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00:00We're High Court Enforcement agents, we've got a High Court here, I'd like to sort this out face to face.
00:12Piss off!
00:13£12 billion is owed to people and businesses in the UK.
00:17Don't do that, sir!
00:18There is money owed, and it has to be paid.
00:21When all other attempts to settle a debt have failed.
00:24It's quite a lot of money, it's over £5,000.
00:26Here comes a girl play!
00:27Cases can end up at the High Court.
00:29Nothing can conquer the writ.
00:31Where a judgement commands enforcement officers to recover what's owed.
00:35Our agents are a last chance saloon.
00:37Let's go!
00:38A High Court writ.
00:39All check-in debts are going to be closed until this matter's resolved.
00:42Gives agents the authority to enter unlocked homes and businesses.
00:46We've made contact, we know they're there.
00:48We're enforcing agents!
00:49Everybody leads the trail.
00:51And to seize and sell property.
00:53Do you think we're doing something legal? Call the police.
00:55They're trying to do everything they can apart from actually paying the bill.
00:57To finally get debts paid.
00:59They want us to get their money back.
01:01£56,000 and 76 pence outstanding.
01:04In these difficult times...
01:05I need to go home!
01:07Agents find ways for people to clear their debts.
01:10We're not ogres, we're nice people.
01:12Hopefully it'll be a weight off your shoulders then.
01:14But every day...
01:15Call the police now!
01:16...they face aggression...
01:17You wanna find me?
01:18Don't do this again!
01:19...and abuse...
01:20Get out of my way!
01:21...as they try to settle debts...
01:23Watch your back Chris!
01:25This is 70 grand here.
01:26...that no one else can.
01:27He thinks he can fight me.
01:28Let's see!
01:29I know!
01:30What do I do?
01:31Come on Casey, let's go!
01:39People seek legal advice for all sorts of reasons...
01:42...but more than a quarter of all enquiries to law firms...
01:45...relate to defective goods or services.
01:47We've been issued of a High Court writ.
01:49Your company owes a substantial amount of money.
01:52In 2020, Citizens Advice dealt with over 32,000 consumer issues...
01:58...and complaints relating to the home improvement sector.
02:01We find it quite a lot, you know, with people who have garden work...
02:05...and builders have done a job for someone...
02:08...and it's not been up to the quality it should have been.
02:10How do they get the money back?
02:12When all else fails, the High Court can authorise enforcement officers...
02:16...to help customers reclaim cash.
02:19If they don't get this money paid...
02:21...they're going to be on the poverty line.
02:23Let's get back to business.
02:28Let's go!
02:31These jackets are...
02:32Right, let's do this.
02:37Hello there!
02:38Hey, it's Raz from the office.
02:39I've got a new case to send across to you...
02:41...if you can get this one attended as soon as possible for me.
02:47Armed with a High Court writ, enforcement agents Chris and Sam...
02:51...are heading to the last known address of a builder and landscape gardener.
02:55An agent has previously visited...
02:58...and got no response.
03:00Let's see if they've got ten grand cash sitting around.
03:03The man named on the writ was taken to court...
03:06...over a dispute about work he'd carried out for the claimant.
03:09Hopefully he has a van.
03:11Nice car.
03:13Now it's down to the agents to recoup the cash that's owed.
03:16Let's see what he has to say about it.
03:18Right, you ready?
03:19Yeah.
03:31A little CCTV just in by the kitchen window.
03:39You can do the honours.
03:42Hello there, can you come to the door please?
03:44There's no one around at the moment or sounds like no one's around.
03:49There's certainly some dogs barking in there.
03:51So we'll make ourselves scarce.
03:53Yeah.
03:54Do it for 20 minutes.
03:55Come back.
03:56Hopefully they're back.
03:58And see if he can then deal with his debt.
04:01Watch your back Chris.
04:02Here it goes.
04:06Hello there.
04:07I want to know why you're knocking off your way.
04:09OK.
04:10We've got a high call rate, sir.
04:11Just watch your name, sir.
04:12Doesn't matter.
04:13No?
04:14But you live there, yeah?
04:15No, I didn't say I did live there.
04:16It's my house.
04:17What does it matter?
04:18I know what you're here for.
04:19What am I here for?
04:20I suggest you go away and do your homework.
04:21One thing that's forgotten about is there is actually a claimant there.
04:23There is actually someone else in the background that is owed this money.
04:26And if they don't get this money back, that could put them in a financially bad position.
04:31What my problem is with this, right, the whole situation.
04:33Yeah.
04:34You guys turn up, right, because he's told you to.
04:38He's gone to court.
04:39He's not proven anything.
04:41And it ain't fair.
04:43We try and make sure we are firm but fair.
04:45You know, we're there to deal with the case in a lawful way.
04:48Enforcing it on high court writs to get that money back.
04:51If I'm for that one to you guys.
04:53I'm not saying it to you personally.
04:54Yeah.
04:55I'll make you guys.
04:56Situation is, I did have my own business.
04:58Yep.
04:59Covid cost me my business.
05:00I have no spare money.
05:01OK, hear me out.
05:02If we can work with you, we certainly will.
05:05Do I feel sorry for people?
05:06Absolutely.
05:07I hear the stories from them having a bad year, a bad day.
05:12Of course I can empathise.
05:13I'm human.
05:16If the man doesn't have the cash to clear the debt,
05:19the agents have the power to seize and sell his property to repay what's owed.
