Episode 4 The Sheriffs Are Coming

-Meet the sheriffs.

-My name's Mr Gricks.

My colleague and I are enforcement agents.

We're here with a High Court order today.

They work for the High Court, and if a judge says you're owed money,

it's the sheriffs' job to go and get it.

-Hey, all the keys.

-I'm going to be calling a locksmith.

They can demand payment on the spot...

What can you pay us now?

-You're going to get the cash, are you?

-Are you paying the bill?

..or remove assets instead.

You've got 30 minutes to make the payment.

Then we'll start removing stuff from the building.

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.

-Don't lie to me.

-No mess tins.

Every year, sheriffs in England and Wales

recover unpaid debts totalling more than £18 million.

Coming up,

Rob and Gerald have a debt to recover,

and don't intend to let a locked door get in their way.

Oh. I'm starting to worry about your background.

When Sam Peacock supplied a farmer with lighting

for his pheasant pens, he didn't get the payment he was due.

I said, "I'm going to have to take you to court if you don't pay me."

He said, "Do what you've got to do."

So Mike and Billy head to the country to track down the debtor.

I've got a High Court writ.

At the moment, the balance outstanding is £9,287.

Would you like to go away?

Lawrence is pursuing a Spanish airline for unpaid compensation.

But it's siesta time, and payment's delayed again.

I'm not here to wait an hour and 45 minutes

so somebody can come off their lunch break in Spain and make a payment.

And while Jon smartens up...

Tommy turns up the heat.

2,688.50.

How would you like to pay that?

Today, High Court enforcement agents Billy Evans and Mike Perkins

are heading out of the city

to a remote location in the Essex countryside.

This morning, we're off to Braintree to speak to a Mr Patrick Gardner.

We believe it's a farm.

Certainly, where we are now, it's quite rural,

so it's looking good.

Billy's been doing his homework.

It looks as if the farm in question specialises in a particular pastime

synonymous with an English country way of life.

They breed, erm...

-birds.

-Pheasants.

Pheasants, to be precise.

Mr Gardner failed to settle an invoice for lighting equipment

that was fitted in his pheasants' breeding pens.

The debt's just over £9,000.

Obviously, we're hoping to go there and find some farm machinery...

..possibly some livestock.

For Mike, country sports like shooting, stalking and hunting

are things that he's grown up around, and enjoys.

I don't mind a bit of pheasant shooting.

My dad used to have a pheasant shoot.

He also is a deerstalker, so, yeah, I've been brought up around game,

eating, obviously, rabbit, venison, pigeon.

Billy's happy tracking down people who owe money

and getting them to pay,

but when it comes to blood sports, he's a bit more squeamish.

I'm quite soft inside when it comes to that kind of stuff.

I don't mind a bit of fishing.

Catch the fish, take them home, eat them.

But, yeah, not a fan of killing things.

But when Mike thinks about game, he thinks about his dinner.

I like a bit of pheasant casserole. That's a nice one.

Big, chunky carrots in it, some big potatoes,

new potatoes. Yeah, lovely.

And at least you know where your meat's come from, as well.

Patrick Gardner was taken to court by electrician Sam Peacock,

who supplied the lighting for his pheasant pens.

Sam first met Mr Gardner at a shoot organised by Mr Gardner himself.

My friends and I go to quite a few sort of shoot days

to different places up and down the country.

There's quite a lot of banter in it, and it's a good social life,

and it's a great day out, really.

That shoot has stuck in Sam's memory for more than one reason.

We had a good day when we were out shooting.

Everyone had a good laugh - it was a well organised day.

I treated my girlfriend's dad, at the time,

and while I was there, I actually asked him

if I could have her hand in marriage.

I'm not sure it was a great idea to ask him

while he had a gun in his hand, but...

he didn't shoot me, so it was all good!

Emma's father gave his approval, and Sam was delighted.

On the same day, he also met Patrick Gardner for the first time.

He seemed a nice enough guy.

He produces eggs for pheasants, so he has big lines of pens

where the birds sit on the eggs, or lay the eggs.

He wanted the light to come on earlier in the day

and later on in the evening.

It increases the production by about 50%.

A week later, and by now officially engaged to Emma,

electrician Sam went round to see Mr Gardner

to quote for the work.

