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 collegaue 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 just 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.

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, then I'm going to just march around their offices,

list their items with a view to remove their goods.

The air turns blue when we visit a car dealers in Wales.

definitely an angry man.

-Go, go, go...

-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.

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 judgement 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 dealers 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 reseach, 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 Whitlfield 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 judgement 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 I'd just give him his money back.

They'd do anything but that.

Derby Car Centre later applied to have the judgement 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 judgement

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 onto 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 in 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 judgement 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 £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.

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.

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 judgement after the company didn't defend the case.

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

I'm a London boy, born in Finsbury Park,

but I'm not a fan of central London.

Courier riders on bikes,

mad pedestrians...

smog.

All hazards of the job.

And after some skilful negotiation of them,

Ken's tantalisingly close to his destination.

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?

Completely gone? The whole place is empty?

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

It took us 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 will have.

So we'll 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.

A new notice has been sent out

to this revised address we've got for them.

Finsbury Square - land of the tall, grey buildings.

And land of the red lights.

Just like last time,

there's been no response to the letter the sheriffs have sent.

But Ken has a theory.

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 in there dealing with it in the legal department

has left me sitting in reception for the best part of an hour,

they are 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's getting closer.

'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, then I'm just going to march around their offices,

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

I don't think it'll come to that.

It's just they're asking for more time. I've told them no.

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. 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 standoff 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. Claimant has got his money.

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

Ken's persistence and patience

have got the claimant back the money they were owed.

The Post Office Ltd subsequently applied

to have the judgement against them set aside,

but discontinued their appeal.

The Post Office told us...

And they...

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 dealsership.

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 Griggs. 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 the 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 judgement 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 diffuse 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.

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 judgement

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 it's 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.

Lawrence and Kev are on their way to Portsmouth

to collect a debt owed by a company, which sounds like it's

involved in environmentally-friendly building work.

We are going to Low Carbon Construction Design And Build Ltd.

They've got two separate writs for two different claimants

who've both successfully taken the company to court.

One is for £8,000 and the other is for £17,127.

So, big amount of money we're looking for between the two of them.

But the sheriffs are anticipating trouble.

The debtor appears to belong to a group of companies

all trading from the same address.

We're actually after Low Carbon Construction Design And Build Ltd,

we've also got Low Carbon Construction Worldwide Ltd,

Low Carbon Construction Management Ltd here

and Low Carbon Construction Projects Ltd.

We're going to have to do a lot of digging in determining

which company in the group owns what assets.

But, despite the difficulties of the job ahead,

the mood in the van is jovial,

as Lawrence is on the eve of a rather significant birthday.

Who's got the big 50 tomorrow?

50, eh? How's 50 feel?

I don't know, I haven't got there yet.

I'll let you know in the morning.

I'm pretty sure that once you get to 50,

you're allowed to speak your mind all the time.

No change there then.

Soon, they arrive at their destination.

Is that it? Trafalgar House, is it?

Trafalgar House, yeah.

It doesn't look much like a building company.

First floor.

That's not looking promising then, is it?

Lawrence is worried it might just be the address

for the company's accountant.

But, in fact, the real problem will turn out

to be something else entirely.

Morning.

I'm looking for Low Carbon Construction Design and Build Ltd.

The man says the company was sold three months ago

and goes to dig out some papers.

Lawrence explains why he's here.

We've got two High Court writs against

Low Carbon Construction Design And Built Ltd.

When you say sold, who were they sold to?

The man hands Lawrence a card for the new owner.

But just because the company's changed hands,

it doesn't mean the writ can't be executed.

That limited company is still trading, isn't it?

Right, then it still has the debts.

Right, so it's got a new trading address is what you're telling me?

Now the sheriffs do have a problem.

If the company's gone, then their only chance of getting paid here

is if it's left assets behind.

But the man is quashing any hopes of that.

Can I take your name, sir?

Simon?

Mr Allso is a shareholder in the group,

which has just sold the debtor company.

He says it was sold with a clean sheet.