05:25You can't come in my house and take anything.
05:27You can't take anything out of the front room.
05:28OK.
05:29I've got no vehicle in my name.
05:30So what about this vehicle then?
05:31Whose vehicle is this?
05:32My son-in-law's car.
05:33Your son-in-law's car.
05:34Yeah.
05:35If you want.
05:36I have no car.
05:37I have no vehicle.
05:38OK.
05:39That's what I'm saying.
05:40You guys are coming, but there's nothing you can do.
05:42There's nothing.
05:43Yeah.
05:44Do you have any paperwork here?
05:45Insurance details?
05:46Why are you calling me along?
05:47What I'm saying to you, the way you're acting and being quite aggressive,
05:50when I'm not being aggressive to you, OK?
05:52However, if it comes to light that you don't have the assets to clear this debt, then that's different.
05:57It means then you don't physically have the assets or the money.
06:01If agents reasonably believe an asset belongs to someone named on a high court writ, they may be able to seize it.
06:07In relation to this car, sir.
06:08Don't touch my...
06:09So Chris takes the car keys from the ignition.
06:11We're going to do some checks in this car first.
06:13Excuse me.
06:14No.
06:15Right now, sir.
06:16You can't do that.
06:17Right now, I can do it.
06:18I'm taking control of this car.
06:19You can't do that.
06:20Get out of my way.
06:21Get out of my way!
06:22As soon as we see proof that this car belongs to someone else, then we can give you the keys back.
06:27Well, if it's not in my name, it'll be in my missus' name.
06:31There's a lot of times people will start shouting, screaming, be abusive.
06:34You can't react to that.
06:36You know, if you're going to react to it, then this is not the job for you.
06:38You've got to be able to, you know, just step back and just let them just get all that off their system
06:44and then deal with the case in hand.
06:48You can come in, love.
06:49He ain't coming in.
06:51Let's have a talk.
06:52Let's have a talk.
06:53Come on.
06:54I don't think I've even got keys for me.
06:56So I'll have my car back now because I need to go and get door keys.
06:59Okay.
07:00I'm not giving my car keys back.
07:02I'm not doing that, sir.
07:03The car is now in our control.
07:05No, it is not.
07:06Where's your paperwork?
07:07I can draw up the paperwork.
07:08That's not a problem.
07:09Where did you say about you taking the car?
07:11I've done it now.
07:12Have you got my car written down?
07:13No, you don't have to.
07:14Have you got my car written down?
07:15No one.
07:16Yeah.
07:17Get on with it.
07:21Us Brits spend £680 million a year fixing broken mobile phone screens.
07:27Me, personally, I like to have the latest phones.
07:30Kind of a gadget geek.
07:32And 20% of us lived with cracked screens for six months or more before getting them repaired.
07:38Virgil, you got a pink fund.
07:41It was a manly pink.
07:49Hello.
07:50Hey, Mark.
07:51I've just got a rip against a phone company.
07:53It's a small phone shop.
07:54We're still trading, so I'm hoping that we can actually get payment in full for our client.
07:58Agents Mark and Virgil are looking to settle a debt owed by a mobile phone business.
08:05See if we're going to pay it.
08:06All they need to do is call us.
08:08Definitely got a phone.
08:09It works, didn't they?
08:10There's no excuse, really.
08:12No excuse.
08:14The business owes money to a dissatisfied customer who complained that his phone screen wasn't fixed properly
08:25and had to get another shop to carry out additional repairs at further cost.
08:29Hello.
08:30Good morning.
08:31Good morning.
08:32My name is Virgil.
08:33I'm a high court enforcement agent.
08:34This is my colleague, Mr Mark.
08:35The agents need to speak to the company director.
08:38So, can you get him on the phone?
08:39I can try.
08:40I can try.
08:41That's all we need.
08:42Not the average day, is it?
08:43Not anyway.
08:44Put it on speaker.
08:45Yeah.
08:46Put it on speaker.
08:47Hello.
08:48Hi there.
08:49My name is Virgil.
08:50I'm a high court enforcement agent.
08:51I'm here with my colleague, Mr Mark.
08:52What is it about?
08:53Basically, a gentleman took you to court.
08:55Yes, we have replied to that person.
08:58We haven't had a response yet.
09:00I don't know why you're here.
09:01I think we have a response.
09:03I'm calling the police.
09:04Wait.
09:05I'm calling the police and I'm coming as well.
09:07We'll wait for you, sir.
09:09From their point of view, the police are the ones who can tell if I'm legally there or
09:14not, if I can do something or not.
09:16It's an advantage for us and it's music to my ears.
09:20If the payment isn't made, the agents may seize goods from the shop, which will be sold
09:25to cover the debt.
09:26We've got a court order stating we need to remove assets.
09:29We're not removing assets yet.
09:30We've just got to collect the money.
09:32When the chap comes, obviously, he's going to want to relay his end of the story.
09:37We'll always listen.
09:38We'll see, obviously, if this can get paid at the lowest amount.
09:41Step in, boys.
09:42When we turn up, people try not to pay the debt.
09:45We explain to them, pay it straight away.
09:47Less money, less stress.
09:49So, we can finish early and he doesn't need to pay more fees.
09:55But it's not going to happen that way.
09:57Yeah, unfortunately.
10:01Coming up, Chris and Sam face threats.
10:04Give me that scarf to his back, right?
10:06Whereas you're going to get put on your arse.
