Episode 5 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-My name is Mr Grix. My colleagues and I are enforcement agents.

They work for the High Court and if it says you are owed money,

it's their job to go and get it.

I'm here for £6,072.18.

They can demand payment on the spot...

I'm here for the full balance.

How are you going to pay it?

..or remove assets instead.

The car will be going unless you can pay it.

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

Obstructing their work can be a criminal offence.

I wouldn't do that if I were you.

The door needs to stay open.

Every year in England and Wales

unpaid debts totalling more than £80 million are recovered by the sheriffs.

Coming up...

Valerie Hull spent £10,000 on a boat, only to discover it was a wreck.

The engine was rusty and in pieces, basically.

But the man who sold it is in no hurry to refund her cash.

Can I pay £1,000 now and pay the rest shortly?

We have to collect that today.

At a demolition company, Lawrence eyes up some seriously heavy goods.

We've been sent to this address today to take control of goods

which at the moment are the excavators and the crusher.

Ken meets a debtor with an identity crisis.

This guy, in a roundabout way, is trying to palm me off.

Enforcement agents Craig Wild and Tommy Coyle are in the van

and on the motorway before the sun is up.

They've got a High Court writ for more than £12,000

against a member of the public and they are on their way

to his home address.

It's early in the morning, it's just 7 o'clock,

we are off to a little village which is just south of Birmingham.

We are going to see Mr Jason Holdsworth.

It's in relation to a boat that Mr Holdsworth sold on eBay which wasn't

apparently fit for purpose.

Mr Holdsworth sold the boat to Valerie Hull.

She and her partner had their hearts set on owning a boat

and, after months of deliberation, had decided to take the plunge.

We had retired. It seemed a good idea to be able to go to the Tewkesbury Marina

and have some leisure time on this boat.

I'm not saying we'll ever go out to sea on it but it just was a nice way of

relaxing and enjoying our retirement.

When they found what they thought was a good deal online

for a Crownline 250 CR, they leapt at the opportunity.

The pictures of it were beautiful. It was in excellent condition.

Couldn't see any fault with it,

and at £10,000 it seemed like a really good buy.

The seller was Jason Holdsworth and he invited them to his house

to talk it over.

We sat down, chatted about the boat and the good condition it is.

But there was one problem. Mr Holdsworth said he needed a quick sale.

He said that where it was moored, which was Cardiff Yacht Club,

he was having to pay £150 a week for it to stay there.

It was too far away to go and see it at short notice

so, fearful of losing out,

Valerie and her partner agreed to a blind purchase.

And the arrangement was the next day, just after nine o'clock,

I would put the money into his bank account by bank transfer

and he would pay for having it delivered from Cardiff to Tewkesbury.

But no sooner had Valerie stumped up the cash,

Mr Holdsworth called to change the arrangement.

An hour later, I got a phone call from Mr Holdsworth saying we couldn't

have the boat Thursday now, it would be the following week.

We were a little bit perplexed because we thought in that

time limit, we could have actually gone to Cardiff and looked at it.

The boat was delivered the following week, but Valerie was in for a shock.

First, there was the delivery.

The company that had towed it there asked for the fee for taking it

and we said that was part of the deal, it was a free tow.

He went, "No, he hasn't paid us."

And then there was the boat itself.

It's damp, it's musty.

All the wiring was hanging inside the boat,

so none of the wiring was connected at all.

The front leather seats, which on the pictures were beautiful white seats,

were actually dark grey and torn.

And the engine in the engine bay

was rusty and in pieces, basically.

It was just horrible.

As the couple were inexperienced, they sought a second opinion.

An engineer came, did a report for us and he said, "This engine is rusty,

"it's not going to turn, it's never going to be any good

"and, quite frankly, my advice is to try and get your money back

"because it's not going to do anything, this boat, at all."

The couple began trying to get their money back from Mr Holdsworth.

They had hoped he would be responsive, but it wasn't to be.

We did try various things, we went through all the right sequences,

but even when we rang him on his mobile, he ignored us.

He just cut us off.

Court was the only option and the couple won their case when Jason didn't attend.

But he still hasn't paid them back and, in the meantime, they are

forking out more than £300 a month in mooring fees

when they don't even have a usable boat.

It's heartbreaking, really.

We are pensioners, we are retired.

It's an incredible amount of money to lose.

All we can do now is leave it with the sheriffs and keep our fingers

crossed and hope that they will be able to do something for us.