He decided that he'd like to do all of the labour himself,

and I'd just supply the parts to him, which is what we did.

We got them delivered over to his,

he fitted it all over, and we went over there,

and just sort of checked everything was working,

and he was completely happy when we left the job.

It was a good deal for Mr Gardner.

But there wasn't much profit in it for Sam.

Wasn't making a big amount of money out of doing it,

it was almost, really, as a favour to him.

I can use my discount with my wholesalers to get it cheaper

than what he could get it.

I make a couple of hundred quid, save him some money, but, yeah,

didn't work out quite like that.

Sam paid for the lighting equipment up front,

so when he submitted his invoice, he expected prompt payment.

After I first sent him the invoice, the first 30 days rolled by.

I sent him an e-mail, he said he was happy with everything.

The new lamps are in, they're all working fine.

So, I just sent him another reminder e-mail.

He never responded, so I started to ring him up.

He'd then promise, "Oh, I've got some money coming in,

"I'll pay you on Friday."

And then, "I'll pay you on Monday" and then a week later it'd be,

"Oh, I'll pay you next week."

I think I had to ring him about 12 times in one day

to get him to answer the phone.

It just never came - I never received anything.

Sam says the debt has put his business at risk.

It's been a real issue, financially, with cash flow.

Running a small business is tough as it is.

Dealing with the cash flow, employing people, paying suppliers,

and I've had to put them on credit cards,

and I've been paying interest on them credit cards,

because the money that should have been there in 30 days -

it's been nearly a year.

Pull.

GUNSHOT

His fiancee, Emma, says it has taken its toll on Sam.

Sam's been quite frustrated.

It was quite a lot of money

for his business to have to cope with not having.

And so he's found it very stressful.

You kind of expect that everyone is the same as you are,

in the way that...

if you have some work done or buy some parts, you pay for them.

In desperation, Sam called Patrick Gardner and gave him an ultimatum.

I said "I'm going to have to take you to court if you don't pay me."

And he said, "Do what you've got to do."

So, reluctantly, Sam did just that.

I wasn't really sure what to expect.

In the end, it was just myself and the judge in the room -

there was no-one else in there.

Mr Gardner didn't attend the hearing,

but claimed that the money was owed not by him personally,

but by a limited company which had since been dissolved.

But Sam said he had no dealings with any company,

only with Mr Gardner.

At the point that I quoted,

he was quite happy just to do it between us two.

I didn't even know the company was in existence.

The judgment went in Sam's favour, but the money still didn't arrive.

So he's decided to call in the sheriffs.

I'd seen the programme on the telly, actually,

and how well and easily they get their money.

They've got the power just to go in there and take it,

rather than endless letters and 30 days here and 60 days there.

I'm confident that they will be able to do it.

If they can't, I don't really know where I'm going to go from there.

Sam's fiancee, Emma, has a special heartfelt plea for the sheriffs.

I just hope that the sheriffs can finally get the money

that Sam is owed back to him.

It's taken a long time,

and I'd just like to have happy Sam back again.

The amount owed, including fees, is...

It's right here where that sign is.

The sheriffs are approaching Patrick Gardner's farm,

and are on the lookout for assets they can remove.

Here we go. There's a Range Rover straight ahead.

An old army four-tonner.

There's also a Mercedes convertible

parked outside one of the farm buildings.

As they pull up and get out of the van, a man appears.

Hello, sir, I'm looking for a Patrick Gardner.

It's Mr Gardner himself.

He asks the sheriffs if they can come back another time.

We won't be coming back another time, sir, sorry.

He says he has a meeting, and can't see them today.

We're here on a High Court writ, sir.

Mr Gardner may have a meeting, but if he doesn't pay the money he owes,

the sheriffs will start removing assets.

Hi, sir, so what it is, we're High Court enforcement agents.

-Are you Patrick Gardner?

-Yes.

-You are?

Right, I've got a High Court writ.

At the moment, the balance outstanding is £9,287.

This came through when I was away...

-Right.

-..and I've actually written down today

all the bits and pieces, cos it's going to be appealed.

Mr Gardner says he's applying to get the judgment set aside,

which, if successful, would mean the case having to be re-heard.

