Episode 2 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-My name's Mr Grix. My colleague and I

-are enforcement agents.

-It's to do with a High Court order.

They work for the High Court, and if it says you're 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'll 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, a locksmith's done a botched job on Pete Mullany's door.

The mechanism was the wrong one.

The whole frame and everything was damaged.

It was a bit of a disaster.

The boss of the company responsible doesn't want to cooperate.

But can Ken change his mind?

That's what I like to see, plenty of stock in the shop.

The Sheriffs take on a group of squatters in the heart

of central London.

SHOUTING Devil worship! Devil worship!

In 30 minutes' time, you are going to be leaving this property.

A steel company owes money to a former employee.

When Dean didn't pay the final wage, I found it more than unfair.

So Tommy and Craig go looking for the boss.

Is it him?

And Lawrence puts the squeeze on a finance company

which hasn't paid its rent.

You had a turnover... Last time you submitted books of 1.8 million.

So I can't believe that you can't come up with £16,000.

This morning, enforcement agent Ken Warby

is in his usual North London patch.

He's heading to a shop in Barnet, in pursuit of an unpaid debt.

On the face of it, it looks like a run-of-the-mill job,

but he's about to be reminded

that it takes some people longer than others

to come to terms with the realities of High Court enforcement.

We are going to visit a company called All Service For You.

I believe they're a security company.

To be precise, All Service For You Ltd

is a locksmiths,

and their debt of more than £2,000 all began

with a surprisingly simple problem -

a broken lock on the front door

of Pete Mullany's family home in Stockport.

The locks had probably been in there 20 years,

and they just needed replacing.

Pete and his wife called around locksmiths for quotes,

before settling on All Service For You,

thinking it was a local company.

It wasn't until we found out a little bit further on in the process

that the company was based in London,

and they'd outsourced it to local contractors to pick up the deal.

So it wasn't kind of what we were hoping for.

And when a workman came to fix the lock,

it didn't exactly go as planned.

It's a composite door with its own unique locking mechanism,

and the mechanism that he put in was the wrong one,

so as a result, there was loads of holes everywhere,

which had been filled in with Polyfilla.

The door was slightly damaged, as well,

and at the bottom, didn't shut properly.

You could actually see the light coming through,

the wind blowing through into the hallway.

So all told, it was a bit of a disaster.

When the Mullanys tried to complain,

calls and messages went unanswered, and in the end, they just gave up,

until several months later, when events spurred Pete into action.

I went to slam the door and the actual splinter

started to come away,

and that's when I realised that this job wasn't good enough.

I checked the original invoice that we got for the locks.

They'd put one-year warranty, so I thought I was within that one year,

so still within my rights to do something about it.

So I contacted them, sent all the pictures again,

and as usual, they never got back.

Pete decided he wasn't going to take it lying down,

and following guidance given him by Citizens' Advice,

got a second opinion.

I contacted a local master locksmith.

It was him who pointed out

that the whole doorframe and everything was damaged,

and suddenly, it ramped up from just replacing the locks

to actually the whole door and the whole frame.

Pete made a claim against All Service For You Ltd

through the County Courts,

and when they didn't offer a defence, he won a default judgment.

But weeks down the line, there's still no sign of his money.

I've still not received any correspondence from the defendant

as to whether he's paying this money,

so I'm getting pretty desperate and I'm just thinking,

"What do I need to do?"

More than anything, we need to get that door sorted.

Three daughters in the house,

my constant fear is that someone could break that door down.

This has been a mega process,

and it just feels like if it falls at the last step,

I'll be absolutely devastated.

In Barnet, Ken's on his way to the shop

where All Service For You are thought to trade.

Since Pete enlisted the sheriffs' help to get his money back,

there have been further legal developments, but Ken is undeterred.

I know that there was an application...

..to get the judgment set aside,

which has recently been thrown out of court,

so we are good to go on it.

As he reaches the address,

it seems the name of the shop doesn't quite match

the name on his writ.

37, All Time Security...

But it's probably just a trading name for the same business,

and Ken likes what he sees.

Walk straight in the shop front, that should be easy enough.

Time for Ken to discover whether the company's planning

-to finally pay up for Pete's door.

-Hello.

My name is Mr Warby.

This is regarding a judgment from an individual called Mr Pete Mullany.

I think you know about it,

because I think you tried to get the judgment set aside.

OK. And what was the outcome?

The sheriffs are used to arguing with people

who think their cases are still ongoing,

but as this man's appeal was rejected yesterday,

he should know exactly where he stands.

-Yes.

-So far, so good.

Or maybe not.

The situation's this...

These now have a High Court judgment against you,

so I'm here for the full balance.

After costs, it's now £2,311, that's what I'm here for.

The man now says he's willing to pay the original judgment debt,

without costs and fees,

but the time to pay this lower figure has long gone.

The amount with Sheriffs' fees currently stands at £2,311.50.