Tommy and Craig are on the outskirts of Birmingham.

More than 60 miles from the nearest coastline, it's an unlikely location

to find a boat dealer.

Nevertheless, it appears to be where Mr Holdsworth lives.

They think they're on the right road,

but there's no sign of any boats conveniently sitting on a driveway.

Also, all the houses here just seem to have numbers,

when they have only been given a name.

I can't see it. I think it's back there.

But Craig thinks he's worked it out.

It's this one here.

So they pull up and try their luck.

Hello, sir.

Sorry to disturb you. I'm trying to find a property called The Stables.

Any idea?

But the man says this isn't it, and he's not Jason.

You are not him, no? This isn't The Stables?

-Right.

-But something tells Craig that the man knows more than he is

letting on.

Cos on the back of your jacket, it's got Holdsworth.

And that's not all.

So, is Jason your son, is he,

or summat? And this is The Stables, yeah?

Down the bottom there, on the brick.

He is indeed Jason's father.

He says Jason doesn't live here and he will try to get him on the phone.

A bit early for him, I suppose, isn't it?

What do you do yourself?

Construction.

Oh, right, yeah, new builds.

Craig is not getting far with his small talk and Mr Holdsworth Senior

heads off for a meeting, leaving the sheriffs alone on the driveway.

Just as they wonder what to do next, Jason appears on foot.

-Are you all right?

-Hello, mate, Jason, is it?

-Yes.

-Hi, I'm Mr Wild.

-How are you?

-Not too bad.

It's to do with a High Court writ, a court order, for...

..Valerie Hull.

She's obviously took a court order against you

for some boat or something you sold.

Jason clearly knows all about the case and invites the sheriffs in

to explain.

Jason claims he thought the legal process wasn't over,

but it is and the sheriffs are here to collect.

The balance stands at the moment at just over £12,000.

It's gone up by £2,000?

At the moment you've incurred £1,200 enforcement fees,

£535 judgment costs, and £129 interest.

Are you in a position to pay that?

No. What happens with the boat that she's got of mine?

It's worth 12-£15,000.

The order that I've got at the moment is just to recover the money from you.

When he didn't defend the case in court,

Ms Hull was granted a default judgment and Jason lost his chance to ask

for the return of the boat to be included on the order.

If they want the boat back to me, that's fine.

I could sell the boat quite easily...

..for more than...

..they paid. Yeah, yeah.

Unfortunately, the court order commands us to come along today and demand

-payment from you.

-Yes.

All right, can I pay that this weekend?

We have to collect that today.

Can't I pay £1,000 now and pay the rest shortly?

Craig is not keen on vague promises of future payment,

so Jason's dad steps in,

offering to pay on his cards and from his savings account,

but he'll have to make a trip to the bank when it opens in an hour or so's time.

Craig doesn't want to wait around,

but he's also not willing to leave without a guarantee of getting

Valerie's money, so he comes up with a plan.

The Stables is where you live which is just further down the lane, is it?

-Yes.

-Have you got a vehicle?

-Yeah, I've got some cars there.

-If I can list something down now,

you sign the form, it acts as security until nine o'clock.

Provided Jason's vehicles are worth enough, then a control of goods agreement could be the answer.

It would effectively give the sheriffs ownership of the cars until the debt is paid off.

Jason's house is close by and, on arrival, the sheriffs see just what they want on the driveway.

There is his Jag there.

A large motor, isn't it?

The Range Rover and the pick-up behind.

That will do.

Only one of the cars is on finance

and the other two will do nicely.

So Craig gets straight down to business.

The two vehicles act as security.

If I can get you to sign and print your name there for me.

Sure.

The deal is done but Jason isn't particularly happy about it.

He still says there was nothing wrong with the boat he sold Ms Hull.

What I think is they found out it's going to be £5,000 a year

to keep the boat in the water and they didn't want the boat any more,

so basically I said, "Look, if you want to bring the boat back to the yard,

"get it delivered back to the yard on a trailer,

"then we can have a look at obviously refunding your money."

I didn't hear anything back from them for a few months and then got the court letter

saying that I owed £10,500.

I rang my solicitor, she dealt with it all,

they've sent me a letter back to The Stables, which I haven't received.

OK, lovely.

Cheers.

-Cheers, guys. Take care.

-Thanks for your time, mate. Take care.

Nevertheless, the court made its decision and Jason must now pay his debt in full.

The sheriffs are confident he will.