10:07And things don't go smoothly for Mark and Virgil.
10:10I'm not paying anything.
10:11You're not paying anything?
10:12No problems.
10:13You can't take any assets.
10:14Take me to court again.
10:16What are you going with?
10:17Get on with it.
10:18Enforcement agents Chris and Sam are trying to recover over £10,000 from a landscape gardener
10:37who was taken to court after a dispute over work he'd carried out.
10:41You should have taken my keys yet.
10:43My only mode of transport, you've got no paperwork.
10:45That ain't on no paperwork.
10:47If no payment is made, the High Court rig gives the agents the power to seize assets
10:52to cover the value of the debt.
10:54Is that a car?
10:55If someone is going to say they own that vehicle, what are you going with?
10:58It's on High Court rig, right?
10:59Listen, I know where it works.
11:00Do you want to have a tool?
11:01You need to write that down on your paperwork and I have to sign it.
11:05I've done it.
11:06That's called a control goods agreement.
11:07That's a control goods agreement.
11:08And that's not what we're doing.
11:09We're taking the car in control.
11:11But how are you taking it in control?
11:12Because I've now...
11:13I've not agreed to that.
11:14I've now got those keys.
11:15So I've now...
11:16You stole them keys.
11:17I've taken those keys.
11:18You took them keys.
11:19Do you want me to know Bill?
11:20I don't need the police here.
11:21Do you think you need the keys?
11:22I ain't got a chance, brother.
11:23Let me show you.
11:24If you need the police here...
11:25I'll talk to you.
11:26Have you got your phone handy?
11:27It's in the car, I think.
11:28We'll get a lot of times where the debtors will say to us,
11:31if you don't leave, I'm going to call the police.
11:33For me, that makes no difference because we know we've got court order,
11:36so we have the legal authority to be at that property or it wouldn't be there.
11:40Give me those car keys back, right?
11:43Not...
11:44Because you're going to get put on your arse.
11:45No, no, no, don't do that.
11:46Don't do that.
11:47No, no, no, no, no.
11:48Don't do that.
11:49You think you're good enough?
11:50Come on, come on, sir.
11:51You think you've got the minerals?
11:52Don't do that.
11:53I hate people like you, mate.
11:54You know that.
11:55What do you want to do?
11:56I'm going in the car!
11:57That's fine.
11:58Wait.
11:59This is going.
12:00Yep.
12:01It's you.
12:02You ain't coming in well.
12:05Sam, because of the way he's acting,
12:06I'm not for sure.
12:07I ain't got an issue with you.
12:09Wait now!
12:12Don't come to my house.
12:14I'm warning you.
12:18All right.
12:19I'm going to get some bits and see what's in the boot in that car.
12:22OK.
12:23He doesn't seem like someone you can talk to calmly,
12:26but obviously this vehicle has a value,
12:28so there's no way I'm going to let him just take this vehicle away
12:31and say he's got no assets.
12:32But there's no need for him to be rude and aggressive
12:35and act in that manner.
12:36If he come up and said, look, do you know what?
12:37You know, cap in hand, this is what's happening.
12:39I'm in trouble.
12:40Then we can try and work with him.
12:41I can't say he's given me the impression that he is telling the truth.
12:44So I think this is more likely going to be his car.
12:47Chris calls the office to see if they can get proof the vehicle belongs to the man.
12:52Well, he literally just said, basically, he thinks he can fight me or what have you.
12:57I don't think I know.
12:58Oh, he knows he can.
13:01Being female, I can de-escalate a situation a lot quicker.
13:04Listen, listen, don't sit down for five minutes.
13:08It's people like him, no darling.
13:10Because most men don't generally want to hit a woman.
13:13So I think we defused the situation a lot better.
13:16Do we use this?
13:18With Sam's help, the man realises the agents are there to talk about a different death than he first thought.
13:25But they sent me a letter the other day.
13:27You started off on the wrong foot.
13:28Look, like you said, you're misunderstanding.
13:30No.
13:31So why didn't you tell me that at the beginning?
13:32We're trying to.
13:33We can't say where we're not.
13:34I still don't like us, but that's the end of it.
13:36Listen, I'm sorry, mate.
13:37Oh, OK.
13:38Well, we're not here.
13:39I'll be the better person here.
13:40Thank you for that.
13:41But I've showed you, colleague.
13:42You've seen it all.
13:43There is no money, mate.
13:44If you want to come and have a quick look.
13:46We will say.
13:48Despite the confusion, with no cash to settle the debt, Chris still has the car in his sights.
13:54Take your document back there.
13:56If you have a look at the front of it, right?
13:57I know what it says.
13:58Yeah, this is not proof of my ship.
13:59I've done this before.
14:00So you're going to take my only motor transport.
14:03Sadly, it's a case of that's what we are.
14:05No, you're not.
14:06It's not worth nothing, mate.
14:07You know it's not.
14:08It's not going to cover the debt.
14:09It's a...
14:10It's got a value to it.
14:11If you was half a bloke, like a decent guy, you're going to say to me, it ain't worth it.
14:16What I'm saying to you is...
14:17Sometimes you turn up, it's point blank obvious that they can pay it.
14:20You know, like the Rolex on the wrist.
14:22And there's people that genuinely cannot pay because they're going through a hard time.
14:28What I'm saying to you now is you've got over ten grand's worth of debt here, okay?
14:33When I was talking about the car, one of the things I said to you is, well, what can you pay?