Yeah...

At this point, our camera is asked to leave.

Inside, Ken attempts to explain to the manager

that he needs to find more than two grand pretty quickly,

or else goods will be removed from the shop.

But the man doesn't like what he's hearing and closes the shutters,

trapping Ken inside.

Ken follows protocol and calls the police.

For 25 minutes, the discussion continues behind closed doors,

until eventually, the shutters reopen.

The boss thinks he's found a loophole in Ken's paperwork

and wants to show us.

The address on the writ is the company's registered office,

not here, where they are trading from.

Thinking he's onto a winner, the boss lets us back in.

But he's barking up the wrong tree.

Sheriffs can attend anywhere the debtor resides

or carries out a trade or business.

Yeah, we're instructed by the client to attend here,

so that is an extension for the writ.

To be here.

The manager seems to think it's unreasonable for the claimant

to want the money he's legally owed.

Ken decides the easiest thing is to just wait for backup.

I want it done amicably, OK? I want the police here,

just so they can let you know, because you won't take it from me,

that we are within our rights to be here,

and that we can remove goods from here.

Maybe you'll have it from the police officer,

and if he then can't convince you,

I'll call up the van and we'll remove goods.

Later, as he starts listing goods for potential removal...

I can go wherever I want, mate.

..Ken gets locked in again.

Using the County Courts to try to recover money you're 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're 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.

While most of their workload involves unpaid debts,

High Court enforcement agents can also act in cases of unlawful

occupation of land or property, commonly known as squatting.

And early this morning, the sheriffs are gathering

in a car park in Camden in central London to enforce one of these jobs.

It's got a double gate roughly there. Yeah, a single gate there.

The double gate is where we are going to go in.

Under the guidance of team leader Mark King, they are here to

evict a group of squatters who've set up camp

on a nearby plot of land.

I'm not sure what it was originally,

maybe a garden centre or something like that.

I believe the people were allowed in to stay there, first off,

but for whatever reason, the client now wants the land back.

The squatters are thought to have been there for at least two years.

The owner of the land has been unable to persuade them

to leave peacefully and so now has obtained a writ of possession

authorising the sheriffs to get the site back for him.

We're looking at about 30, possibly 40 people in there.

Not sure until we get there, to be honest.

Could be that they have all gone. We will see when we get round there.

Are you by gate three?

Everybody ready, yeah?

-And once they are all in position...

-Are we all set?

-..it is time to go in.

-Yeah, let's go. All right.

But before they rouse the occupants,

they want to be sure they've got the whole ground covered.

The tents are going to be over down the side there.

So you go and sort it out, give us a shout once you're round there.

Once the site is secure,

they issue the wake-up call that is every squatter's worst nightmare.

-High Court writ enforcement!

-High Court writ enforcement!

-Time to wake up.

-High Court enforcement.

-Good morning, mate.

-High Court writ enforcement!

-Are you all right?

You need to pack your stuff up, you need to vacate, OK?

Quick as you can, please. Thank you.

The dazed occupants have been caught off-guard.

Pack your stuff up as quick as you can.

And at first glance, it doesn't look like they are

planning to cause any trouble.

But the sheriffs aren't going to be letting their guard down

until they know exactly what they are dealing with.

-How many have we got, do you think?

-I don't know yet.

They are all over the place.

Enforcement!

Up in the attic on this bit.

The site is littered with makeshift structures,

so it is hard to know where people might be,

and the last thing the sheriffs want is any surprises.

Open the door, mate.

-I'm packing up, brother.

-All right, OK.

-If you can just leave the door open.

-Yeah.

Yeah? This fella here is going to stay with you.

Just make sure that you are getting on with it, yeah?

-How long do we have, brother?

-Going to give you about an hour. OK?

All right? Thank you.

At first, it seems the squatters are cooperative, if a little eccentric.

They are quite happy, most of them.

They are sort of free spirits, aren't they, I suppose?

I suppose that's what you would call them.

But Mark might have spoken too soon,

as one occupant seems to be dragging his heels.

Have you got all your stuff?

I've got it here somewhere, but I'm not very happy about this.

Oh, I'm sorry that I've upset you, but get on with it.

-Have you got a family at home?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-They are all in bed at the moment.

-They are safe.

-Yeah, just get on with it, mate.

I said I will pack it up already,

and I'm going to pick it up and leave.

Rather than standing around and arguing, can you actually...?

I'm not arguing, I'm just telling you friendly.

If you carry on, you will be removed from the site.

No-one was expecting the squatters to be pleased, but the sheriffs

need to be on the lookout for tempers running out of control.

There's an element of wounded pride,

so, you know, you can almost expect them to...

..push back a little bit, but just how far?

One man who has been living in a tent in the yard

is refusing to pack his things.

I know that this documentation is unlawful.

I've studied law for three decades and I, unfortunately,

know the entire legal system of your country

is now in such gross fraud that we've stood away from it.