I think they've got the money all day long.

They are going to pay at ten o'clock in full.

Clearly he signed control of the goods of his vehicles over to the custody of the court

so if they don't pay,

we'll be back this afternoon to remove them.

Mr Holdsworth did indeed settle his bill later in the day

and Valerie has finally got her money back.

Absolutely brilliant.

We can now carry on with our retirement...

..hopefully look forward to getting back on the water with another boat.

We are just so happy we've got the money back.

Using the County Courts to try to recover money you are owed

isn't difficult. 1.5 million money claims are made every year

in England and Wales,

involving anything from faulty goods or poor workmanship to unpaid invoices.

Claims can be filed by post or online for a small fee.

Both parties in the case will be asked to submit evidence and you may have

to attend a court hearing.

If you are successful,

a County Court judgment or CCJ will be issued against the debtor and if

they still don't pay, that's when you call the sheriffs.

Enforcing a writ often requires the sheriffs to draw on all of their

powers of persuasion and negotiation.

These tactics work best when the debtor is willing to engage in a

meaningful dialogue.

But occasionally, debtors simply don't want to play ball.

In the South East today,

sheriffs Lawrence Grix and Kev McNally are about to demonstrate that

persistence is another useful skill to have.

This morning we are on our way to Pyecombe in West Sussex,

just outside Brighton.

We're going to see Wealden Haulage & Demolition Limited.

And this debt is relating to...

..tipper hire charges, crushed concrete haulage, and muck away.

In other words, waste disposal services, supplied by another company,

who haven't been paid.

Wealden Haulage & Demolition Limited were taken to court and didn't

offer a defence. So judgment was entered by default.

Three months later, and they still haven't paid,

but the sheriffs are hoping to finally make sure they do.

They owe a total of £16,335.

They actually operate off a farm, so we're going to go there.

As they turn into the address,

they immediately set eyes on a haulage truck.

This is the right place, innit?

They head past the farm shop and up the track towards a house.

Hello. Hello, you two, hello!

-Morning, sir.

-Hello.

I'm looking for Wealden Haulage & Demolition Limited.

-That's me.

-That's you.

It's Markus Saich, the company director.

We have a High Court writ to execute against Wealden Haulage &

Demolition. The amount outstanding today is £16,335.99.

-Right.

-We're ordered now to take control of goods to that value

-to clear the debt.

-Right.

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

Yeah, but I've applied to the courts to have that set aside,

and I'm waiting to hear back so...

Right, an application doesn't stop enforcement, sir.

-I'm told... I'm told it does.

-By a solicitor?

-Yeah.

Yeah, no, it doesn't. Is this your private residence,

or is the business actually run from here?

The business is run from down there, this is my private residence.

Right. I'm assuming you don't want goods removed.

No, I don't know what goods you are going to remove,

cos there isn't anything here that isn't on HP.

But before Lawrence can probe the details, Mr Saich simply walks off.

It's a bizarre turn of events, but Lawrence isn't fazed.

I'm just going to make a note of some registrations,

then we'll go down to where the business is run from,

because we're more likely to find some assets down there, I would think.

The sheriffs get in the van and drive back to the farm shop,

where it looked like Mr Saich was headed.

As they approach, Kev thinks he spots movement inside.

-He's in there.

-What, in the shop?

-Yeah.

-Is that where he is?

Yeah.

But any hopes that they may have found Mr Saich soon evaporate.

No, it's shut.

The farm shop is locked, and there's no sign of anyone inside.

There was someone in there, 100%, and there's no-one else around,

-is there?

-No. There might be an office at the back or something.

Lawrence has a nose around, but there's no other way in,

and still no sign of Mr Saich.

Their best option now to get the debt paid is to identify some company assets,

which, on paper, should be straightforward.

They've got fixed assets of 674 grand, or they did have in November '15.

There's also this tipper.

That truck's what we need, really.

But it's massive.

We can't really clamp it, can we?

No. Definitely!

I don't think there is a clamp on the market that will get on the wheel of one of those.

So with Mr Saich unwilling to cooperate,

this time the sheriffs will have to call it quits - for now.

I'm just going to leave paperwork, and that's that.

Later, the saga continues when the sheriffs pay

Wealden Haulage & Demolition another visit.

Enforcement agent Ken Warby is no mug,

and today his nose to sniff out a tall story is going to come in handy.

He's on his way to Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire

in search of a local businessman.

