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-Meet The Sheriffs. -My name's Mr Grix, my colleague and I are enforcement agents. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:05 | |
It's to do with a High Court order. | 0:00:05 | 0:00:06 | |
They work for the High Court, and if it says you're owed money, | 0:00:06 | 0:00:10 | |
it's their job to go and get it. | 0:00:10 | 0:00:12 | |
I'm here for £6,072.18. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:16 | |
They can demand payment on the spot. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:18 | |
I'm here for the full balance. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:20 | |
How are you going to pay it? | 0:00:20 | 0:00:22 | |
Or remove assets instead. | 0:00:22 | 0:00:24 | |
The car will be going unless you can pay it. | 0:00:24 | 0:00:26 | |
You'll have a week to pay in full before it gets sold at auction. | 0:00:26 | 0:00:29 | |
Obstructing their work can be a criminal offence. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:33 | |
-I wouldn't do that if I were you. -The door needs to stay open. | 0:00:33 | 0:00:36 | |
Every year in England and Wales, | 0:00:37 | 0:00:40 | |
unpaid debts totalling more than £80 million | 0:00:40 | 0:00:43 | |
are recovered by The Sheriffs. | 0:00:43 | 0:00:44 | |
Coming up... | 0:00:48 | 0:00:50 | |
Neil Cummings bought an eco-friendly heating system, | 0:00:50 | 0:00:53 | |
which turned out to be dangerous. | 0:00:53 | 0:00:55 | |
I paid over £10,500. | 0:00:55 | 0:00:57 | |
I ended up with a system that was completely unsafe. | 0:00:57 | 0:01:00 | |
There's a dramatic intervention from Lawrence to stop assets disappearing | 0:01:00 | 0:01:04 | |
from the business that sold it. | 0:01:04 | 0:01:07 | |
They were literally engines running, | 0:01:07 | 0:01:08 | |
I just had to swing the van across and block them in. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:11 | |
Tommy's looking for a result at a football club with a debt to pay. | 0:01:11 | 0:01:15 | |
I won't leave here today without payment or taking stuff with me. | 0:01:15 | 0:01:20 | |
Lawrence confronts a car dealer who owes a £12,000 refund | 0:01:20 | 0:01:25 | |
to a customer. | 0:01:25 | 0:01:26 | |
I will ask the question again, what can you pay? | 0:01:26 | 0:01:30 | |
And Tommy and Craig remove not one but two vehicles | 0:01:30 | 0:01:33 | |
from a debtor's driveway. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:35 | |
It's eight o'clock in the morning, | 0:01:41 | 0:01:43 | |
and enforcement agent Lawrence Grix is already on the road. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:47 | |
He's heading into Surrey for an unpaid debt | 0:01:47 | 0:01:49 | |
owed by a business specialising in eco-friendly heating systems. | 0:01:49 | 0:01:54 | |
We're down near Guildford today, | 0:01:54 | 0:01:56 | |
just coming into a place called Gomshall. | 0:01:56 | 0:01:59 | |
We've got the Green Shop and Jan Aukstolis. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:03 | |
I believe it's a shop that sells wood-burning stoves and things, | 0:02:03 | 0:02:08 | |
and there was an issue with a wood-burning stove. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:10 | |
We're here today for just under £8,500. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:15 | |
The claimant in the case is Neil Cummings, | 0:02:17 | 0:02:20 | |
a self-employed builder who came across the company | 0:02:20 | 0:02:22 | |
after embarking on a labour of love, building his own family home. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:26 | |
I've built houses for other people, | 0:02:28 | 0:02:30 | |
but the idea of actually building a house specifically for us | 0:02:30 | 0:02:34 | |
was a lifelong ambition. | 0:02:34 | 0:02:35 | |
When we eventually found this plot, it didn't have any gas. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
There's no gas supply, there's no oil here, | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
so I decided that I wanted to go the green route. | 0:02:41 | 0:02:44 | |
After researching his options, | 0:02:44 | 0:02:46 | |
Neil found a local supplier and installer, | 0:02:46 | 0:02:48 | |
the Green Shop in Gomshall. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:50 | |
He went to meet the man in charge, Jan Aukstolis. | 0:02:50 | 0:02:54 | |
He said, "Yes, absolutely no trouble," | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
he could design a system for that, which he did. | 0:02:58 | 0:03:01 | |
He gave me a quote, which I accepted. | 0:03:01 | 0:03:03 | |
He talked the talk, | 0:03:03 | 0:03:04 | |
he seemed to certainly know what he was talking about. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:07 | |
At the heart of the whole system was a wood-burning stove, | 0:03:07 | 0:03:11 | |
and initially Neil was very pleased with the installation. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:15 | |
All of the work proceeded well and everything was installed. | 0:03:15 | 0:03:19 | |
Everything seemed to be fine and above board. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:22 | |
That was until Neil wanted to add a new feature on to the system, | 0:03:22 | 0:03:26 | |
and when he couldn't get hold of Mr Aukstolis, | 0:03:26 | 0:03:29 | |
called in another plumber. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
He came along and had a look at the system that we had here | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
for a couple of hours, and he turned round and said, | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
"I'm really not happy". | 0:03:37 | 0:03:38 | |
He said that in his opinion, | 0:03:38 | 0:03:40 | |
the system didn't have enough safety features within it. | 0:03:40 | 0:03:44 | |
So Neil had it disconnected. | 0:03:45 | 0:03:47 | |
When he contacted the manufacturer of one of the other main components | 0:03:47 | 0:03:51 | |
in his heating system, | 0:03:51 | 0:03:52 | |
not only did they confirm what the plumber was saying, | 0:03:52 | 0:03:56 | |
they also forwarded an e-mail they'd sent to Mr Aukstolis. | 0:03:56 | 0:04:00 | |
And in the e-mail, it basically turned round and said that | 0:04:00 | 0:04:03 | |
the wood-burning stove used in conjunction with this particular system must, | 0:04:03 | 0:04:07 | |
and must was all in capital letters, "MUST have an in-built quench coil." | 0:04:07 | 0:04:12 | |
The quench coil is designed to release energy from the system | 0:04:12 | 0:04:16 | |
in the event of a power cut or safety features failing. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:19 | |
While it's not necessary in every wood-burning stove, | 0:04:19 | 0:04:22 | |
Neil's particular system required one, | 0:04:22 | 0:04:24 | |
and without it he feared he was sitting on a potential time bomb. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:29 | |
What we've actually got is a pressurised system, | 0:04:29 | 0:04:33 | |
which is building up and up and up. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:35 | |
It's like an old steam locomotive, | 0:04:35 | 0:04:36 | |
if you can't release the energy, it's going to explode, | 0:04:36 | 0:04:39 | |
and the idea of actually spending my life savings building this property, | 0:04:39 | 0:04:44 | |
to potentially have, you know, | 0:04:44 | 0:04:46 | |
my family in a dangerous situation, is scary. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:50 | |
Neil tried to get in touch with Jan Aukstolis to see what he had to say. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:55 | |
He didn't reply to any of my text messages, e-mails, I phoned him, | 0:04:55 | 0:04:59 | |
I went down to the shop, I couldn't get hold of him at all. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:02 | |
When I was actually paying the money out, | 0:05:02 | 0:05:04 | |
he was returning calls within half an hour. | 0:05:04 | 0:05:06 | |
However, as soon as he'd received the final amount of money, | 0:05:06 | 0:05:09 | |
the correspondence completely ceased. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:12 | |