Take a breath, take a breath.

It's a High Court writ, OK? Stamped by the court.

You want to exile me from the land that I've built for the last

-three years, which we found abandoned...

-It's not your land.

-It doesn't belong to you.

-It's God's.

But a philosophical debate isn't on the sheriff's agenda.

At 5.50,

that's in 30 minutes' time, OK,

you are going to be leaving this property.

If you want to take your things with you, you need to start packing up.

-You've got 30 minutes.

-How do I live?

-You've got 30 minutes.

The sheriffs can use reasonable force if necessary,

but it is a situation they would rather avoid,

so Mark is hoping his ultimatum will have the desired effect.

I've explained to him what he needs to do.

He's not really listening,

so I've given him 30 minutes to start to pack up.

If he's starting to pack up within those 30 minutes, fine.

We will see at 5.50 what happens.

Later, can the sheriffs persuade the man to leave peacefully?

The projected image that this man is sending to me

is absolutely despicable. You know I read minds, don't you?

And I read yours and it is not pleasant. Please take it away.

Enforcement agents Craig Wilde 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. Going to see Mr Jason Holdsworth.

It is 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, they decided to take the plunge.

We had retired, it seemed a good idea to be able to go to

the marina and have some leisure time on this boat.

I'm not certain we will 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.

-It was a very amenable chat.

He was lively, polite, welcomed us into his home.

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 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 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.

And we were a little bit perplexed because we thought in that

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

But we didn't see the point.

I had already put the money in his bank account, so we just left 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 a 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.

Inside the fridge, it was rusty.

The front leather seats were actually torn.

And the engine, in the engine bay, was rusty.

There was every indication that it had gone underwater

at some point in its life.

I just said, "This is just not right."

It didn't even have a propeller and it couldn't be put in the water.

An engineer came and did a report for us and he said,

"This engine is rusty, it is not going to turn.

"It is never going to be any good.

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

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

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

They had hoped that 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.

I don't even know whether he thinks in his own mind

he did anything wrong.

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 is heartbreaking, really. We are pensioners.

It is 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 is 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 is no sign of any boat conveniently sitting on a driveway.

Also, all the houses here just seem to have numbers

when they've only been given a name.

Can't see it, mate. I think it is back there.

-But Craig thinks he has 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 that this isn't it and he's not Jason.

You are not him, no, and this isn't The Stables? Right.

But something tells Craig that the man knows more than he's letting on.

On the back of your jacket, it has got Holdsworth.

And that's not all.

So, is Jason your son, is he, or something?

And this is The Stables, yeah?

Down the bottom there, on the brick.

Craig is right on the money.

The man shows him ID.

Fantastic.

And he is indeed Jason's father.

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

A bit early for him, I suppose, innit?

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.

-You all right?

-Hello, mate. Jason is it?

I'm Mr Wilde.

Not too bad.

It's to do with a High Court writ.

A court order for...

..Valerie Hull.

She has obviously took a court order against you.

For some boat or something you sold her on.

Jason clearly knows all about the case

and invites the sheriffs in to explain.

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

What, it's gone up by £2,000?

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

£535 judgment costs and £129 interest.

It's more bad news for Jason.

Sheriffs don't work for free and by not paying the court order

when it was due, the bill has gone up.

Are you in a position to pay that?

No. Well, what happens with the boat that she's got of mine?

It is worth £12, £15,000.

The order that I 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.

Craig doesn't do boat delivery.

He's just here for the money owed.

All right, well, can I pay that this weekend?

You can... We have to collect that today.

-Um...

-We can...

-What time?

I can, yeah -

I'm just waiting for some money to come through from another boat today

-which is 12.5.

-Right.

But he hasn't paid yet this morning.

-Right, OK.

-I can pay it, but like I said,

-I even checked this morning, it hasn't come through yet.

-Right.

As soon as that's in, I'll pay the balance, that's fine.

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

The Stables is where you live,

-which is further just down the lane, is it?

-Yes.

-Have you got a vehicle?

-Yeah, I've got two cars.

If I can list something now, you sign the form,

it acts as security.

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's his Jag there.

INAUDIBLE

Range Rover. And the pick-up behind. That'll 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 for security,

if I can get you to sign

-and, er, 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 happened 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 they 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 refunding your money,"

didn't hear anything back for a few months,

and then got the court letter saying that I owed £7,500.

I rang my solicitor, she dealt with it all, they've sent me a letter

which I haven't received.

-OK, lovely.

-Cheers.

-Cheers, guys.

-See you. 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're going to pay, ten o'clock, in full.

Clearly, he signed control of the goods, of his vehicles, over to 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, new boat.

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

And she has some words of advice for any other prospective boat buyers.

Don't do what we did. Always go and view something like this before you purchase it.

That's a definite,

but if you do get in the same position,

don't give up.