But that won't stop today's enforcement.

-Right, OK.

-That's fine, sir, but we're still here

-on a High Court writ.

-Well, it might be a High Court writ.

Would you like to go away?

At this point, Mr Gardner asks our cameraman

to stop filming and to leave, which he does.

Right, leave my property, then.

Mr Gardner says the money is owed by a limited company

that has since been dissolved.

But the sheriffs have a High Court writ

directly against Mr Gardner,

and not against the now dissolved company.

Mike and Billy are demanding payment in full.

The gentleman's a bit reluctant to pay at the minute.

He's advised that he's trying to get the judgment set aside,

so, therefore, he doesn't want to make a full payment.

The sheriffs are becoming impatient.

They give Mr Gardner a 40-minute deadline to pay up,

or they'll start removing assets.

Mike starts to count down the time using his smartphone.

Yeah, it's quite effective, cos he does get his phone out,

and kind of shove it in people's faces,

so he's really shown the gentleman, just a minute ago,

that the timer is set, and he's already a minute into it.

Mr Gardner goes back into his meeting,

but a short while later, he reappears.

We've had a discussion, gone round in circles again,

but he has decided to make the payment.

That's where we are at the moment.

He's looking now at, obviously, getting the funds together

so he can make the transfer.

We've had two gentlemen come up to us today, got a bit funny with us,

the usual stuff that we get, "How do you sleep at night?"

"You're the scum of the earth." Obviously, we've spoken to them,

and told them, look, end of the day, we're just here doing a job,

and if people paid their bills, then we wouldn't be here.

Yeah, it's calm and relaxed at the moment.

We're just, obviously, waiting on the defendant now

to make the payment.

Shortly after the 40-minute deadline expires,

the payment in full is completed.

We've had a cracking result today.

We've had a payment in full within 40-50 minutes,

nine grand paid, bank transfer,

and then £200 and something in cash, weren't it?

£287 cash.

Job done, get onto the next one.

As for the pheasants, they've wisely kept their heads down.

We saw one pheasant, that was on the way in.

But apparently he had 30,000 somewhere,

but where, I don't know.

The successful enforcement is good news for Sam Peacock.

More than a year after he first met Patrick Gardner,

he's finally got the money he's owed in full.

I'd like to thank the sheriffs for going in and helping me out

and collecting my money. They did a great job.

They've managed to retrieve all the money that was owed to me.

I've been able to pay off my suppliers,

and my cash flow's gone back down to where it should be.

And it's a happy ending all round for Sam, because, 12 months on,

he's not only got the money, he's also tied the knot.

-We've got married.

-We got married at a church in the village...

-At a church.

-..where...

I've been brought up in the village next to here.

The reception was at my parents' house, so it was nice and local.

We had a good day, so...

glad we did that!

SHE LAUGHS

Patrick Gardner told us...

Using the county courts to try and recover money you're owed

isn't difficult.

1.5 million money claims are paid every year in England and Wales,

involving anything from faulty goods

or poor workmanship to unpaid invoices.

Claims can be filed online or by post 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.

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

Today, High Court enforcement agents Rob Foster and Gerald Anderson

are pursuing a debt at a London car dealer.

It's likely there will be plenty of assets available

to help clear the debt, but Rob and Gerald know from experience

that establishing who owns those assets isn't always easy.

So, this morning, we're heading down to SK Motors in west London.

They sold a vehicle to our claimant.

It turned out to be a faulty vehicle -

gearbox had failed on it.

The car broke down after three days,

so the buyer returned it to the dealer and demanded his money back.

He didn't get it, so he took SK Motors to court.

A judgment was issued against them,

but the claimant still didn't get his money back,

so the sheriffs have been called in to recover the debt.

Today, SK Motors owes...

We're going to see if we can find SK Motors,

and see what assets they've got,

see if they're willing to pay it in full to avoid a removal.

Should be right over there somewhere.

The right address is easy to find,

but the sign says AK, and not SK Motors.

-What Motors is it?

-AK Motors.

To confuse matters further, there's also a website address,

and that says SK Motors.

The sheriffs park outside and go into the premises

to find out who's really trading here.

Two or three of these cars would easily cover the debt,

but only if they belong to the debtor company, SK Motors.