We are going to visit someone called Mr Rostami,

trading as LJ's Nightclub.

Mr Ebi Rostami's been sued by a woman who was injured

after slipping in his club. A court's ordered him to pay, but he hasn't,

so it's Ken's job to collect £5,213,

including costs and fees.

It turns out Ken is no stranger to the nightclub scene himself.

Give me a half of shandy, and...

I can pull a few shapes on the dance floor, absolutely.

But sadly, we won't get to see that today,

as it seems the nightclub has shut down.

We was there a couple of weeks ago, and that's empty,

so we're turning our attentions now to this new address.

Sheriffs are permitted to visit any address where they believe

the debtor may have assets,

and they've been told Mr Rostami also runs a cafe.

This second business could be the key to Ken getting his claimant's money.

He reaches Aylesbury,

parks up...

and heads into town on foot, passing the nightclub on the way.

Just checking to see no-one's moved back in there,

but it is as it was a couple of weeks ago.

The cafe is just down the road, and Ken heads in.

Hello. I wanted to speak to Mr Rostami.

He's the owner, yeah?

I need to speak to him urgently.

Can someone get hold of him?

Thank you.

The barwoman heads off to see if she can track down Mr Rostami,

and shortly afterwards a man appears from the back.

Hello.

It's Mr Rostami I want to speak to.

Sorry, are you a... Are you a manager here?

In fact, although Ken has no way of knowing it, this is Mr Rostami,

and he's being somewhat economical with the truth.

He's not here?

Right.

Well, you need to get him on the phone,

because I need to speak to him urgently, thank you.

Cheers.

Mr Rostami walks off, and although he doesn't know the full story,

Ken smells a rat.

Well, this is interesting. I think this guy, in a roundabout way,

is trying to palm me off to someone else.

It's ten minutes since Mr Rostami disappeared

before a new member of staff comes to speak to Ken.

Right. We were informed that the guy owned this as well.

Right, OK. Did he used to own this, then?

Right. I need to speak to the owner,

because I've got a High Court writ of control,

which gives me authority to remove goods from here in lieu of an

outstanding amount that he owes.

So you need to make some phone calls

and get him or her down here straightaway.

So while one staff member thinks Mr Rostami owns the cafe,

another seems to know nothing about it.

Ken's not sure what exactly is going on,

but he knows better than to take the barman's word for it.

"He doesn't own this, Michelle owns this."

Well, I'm not going to go away on that basis.

I need to speak to the supposed owner or new owner of this place,

and I need some proof that she is the owner here.

Soon enough, a woman turns up who appears to be a manager.

Hello.

Are you Michelle?

Our cameraman obliges and steps out onto the street.

Ken follows shortly afterwards,

and it seems Michelle has told him the same thing as the barman.

She just confirms that he shut the nightclub down, this guy,

and he has nothing to do with this place.

I said, "I need to see some proof that you are the sole owner of this place."

She said, "Well, it's going through."

And then I said, is your name on the business rates?

She said, "No, it's still his name."

I said, "You need to find this money and find it all,

"because I will be removing your goods."

If Mr Rostami has indeed sold the business to this Michelle,

it must've been fairly recently.

There's even still a job advert in the window with his name and mobile

number on it. Not to mention his earlier appearance behind the bar.

Ken is not going to walk away from this one in a hurry.

And soon enough, there is an offer of payment.

She said that she can't come up with the full amount of money but she can

come up with £2,000 and she has offered to clear the debt in three weeks.

So rather than shut the business down,

which in effect is what it will do if we remove everything from there,

I'm going to get on and do that now and hopefully that will be good enough for the client.

The news is she is actually, um...

Mr Rostami's ex-wife,

so that's the connection.

Dig a little bit deeper and we always get the truth in the end.

A good result for the client, on to the next job.

Following filming, the debt owed by Mr Rostami was paid in full.

The young woman who was injured in LJ's nightclub

has now got the money awarded to her by the court.

Lawrence and Kev are once again on the trail of a debt owed by

a company called Wealden Haulage & Demolition Limited.

They previously visited the company's registered address,

which was on a farm.

This is the right place, innit?

But the director, Markus Saich, was far from helpful...

..and the only real asset there wasn't going anywhere in a hurry.

That will have to go on an articulated low loader.

Or possibly be dragged.

Other vehicles seen at the site have now been confirmed as being on

finance and further contact with Mr Saich hasn't come to much.