Back in Barnet, Sheriff Ken Warby is still in a high-street locksmiths -

All Service For You Ltd -

trying to convince the boss to pay up £2,311.

He says he's happy to pay the original court award,

but not the extra fees incurred

after he didn't pay and the case was transferred to the sheriffs.

He's spoken to his solicitor. His solicitor has advised him to pay.

He's still not having it, he's just being very stubborn.

The police are still on their way because he says no-one's going

to be removing goods from here. Hopefully, when the police turn up,

they will advise him that we can remove goods from here

and he'll pay the debt in full.

Sorry, sir. I'm going to have to crack on with this.

So your charges will now apply, OK? You have been warned.

Ken calls for a removal truck...

meaning even more fees.

And he begins to make an inventory of assets in the shop.

But the boss isn't being very helpful.

Let's start with the key machine over there.

So, show me proof it's not yours.

OK. And the stock, for example?

OK.

Not really, not if we can help it.

You sure have.

Ken's not sure of a door lock's auction value,

but he's likely to need a lot of them to get close to the value of

the debt. So he needs to list everything he can find.

Only the boss isn't happy with him looking around.

I can go wherever I want, mate.

It's under the same roof.

The man once again sends our camera outside...

..locks the doors and closes the shutters.

Ken puts another call in to the police.

And they arrive shortly afterwards.

Hello?

Hello, it's the police.

Can you open the door, please? Thank you.

The police are let in,

and it's still a relatively good-natured atmosphere inside.

But as the boss continues to repeat the same arguments Ken's been

listening to for the past two and a half hours,

patience is wearing thin.

The eventual sight of the removal truck is welcome relief.

Ken's hoping that will provide the incentive for the boss to pay.

Come in when you're ready, mate.

With a police escort, Ken and the removals man get to work.

But even when faced with the prospect of an almost completely

empty store, the boss still doesn't cave in.

Now the police have arrived, now the removal guy's arrived,

he's now claiming that there's other companies in here

that own certain things, so we're looking for invoices and stuff

on that now as proof.

It's looking at the moment like he's not going to pay it.

He's digging his heels in, so I'm going to have to do the same.

And so the excruciating task of comparing thousands of locks

and parts against individual receipts continues.

Finally, as the first box of his stuff is set down in the lorry,

the boss reaches for his credit card and pays in full.

The saga is finally over.

The guy turned up to remove them,

and his bottle went. I knew he'd pay in the end.

Despite a judge rejecting his appeal,

the man is still convinced he's in the right.

He says Mr Mullany tried to get the damage done to his door fixed

after their standard guarantee had expired.

But he's not helped himself.

By failing to pay when he was ordered to

after the first court hearing,

and again when Ken turned up this morning,

his final bill is more than double the original judgment.

He's ended up paying a hell of a lot more than

what I originally went in there for, to the tune of over £1,500.

The boss might be wishing today had panned out differently,

but back in Stockport, his customer, Pete Mullany,

is more than happy with the outcome.

I'm just over the moon, really relieved.

The main thing now is to get this door repaired.

I think everyone has a good laugh at it when they come in now

and see the state that it's in at the minute.

When a business which is still trading owes money,

more often than not, a single visit

from the sheriffs is enough to get payment.

But on other occasions,

the sheriffs can find themselves

banging on the door time after time to get their claimant's money.

In the Midlands, enforcement agents Craig Wild and Tommy Coyle

are about to be given the runaround by a steel tubing company.

So we're off to Wolverhampton today.

We're off to go and see a company called Infinity Tubes Ltd.

Infinity Tubes Ltd owe just over £2,300.

They were taken to court

by army gunner turned salesman Paul Warren from Blackburn.

He'd been looking for a new job

when a recruitment company put him in touch with the Midlands start-up.

Infinity Tubes was looking to be a specialist in ERW.

ERW is an electro-resistant welded tube,

for example, an exhaust.

It's a strong but very lightweight product.

The downside to it is it's very, very cheap,

and you have to sell a lot of it,

and I mean...

tens of tonnes of it to get a good return on it.

With 13 years of sales experience in the steel industry,

Paul had built up a long list of customer contacts

and thought he could be just the man for the job.

I drove down to Birmingham,

met with them once,

and I said, "Yeah, I'll give it a shot, I'll see what I can do for you."

Paul started working from home for the company.

However, it wasn't long before it became clear Infinity Tubes

still had a lot of work to do

before he was going to be able to deliver the sales they needed.

I soon realised, within a week,

ten days, they really weren't geared up,

and I explained to them, "You haven't even got

"a computer system - you don't even have an e-mail!"

And they said, "Well, whatever you need, tell us."

I said, "I need price lists,

"I can't go into customers without price lists,"

so he wouldn't supply the documentation and the prices

that I needed to seal the deal.

Paul only stayed a few weeks before resigning,

working out his notice period and returning the company car.