The sheriffs have been given a name for the owner of SK Motors,

a Mr Mohammed Ishtiaq.

Hello, sir, you all right?

I'm an enforcement agent from the sheriffs' office.

I was looking for a Mohammed Ishtiaq...

Yeah, of SK Motors. Is he about?

Can you get hold of him on the phone?

Yeah? You've got his number, have you?

Do you want to try and give him a ring, explain we're here,

see if you can speak to him? Cos this is his business, isn't it?

The man seems to know Mr Ishtiaq, and agrees to call him.

Meanwhile, Gerald is doing a bit of detective work.

The S has been changed to an A.

You can see that the A has been hand painted on.

It's been a quick change.

The new sign isn't very convincing.

And there's more evidence that SK Motors is still here.

You can see an outline of the S there, underneath the A.

Gerald spots some intriguing paperwork through the office window.

There's also credit card receipts in the window there.

All done with SK Motors, Rob.

The man on the forecourt hands the phone to Rob. It's the boss.

He's insistent SK Motors is no longer trading here.

Yeah, but all the receipt tills and stuff, as of a couple of days ago,

that we can see through the window at reception,

are all still in the name of SK Motors.

Is there anything in the office, any paperwork in the office,

proving that it's AK Motors at the address?

Rob wants to know who owns the cars.

Can you provide all the purchase invoices for the vehicles, etc?

The man on the phone doesn't seem able to provide any paperwork,

but he does insist the cars belong to AK Motors.

Rob is not convinced.

You can say that, I understand that,

but we've seen no proof to that effect.

We believe SK Motors is still trading at the address.

In situations like this,

the sheriffs are entitled to take control of goods

they reasonably believe belong to the debtor.

The onus is on the debtor to prove otherwise,

and stop the goods being removed,

and that's the bombshell Rob's about to drop.

We're going to take a couple of the vehicles. All right?

We'll leave... Yeah, we'll take a couple of the vehicles.

We'll leave you the relevant documentation.

The man on the phone doesn't sound happy.

I can assure you I can. We will remove vehicles now.

Unless this is either paid, or we receive proof of ownership

for every vehicle here.

The truth is, Rob doesn't want to remove any assets.

He's hoping the threat of removal

will be enough to persuade the man on the phone to pay the debt.

The sheriffs are entitled to do a diligent search

of a debtor's premises,

so while Rob's laying down the law, Gerald's looking for evidence.

It's not long before he finds more paperwork

confirming the sheriffs' suspicions.

-Rob?

-Yeah?

There's an invoice here from Euro Car Parts to SK Motors.

For Rob, it's the final straw.

Right, OK. Today, at this time, all goods are going to be removed.

We've just found a delivery invoice

for parts delivered to SK Motors today.

Yeah. You're still trading as SK, so all goods are going to be removed

unless this balance is settled.

He's claiming that SK Motors is no longer at the address,

and it's all AK Motors Ealing, and it's all his company.

But he won't give me his name, he won't give me his details,

just states that he's away at the moment,

but will be sending through proof in due course.

Obviously, Mr Anderson has now found relevant paperwork

showing that the defendant company is still receiving goods here.

So, at this time, we're perfectly happy to continue.

Later, the sheriffs set about removing three cars.

-This is all right. It's a 59 plate.

-Grand and a half, two grand?

But the keys are locked away in the office.

I've tried pressing them with different numbers, but, er...

..no joy.

Compensation for flight delays has become a hot consumer topic.

Under EU rules,

airline passengers may be entitled to make a claim

if their flight is delayed for more than three hours, or cancelled.

If the airline doesn't pay what's due,

the claim can be pursued through the courts.

If they still don't pay, the sheriffs can be called in.

Today, Rob has teamed up

with High Court enforcement agent Lawrence Gricks,

and they've got a few travel problems of their own.

I try and avoid driving in central London

during the day as much as I can.

If I'm coming into central London, I'll try and get in there early,

or maybe a bit later in the day.

Ideally, missing either sides of the rush hour in the day itself.

Lawrence and Rob are heading to the UK offices

of Spain's third-largest airline, Air Europa.

The airline was taken to court after failing to pay compensation

to a group of passengers.

They were delayed for four and a half hours

on a flight back to the UK after a holiday in Majorca.