14:37What can you offer?
14:38And you went straight away, nothing.
14:39Nothing.
14:40Nothing.
14:41I'm not lying to you.
14:42You've got £1,100.
14:43Right.
14:44I've got to survive on that for a month.
14:46Council tax.
14:47Gas.
14:48Electric.
14:49Which, by the way, our electric's now going up to £300.
14:50Okay.
14:51The downside we've got is, inside the property, there isn't the assets there to clear the
14:56debt.
14:57There isn't assets.
14:58The car has a value.
14:59If we were to take that vehicle away, store it, then try and sell it, will it outweigh the
15:06costs?
15:07As he's commanded by the court to recover what's owed, Chris must assess all options
15:13before deciding how to proceed.
15:15Good afternoon.
15:16It's Chris here.
15:17We've got to understand it's real life out there.
15:18You know, there are a lot of people out there at the moment having money issues.
15:22On the case reference here, the main question, I don't believe there's going to be finance
15:26on this car, but it's the estimated value.
15:29Agents Virgil and Mark are waiting for the company director of a phone shop.
15:41They're trying to enforce a High Court writ for a customer left out of pocket after a screen
15:47fix went wrong.
15:48All right.
15:49Okay.
15:51Okay.
15:52Bye.
15:53Hello, sir.
15:54I spoke with you on the phone, didn't I?
15:55Yes, you did.
15:56My name is Virgil.
15:57I'm a High Court enforcement agent.
15:58I responded to these people with my side of the story.
16:00Yeah.
16:01Because the court asked you.
16:02Okay.
16:03No one has got back to me about it.
16:05So why are you here?
16:06Because I have a live High Court writ saying that a judge said that you owe this money.
16:10Okay.
16:11Whether you think you owe it or you don't, that's your right.
16:14My problem here is that I'm commanded by the writ to come here and either collect payment
16:20or seize assets.
16:21I don't understand.
16:22Let me explain.
16:23Okay.
16:24So you know when he went to court, the court sent you some documents.
16:26Yeah.
16:27A judge said that you owe the money.
16:28This law killing our business.
16:31If anyone comes to our shop for repairing their phone, we repair their phone.
16:35The phone is water damaged.
16:36We showed him the screen before we put it on.
16:38I have changed it now because your phone was water damaged and he took us to court.
16:43He is 100% in the wrong and we have to pay the customer.
16:46Oh, I got no idea.
16:47We know there's always three sides.
16:49Their side, their side and what really happened.
16:52Now, obviously it depends how a person explains it with how much passion and emotion they explain
16:58it.
16:59But we can't really get personally involved.
17:01A notice of enforcement has been sent here saying can you pay this amount by this time,
17:05by this day.
17:06No, no.
17:07This law is completely wrong.
17:08We didn't make it wrong.
17:09We didn't make it wrong.
17:10No problem.
17:11I'm not paying anything.
17:12You're not paying anything.
17:13No problems.
17:14No.
17:15You can't take any assets either.
17:16Take me to court again.
17:17Out of respect, we're going to give you to half past ten, as we said, for the money to
17:19hit our bank.
17:20If it doesn't hit our bank, we'll be escalating in extra fees and costs to be added.
17:23Do you understand?
17:24No?
17:25No.
17:26Right.
17:27We're going to give to half past?
17:28Because you're wrong.
17:29You can call the police.
17:30They will explain to you.
17:31The police said you have warranted your right to be here, but no one responded to me.
17:36If I didn't pay, and then you turned up, I would say, we will make everything.
17:41But now you are wrong to be here.
17:44My job is to enforce the live high court vet.
17:47I do listen to the story.
17:48Let them get it off their chest.
17:49Then once they've got it off their chest, I will tell them if they need to pay.
17:53Have you got anything to stop the enforcement, yes or no?
17:55I don't have any money.
17:57The only thing that we can do is give you until 10.30.
18:00Can't go back on our work.
18:01And 10.30 is another 15 minutes.
18:03Exactly.
18:04Okay?
18:05If it's paid by then, it's not a problem.
18:07And then afterwards, another half an hour, it will go to 2,900 pounds.
18:10And then we will remove.
18:11Okay?
18:12I hate the way this works.
18:13That's not all.
18:14The decision hasn't come through and you're here.
18:17That is the decision.
18:18We personally can't get involved.
18:20We can't turn around and say, we didn't enforce because a nice gentleman said he doesn't
18:23over money.
18:24It's a wrong decision.
18:25We can't do that.
18:26The subject of a High Court writ usually has 21 days to appeal the enforcement, even
18:31after making payment.
18:32So if I pay now, what do I do?
18:34How do I pursue?
18:36The only advice I can give you, contact the solicitor.
18:40Finally, he agrees to pay the debt in full.
18:43Okay.
18:44What's the price?
18:45Amount is 1592.55.
18:50Okay.
18:51It's all paid.
18:52Can you check?
18:54Hi, Kayleigh.
18:55It's Virgil.
18:56Can you please verify the account?
18:59Perfect.
19:00All right.
19:01No worries.
19:02Thank you very much.
19:03Any issues?
19:04Yeah.
19:05Well, good luck anyway.
19:08The company director may have paid up, but he maintains that he provided a good service
19:13to the customer who took the action against the business.
19:17He wasn't happy with the outcome and that he's taking us to court.
19:22Well, where does the law stand to protect us?
19:25I'll try to pursue and see if I can get my money back.