But to his surprise, his final week's wages,

along with some expenses and holiday pay, didn't show up.

I rung him, wouldn't answer, rung him, wouldn't answer,

I texted him and said, "Can you please pay me the wage?"

The text back I got was, "Give me your customer list and we'll pay you the wage."

So customer lists are bread and butter.

They're everything, they're your worth.

Paul refused, and the money never came.

I found it more than unfair.

We've got bills to pay, it was Christmas,

and suddenly we defaulted on two payments out of our bank

because we thought, we didn't even give it two thoughts

that we weren't going to get paid.

Mr Shilvock, meanwhile, was showing no signs of budging.

So I said, "OK, then, I'll see you in court."

Paul filed a claim online,

and as is standard practice,

the court initially offered mediation between the two parties.

Paul agreed to accept a part-payment

in order to bring the matter to a close,

and it looked like they had a deal.

We were notified by the magistrates that he's agreed and we've agreed

and then, with about two days to go,

he suddenly said no, he weren't going to.

He wasn't paying a penny.

So instead, Paul had his day in court.

Mr Shilvock never showed up, and Paul won a judgment by default.

Four weeks later, when he still hadn't been paid,

something on the television caught his attention.

I were sat here and on the TV was your programme.

I went, "Hang on...

"They're sheriffs."

And my wife said, "Why don't we use the sheriffs?"

I've got a lot of faith in it

that this will put an end to it, hopefully.

Back in Wolverhampton, Tommy and Craig are approaching

the address they've been given for the company.

That's the Central Trading Estate in there -

unit 25 we're after, matey boy.

But as they turn into the site, they get their first inkling

that this job isn't going to be straightforward.

There you go, Infinity Welding Limited.

It's not quite the name they were expecting to see.

Look at that, mate.

Although Infinity Welding Limited's likely to be a connected company,

the sheriffs would only be able to remove assets here

if they're owned by the named debtor, Infinity Tubes Limited.

But for now, ownership is the least of their problems.

The unit is shut, and looks like it's been abandoned.

It's not looking good at all. It should be open by now.

With the debtor no longer present and no sign of any assets,

there's nothing more the sheriffs can do here.

Unfortunately for Mr Warren at the moment,

it's a case where we would have to look to trace the company

to another address, if they're still trading, and pursue it later on.

The sheriffs call it quits for now,

but a few weeks later, they are once again back on the road.

The directors of the company are Dean and Debbie Shilvock.

The sheriffs have run a trace on the names

and it's come back with a residential address.

-It looks like there's somebody home.

-Someone there?

-Top-floor window.

-Hello, sir.

-All right.

-Dean and Debbie Shilvock.

Is that yourself? Mr Wilde from the Sheriffs Office.

What's that for?

With a High Court writ.

It's Dean Shilvock, one of the directors of Infinity Tubes Limited.

He doesn't want our camera on his drive

so we have to leave while Craig explains he's here to collect

just over two grand.

Mr Shilvock and his wife say they are willing to pay, but in stages.

As it's unlikely there are assets here

belonging to the debtor company,

the sheriffs have little leverage, and it's an offer

they are willing to consider.

We'll forward that on to the claimant.

It's down to him whether he wants to accept it or not.

But just when it looks like a done deal,

Dean offers to go one step further

and pay in full the following day.

Craig can hardly believe his luck.

The website's there, all self-explanatory.

Put your reference number in, and then put your debit card in

and it will give you an authorisation code.

All right? Cheers.

-Thanks, guys.

-Bye-bye.

I think that went pretty well. for a home address at least.

We'll give them the benefit of the doubt, we'll give them 24 hours

to pay the bill, and if they do, happy days.

But later on, Craig and Tommy are forced to come knocking once more.

In London, the sheriffs are at a squat in Camden Town.

Morning!

The man who owns the land originally allowed the squatters to stay

but now wants it back. As expected, they are not best pleased.

You will be removed.

Physically.

And outside, another man isn't cooperating either.

You know I read minds, don't you, and I read yours

and it's not pleasant. Please, take it away.

We'll keep hanging in with him, keep playing his game

for a little while, and eventually enough will be enough

where he may have to be helped off site.

And he's not the only squatter sailing close to the wind.

If you touch me, sir, and you want to remove me, I don't know

if that's the best thing to do

because obviously you don't have any powers.

I do have power to do that.

And as the man continues to be obstructive, enough is enough.

I don't respond to you. Don't touch me, don't touch me!

You're going to get your stuff.

Don't touch me!

I haven't said anything to you, I haven't done anything to you.

You're going, mate. You're too gobby.

I'm not too gobby. What's going on here?

You've had the opportunity.

He's stopped complying with what he should be doing.

He's just standing around being an issue.

If he just carries on like that, the others are going to start

going along with his view.

Meanwhile, back inside the squat,

the sheriffs are still battling with the man in the tent

who now says he's ill.