Today, Air Europa owes a total of...

The airline's UK office is in Chelsea Harbour,

but getting there isn't easy,

because the roads around the harbour

are intended for permit holders only.

Just go up to the barrier and say you've got a High Court writ.

A passing moped finds a quick way round the security barrier.

-Or get on your moped.

-I'll do that.

Rob's going to have to do it the hard way.

Hello, yeah. We've got a high...

We've got a High Court writ to enforce.

We're heading to the boulevard.

The sheriffs normally expect - and get - access all areas.

Yeah, we've got a High Court writ to enforce.

But Rob isn't having much luck

with the man operating the security barrier.

Yes, no, I understand that.

We've got a High Court writ that allows us entry.

He isn't letting them in.

Completing the journey on foot looks like the easiest option.

All right, I can't hear what you're saying, anyway, so...

Parking's a nightmare,

so Rob drops Lawrence off to go and enforce the writ.

-We're here at the moment.

-Right, yeah, I've got it.

Go up. Go up to the water and turn right,

and then come back on yourself.

Yeah. Straight across that roundabout,

and straight over there. Should say about 260 yards, or something.

It sounds straightforward,

and Lawrence is confident he'll be there in no time.

Four minutes. 0.2 miles.

I'm sure I can walk that far.

All right, mate, see you in a minute.

Lawrence is using an app on his phone specially designed

to make sure he doesn't get lost.

At least that's the idea.

I appear to be going the wrong direction at the moment.

He seems to be going round in circles.

I don't seem to be getting any closer at the moment!

What should have been an easy stroll round the harbour

is becoming a marathon.

Finally, he finds the office block

that's the London home to Air Europa.

No, not the easiest of places to find.

Hopefully, we're in... A-ha. There we go.

Hello, my name's Mr Gricks. I'm an enforcement agent.

I have a High Court writ to execute against Air Europa.

There's no response from the intercom,

so Lawrence tries the door.

He's in.

Now all Lawrence needs to do is find suite eight,

the Air Europa office.

After all that walking, he decides to take the lift.

But it's one of those days.

The lift doesn't appear to be working,

so I'm going to go up the stairs. I've got no...

No idea which floor suite eight's on.

It'd be too simple for it to be on the eighth floor, I suppose, but...

Looks like we've got to walk.

This enforcement business can be an uphill struggle sometimes.

Finally, Air Europa.

Who's in charge? I'm an enforcement agent.

I've got a High Court writ to execute

against Air Europa Lineas Aereas.

Somebody's aware of it, because they e-mailed us about it.

Air Europa has been in touch with the sheriffs

promising to make a payment in full, but the money hasn't arrived.

Somebody said they were going to pay it yesterday, and they didn't.

I've checked before I've come here,

and it hasn't been paid today, either.

The sheriff's office had given the airline seven days to pay the debt,

but they didn't, and that's why Lawrence is here.

-Right, well, the amount is £1,745.22.

-Yeah.

I need to be able to see it in our account before I leave this office.

Yeah.

Lawrence is shown to a waiting room,

but he's hoping there won't be too much actual waiting involved.

Right.

But they're doing it now...

The payment's due to be made from Air Europa's head office in Spain,

but there's a delay, and when Lawrence gets wind of it,

he's far from impressed.

It seems the only person who can authorise the payment

is not at his desk - he's on his lunch break.

I'm not here to wait for somebody to have lunch in Spain.

Looking for what?

So, there's only one person that can do it, is there?

Yeah, but I've been here 50 minutes now.

I'm not here to wait for somebody to have their lunch in Spain.

Another 20 minutes, and Lawrence is still waiting.

The company's UK director, a Mr Colin Stewart,

suddenly appears, and he's got an update.

How are you doing?

-Colin Stewart, director.

-All right, mate?

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

Just an update from Arturo, he's spoken to head office.

Well, that's not good enough. I've been here for an hour now.

I'm not here to wait an hour and 45 minutes

so somebody can come off their lunch break in Spain

and make a payment. Somebody needs to make the payment.

We're chasing them. We want to get it done.

We want to get it paid. It's going to be paid.

It's just literally the person is not there.

And so they'll be back in 45 minutes,

and they'll have the payment...