The director did contact me saying that there was an order from

the court stopping enforcement,

but despite repeated requests, he hasn't provided that.

So as far as we're concerned, this writ is still live.

So far, they've had the doors shut in their face at every turn,

but the sheriffs don't give up easily

and now they've got a new lead -

a tip-off of a site where Wealden might be operating.

So they're going there in the hope of collecting the £19,000 now owing.

On arrival, it appears to be

some kind of aggregate processing facility.

There aren't any signs mentioning the debtor company

but Lawrence spots a man working on the site and tries his luck.

Morning.

I'm looking for Wealden Haulage & Demolition.

That's you? My name's Mr Grix.

My colleague and I are enforcement agents,

we've got a High Court writ against Wealden Haulage & Demolition.

We're ordered here today to take control of goods,

which, by the looks of it, are the excavator and the crusher.

Are you able to get him on the phone?

-Thank you very much.

-So far, so good...

..until Lawrence is handed the phone.

Morning, sir.

Was it you I met at the other address at your house?

It is indeed the company director, Markus Saich.

We've been sent to this address today, sir, to take control

of goods which, at the moment, is the excavators and the crusher.

Once again, Lawrence is told everything is on finance.

Have you got paperwork to that effect?

Are you able to get that to us?

-You're not?

-Mr Saich says if Lawrence wants the paperwork

-he can come and get it.

-Right, well, I'm not coming there, sir,

because I'm here and I'm going to be taking these goods into control.

But not only is Mr Saich refusing to bring the documents the sheriffs

need to see,

he's now once again claiming that enforcement action has been stopped

by the courts. Lawrence is sceptical.

You told me weeks ago, sir,

there was an order from the court stopping execution.

I've asked you repeatedly for that and you haven't provided it.

It hasn't been stopped until you find out what's going on.

I have a live writ.

OK, then, sir, call the police.

It would be far more helpful if you have got...

Oh, there you go.

Actually, it'd be a good thing if the police turn up now.

That might prompt him to get down here

and that'd be better for us. It's one of the ways we can progress

this one at the moment.

Otherwise, Mr Saich's reluctance to cooperate is once again leaving the

sheriffs in a tricky position.

If the machinery really doesn't belong to Wealden Haulage

& Demolition Limited, then removing

it would be a very expensive mistake.

But it doesn't sound like the director's going to help them put

the ownership beyond doubt.

The director of the company doesn't really want to speak to us.

If the vehicles ARE leased from somebody, just give us the paperwork

-and we can go away.

-As it is,

the sheriffs will have to work it out for themselves,

so they head inside the yard for a closer look.

But as they do, the worker present asks our camera to leave and shuts

the gates behind him.

Seeing the chain go on, Lawrence gives the man a warning.

I know that obviously your boss is telling you to do things but I just

have to advise you, from your point of view,

it is a criminal offence to obstruct us.

So I'm just advising you on a personal level

because I wouldn't want you doing anything that puts you personally in

jeopardy because you're following your boss's instructions.

The employee goes back to work while the sheriffs have a nose around.

However, their exploration of the site reveals nothing besides

the huge amounts of concrete

and no further clues to the ownership of the machines.

There's a building next to the yard with another company's name over the

door, so Kev heads in to ask what, if anything,

they can tell the sheriffs about the crusher and the diggers.

He soon returns with news.

-That crusher's financed and it's owned by this lot.

-Yeah.

But he got his boss on the phone and he was like, "Yeah, no, no,

-"it's definitely ours." And they've got no reason to...

-No.

They began the day hoping to walk out of here with nearly £20,000,

but that now looks like a tall order.

# Don't know where we're going Got no way of knowing

# Driving on the road to nowhere. #

More than two hours after they arrived, and with no sign

of the police,

Lawrence eventually gets a call from the debtor's solicitor,

who's only just been instructed.

They say they'll need a few days to collect the relevant paperwork.

Frustrated, but with no leverage to demand payment,

Lawrence has no choice but to agree.

If you're actually going to cooperate, which I imagine you will,

and deal with this in a sensible manner,

rather than just being obstructive like your client,

I'll give you till close of business on Monday to get the paperwork over.

And then I'm quite happy to leave it.

Otherwise, I'll be back and I will remove it.

But it never comes to that.

Following filming, Wealden Haulage & Demolition Limited paid the sheriffs

just over £19,000, clearing their debt in full.

The waste disposal company which hadn't been paid

has now got the money they were owed.