Eventually, Neil decided the only option was to get quotes to rectify | 0:05:13 | 0:05:17 | |
the work and complete the installation, | 0:05:17 | 0:05:19 | |
and then take Mr Aukstolis and the Green Shop to court, | 0:05:19 | 0:05:23 | |
to cover the costs. | 0:05:23 | 0:05:24 | |
When they didn't defend the case, Neil won a default judgment. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:28 | |
Since then he hasn't paid any money at all, | 0:05:28 | 0:05:31 | |
so I've decided that I need to take this case further. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
He's now escalated it to the High Court | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
and obtained a writ for the sheriffs to enforce. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:40 | |
At the end of the day, | 0:05:40 | 0:05:41 | |
I paid over £10,500 to Jan for the installation of this system, | 0:05:41 | 0:05:47 | |
of which I ended up with a system that was completely unsafe. | 0:05:47 | 0:05:51 | |
Money's tight, I haven't been able to rectify any of the situation, | 0:05:51 | 0:05:55 | |
and I won't be able to rectify it until I get any money, | 0:05:55 | 0:05:57 | |
if I do get any money, back from the sheriffs. | 0:05:57 | 0:06:01 | |
So hopefully in their hands we'll see what they can do. | 0:06:01 | 0:06:04 | |
Lawrence is en route to the shop, | 0:06:12 | 0:06:14 | |
and his research in the office has painted a promising picture | 0:06:14 | 0:06:17 | |
of what he might find. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:19 | |
It looks quite a reasonably large premises, | 0:06:19 | 0:06:23 | |
when you look at it on Google, | 0:06:23 | 0:06:26 | |
with a car park to the rear. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:27 | |
So hopefully they'll have assets there. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:31 | |
There is money in wood-burning stoves. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:33 | |
But Lawrence is foreseeing a potential pitfall. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:38 | |
Mr Cummings has obtained his writ in the name of the boss personally, | 0:06:38 | 0:06:42 | |
and the Green Shop, which is just a trading name, | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
and so not a legal entity. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:47 | |
Success this morning may boil down to how exactly | 0:06:47 | 0:06:50 | |
the business has been set up. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:53 | |
It is actually dependent really on whether Mr Aukstolis owns any of | 0:06:53 | 0:06:57 | |
the assets, or if there's a company trading there. | 0:06:57 | 0:07:01 | |
Lawrence arrives at the Green Shop | 0:07:02 | 0:07:04 | |
just as some workers are about to get into their vans. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
I'm going to have to try and catch this fella here, I think. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:11 | |
So there's no hanging about. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:14 | |
Morning, gents. I'm looking for Jan Aukstolis. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:18 | |
-Is that you at all? -No. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:20 | |
Is he here? Is Mr Aukstolis here? | 0:07:20 | 0:07:22 | |
Our cameraman retreats to the road, | 0:07:26 | 0:07:29 | |
while Lawrence tries to find out where Mr Aukstolis is, | 0:07:29 | 0:07:32 | |
but the workers here appear to be installers or engineers. | 0:07:32 | 0:07:35 | |
They're keen to get off to their first job of the day | 0:07:37 | 0:07:39 | |
and don't want to wait. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:41 | |
When they start preparing to leave, Lawrence swings into action... | 0:07:43 | 0:07:46 | |
Repositioning his van... | 0:07:49 | 0:07:51 | |
..and blocking the entire entrance to the car park. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:56 | |
Normally I would have tried to take the time to clamp them, | 0:07:58 | 0:08:02 | |
but where I was on my own and they were literally engines running, | 0:08:02 | 0:08:06 | |
about to dash out the car park, I just had to swing the van across | 0:08:06 | 0:08:10 | |
and block them in. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:12 | |
Sorry to have to do this to you, guys. | 0:08:14 | 0:08:16 | |
I fully appreciate that you're only just trying to earn a living | 0:08:16 | 0:08:19 | |
and do your job. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:20 | |
But as their vehicles are sign written | 0:08:22 | 0:08:24 | |
and could belong to the debtor, | 0:08:24 | 0:08:25 | |
Lawrence can't let them leave until he has answers, | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
which seem to be hard to come by. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:31 | |
Mr Aukstolis isn't here. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:34 | |
The guys that are here say that they basically run the place, | 0:08:35 | 0:08:38 | |
they don't see him very often. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:40 | |
They've tried contacting him on the phone, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
I've tried contacting him on the phone, | 0:08:42 | 0:08:44 | |
we've got nowhere at the moment. | 0:08:44 | 0:08:46 | |
It just goes straight to voicemail. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:48 | |
The guys that are here now have just asked if I can give them five minutes, | 0:08:48 | 0:08:51 | |
so I don't know what they're going to try and do, | 0:08:51 | 0:08:53 | |
if they're going to try and pay it. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:54 | |
The three vehicles that I've managed to block in are all clear of finance. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:59 | |
If I can't get hold of him and the guys here can't get hold of him | 0:08:59 | 0:09:03 | |
then, yeah, I'll basically remove the vehicles. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:06 | |
But getting hold of Mr Aukstolis turns out to be quite simple after all. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:11 | |
One man who's here is showing more interest in the case. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:15 | |
Mr Grix, G-R-I-X. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:17 | |
And Lawrence puts two and two together. | 0:09:17 | 0:09:20 | |
So, are you Mr Aukstolis, then? | 0:09:20 | 0:09:22 | |
It is indeed Mr Aukstolis - | 0:09:22 | 0:09:24 | |
the man who sold Neil his dangerous heating system. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:28 | |
Lawrence shows him his writ and explains he's here for £8,440. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:34 | |
Mr Aukstolis tells him nothing here is owned by him, | 0:09:34 | 0:09:37 | |
but by his business, | 0:09:37 | 0:09:38 | |
which is registered as The Green Shop Gomshall Limited. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:42 | |
Lawrence demands proof of ownership, | 0:09:43 | 0:09:46 | |
but in the end he doesn't need to see it. | 0:09:46 | 0:09:49 | |
Perhaps mindful of his staff trapped in the car park | 0:09:49 | 0:09:52 | |
and unable to get to work, | 0:09:52 | 0:09:53 | |
Mr Aukstolis manages to come up with some money. | 0:09:53 | 0:09:57 | |
Lawrence moves his van out of the way and lets them go. | 0:09:57 | 0:10:01 | |
That didn't go too badly. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:03 | |
The gentleman there actually was Mr Aukstolis, | 0:10:03 | 0:10:05 | |
and he's managed to come up with just under £3,500 today, | 0:10:05 | 0:10:10 | |
and I've put him on a monthly arrangement of £1,000 a month for the rest. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:14 | |
All being well, he should clear his debt in five months. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:19 | |
He does admit that the limited company owes the money, | 0:10:20 | 0:10:22 | |
which is basically why he's paid some money today. | 0:10:22 | 0:10:25 | |