So there's only one person that can make it?

You, as director in this country, haven't got...

-Not the authority.

-..the authority to make a payment?

Not for the customer service claims.

That's done by head office in Spain,

but it will be done, and it's going to be paid,

and so it's just a matter of...

That's the earliest we can get that done, so...

Two-hour lunch breaks in Spain, then.

Clearly.

The only reason Lawrence is here at all

is because the airline has failed to pay the compensation that's due.

As to whose fault that is,

it seems the blame for the plane lies mainly in Spain.

We are happy to pay for this claim that's been put through to us.

Here in the UK, we look after the commercial side of the business,

not necessarily the claims side of it,

which is done in our head office.

And so the team's working hard here today to speak with head office

to get this resolved as soon as possible.

Half an hour later, confirmation finally comes through.

-Is it done?

-It is done.

Lunchtime is officially over, and payment has been made in full.

Yeah, that's in. Full receipt, it is.

-Right. Thank you very much for speeding them up.

-Thank you.

And I'll write out the receipt.

Sorry to have kept you waiting, but at least it's done now.

Yeah, all done, lovely.

It's taken an hour and a half,

but Lawrence's job is done, and he can now leave...

as soon as he can remember the way out.

Where's the stairs?

That was fairly straightforward, if not a bit time-consuming.

I believe it was siesta time, because it took an hour and a half.

The director at this end actually personally chased, in the end,

to get the payment done,

so, it was longer than I'd have liked to have been there,

but at the end of the day, it was fairly straightforward.

All we just had to do was sit and wait for the money.

For the passengers whose flight home was badly delayed, it's good news.

They've now received the compensation they're owed in full.

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.

Hello? I'm an enforcement agent. I'm enforcing a High Court writ.

I'm here just to execute the court order.

They've got more powers than county court bailiffs.

We're going to force entry into the shop

in about the next 10, 15 minutes.

I have the right under the writ to investigate.

If you obstruct myself or my colleague,

it is a criminal offence.

And there's no limit to the size of the debts they can pursue.

£14 million - it's the largest job I've ever done.

You can pay directly into our account from Spain.

If they're successful,

they will recover your money and costs from the debtor...

-Thanks.

-Thank you.

..as well as their own fees that are set by the Government.

It was that amount there until half past five.

I don't stand here for three hours for nothing.

If the sheriffs can't get your money,

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

Back in west London, enforcement agents Rob Foster

and Gerald Anderson are pursuing SK Motors for an unpaid debt of £2,353.

The owner is refusing to pay, and says his business is AK Motors,

and nothing to do with SK Motors.

He's claiming that SK Motors is no longer at the address,

and it's all AK Motors Ealing, and it's all his company.

Rob and Gerald aren't convinced.

The S has been changed to an A.

You can see that the A has been hand painted on.

It's been a quick change.

Mr Anderson has now found relevant paperwork

showing that the defendant company is still receiving goods here,

so I've given him one last chance to either settle the matter,

or we'll be removing goods.

It looks as if the debt isn't going to be paid.

So the sheriffs are planning to take control of assets.

The plan is to remove cars and sell them at a public auction.

Firstly, Rob and Gerald need to be sure the cars they remove

will cover not only the debt,

but also the additional removal and auction fees.

What are we looking at, value-wise?

This is all right. It's a 59 plate.

You're probably looking at £1,200-1,500.

Even though they're not in the motor trade,

years of experience have made them acutely aware

of how much cars will fetch at auction.

-an '07 BM...

-'O7 BM...

-Grand and a half, two grand?

-What's he got written up on the windscreen?

-Six and a half.

Six and a half is nowhere near a realistic price

-Probably...

-..for an '07 or 57 plate BMW.

They've got a Honda Civic on an '09.

We might and up taking three or four here.

They settle on three vehicles.

I need to get in that office and get the keys.

Without the keys,

the cars will fetch far less than their trade price.

But there's a problem - they're locked inside the office.

I've tried pressing a number of different numbers on there,

the normal ones that people use, but no.

I've had no joy.

Rob and Gerald ask for the code to get in,

but neither the man at the premises nor the man on the phone

are prepared to help.

So he's not going to give the code to the office?

-No, no.

-All right.