19:29If there's any justice, I should win.
19:32We like to educate people as well, because we don't want to come back there again.
19:36Maybe one day we can represent him and get money for him.
19:42Coming up, it's crunch time for Chris.
19:45It depends if we want to actually press the button and get the trucks down here and take
19:50the vehicle away.
19:51And Casey and Alex do their homework.
19:53Do you know what this is about?
19:55No, I have no idea.
19:56On a student debt.
19:58This is quite a lot of money.
19:59Same with £5,000.
20:01Enforcement agents Chris and Sam are trying to collect a debt for over £10,000
20:22from a landscape gardener and builder.
20:25Depending on what the value is, it depends if we want to actually press the button
20:30and get the trucks down here and take the vehicle away.
20:33The man named on the high court, Ritt, says he doesn't have any cash.
20:37So the agents have seized the keys to the car he was driving.
20:41£1,310.
20:42OK, so we know roughly, and that's the trade value, yeah?
20:48At the moment, it's going for about two thirds of that, so about £900 is what we're probably
20:53looking at roughly.
20:54OK.
20:55OK.
20:56The situation is, there isn't the assets inside the property to clear the debt.
21:01The car has a value.
21:03By the time we actually remove the vehicle, store the vehicle, sell the vehicle, it's only
21:07going to have a few hundred quid which is going to go towards this debt.
21:10So I need to weigh up all the kind of pros and cons on enforcing.
21:13So now we're going to try and see if we can work together.
21:16The agents decide to try and work with the man by offering him a repayment plan.
21:22What I'm going to say is if we agree to this £20 a month, I need you to make sure you try
21:29and make every effort to do it.
21:31I'm going to give you my contact details so you can literally speak to me on the phone.
21:35So if we say by the 25th, it's already bank transferred over.
21:38Yeah.
21:39Now, we will review this, so it will probably be like every six months.
21:43Ultimately, you understand, we need to try and get the claimants' money back.
21:46Now, looking at everything now, I want to try and work with you and just basically
21:49start chipping away this debt.
21:51I do feel sorry for the people.
21:54But I'm not only there for our clients, but I'm there, you know, to also talk them through
22:00this.
22:01It's got to be resolved at the end of the day.
22:04But I'm happy to do that.
22:05So, if we agree to that, what I'm going to do then is basically give your car keys back,
22:10and we won't take the car away, and we'll work together.
22:15There's your keys.
22:16Set it up within the next two days.
22:17All right.
22:18And then we'll work together to try and get this cleared off.
22:21All right.
22:22It's getting cleared off, all right?
22:24Sorry for the outburst, guys.
22:26No worries.
22:27Take care.
22:28See you soon.
22:29Bye.
22:30Cheers.
22:31So, for me, that's a really frustrating case.
22:36However, he's agreed to pay a low £20 a month arrangement.
22:41I think that's probably the best scenario.
22:43Yeah.
22:44The gentleman calmed down and got a payment arrangement, which was the best outcome.
22:52All right.
22:53Hopefully, the next one's a bit more of a friendlier, happier soul.
23:00The average total debt per UK household, including mortgage, stands at £63,500.
23:07We hear all about it, the financial side of things.
23:10Companies struggling, people struggling.
23:12Between December 2021 and February 2022, one person every five minutes was declared insolvent
23:20or bankrupt.
23:21A lot of the time, they've buried their head in their sand.
23:23They don't know what to do.
23:24And so, this is why it is important to say, look, it may not feel like it, but we are here
23:29to try and help you through it.
23:31Hello.
23:36Hi.
23:39Yes.
23:40This particular one, it's in relation to rent arrears.
23:42I need an urgent attendance.
23:44Thanks.
23:45Enforcement agents Alex and Casey are heading to recover money from a man who fell into rent arrears
23:50on a student accommodation.
23:51So, we are in New Southampton, Hampshire, and they owe £5,182.09.
23:59I don't even know why they'd round it up to ten.
24:02Let's hope that they are there.
24:05Turning a la gauche.
24:07A la gauche.
24:09When they arrive, the agents spot a woman working on a car outside the address they've been
24:14sent to.
24:15Ah, hello there, madams.
24:18Oh, we're getting the windows done are we?
24:21Get all the bubbles out.
24:22Alex quickly identifies the woman as one of the two people named on the writ.
24:27So, do you know what this is about?
24:30No, I have no idea.
24:31Right.
24:32Have you ever had any rent arrears problems, anything like that?
24:34No.
24:35Never?
24:36No.
24:37Has a court writ been issued against you?
24:38No.
24:39OK.
24:40No, no, no, no, no, that's fine.
24:42This is quite a lot of money.
24:44It's over £5,000.
24:46So, we're trying to establish from you why this money is owed.
24:52We generally tend to try and find out from the defendant exactly what's gone on, why it's
24:57got to this stage, to try and build a rapport up with people to soften the blow, as it were.
25:07Alex asked the woman if she knows the other person named on the writ.
25:10Is that your partner or son or...?
25:12No, that's my son.
25:13It's your son.
25:14OK.
25:15We've been together six years, seven years, so we kind of know how each other works.
25:18And that's a good thing to bounce off each other.
25:20But, at times, me and my colleague have to go good cop, bad cop.
25:24We have to take control of any possessions that we see until we obviously resolve this.
25:30So, just to let you know, don't move your vehicle, because it will smash the end of the car.
