'm coming from.

This is the first visit. You give the person writ of control,

which means the control of those goods.

And then I make an arrangement with them to pay. You understand?

A writ of control, however, is a civil matter

and the police officer's only role is to prevent anything

stopping Ken from carrying out his duty.

For all her talk of an arrangement,

she's refusing to offer any payment and Ken is left with little choice.

The lady's been told a long time ago this stuff is going to go.

She's still not come up with anything, not a penny.

I was hoping she was going to come up with something, but she hasn't.

So, you know, she's already tried to lock me out of the shop as well.

So as far as I'm concerned, the stuff's going in the back

of the vehicle and it's being taken to an auction house.

Going to get that done now.

Is this the door you tried to slam in my face?

You were forcing it.

Ken's not in the mood for further arguments.

He wants her goods and he wants to get out of here.

It's amazing what you can get in these estate cars.

Start getting these dresses out now.

No sooner has he got the first few in the boot

and the shop owner is trying to take them back.

Ken puts the second load in the back-seat.

Removed goods are sold at public auction

and rarely reach anything like their retail value.

So Ken is having to take dresses worth far more than the debt.

But first, Ken has to find an auction house which would take them.

It sounds like the office has found one.

Perfect.

Right.

Hampstead? Even closer, yeah.

These will all be hanging up in about half an hour.

Ken heads back in to remove the last of the dresses.

But Ms Chidoka has other ideas.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

You've just assaulted him in front of two police officers.

You have done exactly what we're here to prevent.

All your dresses are now on the floor, OK?

Ken's pretty taken aback.

I was just grabbing some dresses, turned my back on the debtor

and the debtor has just punched me in the head.

From behind. So, she's just locked herself in a room at the back now.

My job here is done.

But she's just assaulted me.

The officers have had to arrest her.

One calls for transport to take her away.

She returns from the back room.

SIREN BLARES

Ms Chidoka was later given a caution for common assault.

Unsurprisingly, Ken's relieved this job is nearly over.

Never been assaulted before on a job.

Not like that.

Loads of verbal, but I've never been physically attacked before.

That's in 26 years, so I've done well, I guess.

It really surprised me.

She was moaning,

but you didn't think for one minute she would punch me in the ear.

There's just one last thing to do

and it's considerably less stressful.

Delivering the day's haul to the auction house.

If I don't see another dress in my life, it will be too soon.

I think they're hung up OK.

Yeah, as they were in the shop.

We've never had dresses in, as far as I know, so it's going to

be very, very interesting to have a collection of...

How will we call them...? Evening gowns?

Or ballgowns?

Nothing will be sold for seven days, giving Ms Chidoka a chance

to settle her debt instead and get her stock back.

If she doesn't, then the dresses will be auctioned to pay off

her debt and costs, with any additional proceeds paid back to her.

For Ken, it's been a tough day, so while he's here,

he decides he deserves a treat to cheer himself up.

My dog is a Hungarian Vizsla

and these are basically two stone effigies of my dog.

Front of the house, they'd look nice.

I might stick a cheeky reserve bid on them,

while I'm here.

It's been an extraordinary ordeal,

but it goes to show the lengths the sheriffs will go to in order

to get back the money their clients are owed.

It's been a long old day, from the start of us walking into the shop.

I'm shattered, to tell the truth.

I'm absolutely shattered cos it's been a hard day,

but it's been a successful day, I think.

Those dresses, I think they will fetch the value

and our clients get paid.

Ms Chidoka didn't settle her debt, and so the auction went ahead.

Ms Soni will now finally get some of her money back.

It feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders.

I was a bit worried when I heard that one of the sheriffs,

Ken, got assaulted.

I hope he's OK.

The knock to Ken's ear has left no lasting damage.

He's also now the proud owner of a pair of stone

Hungarian Vizslas, pictured here with Gunner.

Ms Chidoka said that following the dispute, she:

As a result...