The sheriffs have the power to force entry to a commercial premises,

and that includes getting through locked doors by whatever means.

Rather than wait for a locksmith, Rob's using an old card trick.

HE CHUCKLES

I'm starting to worry about your background!

THEY CHUCKLE

Oi, all the keys.

As well as the car keys,

they find paperwork that confirms their suspicions.

The debtor company, SK Motors, is still trading here,

despite what they've been told.

We've got the transferring of a vehicle to a motor trade

received by SK Motors.

Right, there's the deposit there, stamped SK Motors.

Card machine receipt for £2,000, SK Motors.

The purchase invoices, the sales invoices,

are stamped, and in the name of SK Motors.

If they don't pay, then we're going to start removal.

Gerald checks he's got the right keys.

That sounds like the BM for me.

And that's that one.

And satisfied that removal is now their only option,

he makes the call for a recovery truck.

OK, cheers. Thanks. Bye-bye. Bye.

Recovery is on its way now.

The problem is, when recovering cars,

it's usually quite a difficult operation.

They're costly to remove,

cos you've got to get a lorry here that can actually drag them on,

just in case they are non-runners.

Fortunately, we've got the keys, which will ease it,

but it's still going to be a large lorry for three cars.

It's then got to go to the auction,

so we've got to pay the auctions to store the cars.

They aren't just any old auctions -

you have to take it somewhere that's secure.

But all those costs of removing the vehicles to cover the debt

aren't Rob's problem.

When the sheriffs' visits escalate to the removal of goods stage,

the extra fees go onto the debtor's bill.

It would've been a payment of maybe £2,300, or thereabouts,

and that would have been the matter settled.

As it stands, at the moment, because we've gone up through the stages,

and because we've ordered a recovery truck,

because they weren't being in contact with us,

they weren't trying to settle this matter with us,

in total, the balance now is £4,303.

He needs to clear that amount to stop these cars being taken.

Suddenly, the boss is back on the phone,

and asking for more information.

Rob breaks the news to him about the extra fees

that have been incurred since the morning.

That's the balance. If he pays that now, we stop.

If he solves that, then that's done.

If he wants to pay it, that's it, we finish, we go.

With the total amount owed now standing at more than £4,300,

Rob's not counting his chickens.

I'm not holding my hopes up. We're not going to cancel the truck

or anything like that. Let's see what he does.

-If need be, we'll get a link to him, or he can pay online.

-Yeah.

If it's a genuine change of heart, and they do now intend to pay,

SK Motors will have to be quick about it.

The removal truck is already en route.

As the sheriffs wait to see which happens first -

the truck or the payment - a man enters the garage.

Who's this? He hasn't a come to look for a car, has he?

With the sheriffs' attention elsewhere,

the man who works here has just made a sale,

but it's unlikely the money will go towards

paying off the High Court writ.

He's just sold a car.

He's just been paid cash for it,

but won't tell me how much, or where it is.

I believe that's possibly SK Motors' money.

Unfortunately, I can't pin somebody to the floor,

and take cash out their pocket.

If he's got cash in his pocket, it's in there for the time being.

It's back to plan A - the removal of assets.

Finally, the truck arrives.

Yeah, this is our man.

Hopefully, get all these three cars loaded up onto his lorry,

and get them gone now, and get away from here as quickly as possible.

We've got other things to do.

Hello, mate. You all right?

That's one vehicle down so far, on the top of his lorry,

two more to go.

Two down, one to go.

Yeah, just watch that side, as well.

It's a tight squeeze, but in no time at all,

there's a large gap in the front of SK Motors' forecourt.

Unfortunately, on this job, we've had little choice.

The defendant nor the occupant of the property

wanted to correspond with us at all on this matter.

Therefore we've had to resort to actually removing.

Could've been better, we could've had payment,

but one way or the other, we will get it sorted.

Gerald is in no doubt that Rob's lock-picking skills

made the difference today.

Getting in the office like that,

that was the final nail in the coffin,

once we then managed to gather the evidence from within the office.

So the boy done good getting in there.

Doesn't always work as easy as that.

It doesn't always work at all, but on this occasion it did,

and it saved us a lot of time and a lot of hassle.