And there were no judgements against it at the time?

Have you got a copy of that paperwork, please?

Mr Allso gives Lawrence the documents,

which reveal the sale went through

just before the first of the sheriffs' claimants

won their case in court.

Two days before judgement was entered.

So, you knew judgement was coming.

Right.

The company was sold just in time

and the sheriffs won't be getting any money here.

But before they go, there's one more thing Lawrence wants to know.

Any paperwork that's come here for Design And Build Ltd,

that's been passed on, has it?

And, with that, the sheriffs leave.

-Bye-bye.

-Thanks a lot.

-Thank you.

Lawrence reckons their prospects of getting any money

for their claimants aren't looking good.

The verdict on that one is it looks like they've got it all sewn up.

I think they've just sold at the right time.

It does mean the new owner's liable for the debts

because it's still the same company.

We've got what looks like a residential address

for the new owner,

so, technically, we can go there because we've confirmed

with the people in here that all post gets passed on.

But what we want to do is do a little bit more digging

on the internet now, so we can see if they have got

any trading premises, but I very much doubt it.

Lawrence is right.

Further research reveals the address they've been

given for the company's new owner isn't a business address.

As Low Carbon Design And Build Ltd doesn't seem to have any assets,

there's nothing more the sheriffs can do to get the debt paid.

In the northwest, Sheriff Alan Pennington has a debt to collect

from a bathroom showroom.

Right, this morning I'm off to issue a High Court writ

at Seeley's Bathrooms in Rochdale.

The businesses the sheriffs visit come in all shapes and sizes and,

from Alan's research, it sounds like this one has a bit of a history.

It's been established since 1935.

So, they must have been doing some good business

over the last 80 years or so to still be trading.

But it looks like there's been a delivery of items

that have not been paid for.

Seeley's Bathrooms owes money to one of its suppliers,

who's taken the matter to court, and gained a judgement by default

after Seeley's didn't defend the case.

Now Alan is heading there to collect £3,830.

I'm not sure how big the premises is, or what assets they'll have,

but I'm sure the assets will be bathroom items.

Soon, the shop comes into view.

It looks like we're here.

Although Alan's not sure what to make of it.

It looks a tidy premises,

but I'm not sure if there's anybody there,

so we'll go and have a look

and see if we can get this judgement satisfied for the claimant.

Alan heads in...

..and it is open after all.

The business owner, Mr Fitton, is there.

Hello, sir.

But he doesn't want our camera in the shop.

No, thanks. Don't want the camera in here.

We leave while Alan remains inside.

Alan explains that he's here with a writ,

and that just over £3,800 needs to be paid today.

But the answer is not one that Alan was expecting,

as he tells us outside.

It's a little bit of an awkward case, to be honest,

because he thought there was an agreement in place

to pay this off over a period of time.

And he has indeed been making some payments direct to the claimant,

including one this morning.

That puts Alan in a tricky position.

Ultimately, I've been given a High Court writ with figures on,

and so I'm asking for certain amounts of money,

which some of it has been paid.

But when Alan speaks to the claimant on the phone,

he says the debt should have already been settled in full

and he wants the sheriffs to carry on with their enforcement.

In the end, Alan strikes a deal which he hopes will suit everyone.

So, what's happened today is because it's been slightly awkward,

the debtor has paid another £975.09.

That leaves another £2,000, which he says he'll pay in the next month

and Alan's got him to sign a controlled goods agreement,

just in case.

If it's not made on time, we will then come back

and start taking goods to cover the balance that's outstanding.

The case might not be resolved just yet,

but bearing in mind the confusion over the payment agreement

the two parties had, Alan's more than happy with the outcome.

All in all good result. He understands he owes the money

and he's assured me that he'll have the balance paid

within the next four weeks.

But the gentleman was cooperative and there

seems to be a little bit of a relationship there

with the claimant as well, so I think it's all going to be

satisfied very quickly.

Seeley's Bathrooms paid the remaining balance as promised

and the supplier has got their money back.