:00:03. > :00:11.Hello and welcome to a new series of Inside Out South West, with
:00:11. > :00:17.stories from close to home. There he is. Tonight - exclusive access
:00:17. > :00:21.to the world of the super bailiffs. As it stands at the moment, that's
:00:21. > :00:26.790608 we're looking for. We reveal the devastating impact of bad debt
:00:26. > :00:30.in the south-west. If he does not pay the money he borrowed, the
:00:30. > :00:35.business will not be here for long. Also tonight: after the England
:00:35. > :00:39.riots, concern about cuts to youth services in Devon. Seeing their
:00:39. > :00:44.progression, how they have grown, I am worried that if it did end, it
:00:44. > :00:49.would have a detrimental effect on them. And Matt Harvey investigates
:00:49. > :00:56.the perks and pitfalls of village life. When people decide to fight
:00:56. > :01:06.for something together, then small but amazing things can happen.
:01:06. > :01:07.
:01:07. > :01:12.Sam Smith and this is Inside Out The economic crisis means many
:01:12. > :01:18.people are feeling the pinch and financial deals can turn sour. So
:01:18. > :01:27.what do you do when those who owe you money won't pay up? You call in
:01:27. > :01:33.the most powerful bailiffs in the They can turn up uninvited, enter
:01:33. > :01:41.property and seize goods. And they're not always popular. There
:01:41. > :01:48.he is. Mr Burns. And they rarely get a warm welcome. We are here to
:01:48. > :01:52.remove goods from the premises. Why? Because we are enforcing a
:01:52. > :01:58.high court writ. But for those owed money and facing ruin, they're
:01:58. > :02:03.often the last hope. I am very close to make or break. The bank is
:02:03. > :02:07.on my back and for months I've been trying to save the business.
:02:07. > :02:10.Lawrence Griggs is a high court enforcement officer. He and Kevin
:02:11. > :02:16.McNally are called in when debtors fail to pay up, even though a court
:02:16. > :02:22.has ruled they must. Everyone is trying to make a living and
:02:22. > :02:30.entitled to be paid for what they have done. Collecting debts does
:02:30. > :02:34.stop some businesses going under, Today they have travelled to
:02:34. > :02:44.Somerset to the home of a builder who owes a builders merchant more
:02:44. > :02:49.
:02:49. > :02:54.There he is. Mr Burns. We could now be annoying him so much by banging
:02:54. > :03:01.on the door that he could come with some kind of weapon. We have to be
:03:01. > :03:04.ready for him to be aggressive, or he could stay shut in there. High
:03:04. > :03:06.Court enforcement officers have a lot of clout. They can climb fences,
:03:06. > :03:14.access properties through unlocked doors and windows and break into
:03:14. > :03:24.offices and factories. They can seize goods. It is all in a days
:03:24. > :03:25.
:03:25. > :03:29.In Plymouth, Joseph Louis is hoping they will help him. Joseph lent a
:03:29. > :03:34.former business partner a large sum of money but not all of it was paid
:03:34. > :03:41.back. The courts have ruled in Joseph's favour but still the money
:03:41. > :03:46.has not been returned. Three years I have been waiting for the money I
:03:46. > :03:50.lent him for three weeks. He is hoping to get back more than
:03:50. > :03:55.�150,000. If he does not pay the money he borrowed, the business
:03:55. > :04:02.will not be here for long. The staff will lose their jobs and the
:04:02. > :04:07.city would lose something to be proud of. The debt has left the
:04:07. > :04:17.business with a cash flow crisis. The invoice should have been paid
:04:17. > :04:17.
:04:18. > :04:27.on Monday. It says it has been paid but it has not. �6882. You chase
:04:27. > :04:34.people up for �6000. It should not be the case. For receiver Ian
:04:34. > :04:37.Walker, businesses with bad debts are a familiar story. If they do
:04:37. > :04:41.not get paid, they cannot pay their wages and eventually they will fail
:04:41. > :04:43.unless they have security to enable a bank to lend them more money to
:04:43. > :04:46.see them through those difficulties. Increasingly we are seeing
:04:46. > :04:49.businesses that have been struggling for so long they have
:04:49. > :04:59.completely lost all personal wealth, there is nowhere else they can give
:04:59. > :05:06.
:05:06. > :05:15.With the recession, we have had more cases coming our way. But
:05:15. > :05:20.potentially they are not as easy to collect on. Over the last year or
:05:20. > :05:23.so and it is getting harder and harder. Lawrence and Kevin will be
:05:23. > :05:31.heading to Plymouth later, but first they have a call to make in
:05:31. > :05:35.Axeminster. We are off to a garage. They are chasing money owed to
:05:35. > :05:40.Martin Chapel. Nine months ago, Mr Chapel bought a pickup truck to
:05:40. > :05:44.start a gardening business. He returned it to the garage because
:05:44. > :05:50.it was faulty and that is where it has been ever since. The garage
:05:50. > :05:56.refused to refund him. I paid �6000, which to a lot of people may not be
:05:56. > :06:02.much, but it is to me and there is a big principle at stake. It has
:06:02. > :06:05.held back his business. It is a big concern. It is stopping me from
:06:05. > :06:15.moving forward and I feel it is not right that people when they have
:06:15. > :06:20.made mistakes, not trying to put it right. Putting it right is what
:06:20. > :06:28.Lawrence and Kevin want to do. a High Court enforcement officer.
:06:28. > :06:34.OK. Looking for the Devon Trade Centre. That is the writ as it
:06:34. > :06:44.stands. 790608 we are looking for, or else we remove assets of which I
:06:44. > :06:48.
:06:48. > :06:55.can see you have plenty. Would you be so kind as to leave our premises.
:06:55. > :07:04.We are paying. It must have slipped through the net. 15 minutes later,
:07:04. > :07:08.after a quick trip to the bank, it is all sorted. Paid in full. It was
:07:08. > :07:12.just a case of getting the funds. They knew they had the debt, they
:07:12. > :07:19.were not happy, but when you have this much stock on your forecourt,
:07:19. > :07:22.what choice had you got? Another successful job. Later the garage
:07:22. > :07:25.told us that senior management had not been made aware of the
:07:25. > :07:30.situation and if they had, it would have been dealt with before the
:07:30. > :07:38.bailiffs were called in. In Plymouth, Joseph is hoping for a
:07:38. > :07:44.quick result. Businesses, people's jobs are on the line because of
:07:44. > :07:51.somebody's greed. Bailiffs, if they do their jobs, it is right to. I am
:07:51. > :07:56.concerned about justice. Lawrence and Kevin head to the home of
:07:56. > :08:05.Joseph's former business partner Paul Chapman. He lives in a gated
:08:05. > :08:15.development and the gate is shut. Lawrence will climb over it if he
:08:15. > :08:15.
:08:15. > :08:19.can. But then a resident helpfully opens the gate for him. Excellent!
:08:19. > :08:24.I think that was my mind control that did that for us. I think it
:08:24. > :08:27.was the lady actually. This is one of Plymouth's most exclusive
:08:27. > :08:37.addresses and the bailiffs hope Mr Chapman, a former footballer, is at
:08:37. > :08:38.
:08:38. > :08:43.home. Hello. Looking for Paul Chapman. He is not here. I will
:08:43. > :08:51.show you some ID. I am a High Court enforcement officer. Are you Mrs
:08:51. > :09:01.Chapman? No? Are you able to get Mr Chapman on the phone? But she will
:09:01. > :09:05.not let them in. Thank you. She was not too impressed. She told us she
:09:05. > :09:12.was the cleaner. She was very smart and she was on the house phone as
:09:12. > :09:19.well. So I am not convinced by that. I think it is safe to say we will
:09:19. > :09:24.not gain peaceful entry. I will look around the back and see what
:09:24. > :09:31.is to be seen. As Lawrence and Kevin note any items of value, Mr
:09:31. > :09:34.Chapman's cleaner reappears. I will come and speak to you. We need to
:09:34. > :09:40.speak to Mr Chapman to get this sorted out. We are here to remove
:09:40. > :09:44.goods from the premises. Why? Because we are enforcing a High
:09:44. > :09:54.Court writ. I cannot give you details but we have sent here to
:09:54. > :09:54.
:09:54. > :10:02.remove goods from the premises. We need to speak to Mr Chapman. I am
:10:02. > :10:08.sorry but... We are not here to scare you. Unfortunately we are not
:10:08. > :10:14.going because we have a right to be here. Are you not be able to
:10:14. > :10:23.contact Mr Chapman? Yes, but... we are asking you to do, you have
:10:23. > :10:33.just said you could contact Mr Chapman. You have told me you can
:10:33. > :10:37.
:10:37. > :10:41.contact Mr Chapman. I did not. you did. Okay. Lady was refusing to
:10:41. > :10:45.speak to us. She was asking asked to leave, we have refused because
:10:45. > :10:49.we have every right to be here. That is where it stands. We will
:10:49. > :10:59.see what happens. Hopefully either the police or Mr Chapman will show
:10:59. > :11:05.
:11:05. > :11:12.out. After 20 minutes, Mr Chapman arrives. Mr Chapman? Yes. Mr Griggs.
:11:12. > :11:19.I will show you some ID. Lawrence make some checks. Is there anything
:11:19. > :11:23.here he can see is to help Joseph Louis recover his cash? Mr Chapman
:11:23. > :11:29.says he is borderline bankrupt. If someone wants to make him bankrupt,
:11:29. > :11:35.he will be bankrupt. His business is gone. Everything is gone. The
:11:35. > :11:39.house is on the market. The car belongs to the lady inside. He has
:11:39. > :11:46.gone to get proof of that just now. On the face of it, he seems quite
:11:46. > :11:52.genuine but we do take that with a pinch of salt. It turns out Mr
:11:52. > :11:58.Chapman's cleaner is also his partner. But she has nothing to do
:11:58. > :12:04.with the debt dispute. Joseph gets nothing. Despite his former
:12:04. > :12:11.business partner's luxury lifestyle. I can see my business partner's
:12:11. > :12:16.palace. He is living in luxury and I am struggling. But I will see my
:12:16. > :12:20.money regardless. I will. After the bailiff's visit, the builder from
:12:20. > :12:25.Somerset paid his debt in full. Martin Chapel got his money back
:12:26. > :12:31.and his gardening business is doing well. As for Joseph, he is still
:12:31. > :12:41.waiting. Mr Chapman is not bankrupt and still living in his luxury home.
:12:41. > :12:42.
:12:42. > :12:46.If nothing else, Joseph has learned an unfortunate lesson. Do not be
:12:46. > :12:49.me,, do not be so stupid and trusting but at the same time I do
:12:49. > :12:54.hope I do not change. It has to be trust somehow but not too trusting.
:12:54. > :12:57.Do not be a Joseph, do not be a fool.
:12:58. > :13:02.Because of the riots in England this summer, there's been a lot of
:13:02. > :13:06.talk about youth crime and disorder. In the south west, the talk's been
:13:06. > :13:11.of cuts - to the very workers whose job it is to keep young people on
:13:11. > :13:16.the straight and narrow. We've been investigating.
:13:16. > :13:23.This is a public order audit. Will you please disperse now or force
:13:23. > :13:30.may be used. The Southwest may have been spared the horror of the riots
:13:30. > :13:34.but they shook the whole of England. While the causes will be debated
:13:34. > :13:41.for years, politicians were quick to offer their take. Youth workers,
:13:41. > :13:44.probation officers, as well as police are very important. We have
:13:44. > :13:46.to look at the issue of intervening earlier when young people are first
:13:46. > :13:52.showing signs of getting into difficulties rather than waiting
:13:52. > :13:57.until there are real problems. Shall we get this garlic then
:13:57. > :14:05.before it rains? That is what Frank James spent the last 19 years doing,
:14:05. > :14:08.until his job was axed. I feel angry more for the young people.
:14:08. > :14:15.Than for myself. For me it is a job, for them, cuts mean limiting their
:14:15. > :14:22.future. Frank worked for the Exeter-based Ivy Project until its
:14:22. > :14:30.funding was cut. Do not weed those. They always take the good things
:14:30. > :14:40.away from young people. Being with Frank helps Neil stop drinking.
:14:40. > :14:45.
:14:45. > :14:47.work together basically, don't we? Trying to keep me out of trouble.
:14:47. > :14:55.Frank now keeps an eye on Neil voluntarily, leaving him wondering
:14:55. > :14:58.if this is the big society or a big rip-off. Everyone should be doing
:14:58. > :15:03.their bit, everyone should be putting in but they should not be
:15:03. > :15:06.an expectation that everyone will do that for free. If the government
:15:06. > :15:16.wants to invest in young people, at some point there needs to be a
:15:16. > :15:18.
:15:18. > :15:21.financial element to that. Frank does still get a small wage to run
:15:21. > :15:25.this youth group but it has just a few thousand pounds funding and
:15:25. > :15:28.when that one is out, Frank will have to do this for free too.
:15:29. > :15:32.know the group so well, I have worked with some of these young
:15:33. > :15:37.people for nearly 5 years and I am so worried that if it does end, it
:15:37. > :15:44.will have a detrimental effect on them. It is my responsibility as a
:15:44. > :15:50.person to put a little bit back. The club is a sanctuary. Every week
:15:50. > :15:54.I know on the Wednesday I have this. I can meet my friends. I have a set
:15:54. > :16:01.time when I go to Tag, which means the rest of the week I can just
:16:01. > :16:04.about deal with. If I did not have this I would struggle. They all
:16:05. > :16:10.want to help keep it going so they have found a car wash to raise
:16:10. > :16:14.funds but it is proving surprisingly hard to organise.
:16:14. > :16:21.have been trying to contact the car park people and I have been phoning
:16:21. > :16:25.them, e-mail them a couple of times but no one has got to me. It is
:16:25. > :16:31.going to get even tougher. In the meantime, Frank and Neil head out
:16:31. > :16:34.on another mission. Today we will head to Maximus. We will speak to
:16:34. > :16:36.Neil's JobCentre adviser and get him some voluntary work that is
:16:36. > :16:43.more appropriate into what he enjoys and what will be beneficial
:16:43. > :16:49.for him. A lot of young people need someone to give them a bit of
:16:49. > :16:52.support, advocate for them, give them a voice. Neil has been given a
:16:52. > :16:56.placement that is not really appropriate for him, I feel, and
:16:56. > :17:06.hopefully if I go and talk to them I will find him something more
:17:06. > :17:15.
:17:15. > :17:21.suitable. But the office is There is no one there. Back home,
:17:21. > :17:30.Frank's carwash quest is proving just as frustrating. We were just
:17:30. > :17:33.wondering if it is an option to do it in one of your car parks.
:17:33. > :17:37.Unfortunately the lady I spoke to seemed to think that was something
:17:37. > :17:45.they would not go with, let us use a car park for a couple of hours to
:17:45. > :17:52.wash a few cars. A bit of a shame. I have e-mailed this manager and
:17:52. > :17:55.hopefully he will be a bit nicer. Frank is running out of time. His
:17:55. > :18:01.wife Kate is expecting a baby and he will soon have to focus on his
:18:01. > :18:06.family. Kate admires what he has done. It has taken him a long time
:18:06. > :18:16.and effort and a lot of support to get where they are now. I think it
:18:16. > :18:18.
:18:18. > :18:21.is brilliant. I am really proud of him for working with them still.
:18:21. > :18:24.Otherwise it could have caused a lot of upset for those young people.
:18:24. > :18:31.The Ivy project closed because of cuts in funding from the government
:18:31. > :18:40.and Devon county council. We asked for an interview with the leader of
:18:40. > :18:42.the council but our request was declined. For Conservative MP Gary
:18:42. > :18:45.Streeter, the harsh economic climate means some harsh decisions
:18:45. > :18:49.about public spending have to be made. It is inevitable that if the
:18:49. > :18:53.money from the top is being reduced, some things will have to go and
:18:53. > :18:59.sometimes that is a good thing, it is a bit like bringing back in the
:18:59. > :19:05.garden. What we want to survive are the things that work. We have to
:19:05. > :19:09.get behind the organisation that do work. We have to see new players
:19:09. > :19:15.come into this field. People who have that big compassionate heart
:19:15. > :19:24.like Frank. These are the people we have to get behind. But Frank's big
:19:24. > :19:28.heart proves no match for the bureaucracy thwarting his car wash.
:19:28. > :19:31.Maybe if we have not heard by next week we might have to come up with
:19:31. > :19:36.another plan or another way of approaching the council. It is two
:19:36. > :19:46.months later. The carwash never happened. Frank is busy with his
:19:46. > :19:51.
:19:51. > :19:55.baby and Neil is drinking again. Everything has cocked up. I have
:19:55. > :20:02.been in and out of a cell since it closed. What has happened with the
:20:02. > :20:09.drinking? Keep going. I did 53 cans in three days. Are you drunk now?
:20:09. > :20:13.No. Not really. I wish I was but I am not. Spending cuts however
:20:13. > :20:23.necessary and did the help that kept me on the straight and narrow.
:20:23. > :20:25.
:20:25. > :20:35.Village life seems to be constantly under threat, but as poet Matt
:20:35. > :20:42.
:20:42. > :20:52.Harvey has been finding out some Tonight I am going to deploy the
:20:52. > :20:53.
:20:53. > :20:59.cultural expert that is Matt Harvey. Thank you. Thank you for that
:20:59. > :21:07.wonderful introduction. It quite took me aback. I am on a mission. I
:21:07. > :21:14.am on a mission to assess the state of rural communities. To see what I
:21:14. > :21:18.can do to help through the medium of poetry. LAUGHTER. I started in
:21:18. > :21:27.South Devon, where only two out of every ten houses are actually lived
:21:27. > :21:31.in all year round. It is easy to see why people would want a second
:21:31. > :21:34.home here. But a local landowner has made the news by donating more
:21:34. > :21:42.than �2 million in land and property to offer working people an
:21:42. > :21:45.affordable home. Isabelle is clear about the need. When we started
:21:45. > :21:55.this project, we were desperate to help the village because it is
:21:55. > :21:55.
:21:55. > :22:00.rapidly dying and becoming a tourist ghetto. Three years later,
:22:00. > :22:04.Bakers Piece is fully occupied. But many second home owners here do not
:22:04. > :22:09.like change. They fought to stop the development, arguing that it is
:22:09. > :22:16.in the wrong place. There is no doubt the people living here have
:22:16. > :22:21.had their view spoiled. Getting these homes built has been a real
:22:21. > :22:26.struggle. It has caused real arguments, divisive arguments in
:22:26. > :22:32.the village but has this act of civic generosity actually worked?
:22:32. > :22:36.This is the house of Tim Stone. He lives in the village. What does he
:22:36. > :22:45.think about the new houses? people who live there are very
:22:45. > :22:51.pleasant people and there are a lovely lot of children there. They
:22:51. > :22:56.have started taking part in the village life. So they have brought
:22:56. > :23:01.life to the village? They have brought life. Would a shop help the
:23:01. > :23:03.village, do you think? The village shop would have to charge quite
:23:03. > :23:12.high prices to justify itself, especially if the owners were
:23:12. > :23:15.looking for a bit of income from it. But there is another way when it
:23:15. > :23:21.comes to the village store. It is not profit that motivates the
:23:21. > :23:23.owners here, it is public service. I have discovered in some places,
:23:23. > :23:33.the villages have stopped shops closing down by banding together,
:23:33. > :23:42.
:23:42. > :23:45.buying it and running it themselves. We do that! Do you? Yeah! If I had
:23:45. > :23:51.known that earlier I would have come here and interviewed people,
:23:51. > :24:00.all of you, but instead I went locally. I went to Hempstead
:24:00. > :24:03.because I wanted to cut down on poetry miles! There are 250
:24:03. > :24:08.community shops in the country, half of them here in the West
:24:08. > :24:12.Country. They are very successful. Profit is ploughed back into the
:24:12. > :24:18.business. They sell everything here and they have plans to expand with
:24:18. > :24:24.a cafe and a library corner. All this with only one paid employee.
:24:24. > :24:28.And she is part-time. We are living in a society where everyone has to
:24:28. > :24:33.drive miles to go shopping and food is brought from miles away. As far
:24:33. > :24:36.as I am concerned, this should be the way for our future. For people
:24:36. > :24:42.who volunteer in the shop, it really gives them something to feel
:24:42. > :24:49.involved in. I just love the fist determination of so many people who
:24:49. > :24:52.put so much into the place. sounds to me like a very gentle and
:24:52. > :24:59.non-threatening way to be radical. It offers much more than local
:24:59. > :25:09.retail outlets. It offers a social centre and they feel they are
:25:09. > :25:12.involved in a project, which is really enhancing the village life.
:25:12. > :25:15.This is something you do not know about, that there is a place in
:25:15. > :25:21.Cornwall where they have gone beyond the shop and they have
:25:21. > :25:24.started growing their own veg. At the Camelford Community Supported
:25:24. > :25:34.Agriculture Project, they set me to work all morning which did give me
:25:34. > :25:35.
:25:35. > :25:39.a good overview of the organisation. I even got my hands dirty. I just
:25:39. > :25:45.want to help. If I can wield my spade to this effect, I will be
:25:45. > :25:51.carrying on long after the cameras have left. It did not come to that.
:25:51. > :25:57.Luckily. I got to talk to Jane, an expert grower. How does this
:25:57. > :26:00.benefit rural life? There are lots of benefits. We are all quite
:26:00. > :26:03.spread out and it is important we have something that is committed to
:26:03. > :26:10.building, builds community spirit and there is a chance for people to
:26:10. > :26:18.get involved here. We reduce our carbon footprint and make new
:26:18. > :26:23.friends and be part of building something in the local community.
:26:23. > :26:26.You make it sound like a good thing. I think it is a fantastic thing.
:26:26. > :26:33.They have opposition to the community farm but not from lack of
:26:33. > :26:42.affordable housing, lack of transport. There are no objections
:26:42. > :26:44.to it. The only opposition they have is from slugs. Lowborn land
:26:44. > :26:54.mollusc, high impact intruder, easy boozer, slime exuder, you are a
:26:54. > :26:57.
:26:57. > :27:04.squishity spoiled sport. A glistening drag. The licorice all
:27:05. > :27:10.sort nobody wants to find in the bag. You are disposable. Look at my
:27:10. > :27:20.thumb, it is opposable. Unwelcome invertebrate, this might just hurt
:27:20. > :27:26.a bit. I pluck you and chuck you into distant dew drenched greenery.
:27:26. > :27:36.Isn't that mean of me? Slug, when all is said and done, you can hide
:27:36. > :27:37.
:27:37. > :27:40.but you cannot run. APPLAUSE. you. So just as the veg resists the
:27:40. > :27:42.slugs, I am thinking now at the end of my journey that perhaps our
:27:42. > :27:52.village communities are also more resistant, more robust, more
:27:52. > :27:56.resilient than we give them credit for. Rural life has been under
:27:56. > :28:01.threat since before I was born. I know that poetry cannot save it,
:28:01. > :28:03.not by itself. But what I think makes the difference is people
:28:03. > :28:09.acting collectively with determination, sometimes with
:28:10. > :28:19.fierce determination. I have seen that when people decide to fight
:28:20. > :28:22.
:28:22. > :28:25.for something together, then small That's all for this week but we're