We've been here for over four hours. Numerous phone calls made,

numerous chances to provide proof or to make payment,

nothing forthcoming. Last resort, removing the vehicles.

Job's done. They're just about to go. That's this one wrapped up.

Three cars leave on their way to auction,

but, two days later, SK Motors paid the debt in full,

including the extra removal and storage costs,

and the cars were returned.

Thanks to the sheriffs, the claimant finally got the money he was due.

Many small independent retailers are struggling to cope

with rising overheads and increasing competition

in the form of online shopping.

But no matter how tough it gets,

if they want to keep trading, they must pay their suppliers.

This morning, enforcement agents Tommy Coyle and Jon Farley

are heading to the cathedral city of Winchester in Hampshire

in pursuit of an unpaid debt.

Going to a company called Double Amount Limited,

trading as Cadogan and Company.

It's an upmarket fashion retailer.

They've been taken to court by a supplier over an unpaid invoice.

The court ordered the retailer to pay, but they didn't,

and now the sheriffs are going to collect the debt or seize assets.

We're looking for around £2,700 today.

There should be a lot of assets there.

Had a look on the internet - it's a double-fronted shop in a nice area.

Looks good, so hopefully, there's plenty of assets there -

if they don't want to pay, we can look at removing.

The amount owed today is...

The most valuable goods are likely to be the shop's stock,

and, luckily, Jon considers himself something of a sartorial expert.

Yeah, I like my clothes. I like my fashion.

I like to look smart, try and look good as much as I can.

Jon doesn't get to show off much at work, but for Tommy,

the sheriffs' regulation black garb is a blessing.

Yeah, I ain't the best with fashion.

The girlfriend has to dress me when we go out.

Generally, if I get myself ready,

she will laugh, and then get angry, and say I'm not coming with her.

HE LAUGHS

The shop is in a prime location,

situated in the historic city centre, and close to the cathedral.

It's nice, isn't it? I'm very impressed.

-There's a museum here.

-Yeah. I'm always up for being educated.

-There - Cadogan.

-There we go, it's open. That's perfect.

The sheriffs park outside, and head in.

It's time for Double Amount to pay up in double time.

Hello. Oh, hello, sir.

Double Amount Limited, trading as Cadogan and Company?

Is it yourselves? Do you want to go and have a word in private?

I'm a High Court enforcement agent here with a High Court writ.

The man on the shop floor is the shop's owner, Alex Edwards,

and he says he's willing to settle the debt.

We have an amount, at the moment, 2,688.50.

How would you like to pay that?

By card?

He doesn't seem particularly surprised to see the sheriffs.

Do you know all about this, then?

You did, yeah?

It's just escalated to this stage.

At this stage, we just need full pavement, but it won't be a problem.

He just immediately said he wants to pay it in full.

So, Tommy's just in there at the minute,

getting the account details sorted.

So, hopefully, we'll be gone in two minutes.

If Jon's hoping for an easy job, he's spoken too soon.

Mr Edwards tries to make an online payment, but it won't go through.

-Can you not do it on that?

-No.

Other than that, can you get the cash out?

We can wait here if you just go and get the cash.

Mr Edwards agrees, and heads off to his bank, which

is further up the high street,

leaving the sheriffs behind in his shop.

I'm being as diplomatic as I can be.

He's compliant in getting the cash for us now to make a full payment.

In the meantime, Jon's taking no chances,

and starts sizing up the shop's assets.

Yeah, a lot of nice stuff here.

I doff my cap.

Jon seems to have a head for upmarket fashion.

Primark's more my kind of place.

After a few minutes,

Mr Edwards returns with an envelope full of cash,

which Tommy is more than happy to take off his hands.

I'll count it out for you, sir. Cheers.

The sheriffs make short work of counting it out...

-We were just saying, you've got a lovely shop, by the way.

-Thank you.

..all £2,688.

All there. So, sir, I'll just get you to sign the receipt.

Thank you very much for your time, and you take care of yourself, sir.

And with that, Tommy and Jon have done what they came for.

Double Amount Limited's debt is cleared,

and their unpaid supplier will soon get the money they're owed.

All in all, a very fast and good result.

We had a job to do, and we've done it on this occasion.

Full payment, happy claimant,

and we've given him a receipt, and left him to trade on.