-Are you unwell?

-Yes, I am.

Seriously unwell, I really have been for the last three years.

Do you want me to get you an ambulance?

I don't know what's going to happen. You may as well get me a nurse.

I live in a tent in a garden, not out of choice but out of force

because you people threw me out of my last life

because I challenged the system and refused to wear a name.

But the sheriffs have held it all now, so after 45 minutes

of arguing and endless excuses, the man is given some assistance.

I have done nothing to these people.

They are now depriving me from any ability to live.

Put him down gently, Steve.

I have my rights!

With the troublemakers now off the site,

the sheriffs need to chivvy the rest of the squatters along.

I can see you've got your breakfast. Have you got everything else?

-Are you taking the bike?

-It's mine. Yeah.

After being on the site for three years,

some of the squatters have a lot of possessions.

Luckily, they've also got a couple of vans,

which is making the process a bit easier.

Think we've got about half out at the moment.

The majority have been OK.

It's just a couple that have had to be removed

because they're not doing what we've asked them to do.

Meanwhile, the police have arrived, at the request of

one of the squatters,

who is convinced that the eviction is illegal.

But once the police see the sheriffs' paperwork,

it becomes clear to them

it's the squatters who are on the wrong side of the law.

OK, we'll go and hang out the front

and just make sure no-one's getting in the property.

-Thank you.

-OK?

As the final squatters gather their belongings and leave,

the temperature again starts to rise.

HE SHRIEKS

# Garden community!

# Garden community Garden community! #

The squatters are gathering outside and making themselves heard.

SHOUTING

Not that the sheriffs are worried.

I think it's a case of "much sound and fury doth signify nothing".

And with the site confirmed as clear of squatters, attention turns to

making sure they don't get back in and securing the site for the owner.

It's going to be a difficult place to secure up.

Ideally, they're going to want security guards here,

but whether he chooses that or not...

If he doesn't, they'll probably be back in straight away.

The other thing the sheriffs can do

is make sure there's nothing much to come back to.

As long as their makeshift homes are still standing,

this site will continue to be a draw for the squatters,

so the owner has asked the sheriffs to remove them.

SHOUTING

Unsurprisingly, it only winds the squatters up more.

Please stop destroying my home!

My belongings are inside!

SHOUTING

Why are you destroying our garden?

Why are you destroying our beautiful garden?

But the time has now come for the squatters to move on,

and Mark is confident they will.

There's still people coming back and forwards.

They've got stuff in there which we are letting them on to get,

escorting them on, and they're all outside still,

all being very verbal. But as the day goes on, they'll peter out.

Thanks to the sheriffs,

the land is back in the hands of its rightful owner.

In the Midlands, Tommy and Craig are on the road again chasing

an outstanding debt, owed by steel company Infinity Tubes Ltd.

It owes more than £2,000

after being taken to court by former employee Paul Warren.

The sheriffs have already visited

the company's former business premises...

There you go, Infinity Welding Ltd!

..and the directors' home.

But today they find themselves making a return visit.

We're going to go and see Mr and Mrs Shilvock, who we've been to before.

They said they'll pay.

We gave them seven days to produce the payment,

which Mr Shilvock said he would do the following day.

Our office have informed us that that hasn't happened,

so we're off today to see why it hasn't happened.

The sheriffs pull up at the address and head in.

KNOCK ON DOOR

Hiya, Debbie.

Company director Debbie Shilvock has answered the door, but

she isn't happy about the sheriffs turning up here for a second time.

The main bone of contention she's just mentioned then

is because it's a limited company

we shouldn't be attending the home address.

However, two factors in that -

A, we haven't got the new company address,

because they've moved from the old address.

And the second factor is, with a court order,

we can go anywhere in England and Wales where we can find

the assets of the defendant, in this particular case a limited company.

Company assets like the office desk, computer, printer, laptop,

it could all be in there.

Probably not, because they've got another premises

they trade out of, but it doesn't stop us from coming here legally.

The sheriffs can attend anywhere a debtor carries out a trade

or business in order to get paid.

With Debbie's husband and co-director Dean now apparently

on his way, they're hoping that's what's about to happen.

We're going to wait for her husband to come here and try

and elicit the payment from the husband,

who was quite keen last time to try and get it resolved.

So, erm, I can't understand why they haven't paid it.

Ten minutes later, Dean pulls up.

Perhaps he can explain why, more than four months after the court

ruled against Infinity Tubes Ltd,

the company still hasn't settled its debt.

Hiya, Dean.

Mr Shilvock heads inside with the sheriffs, where he explains that

he believes the court's decision was unfair and wants to challenge it.

Craig explains that, while he can appeal,

for now the bill needs paying. Soon Tommy emerges with news.

Yeah, we've had a conversation with them. They're looking to pay us.

They are going back to court, but we explained it's not going to go away.

We've come back for a second time now.