25:35If they don't pay the debts, and just don't bother, if they bury their head in the sand,
25:38what's going to happen is they're just never going to get paid.
25:40And at that point, it's just going to continue to increase in financial amount,
25:43and continue to increase in the stress that they're going to feel,
25:46that isn't helpful or any good for anybody's mental health.
25:49They actually sent you paperwork that you would have had about two weeks before we even come.
25:54And prior to that, they would have sent you paperwork in regards to a county court judgment
25:59to give you the opportunity to challenge it.
26:01And neither one of those has been responded to, so that's why now it's gone to the High Court,
26:05why they've sent us down to look to remove goods, so...
26:08I haven't received any paperwork.
26:09Right, okay.
26:10How old is your son?
26:12He is 22.
26:14Did you guarantor a flat or residence for him, maybe at college or...?
26:17University.
26:18Right, you guarantored it. So that's what's happened.
26:21Research shows that UK students are in £171 million worth of rent debt,
26:27with 11% of student in rent arrears.
26:31So basically, yeah, so he didn't pay it.
26:33As the guarantor, they'll come after both of you.
26:36Anyone acting as a guarantor in a rent agreement or loan
26:39is immediately liable for any debt if the contract is breached
26:43or payments fall into arrears.
26:46Well, we've got one half of the jury, the other half is her son apparently.
26:50So you might want to get him on the phone and find out exactly what happened,
26:54because at this point, there's been no payment arrangement,
26:57nothing set up, and now they've taken it to the High Court,
27:00which increased the cost.
27:02The woman calls her son.
27:03For the rent, for the house? What's happening with that?
27:09What do you mean? I'm trying to get Dad on the phone
27:11and then I have some people here.
27:12Why is it I've got enforcement agent come...
27:15Why have I got enforcement?
27:20Well, at the moment, they come here to see stuff, yeah?
27:23So I try to get Dad, I can't get him.
27:25So I need this to be resolved, yeah?
27:29OK.
27:30So does he know what he's doing about it?
27:32He said he sent off some sort of stuff
27:35and he never got a response from them or something like that.
27:38OK, so what's his next move? What's he doing now?
27:40He's just waiting for Dad to ring.
27:43At that point, we say, right, who have you got in your life?
27:46There's my son. Get the family member on the phone.
27:49And that's the point where you generally start to get
27:52some kind of resolution.
27:55The woman speaks with her son's father,
27:57who says they have engaged with the court
27:59and are awaiting a response.
28:01OK, how long ago was that?
28:02Sometimes last year.
28:03Is there a way of affording the amount that's outstanding?
28:06Does your son...
28:07Yeah, are you able to pay the amount that's outstanding?
28:09No.
28:10We need to figure out about financially what we're able to do.
28:14Are you able to help them at all?
28:16Not at the moment, no.
28:17Right, maybe you could kind of put together to maybe...
28:20Or speak to your son about what you could maybe raise
28:22to try to get an amount that we could pay
28:24and maybe offer it as an arrangement.
28:26The thing is, they'll want to take that...
28:28What plane is it?
28:29Oh, mine.
28:30Yeah, they'll want to take that and sell that
28:32because that would cover it.
28:33We don't want to do that, though.
28:34So you don't have anything to put towards it at all?
28:36I have nothing.
28:37If the woman can't pay the debt today,
28:40Casey and Alex may be forced to seize and sell her car
28:43to help recover the money owed.
28:52Agent Sam and Chris are trying to trace a businessman
28:55named on a High Court writ.
28:57I don't like driving in London.
28:59There's too many cars.
29:01Everyone wants to cut you up.
29:03She sent me over to Norfolk.
29:05Much nicer.
29:06They've already been to a residential address
29:10in search of the man.
29:12Their next stop is one of his businesses.
29:14A shop specialising in global money transfers
29:17and currency exchange.
29:19You've seen some pictures of the shop inside, haven't you?
29:21Yeah.
29:22And it looked like the assets are.
29:24That's the thing.
29:25Can't really see much.
29:26So it's saints just up here on the left.
29:28There it is.
29:29Right, let's do it.
29:30Hello.
29:31How are you guys doing?
29:32Good.
29:33Is the boss about at all?
29:34He's not here.
29:35He's not here.
29:36He's not here at the moment.
29:37Okay.
29:38Can you get him on the phone for me?
29:39It's quite an important matter and he talked to me about.
29:40My name's Chris.
29:41This is Sam.
29:42We're enforcement agents.
29:44In the meantime, what I'm going to do is have a quick look around
29:45and see what items are here and stuff, okay?
29:46While the staff tried to reach the man named on the writ,
29:48Chris uses the opportunity to search for potential assets.
29:51So we've got iMac.
29:52They could seize to clear the debt.
29:53A very good second-hand value.
29:55But just underneath it is a nice printer.
30:10Obviously that alone is not going to clear the debt.