The vehicles, allegedly, belong to the limited company, | 0:10:25 | 0:10:30 | |
although that wasn't proven to me, | 0:10:30 | 0:10:31 | |
so I was still using them as leverage. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:33 | |
But we'll have to see what happens, | 0:10:35 | 0:10:36 | |
he may well just stick to his arrangement. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
Down the road in Sussex, | 0:10:40 | 0:10:41 | |
word of the payment has come as a welcome relief to Neil Cummings. | 0:10:41 | 0:10:45 | |
Really good news from the sheriffs. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:48 | |
We've actually finally managed to get hold of the first initial payment of just over £3,500, | 0:10:48 | 0:10:53 | |
so that's come in and that's brilliant. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:55 | |
So we've already got the new wood-burning stove, | 0:10:55 | 0:10:57 | |
which is just sitting in place, it's not actually connected. | 0:10:57 | 0:11:00 | |
Let's just hope that Jan is true to his word | 0:11:00 | 0:11:03 | |
and honours the agreement and it will be the end to a lot of stress | 0:11:03 | 0:11:07 | |
and anxiety that we've had over the last year. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
Using the County Courts to try to recover money you're owed isn't difficult. | 0:11:19 | 0:11:23 | |
1.5 million money claims are made every year in England and Wales, | 0:11:24 | 0:11:27 | |
involving anything from faulty goods or poor workmanship, | 0:11:27 | 0:11:31 | |
to unpaid invoices. | 0:11:31 | 0:11:33 | |
Claims can be filed by post or online for a small fee. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:37 | |
Both parties in the case will be asked to submit evidence | 0:11:37 | 0:11:41 | |
and you may have to attend a court hearing. | 0:11:41 | 0:11:43 | |
If you're successful, | 0:11:43 | 0:11:45 | |
a County Court judgment, or CCJ, will be issued against the debtor, | 0:11:45 | 0:11:50 | |
and if they still don't pay, that's when you call the sheriffs. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
Enforcement agent Tommy Coyle is in the East Midlands, | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
with an unusual case on his hands against a sports club. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:04 | |
We're on our way to Corby today. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:07 | |
We're visiting Corby Town Football Club. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:10 | |
I think they're quite a small club. | 0:12:10 | 0:12:12 | |
There's previously been an agent visit the property, | 0:12:12 | 0:12:14 | |
spoke to a Steve, who's the chairman, who promised payment. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:19 | |
The payment has not been forthcoming. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:21 | |
Corby Town FC has been taken to court for unpaid invoices | 0:12:21 | 0:12:26 | |
by a company which has done ground work on the pitch. | 0:12:26 | 0:12:29 | |
The club didn't defend the case and judgment was issued by default. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:33 | |
It owes £10,965. | 0:12:33 | 0:12:37 | |
Tommy may not be much of a football fan, | 0:12:39 | 0:12:41 | |
but today he's hoping for a win. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
Hopefully they'll have some assets there. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:45 | |
It could be a small bar, it could be some minivans, | 0:12:45 | 0:12:49 | |
for transporting the players round. It could be some trophies, | 0:12:49 | 0:12:52 | |
but I don't know how many trophies Corby Town have won recently, | 0:12:52 | 0:12:56 | |
but we'll have a look. | 0:12:56 | 0:12:58 | |
We're hoping for a result today, possibly a 3-2 for Tommy. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
Thankfully, it's not match day. | 0:13:03 | 0:13:06 | |
Welcome to Corby Town FC. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:07 | |
Although Tommy has no trouble getting into the grounds, | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
finding anyone to talk to might be another matter. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:15 | |
But he soon navigates his way into some kind of clubhouse, | 0:13:15 | 0:13:19 | |
where a team talk appears to be underway. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:21 | |
-Hi, you all right? -You all right? Is the chairman about? | 0:13:23 | 0:13:26 | |
Could you give him a call for me, it's quite urgent? | 0:13:29 | 0:13:31 | |
I'm an enforcement agent. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:33 | |
Tommy's stumbled on the club's youth academy, | 0:13:33 | 0:13:35 | |
and the man in charge offers to get the chairman on the phone. | 0:13:35 | 0:13:39 | |
-Is it? -I don't know what else I can do. | 0:13:41 | 0:13:43 | |
Is there anyone else you can call? | 0:13:43 | 0:13:45 | |
The problem I have, I'm literally here, | 0:13:45 | 0:13:47 | |
I'm going to start listing assets down straightaway. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:50 | |
Once I've listed everything down, | 0:13:50 | 0:13:52 | |
I'll literally be getting contractors in | 0:13:52 | 0:13:54 | |
and start removing stuff. | 0:13:54 | 0:13:56 | |
Understandably, it's not what the man wants to hear, | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
especially as he says the academy is separate and not part of the club. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:04 | |
You got the paperwork to show that? | 0:14:07 | 0:14:09 | |
You need to get it. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
Soon, the academy's finance director is on the phone, | 0:14:12 | 0:14:14 | |
telling Tommy he can't touch anything here. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:17 | |
Tommy explains the situation. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:19 | |
It boils down to we need to see evidence of what belongs to you. | 0:14:19 | 0:14:23 | |
So if you want to call the police, | 0:14:23 | 0:14:25 | |
and I'll carry on with what I've got to do here. | 0:14:25 | 0:14:27 | |
OK? | 0:14:27 | 0:14:28 | |
Tommy's presence here is ruffling a few feathers, | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
but he's got a writ to enforce, plain and simple. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:34 | |
If you can just show me the evidence | 0:14:34 | 0:14:36 | |
instead of just telling me that I can't do it | 0:14:36 | 0:14:38 | |
because that ain't going to get him nowhere. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:40 | |
Right, let's start listing everything down. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:43 | |
News that an enforcement agent is planning to remove the contents of | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
the clubhouse soon gets through to the right person. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:50 | |
-You all right? -The chairman on the phone. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:52 | |
-Is this Steve, is it? -Steve, yeah. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
Hello, sir. | 0:14:55 | 0:14:58 | |
But club chairman Steve Noble hasn't called up to make a payment, | 0:14:58 | 0:15:02 | |
he instead has a different take on events. | 0:15:02 | 0:15:04 | |
What you're saying is he's willing to pay all the cost... | 0:15:06 | 0:15:09 | |
He's talking about a deal he's come to with the claimant. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
I appreciate what you're saying, | 0:15:12 | 0:15:14 | |
but unless I'm instructed by a court, | 0:15:14 | 0:15:16 | |
I have to carry on with my actions today. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:19 | |
All right, speak to you in bit. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:20 | |
The chairman seems to think that he's come to an agreement with the claimant. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:26 | |
The claimant was going to pay our cost directly to us, | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
and then they was going to come to an agreement between themselves. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:32 | |
I've got no notes of that. | 0:15:32 | 0:15:34 | |
And a quick call to Tommy's office suggests that while | 0:15:34 | 0:15:37 | |
the claimant may be willing to accept a payment schedule, | 0:15:37 | 0:15:40 | |
he wants any such deal to be arranged through the sheriffs. | 0:15:40 | 0:15:44 | |
Oh, right, OK, so it's not what he said then. | 0:15:44 | 0:15:47 | |
In the meantime, Tommy's search for assets continues. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:52 | |
In the bar, there's some alcohol. | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
Limited wet stock. | 0:15:56 | 0:15:57 | |
And a modest collection of silverware. | 0:15:57 | 0:16:00 | |
Three cups up there, and one large one there, | 0:16:00 | 0:16:04 | |
so I'll make a note of them. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:06 | |
Though the first aid room turns out to be of more interest. | 0:16:06 | 0:16:09 | |
Here we go. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:11 | |
Resuscitating machine, an electronic one. | 0:16:11 | 0:16:14 | |
I think you just put the paddles on, start her up and it saves your life, basically. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:18 | |
They're really good bits of kit. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:20 | |
Tommy knows how to use one from his days in the Marines. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:24 | |
I was FA2 trained. | 0:16:24 | 0:16:25 | |
So I can do a bit of first aid, stop you bleeding out if you got shot. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:31 | |
Hopefully, that won't be necessary today. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
Tommy takes the kit to the van and tries to reach the chairman again | 0:16:35 | 0:16:39 | |
to see if he's going to come up with the money. | 0:16:39 | 0:16:42 | |
Hello, Mr Noble, it's the enforcement agent. | 0:16:42 | 0:16:44 | |
But it's not the news he wanted. | 0:16:44 | 0:16:47 | |
The chairman still wants to come to an arrangement, | 0:16:47 | 0:16:50 | |
but without putting any money up front. | 0:16:50 | 0:16:52 | |
Without making that payment now, | 0:16:52 | 0:16:55 | |
we're not going to be able to facilitate anything | 0:16:55 | 0:16:57 | |
other than removing what we can. | 0:16:57 | 0:16:59 | |
We won't just come, leave a letter and then not return. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:02 | |
I'm sent back to enforce it, | 0:17:02 | 0:17:04 | |
and I won't leave here today without payment or taking stuff with me. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:09 | |
Tommy wants at least £3,000 now, but the chairman says he can't pay. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:15 | |
If you're telling me it's impossible to make any kind of payment today, | 0:17:15 | 0:17:19 | |
then kind of our conversation's going to come to an end because | 0:17:19 | 0:17:22 | |
I'm just going to have to carry on with what I'm going to do here. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:24 | |
Mr Noble, I'll probably be here for the next three hours because | 0:17:24 | 0:17:28 | |
I'll get the contractors on their way. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:30 | |
If anything does get sorted, let me know, | 0:17:30 | 0:17:32 | |
but we're going to carry on with what we're going to do here. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:34 | |
Right. Not paying anything then. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
It looks like removal is Tommy's only option, | 0:17:39 | 0:17:43 | |
and he takes his search for assets pitch side. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:46 | |
Two goalposts... | 0:17:46 | 0:17:48 | |
Which, believe it or not, could be removed, | 0:17:48 | 0:17:50 | |
although they're not as useful as what's in the outbuildings. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:54 | |
That's the one. This is exactly what I'm looking for, | 0:17:54 | 0:17:58 | |
something with a bit of monetary value. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:01 | |
I'll have the keys, as well. | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
But before he can get too carried away, | 0:18:04 | 0:18:07 | |
he's interrupted by a groundsman. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
Aren't they? Whose are they? | 0:18:12 | 0:18:14 | |
They're yours? | 0:18:15 | 0:18:16 | |
Have you got any evidence? Who are you? | 0:18:20 | 0:18:21 | |
And the groundsman's ownership of the sit-on mower | 0:18:24 | 0:18:27 | |
isn't the only third-party claim over the goods here. | 0:18:27 | 0:18:30 | |
The man from the academy is back, | 0:18:30 | 0:18:33 | |
with proof that it owns the laptops in the clubhouse. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
Ten laptops and the case, the cabinet. | 0:18:37 | 0:18:39 | |
-If you print this off, I'm happy to leave all the laptops alone, all right? -All right. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:43 | |
In terms of assets, the football club isn't proving to be rich pickings. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:49 | |
Tommy's running out of places to look, | 0:18:49 | 0:18:51 | |
and thoughts wander to Sheriffs FC. | 0:18:51 | 0:18:54 | |
I'll be a forward, Kev on the wing. | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
We'll have Wild in defence, with Ken. | 0:18:57 | 0:18:59 | |
Alan in goal, Grixy will be our manager. | 0:18:59 | 0:19:03 | |
Tommy returns to the van to start organising the removal, | 0:19:06 | 0:19:09 | |
but is interrupted by another phone call. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:12 | |
Let's get this right then, | 0:19:12 | 0:19:14 | |
you hold the lease for the grounds here and the building? | 0:19:14 | 0:19:18 | |
Yeah. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:19 | |
There's been a substitution and a new player is on the pitch. | 0:19:19 | 0:19:23 | |
It's the landlord, who's got wind that the club's goalposts, | 0:19:23 | 0:19:27 | |
among other things, might be about to be removed, | 0:19:27 | 0:19:30 | |
and it sounds like he could be willing to make a payment. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:33 | |
OK, sir. All right, speak to you in a bit. Bye. | 0:19:35 | 0:19:38 | |
He's willing to pay on their behalf the 3,000, | 0:19:38 | 0:19:41 | |
and he'll have it paid by midday tomorrow. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
With limited assets here, | 0:19:44 | 0:19:45 | |
and other multiple claims over their ownership, | 0:19:45 | 0:19:48 | |
it's a deal Tommy's prepared to agree to. | 0:19:48 | 0:19:50 | |
The landlord soon arrives at the club, | 0:19:52 | 0:19:54 | |
where he meets with Tommy off-camera. | 0:19:54 | 0:19:57 | |
A controlled goods agreement is signed for the assets listed down, | 0:19:57 | 0:20:01 | |
and Tommy leaves satisfied. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:04 | |
With the complexities we had there | 0:20:04 | 0:20:06 | |
and the amount of third-party claims, | 0:20:06 | 0:20:08 | |
and with the property being leased by somebody else, | 0:20:08 | 0:20:11 | |
I think it's a good result, getting the CGA £1,500 per month, | 0:20:11 | 0:20:15 | |
with the £3,000 paid tomorrow. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:17 | |
The £3,000 arrived as promised, | 0:20:18 | 0:20:20 | |
and the company which did the work on the pitch | 0:20:20 | 0:20:23 | |
has started to receive its money. | 0:20:23 | 0:20:25 | |
Lawrence and Kev are in Sevenoaks in Kent. | 0:20:35 | 0:20:38 | |
They've got another High Court writ to enforce, | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
this time against a business which specialises in classic cars. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:44 | |
We are heading to a car garage called Karden Europe. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:49 | |
They owe £12,963. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:53 | |
This debt is relating to the sale of a Porsche, I believe. | 0:20:53 | 0:20:56 | |
The garage they're going to looks well-stocked, | 0:20:58 | 0:21:01 | |
and the sheriffs are feeling confident. | 0:21:01 | 0:21:03 | |
Little do they know that today is not going to go as well | 0:21:03 | 0:21:06 | |
as they would hope. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:07 | |
The case began when taxi driver Nick Lewthwaite from Durham | 0:21:10 | 0:21:13 | |
was looking to buy a new car for him and his wife. | 0:21:13 | 0:21:16 | |
After saving up some money and taking a loan, | 0:21:16 | 0:21:19 | |
they decided to treat themselves to the car of their dreams. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:22 | |
It was always my ideal thing to have a Porsche 911, | 0:21:22 | 0:21:26 | |
the most iconic car. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:29 | |
And when Nick found one on Auto Trader, | 0:21:29 | 0:21:31 | |
it seemed to be everything they wanted. | 0:21:31 | 0:21:33 | |
Light metallic blue, matching blue leather. | 0:21:33 | 0:21:37 | |
It had so many upgrades, it made the car really special. | 0:21:37 | 0:21:40 | |
Absolutely perfect for what we were looking for. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
The car was some distance away in Kent, | 0:21:43 | 0:21:46 | |
at a dealers called Karden Europe Limited. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:48 | |
But Nick made the trip to have a look and met the company director, | 0:21:48 | 0:21:52 | |
-Andrew Austin. -He seemed very knowledgeable. | 0:21:52 | 0:21:54 | |
On his website he'd been in the trade for 30 years. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:57 | |
He explained that he shipped cars all over the world. | 0:21:57 | 0:22:00 | |
He was a very convincing man. | 0:22:00 | 0:22:02 | |
Nick met the £34,000 asking price with | 0:22:02 | 0:22:05 | |
the part exchange of his previous car, a BMW, and £15,000 on top. | 0:22:05 | 0:22:11 | |
He then drove away as the proud owner of a Porsche 911. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:16 | |
Dream come true. It was an absolute dream come true. | 0:22:16 | 0:22:19 | |
But not everything about the car was perfect. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:23 | |
After about 100 miles, the clutch started getting slightly heavier | 0:22:24 | 0:22:28 | |
and it was starting to struggle to go into gear. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:31 | |
And Nick's wife found it even more difficult. | 0:22:31 | 0:22:34 | |
She said it was undriveable for her, | 0:22:34 | 0:22:36 | |
and that's when I rang them up and told them straightaway, | 0:22:36 | 0:22:39 | |
I said, "There's something not quite right here." | 0:22:39 | 0:22:42 | |
Mr Austin advised Nick to take it to a specialist who made some repairs, | 0:22:42 | 0:22:47 | |
but they also made an alarming discovery. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:49 | |
The car was still on a finance agreement, | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
which its previous owner hadn't paid off. | 0:22:52 | 0:22:54 | |
That means it was still technically owned by the bank. | 0:22:54 | 0:22:58 | |
I don't know how much was owing on the car, | 0:22:58 | 0:23:00 | |
but it still had four and a half years to run. | 0:23:00 | 0:23:02 | |
So I'm effectively paying for a car that I don't own. | 0:23:02 | 0:23:06 | |
Mr Austin claimed he'd taken out the finance arrangement himself as | 0:23:06 | 0:23:10 | |
the dealer and would soon clear it, | 0:23:10 | 0:23:12 | |
but when that didn't happen after a week, | 0:23:12 | 0:23:15 | |
Nick lost faith and arranged to return the car | 0:23:15 | 0:23:18 | |
and get his old one back. | 0:23:18 | 0:23:20 | |
I took the car to a local valeting place, | 0:23:20 | 0:23:22 | |
I got the car cleaned immaculate, | 0:23:22 | 0:23:24 | |
and I presented that car back to him in a better way than what I got it. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:29 | |
He looked round the car and he says, "I'll give you £12,500." | 0:23:29 | 0:23:34 | |
Which, along with the return of his BMW, | 0:23:34 | 0:23:36 | |
was £2,500 less than what he paid. | 0:23:36 | 0:23:39 | |
I said, "Well, you haven't mentioned this on the phone." | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
He said, "I've got my loss of profit." | 0:23:42 | 0:23:46 | |
Eventually Mr Austin offered to reimburse £13,000, | 0:23:46 | 0:23:50 | |
and Nick decided to accept it for the time being, | 0:23:50 | 0:23:53 | |
in the form of a cheque. | 0:23:53 | 0:23:55 | |
I thought, I'll take his cheque for £13,000, | 0:23:55 | 0:23:58 | |
and I'll take him to the small claims court for the £2,000. | 0:23:58 | 0:24:02 | |
I'm not going to get into a fist fight over a car. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:06 | |
Put his cheque into the bank, and unfortunately it bounced, | 0:24:06 | 0:24:11 | |
it was stopped. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:12 | |
Mr Austin later made a bank transfer for £3,000, | 0:24:13 | 0:24:17 | |
but despite Nick chasing time and time again for the rest, | 0:24:17 | 0:24:21 | |
it never came. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:22 | |
Eventually he made a claim through the County Courts, | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
prompting what seemed like a decent offer. | 0:24:25 | 0:24:28 | |
He would be happy to settle out of court at £11,400, | 0:24:28 | 0:24:33 | |
which would be paid within a month. He still never paid it. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:36 | |
So Nick resumed the court action, and this time the case was heard. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
The judge ruled against Karden Europe, | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
in favour of Nick's wife Nicola, | 0:24:45 | 0:24:47 | |
as the purchase was originally made from her bank account. | 0:24:47 | 0:24:50 | |
But that judgment hasn't been paid either. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:53 | |
It was savings and a loan went to buy that car, £15,000, | 0:24:53 | 0:24:57 | |
an awful lot of money. And he's sitting with my money, | 0:24:57 | 0:25:01 | |
and I'm sitting with a bank loan. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:03 | |
Now the Lewthwaites have taken the next logical step. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:09 | |
So we've involved the sheriffs, | 0:25:09 | 0:25:11 | |
and basically they're probably the last hope to get any money. | 0:25:11 | 0:25:16 | |
Back in Kent, Lawrence and Kev are about to arrive at Karden Europe. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:29 | |
Kev's notes suggest Mr Austin wants to come to a deal. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:32 | |
The debtor has actually been in touch with us | 0:25:33 | 0:25:36 | |
and tried to make an arrangement... | 0:25:36 | 0:25:38 | |
..but we're going to head over there now and look for full payment. | 0:25:40 | 0:25:43 | |
I believe that the garage we're going to has got quite a lot of stock, | 0:25:43 | 0:25:47 | |
of particularly high-value cars. | 0:25:47 | 0:25:50 | |
So we're hoping that although 12,900 is quite a lot of money, | 0:25:50 | 0:25:54 | |
probably it would only take one of these cars to cover the debt entirely. | 0:25:54 | 0:25:57 | |
I just hope they're not owned by someone else. | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
The sheriffs pull into the garage and park up. | 0:26:03 | 0:26:06 | |
A man is on the forecourt. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:09 | |
-Hi sir, you work here? -Yes. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:12 | |
It's Andrew Austin, the garage owner, | 0:26:14 | 0:26:17 | |
but he's interrupted before Lawrence can find out any more. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:20 | |
In the meantime, he eyes up the stock. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:23 | |
That's the TR6 that's on the website for 19,995, I believe. | 0:26:23 | 0:26:29 | |
Lovely. I always wanted one of them when I was younger. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:31 | |
Is that the original colour, as well? | 0:26:31 | 0:26:33 | |
Inca yellow, yeah, there's the hardtop for it, look. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:35 | |
That was a costly extra. | 0:26:35 | 0:26:37 | |
Not all the cars on display here are classics, | 0:26:38 | 0:26:41 | |
but there's certainly enough to get their teeth into. | 0:26:41 | 0:26:44 | |
The next question is, who owns them? | 0:26:44 | 0:26:46 | |
Mr Austin is off the phone, so it's time to find out. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:50 | |
My name's Mr Grix. My colleague and I are enforcement agents. | 0:26:50 | 0:26:54 | |
We've got a High Court writ against Karden Europe | 0:26:54 | 0:26:56 | |
in favour of a Mrs Nicola Lewthwaite. | 0:26:56 | 0:26:59 | |
-Oh, right, yeah. -You've been in touch about it. | 0:26:59 | 0:27:01 | |
We're here today to take control of goods to the value of £12,963.19. | 0:27:01 | 0:27:07 | |
-OK. -The only way to prevent further action is to pay in full. | 0:27:07 | 0:27:09 | |
OK, well we haven't got, Karden Europe wouldn't have that, | 0:27:09 | 0:27:14 | |
that amount of goods. | 0:27:14 | 0:27:16 | |
Well, there's plenty of stock on here. | 0:27:16 | 0:27:18 | |
Yeah... But Karden Europe works as a commission-based company. | 0:27:18 | 0:27:22 | |
-It sells... -Right, so everything's on SOR? | 0:27:22 | 0:27:24 | |
-Yeah. -Have you got paperwork to that effect? | 0:27:24 | 0:27:26 | |
-Yeah, pretty much, yeah. -Yeah, if I can see, that's what I need to see. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:30 | |
Mr Austin says all his cars are sale or return - in other words, | 0:27:30 | 0:27:34 | |
he's selling them on behalf of their owners for a fee. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
It's exactly what Lawrence and Kev had feared might be the case, | 0:27:37 | 0:27:41 | |
and Mr Austin seems to have the paperwork to prove it. | 0:27:41 | 0:27:44 | |
Basically, these are sale or return documents | 0:27:45 | 0:27:48 | |
for every vehicle that we've got here. | 0:27:48 | 0:27:50 | |
-Can I have a quick look through? -Yeah, sure. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:53 | |
Right, we need to go out and check these. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:56 | |
I'll give you half, I'll have half. | 0:27:56 | 0:27:58 | |
They head outside and begin checking | 0:27:58 | 0:28:00 | |
the documents against every car here. | 0:28:00 | 0:28:02 | |
Right, I've got the Kangoo... | 0:28:04 | 0:28:07 | |
I've got the Maserati... | 0:28:07 | 0:28:09 | |
And one by one, they rule them out. | 0:28:10 | 0:28:12 | |
There's the Zafira. | 0:28:12 | 0:28:14 | |
-Polo. -I've got the Merc. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:17 | |
-You've got the Merc, yeah. -I've got the TR6 and I've got that Morris. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:20 | |
But there are a few cars which don't seem to be accounted for. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:23 | |
There's still other vehicles that are on the forecourt that aren't there, | 0:28:23 | 0:28:27 | |
which is the Alfa... | 0:28:27 | 0:28:29 | |
the Focus RS... | 0:28:29 | 0:28:31 | |
The Focus RS is my own personal vehicle. | 0:28:31 | 0:28:35 | |
-Right. -That's all financed, on finance. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:37 | |
Right. The Audi? | 0:28:37 | 0:28:39 | |
-The Audi... -And the black BM 3 series out the back. | 0:28:39 | 0:28:42 | |
It's on sale or return. | 0:28:42 | 0:28:44 | |
Right, so we need to see the paperwork for that. | 0:28:44 | 0:28:46 | |
I haven't got that at this moment in time. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:48 | |
So you didn't give the person a receipt? | 0:28:48 | 0:28:50 | |
No. | 0:28:50 | 0:28:51 | |
That's very... | 0:28:51 | 0:28:53 | |
Very trusting of him. | 0:28:53 | 0:28:55 | |
Mr Austin produces more paperwork, to rule out his car and the Alfa, | 0:28:57 | 0:29:01 | |
leaving just two within Lawrence's reach. | 0:29:01 | 0:29:04 | |
They're not worth that much, and so he now knows he's not in a position | 0:29:04 | 0:29:08 | |
to insist on full payment after all. | 0:29:08 | 0:29:10 | |
His best chance of recovering Nick Lewthwaite's missing money | 0:29:10 | 0:29:15 | |
might now rest on Mr Austin coming up with a decent offer. | 0:29:15 | 0:29:18 | |
So what were you initially proposing? | 0:29:20 | 0:29:23 | |
Well, I was thinking along the lines of I'll be happy to pay something | 0:29:23 | 0:29:26 | |
like £1,000 a month and reduce the balance that way. | 0:29:26 | 0:29:29 | |
Right. Can you kick it off with six? | 0:29:29 | 0:29:32 | |
-When? -Now. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:34 | |
I can't physically do anything now, that's for sure. | 0:29:34 | 0:29:37 | |
Physically impossible. | 0:29:37 | 0:29:39 | |
Right... We need some kind of evidence of that, really, to be honest. | 0:29:39 | 0:29:43 | |
Mr Austin says the company has no money at all at the moment, | 0:29:44 | 0:29:47 | |
but Lawrence is sceptical. | 0:29:47 | 0:29:49 | |
As a business, you can't not be able to get your hands on some kind of money. | 0:29:49 | 0:29:53 | |
Have you got a bank statement you can show me | 0:29:53 | 0:29:55 | |
that shows your current financial state for the company? | 0:29:55 | 0:29:58 | |
No, not physically here. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:01 | |
But I would think we're about £400 overdrawn. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:04 | |
-Online? -I can't do it online, no. | 0:30:04 | 0:30:06 | |
So you haven't got online banking at all? | 0:30:06 | 0:30:09 | |
No. Well, I have, but I can't physically do it here. | 0:30:09 | 0:30:12 | |
He does, however, manage to produce a recent e-mail from his bank. | 0:30:12 | 0:30:16 | |
There you are, look. "I note that the account is overdrawn at 484. | 0:30:16 | 0:30:20 | |
"Can you please make arrangements to repay this sum." | 0:30:20 | 0:30:22 | |
-Which we haven't done yet. -Right. -OK? -Yeah. | 0:30:22 | 0:30:25 | |
-And there's only the one company bank account? -Yeah. | 0:30:25 | 0:30:27 | |
Whilst I'm not disputing what you're saying, | 0:30:27 | 0:30:29 | |
it just seems unfathomable to me, to be honest, | 0:30:29 | 0:30:32 | |
that you've got these vehicles on sale or return. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:34 | |
So you haven't had to buy them, you just get a bit when you sell it, | 0:30:34 | 0:30:37 | |
so why has the company got no money? | 0:30:37 | 0:30:39 | |
-You know... -Because we've paid our bills and we've kept up to date. | 0:30:39 | 0:30:43 | |
But with absolutely nothing on the table, | 0:30:43 | 0:30:46 | |
Lawrence is running out of options. | 0:30:46 | 0:30:48 | |
We need something today to get the ball rolling otherwise | 0:30:48 | 0:30:51 | |
low value that it is, I'll be obliged to take the Audi | 0:30:51 | 0:30:55 | |
because there's no evidence obviously that that is on sale or return, and the BM. | 0:30:55 | 0:31:00 | |
It's a situation they'd rather avoid, | 0:31:00 | 0:31:02 | |
especially as there's a strong possibility | 0:31:02 | 0:31:05 | |
that they do belong to customers. | 0:31:05 | 0:31:07 | |
As the two cars are the only leverage | 0:31:09 | 0:31:11 | |
the sheriffs have to squeeze any payment out of Mr Austin, | 0:31:11 | 0:31:14 | |
Lawrence calls his office to organise a tow truck. | 0:31:14 | 0:31:17 | |
All right... | 0:31:20 | 0:31:22 | |
Can you give Rob a buzz | 0:31:22 | 0:31:23 | |
and see what removal trucks he's got available? | 0:31:23 | 0:31:27 | |
Cheers, bye. | 0:31:27 | 0:31:29 | |
But rather that than coming up with the money, Mr Austin, | 0:31:30 | 0:31:33 | |
who's been working away at his computer, | 0:31:33 | 0:31:35 | |
produces a sale or return document for one of the vehicles. | 0:31:35 | 0:31:39 | |
It's not on headed paper. | 0:31:41 | 0:31:43 | |
-Yeah... -That's the only problem. | 0:31:43 | 0:31:45 | |
Well, not quite. | 0:31:45 | 0:31:47 | |
It's not the lack of headed paper, | 0:31:47 | 0:31:48 | |
it's the lack of signature or anything. | 0:31:48 | 0:31:51 | |
But ten minutes later, that is also rectified. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:56 | |
Mr Austin pops into the back | 0:31:56 | 0:31:57 | |
and returns with signed SOR agreements for both cars. | 0:31:57 | 0:32:01 | |
Lawrence can't quite understand it. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:04 | |
Right, but you didn't have them just now, | 0:32:06 | 0:32:08 | |
so how have you got signed copies? | 0:32:08 | 0:32:09 | |
-I got them sent through. -From where? -From my accounts woman. | 0:32:09 | 0:32:12 | |
And she's filed and printed them. They've just printed through. | 0:32:14 | 0:32:17 | |
Sorry, they've come through from your accounts woman? | 0:32:17 | 0:32:20 | |
Yes. She does it from a remote access. | 0:32:20 | 0:32:23 | |
Mr Austin is saying the woman who does his accounts has just sent | 0:32:24 | 0:32:28 | |
the documents remotely to his printer. | 0:32:28 | 0:32:30 | |
Lawrence doesn't believe him. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:32 | |
I believe you've just written these up yourself | 0:32:32 | 0:32:35 | |
and signed them yourself, | 0:32:35 | 0:32:36 | |
so I'll just leave the trucks on their way. | 0:32:36 | 0:32:38 | |
I haven't signed them myself, but there you go. | 0:32:38 | 0:32:41 | |
At this point, Mr Austin says he needs to go and get a car MOTed | 0:32:41 | 0:32:45 | |
and starts to leave. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:47 | |
Right, I've got to go. | 0:32:47 | 0:32:49 | |
-OK then, sir. -I can't leave you in here. | 0:32:49 | 0:32:52 | |
You can't throw us out, either. | 0:32:52 | 0:32:54 | |
All right, look, what can I give you in the form of...? | 0:32:56 | 0:32:59 | |
-You've just said... -No, no. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:00 | |
-From me personally, what...? -You said you couldn't do anything. | 0:33:00 | 0:33:04 | |
I will ask the question again, | 0:33:04 | 0:33:06 | |
which I've asked you repeatedly since I've been here - | 0:33:06 | 0:33:09 | |
-what can you pay? -Can I give you 500 quid? | 0:33:09 | 0:33:12 | |
-No, it's not enough. -Well, there you go, that's my personal account, | 0:33:12 | 0:33:15 | |
with 663 in it. | 0:33:15 | 0:33:17 | |
I can do you £500 now, | 0:33:17 | 0:33:18 | |
and then we can sort out the terms of the rest of the deal. | 0:33:18 | 0:33:22 | |
After seeing a near empty bank account | 0:33:23 | 0:33:25 | |
and faced with the choice of either £500 | 0:33:25 | 0:33:28 | |
or removing some low-value cars, | 0:33:28 | 0:33:30 | |
which probably don't belong to him anyway, | 0:33:30 | 0:33:33 | |
Lawrence has finally pushed it as far as he can. | 0:33:33 | 0:33:35 | |
He takes the £500 | 0:33:38 | 0:33:39 | |
and gets Mr Austin to sign up to a repayment plan for £1,000 a month. | 0:33:39 | 0:33:45 | |
There's your receipt and your card. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:48 | |
You've paid £500 today. | 0:33:48 | 0:33:51 | |
-Yep. -You've got to pay £1,000 a month. | 0:33:51 | 0:33:53 | |
-Yep. -If you fail to stick to the arrangement, | 0:33:53 | 0:33:55 | |
we'll come back and take whatever cars are available at the time. | 0:33:55 | 0:33:58 | |
Yep. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:00 | |
It's not the outcome they wanted, but it's all they could do. | 0:34:00 | 0:34:04 | |
Unfortunately, Karden itself, even though it looks good on paper, | 0:34:04 | 0:34:10 | |
doesn't appear to really have any assets. | 0:34:10 | 0:34:12 | |
Basically every vehicle's on sale or return, | 0:34:12 | 0:34:14 | |
so Mr Austin paid £500 out of his own account, | 0:34:14 | 0:34:17 | |
basically just to get rid of us | 0:34:17 | 0:34:19 | |
and I've signed him up to £1,000 a month, | 0:34:19 | 0:34:21 | |
which, given that there isn't actually any leverage, | 0:34:21 | 0:34:24 | |
I don't think that was a bad, bad result. | 0:34:24 | 0:34:27 | |
But, you know, we pushed as hard as we could. | 0:34:27 | 0:34:30 | |
Hopefully he'll stick to it. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:32 | |
Mr Austin told us that the finance on the Porsche was taken out by his company | 0:34:32 | 0:34:36 | |
and would have been cleared if the Lewthwaites hadn't returned the car. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:40 | |
He says he deducted money from | 0:34:40 | 0:34:42 | |
the refund to cover his costs, | 0:34:42 | 0:34:44 | |
including extra mileage on the car | 0:34:44 | 0:34:46 | |
and a screw in one of the tyres. | 0:34:46 | 0:34:47 | |
He says he only stopped the cheque after | 0:34:48 | 0:34:50 | |
the Lewthwaites threatened further legal action, | 0:34:50 | 0:34:53 | |
and he says the company tries to act fairly at all times. | 0:34:53 | 0:34:56 | |
If you've won a County Court judgment and haven't been paid, | 0:34:59 | 0:35:02 | |
for £66 you can get the case transferred up to the High Court, | 0:35:02 | 0:35:06 | |
which will issue a writ for enforcement by the sheriffs. | 0:35:06 | 0:35:09 | |
My job is to collect in full or remove goods. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:14 | |
They've got special powers of entry. | 0:35:14 | 0:35:16 | |
We don't have to take any notice of your security protocol, I'm afraid. | 0:35:16 | 0:35:19 | |
And there's no limit on the size of the debts they can pursue. | 0:35:19 | 0:35:22 | |
£1.6 million. | 0:35:22 | 0:35:24 | |
If they're successful, | 0:35:26 | 0:35:27 | |
they'll recover your money and costs from the debtor. | 0:35:27 | 0:35:30 | |
Have you got the cash now then? | 0:35:30 | 0:35:32 | |
As well as their own fees, which are set by the government. | 0:35:32 | 0:35:35 | |
She's paid, the judgment is settled. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:36 | |
Thank you very much. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:38 | |
If the sheriffs can't get your money, | 0:35:38 | 0:35:41 | |
they'll ask you to pay a fee of £75 plus VAT. | 0:35:41 | 0:35:44 | |
In the Midlands, | 0:35:48 | 0:35:50 | |
Tommy is back on the road in pursuit of another unpaid debt. | 0:35:50 | 0:35:53 | |
This time he's got his trusted partner Craig Wild with him | 0:35:53 | 0:35:57 | |
and they're about to visit a man who owes a substantial sum of money. | 0:35:57 | 0:36:01 | |
So we're in the suburbs of Birmingham again today. | 0:36:01 | 0:36:05 | |
We're off to go and see a Mr Kev Dooley. | 0:36:05 | 0:36:08 | |
Mr Dooley was taken to court by another man several months ago. | 0:36:08 | 0:36:12 | |
He didn't defend the case and a judgment was issued against him by default. | 0:36:12 | 0:36:16 | |
He now owes £7,381. | 0:36:16 | 0:36:20 | |
The sheriffs have been trying | 0:36:22 | 0:36:24 | |
to contact Mr Dooley, | 0:36:24 | 0:36:26 | |
but with no success. | 0:36:26 | 0:36:27 | |
We've been there numerous times before, | 0:36:27 | 0:36:30 | |
had no response at all to our letters, | 0:36:30 | 0:36:33 | |
however there's a number of vehicles... | 0:36:33 | 0:36:35 | |
..in our guy's name, | 0:36:36 | 0:36:38 | |
so the intention is today to go and remove them, | 0:36:38 | 0:36:41 | |
if he's not going to pay the bill or play ball with us. | 0:36:41 | 0:36:45 | |
They reach Mr Dooley's home address, | 0:36:46 | 0:36:48 | |
and sure enough two of the vehicles they were hoping to find are there. | 0:36:48 | 0:36:53 | |
Yeah, so that van, which has got four grand's worth of value... | 0:36:53 | 0:36:57 | |
There's a Volkswagen van... | 0:36:57 | 0:36:59 | |
That's free of finance. | 0:36:59 | 0:37:01 | |
So we need to get a clamp on that. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:03 | |
And also the CA61 on the drive, yeah? | 0:37:03 | 0:37:06 | |
..and a Vauxhall hatchback. | 0:37:06 | 0:37:08 | |
That's 3,200 quid, that car. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:09 | |
The sheriffs get straight to work. | 0:37:11 | 0:37:13 | |
Tommy clamps the van, while Craig tries the door. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:16 | |
As usual, there's no answer. | 0:37:18 | 0:37:20 | |
There's got to be someone here, hasn't there? | 0:37:22 | 0:37:23 | |
There's all these cars here. | 0:37:23 | 0:37:25 | |
The main rubbish bin's completely empty. | 0:37:27 | 0:37:29 | |
The post is still in the door. | 0:37:29 | 0:37:32 | |
I've got a phone number. | 0:37:32 | 0:37:33 | |
-Try ringing him. -He does, but it goes straight to answerphone. | 0:37:33 | 0:37:37 | |
Hello, this is a message for Mr Kev Dooley. | 0:37:39 | 0:37:43 | |
I need you to contact me as soon as possible, Mr Dooley. Thank you. | 0:37:43 | 0:37:46 | |
Let's order the truck. | 0:37:48 | 0:37:49 | |
-It's all we can do. -It's all we can do, isn't it? | 0:37:49 | 0:37:52 | |
With Mr Dooley owing upwards of £7,000, | 0:37:52 | 0:37:56 | |
both vehicles will need to be removed to cover the debt. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:59 | |
But without keys for the car on the drive, | 0:38:00 | 0:38:02 | |
and another car blocking access for the tow truck, | 0:38:02 | 0:38:05 | |
it's not clear if it's going to be possible. | 0:38:05 | 0:38:08 | |
That's going to be a bit of a nightmare, | 0:38:08 | 0:38:09 | |
-getting through there, isn't it? On a flatbed. -More than a nightmare. | 0:38:09 | 0:38:13 | |
Tommy's sceptical, but ever the optimist, | 0:38:13 | 0:38:15 | |
Craig presses ahead and books in the removal of both vehicles. | 0:38:15 | 0:38:20 | |
If they can get here for about 1:45pm, it'll be fine. | 0:38:20 | 0:38:23 | |
It's done. Sending two vehicles. | 0:38:23 | 0:38:25 | |
You're not going to get that out, mate. | 0:38:25 | 0:38:27 | |
Well, if they can't, they can't, let them try first. | 0:38:27 | 0:38:29 | |
They're the experts, aren't they? | 0:38:29 | 0:38:31 | |
I think it's going to cause a right headache. | 0:38:31 | 0:38:34 | |
The sheriffs retreat to the van to wait it out, | 0:38:34 | 0:38:38 | |
but soon Tommy spots a young man | 0:38:38 | 0:38:40 | |
who he thinks is taking an unusual amount of interest | 0:38:40 | 0:38:43 | |
-in what they're up to. -See the red door? | 0:38:43 | 0:38:46 | |
He's been stood out the front of it watching us the whole time, | 0:38:46 | 0:38:48 | |
and he's only just gone in there. | 0:38:48 | 0:38:50 | |
-Could be the son. -Maybe. | 0:38:50 | 0:38:52 | |
And shortly afterwards, | 0:38:52 | 0:38:54 | |
the person Tommy's seen comes over to speak to them, | 0:38:54 | 0:38:57 | |
accompanied by an older man. | 0:38:57 | 0:38:59 | |
Is it Mr Dooley? | 0:38:59 | 0:39:00 | |
-Is he? -Yeah, he is. | 0:39:02 | 0:39:04 | |
Any way of getting in contact with him? | 0:39:04 | 0:39:06 | |
Right. | 0:39:08 | 0:39:10 | |
The man says he's just a neighbour | 0:39:10 | 0:39:11 | |
and the debtor is apparently away for another month. | 0:39:11 | 0:39:15 | |
Tommy explains he's a High Court enforcement agent | 0:39:15 | 0:39:18 | |
with a writ to execute. | 0:39:18 | 0:39:19 | |
The problem we've got at the moment, you see, | 0:39:19 | 0:39:21 | |
is they want us to remove vehicles today, which are registered to him, | 0:39:21 | 0:39:25 | |
which obviously we don't want to do, we'd rather speak to him | 0:39:25 | 0:39:28 | |
and get it sorted out, but we need to talk to him, really. | 0:39:28 | 0:39:31 | |
The only way is money. | 0:39:34 | 0:39:35 | |
It's not a small amount. I can't discuss the details. | 0:39:36 | 0:39:39 | |
Is it your father? Oh, OK. | 0:39:39 | 0:39:42 | |
He would have had letters here. | 0:39:43 | 0:39:45 | |
He'd have had letters, hand-delivered. | 0:39:45 | 0:39:46 | |
-When did he go out to Jamaica? -Last week. | 0:39:46 | 0:39:49 | |
Craig was right. | 0:39:51 | 0:39:52 | |
The young man is Mr Dooley's son, | 0:39:52 | 0:39:54 | |
but he's not in a position to stump up several thousand pounds | 0:39:54 | 0:39:57 | |
on his dad's behalf. | 0:39:57 | 0:39:59 | |
They can't really help out, to facilitate the payment, | 0:39:59 | 0:40:02 | |
to stop the vehicles going, | 0:40:02 | 0:40:03 | |
so unfortunately it's a bit of a bad situation | 0:40:03 | 0:40:06 | |
and it looks like they're still going to be going. | 0:40:06 | 0:40:10 | |
But just as the sheriffs are gearing up for the removal, | 0:40:10 | 0:40:12 | |
a call comes through from the debtor's mother. | 0:40:12 | 0:40:15 | |
My name's Craig, Craig Wild, I'm an enforcement agent. | 0:40:16 | 0:40:19 | |
She says that she owns the van, | 0:40:19 | 0:40:21 | |
so doesn't think the sheriffs can remove it, | 0:40:21 | 0:40:24 | |
but she's not able to provide proof of her purchase right now. | 0:40:24 | 0:40:27 | |
She's saying that she's purchased the vehicle for him, | 0:40:28 | 0:40:31 | |
to put into his business. | 0:40:31 | 0:40:32 | |
But as we've said, in the absence of proof, | 0:40:32 | 0:40:35 | |
at this late stage it won't prevent the removal from taking place. | 0:40:35 | 0:40:38 | |
Before long, the first removal truck arrives | 0:40:39 | 0:40:42 | |
and the logistical challenge begins. | 0:40:42 | 0:40:45 | |
Even the van, which was supposed to be the easier of the two, | 0:40:45 | 0:40:48 | |
turns out to be harder than expected, | 0:40:48 | 0:40:50 | |
thanks to its long wheelbase. | 0:40:50 | 0:40:53 | |
I don't think it'll go on. | 0:40:53 | 0:40:54 | |
Backwards, it doesn't fit, so they try a new strategy. | 0:40:55 | 0:40:59 | |
If he takes it from the front, | 0:40:59 | 0:41:01 | |
it will be shorter at the front and you'll be able to get it on, | 0:41:01 | 0:41:03 | |
and have the back end sticking off the back. | 0:41:03 | 0:41:06 | |
And this time, they have more success. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:08 | |
The car, on the other hand, is a different story altogether. | 0:41:11 | 0:41:14 | |
The issue is the wheel. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:16 | |
Obviously with a steering lock on like that, to drag it, | 0:41:16 | 0:41:20 | |
it's going to be a nightmare. | 0:41:20 | 0:41:21 | |
We've conquered worse. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:25 | |
Tommy's obviously caught Craig's optimism. | 0:41:26 | 0:41:29 | |
Drag it from there, I think. | 0:41:30 | 0:41:32 | |
And a plan does indeed come together. | 0:41:33 | 0:41:36 | |
The Vauxhall is unceremoniously heaved up onto the truck. | 0:41:37 | 0:41:41 | |
It's not pretty, but it works. | 0:41:43 | 0:41:46 | |
And the car is also soon on its way. | 0:41:46 | 0:41:49 | |
-That's good. -Cheers, thanks. Take care, mate. | 0:41:49 | 0:41:52 | |
Both vehicles will be held for seven days. | 0:41:56 | 0:41:59 | |
If Mr Dooley doesn't come up with the money, | 0:41:59 | 0:42:01 | |
and provided the vehicles do belong to him, | 0:42:01 | 0:42:04 | |
then they'll be sold | 0:42:04 | 0:42:05 | |
and the claimant will finally receive the money they're owed. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:09 | |
Yeah, a bit of a result. | 0:42:09 | 0:42:11 | |
We've only been here just over the two hours. | 0:42:11 | 0:42:13 | |
We made some phone calls and tried to make contact at the address, nothing. | 0:42:13 | 0:42:18 | |
So it resulted in two vehicles going. | 0:42:18 | 0:42:20 | |
Following filming, Mr Dooley didn't pay any money towards his debt | 0:42:21 | 0:42:25 | |
and his Vauxhall has been sold at auction. | 0:42:25 | 0:42:29 | |
Meanwhile, the ownership of the van is still in dispute | 0:42:29 | 0:42:32 | |
and the matter is with the courts. | 0:42:32 | 0:42:35 | |
Mr Dooley told us that he believes he doesn't owe any money | 0:42:35 | 0:42:38 | |
and that the case against him was unfounded. | 0:42:38 | 0:42:41 | |
He says he didn't respond to the court paperwork because | 0:42:41 | 0:42:44 | |
his name was spelt incorrectly, | 0:42:44 | 0:42:46 | |
so he didn't believe the letters were for him. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:48 | |
He says he hasn't appealed the judgment | 0:42:48 | 0:42:51 | |
because of the costs involved. | 0:42:51 | 0:42:53 |