So they've agreed to pay it, so it's getting the card machine,

going to facilitate the payment.

Tommy goes back inside, where, sure enough, the bill is settled in full.

But while Tommy heads back to the van,

Craig appears to have got distracted.

I bet when it fires up you wake all the neighbours up, Dean.

Dean's Ford Mustang has caught his eye

and its proud owner is more than happy to show it off.

-Oh, looking at the car now.

-Five-litre.

Oh, look, it's kicked in now, look. Yeah.

Longest ever conversation with our Craig.

I bet you want to book yourself into a track, don't you?

THEY LAUGH

A Mustang's a nice bit of kit. Lovely bit of kit. I like my motors.

Very, very nippy. And Dean quite likes it, as well, obviously.

As for the debt, Craig's satisfied with the day's outcome.

They've done the decent and right thing by paying it in full.

In fact, Infinity Tubes Ltd never did go back to court.

And in Blackburn, Paul Warren has finally got the money he's owed.

The sheriffs have contacted us,

saying that they've recovered the full money from Infinity Tubes,

which is fantastic for us. It's been a long journey, in our eyes.

We never thought that we'd get to this day, but we are.

It's a great result and a big, big weight off our minds. Fantastic.

In the capital, Lawrence and Kev are slogging through

the mid-morning traffic on their way to collect another unpaid debt.

We're in central London, actually, just near Earl's Court.

We're going to see Berkeley Credit and Guarantee Ltd.

I think it's some sort of finance company.

They owe £16,251.

Berkeley Credit and Guarantee Ltd

was taken to court by their landlord for unpaid rent.

The company defended the case in court but lost

and was ordered to pay their debt plus costs.

Six months later, it still hasn't done so.

Now it's down to the sheriffs to collect.

It's a tough one to call, this.

It's going to be an office, we're in the middle of London.

At a guess, you'd say they're not going to have too many assets.

It's quite a lot of money we're after, as well, but...

ever hopeful.

There it is, there.

-Yeah.

-It's like one of these money express places.

Well, at least there should be some cash on site.

Whether it'll stretch to £16,000 is another matter.

The sheriffs are about to find out.

Morning. I'm looking for Berkeley Credit and Guarantee Ltd.

Berkeley Credit and Guarantee Ltd?

Bizarrely, despite branding everywhere which suggests they're

in the right place, the cashier says that's not who he works for.

Is there anyone here from them, then?

No? This is their registered office.

The man thinks it isn't, so Lawrence sets him straight.

-There you are. It says so on this door.

-It says there on the door.

It does.

So, have you got contact with them upstairs?

There's no buzzer, no intercom?

KNOCKS ON DOOR

The cashier doesn't seem to know very much.

But there is one thing he's sure of.

-There's no-one there.

-There's nobody there. How do you know?

You've never seen it open. What time do you get here in the morning?

Nine thirty, yeah. What time do you leave?

Five thirty. And you've never seen anybody come in or out the door?

They are getting some answers at last,

even if they're not very useful. Lawrence tries a different tack.

I've got a number on the file... so I'm going to give it a ring.

Hello there. My name's Mr Grix. I'm an enforcement agent.

I'm looking for Berkeley Credit and Guarantee Ltd.

Right, I'm basically here with a High Court writ which orders me

to take control of the goods of the company which can be

sold at auction to clear a debt.

And as this is commercial premises,

I can force entry with a locksmith, if necessary...

..to search for company assets and remove them.

It seems to do the trick.

Yeah, if somebody wants to come here

and pay in cash, yes, that's fine. Bye-bye.

She's asked for half an hour to get it sorted.

So who knows?

From what had seemed like a bit of a dead end,

suddenly this job's looking up.

A few minutes later, the cashier beckons Lawrence over.

Call from head office. And...have your number, please?

Whose head office is this? Yours?

Or the company I'm looking for?

Once again, communication is difficult.

Oh, whatever. I don't know why you don't speak into that microphone.

I might be able to hear you.

One way or another, though, head office does get through.

PHONE RINGS

Hello. Mr Grix speaking.

Hello there.

No, it needs to be full payment. I can't believe that a company

such as yourselves can't rustle up £16,000, to be honest.

Well, you had a turnover last time

you submitted your books of 1.8 million.

So I can't believe that you can't come up with £16,000.

I know what you're saying, it's short notice, but it's not

short notice, because it's been all through the County Court,

we've sent a notice of enforcement,

there's been plenty of paperwork to do with this,

but somebody's either ignored it or buried their heads in the sand,

and it's now crunch day. OK?

Bye-bye.

She's spoken to somebody, and they can pay half the money now

and the balance on Friday.

Erm, but at the moment, I've said no to that, because they've

managed to come up with half the money very, very quickly.

And we'll see what she comes back with in half an hour.

In fact, he only has to wait a few minutes for an improved offer.

-PHONE RINGS

-Hello, Mr Grix speaking.