30:13alone is not going to clear the debt so we need to try and see what else is here you never know
30:17we might even find a safe here um which would hopefully have the money inside to just pay the
30:21debt oh here we go surprise surprise a safe honestly did not see that before i said that
30:33the shop have managed to contact their boss um do you mind quit on speaking i can talk to him
30:38okay hello sir hello my name is chris i'm an enforcement agent issued with a high court writ
30:47so it's in relation to ria financial services limited you owe them a sum of money i don't own
30:54any money to find out sadly you do and it's um so what's happened is they're taking it to county court
31:01um and it's been awarded in their favor but now what's actually happened it's been escalated to
31:06high court and that's where i've now been appointed to remove your goods at the moment you're looking
31:13at 2 800 pounds so this is the first time that i had that i own money to finance up to four letters
31:21of warning will be sent to someone before agents arrive to enforce a high court writ
31:28if you can't pay it or refuse to pay it then it will mean i have to go through the stages of
31:34listing items taking control and actually removing these items um i don't have the amount to pay
31:40right now you don't have the 2 800 no there is a safe here sir um so why don't we open this safe
31:46and let's have a look in the safe see if there's cash in here whilst chris has been on the phone
31:52sam has seized a large amount of cash from a filing cabinet
31:55can i talk to him yeah the option is a payment in full sir today right i found a thousand pounds so
32:03far you have money yeah that's lying around around the tills i need to know why are you looking for
32:11there he's refused to pay and we've located some of the money so we've got half the money now in cash and
32:19we just now need the additional fourteen hundred pounds to close us off and that'll be the end of
32:23the matter one thousand twenty five so do you want to settle this no i don't want you can't make a
32:30payment of 2308 pounds and 20 pence today no that's fine it's less than that now but if you can't pay
32:36that then i'm sorry sir what's going to happen is we're going to have no choice but to go to the next
32:39stage what do you have in your your bank account now i don't have money in my bank account do you understand
32:45you've got your quite a nice uh computer sitting here the the big apple i mac it is a company stuff
32:51i don't have nothing there if we do remove goods from here then ultimately it's gonna the debt is
32:55going to increase all right i'll give you five ten minutes sir we'll speak to you in a bit
33:04i'm sure they will come up with the money they've just seen it if you're bright before them
33:09so he's literally just sent me a couple of messages um one saying that um he's got three
33:13months worth of rent to pay the other thing is saying about the money that's uh was in the till
33:18is owned by a different company so i'm going to give him a bit more time and let's see if we can get
33:22this paid okay lord my call i start listing some of these items
33:35alex quick coming up alex and casey are under pressure to get payment possible the point is
33:41we can't let this move until we resolved it and chris and sam tighten the screw if you show me your
33:47bank account all right and i see you've got thousands of pounds sitting your bank account right now yes
33:52i'm going to tell you to pay it all
34:07casey and alex are at the home of a mother who had acted as guarantor on her son's student accommodation
34:14it's about the property that i think your son stayed at when her son fell into arrears with the property
34:19company both of them ended up named on a high court writ he should have chased it up so this is the
34:25problem that we're going to have now they're going to look for us to retrieve the amount with the
34:30mother unable to pay anything towards the five thousand pound debt the agents decide to focus on the
34:36father hello sir my name's alex your dad right okay so he's obviously got himself in a bit of a mess
34:43isn't he with this and um well it's quite it's quite a high amount i understand that so so what about
34:48is there an amount of money that someone could pay towards this and then we could perhaps put them
34:52in an arrangement ourselves i think that people should try and engage with people like us and to
35:00try and resolve the matter amicably i'd rather resolve the matter on the phone with someone than
35:04have to go around to their house quite happy for people to tell us what happened and we do empathize
35:10okay no worries all right that's fine just don't want to hold you up that's all although not his debt
35:14the father offers to pay 200 pounds what i'm going to do um i'm i'm going to make a phone call to see
35:21whether what how much is the minimum they'd accept today okay um i'll speak to you soon all right cheers
35:28bye-bye uh dad reckons he's got a couple of hundred quid is there anyone else who how much is it at
35:34what's it at though five five one eight nine they won't they won't do anything unless it's hit half so
35:38even if we try to ask them if it's for a thousand pounds and do what like 200 a month or something
35:43that's the only other thing that they'll do do you want to speak to the dad for a minute
35:47and see between the two of you what's the most you can come up with i mean he's he's got a couple
35:51hundred and maybe he you might have some ideas where he might be able to get more money but
35:55unfortunately with with you being listed on the writ we can't let this move until we resolved it
35:59they need someone to help them bailiffs aren't the ones to help them but we will assist
36:04trying to get them in an arrangement to bring that head out of the sand and go forward
36:07the mother gets her son's father on the phone again hello sir alex quick
36:14like right i've just spoken to them the best the best that i can do for you is that they'll accept
36:19a 500 pound payment and uh they'll put him in an arrangement i don't know what's affordable do you
36:24think for him at the moment a month you you tell me how much as a family you guys can pay towards
36:30it a month for the time being okay then let's put that in place for you okay but they have asked for
36:37a 500 pound payment today well i don't know what to suggest to be fair the debt is over five thousand
36:43pounds so for them to say okay you know and take our advice and take 500 pounds is actually quite a
36:48good deal see what you can do all right no worries i'd rather you call me up and put something in place
36:54like that because the enforcement stops well he's going to try and raise the 500 and then we're going to
36:59get her we're going to release her aren't we yeah with the promise of payment the agents released the
37:03clamp from the car and we'll speak to in a minute
37:09oh he's there perfect thank you the father transfers 500 pounds into the mother's account
37:15okay no way so apparently he's put it in your account so do you want to grab your card and
37:18as long as we get this we're going yeah leave your receipt we'll put it in your son put it in there
37:22put it in there do it 500 put it in okay hold on he's put the money in your account now put your
37:27card in he's just transferred the money for you there's no card where's your card in the house
37:32within what ma'am we've got we're trying to leave as well you're just making it difficult for me no no
37:36i understand but ma'am it's not our fault so what i'm trying to say is go get the card he's transferred
37:41the money for him to be able to pay the 500 if you can get the card pay it and then you'll be on your way
37:46just running quickly get the card it's simple what we're going to do is stick the receipt to the door
37:53there you go
37:58all good perfect card holder that's yours perfect right we've got your number thank you very much
38:04sorry about the delay 500 pounds and he was offering 200 um we'll give him the benefit of the
38:12doubt for now we'll give him the opportunity to make the payments to yeah stick to the arrangement
38:19and then we'll take it from there it's time that he pays his own debt to not leave it for his mother
38:25i think personally it'll be sorted uh the father seems quite cooperative she seems quite we've got
38:30their numbers i don't think that we'd have to come back here
38:34agents chris and sam are trying to collect money owed to a financial services company
38:45for a money transfer fee which was never paid hello hello sir it's chris here the enforcement agent again
38:53we spoke early on the phone they have recovered half the cash owed from the shop leaving 1400 pounds still
38:59outstanding i think by the time we turn up they think oh it's all smoke and mirrors so they think
39:05they can almost play the game with us and stay well you know fill your boots take out whatever you
39:10want to take out only until we start physically removing those assets do they then realize we do
39:15mean business and we will do what we're saying we're going to do problem is we're going to struggle
39:19to clear just even that 1400 pounds worth of debt with the items here
39:23time is certainly running out um and our patience will be running out so um uh you know if we do find
39:30assets then we'll just take these items away no boxes or cash is there no not yet chargers adapters
39:39it's bits and bobs so it's just a computer really for me it's to see what's in that safe yeah
39:46sadly uh that's a little bit too uh too heavy for me so i won't be carrying out my shoulder out the door
39:51what have you ever seen them before what 50 pence you've seen them go for that though i'll behave
40:00this is from the till 1 900 it's definitely worth 50 pence you're so funny i'm still thinking it's
40:10only worth 50 pence sam's think it might be worth 1900 so we might as well take it with the 1400 pounds
40:17if the rare edition 50 pence piece is worth nearly 2000 pounds the debt could be settled in one fell
40:25swoop in the meantime the agents need to pursue payment from the business owner let's see if we
40:32can get him on the phone now are you able to pay it yet sir do you have a way now to show me
40:41what is in your bank to see so you can prove to me that you're being honest with me take that you
40:46want from there take what we want from here okay do you have money in your bank is that what it is you
40:52don't want to show me the account because you do have money in there yeah but that i got money in my
40:57bank account doesn't mean that i have money to pay you now if you show me your bank account all right
41:01and i see you've got thousands of pounds sitting in your bank account right now yes i'm going to tell you
41:06to pay you to pay it all some of the cases it is like a chess game one of the things i like to do
41:11is i like to ask the question i listen to their answer um and then i may ask that question again
41:17but in a bit of a different way and listen to what the answer is and a lot of times they'll forget
41:21what they told you first of all and they'll slip themselves up do you want me to send the
41:26bank statement right away yeah if you can do it now screenshot your phone show me the bank
41:30statement i can see where you're at thank you this is a bank account showing that you just
41:38one of your limited businesses has paid you four thousand five hundred but then you've actually then
41:43transferred out three thousand seven hundred and seventy pounds this is not the account that you
41:47transferred that three thousand pounds into sir with the agent seeing movements of money between the
41:53accounts they push for a payment plan i'm asking you a question so how much can you afford per week
42:00to try and close off this debt you can do 400 pounds right now and then you in one month's time
42:13on the 10th you can pay the thousand pounds and close this off i'll tell you what sir we'll agree
42:20to that and that's the end of it i will pay the full amount right now you're going to do the full amount
42:25right now it happens so often where someone who's refusing to pay but we've clearly seen their
42:31numbers seen their bank accounts but when it comes down to it suddenly surprise surprise they do have
42:35the money to pay after hours of negotiation so it's 1400 and and it's actually 80 pence on it as well
42:43just get that smacked across and i'll give you a receipt and that's the end of the matter
42:48the owner suddenly agrees to settle the debt in full
42:55all right speak to in a second sir thank you do you know this is what is so frustrating i even
43:01actually felt sorry for him at one point he's a businessman having hard times couldn't really
43:05couldn't fold it then suddenly he just goes actually do you know what i'll pay in full maybe he's paying
43:10all this money because he wants his 50 pence back maybe he was onto something i mean as long as the money's
43:15in the bank i'm happy me too hi mate um i've just had a message from the debtor saying he's now paid
43:24it in full can you confirm if that's in the account we've had a payment for one thousand four hundred
43:31and and eight feet fantastic thanks for that all the best bye come on chris give me that 50p that i'm
43:40going to hand back thank you have a good day all the best tell you what i'm glad that one's over but
43:52we've now walked away from this job with a really happy client who knows that they're going to get
43:56all of their money back i'm tired i'm ready to go home that was a really really long one
44:10how are we doing am i going to write my seat out next time there's obviously no intention
44:15of paying mark and virgil face delays we are going to start removing stuff stacking up here
44:20and it's going at a multi-million pound company nothing can conquer the writ
44:27chris and sam track down an elusive chef
44:32and casey and alex take a deep dive
44:35is he making the phone call to take it to recover a 56k debt from a swimming pool builder i'll despair really
44:55is
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