It's not for the full amount, but it's enough.

Yeah, if you make that by immediate payment and just give me a buzz

when it's done, providing the balance hits the account

by close of business Friday, then that'll be the matter dealt with.

OK? Thanks. Bye-bye.

Going to make a £10,000 payment in the next couple of minutes

and then the balance on Friday. It's Wednesday, so I can live with that.

Lawrence soon gets confirmation

that the first payment's been made...

-£10,000 is in.

-..leaves a receipt...

They know I'm leaving it with you,

and I'm presuming somebody will come and collect it at some point.

..and is on his way, pleasantly surprised.

They offered half the debt initially.

I insisted on full payment.

They came back sort of ten minutes later with an offer of £10,000.

And, really, in the situation where I hadn't even got into the office

and it looks like they don't even use the office so I'd have to

use locksmiths to get in, I think that's a pretty good result, really.

Berkeley Credit and Guarantee Ltd later made the second payment,

and their landlord finally got the money they were owed.

If you've won a County Court judgment and haven't been paid,

for £66 you can get the case transferred up to the High Court,

which will issue a writ for enforcement by the sheriffs.

My job is to collect in full or remove goods.

They've got special powers of entry.

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.

If they're successful, they'll recover your money

and costs from the debtor...

You've got the cash now, then?

..as well as their own fees, which are set by the Government.

-She's paid, the judgment is settled.

-Thank you very much.

If the sheriffs can't get your money,

they'll ask you to pay a fee of £75 plus VAT.

In the south-east, Lawrence and Kev are on their way to collect

money owed by a car dealer's.

We're going to Walton Motors. It's a 4x4 showroom. A family-run business.

This debt was incurred. It's a refund for a car.

The claimant wasn't happy with the vehicle

they'd bought from Walton Motors and so took them to court.

When the dealership didn't defend the case,

judgment was found against them and they were ordered to refund him.

But two months on, they haven't done so.

They owe £6,045.

So we're going to go and get that.

This won't be the first time Lawrence has been to the dealer's.

I bought an Isuzu Trooper off them years ago.

To be fair, I never had any trouble with it.

He's hoping today's visit will also be plain sailing.

Hell, look at that. They've obviously expanded, haven't they?

Not only that, but they now seem to have a large stock

of one of car buff Lawrence's favourite motors.

They're obviously specialising in Land Rovers now.

You're going to love this, as well, ain't you?

It's like you've died and gone to Heaven.

-Yeah.

-And there's another reason to be cheerful.

The large number of cars bodes well for getting paid.

But will it be without any argument?

-Hiya.

-Morning. You're in charge at the moment, yeah?

-Not really.

Well, you'll do.

My name's Mr Grix. I'm an enforcement agent.

We're ordered out today to take control of goods to clear a debt.

The boss isn't here, but the staff quickly get him on the phone.

-Morning, sir.

-And Lawrence doesn't beat around the bush.

My colleague and I are here today

with a High Court writ against Walton Motors.

We're ordered here to take control of goods

to the value of £6,045.14...

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

At first, it doesn't seem to be ringing any bells with the boss,

-so Lawrence tries to jog his memory.

-He bought a car from you, basically.

There's a note on my file that says he's still got the car

and he wants to give it back, but obviously he's not going to

until you settle this judgment, sir.

But that's not something we get involved with.

We're ordered out because you haven't paid it.

Courts can demand the return of goods in exchange for a refund,

only in this case no such conditions were applied.

But just as Lawrence thinks he might have a battle on his hands,

the mood changes.

Yes, we are. Yeah.

The man has seen the sheriffs on the telly.

I'm the fat, bald one with the goatee beard.

And my colleague, who's always working with me, he's here, as well.

With the boss fully in the picture,

conversation quickly turns to methods of payment.

We've got a Chip and Pin machine here.

Or you can go online and pay with a card.

All right. Cheers. Bye-bye.

He's going to ring back in a minute.

Things are moving in the right direction.

Kev's sizing up the assets on the forecourt, just in case.

But he's pretty confident of getting the matter resolved.

It sounds like he's just going to pay online

and then try and get the vehicle back.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the boss is back on the phone.

Hello, sir.

The payment's gone through, so with the bill settled,

Lawrence offers some friendly advice

about retrieving the vehicle from the claimant.

I would say probably within about 48 hours,

you'd be safe to give him a ring and say, "Look, it's been paid.

"What about having me car back?"

Cheers. Bye.

The man has paid the full £6,045 outstanding.

-Thank you very much. We'll leave you in peace.

-Cheers.

-Cheers, guys.

That went very smoothly. They got the owner on the phone,

paid it on the card ten minutes later. Job done.

Back in the van...

Let's get some food.

Yeah, it's already in the sat nav, mate.

The claimant will now get back the money the court says he's owed.

He'll have to come to an agreement with the garage

about the return of the car.

Walton Motors told us: