Call the Bailiffs Time to Pay Up S02E03 (03 August 2022)
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CreativityTranscript
00:0012 billion pounds is owed to people and businesses in the UK.
00:11Don't do that, sir.
00:12There is money owed, and it has to be paid.
00:15When all other attempts to settle a debt have failed.
00:18This is quite a lot of money. It's over 5,000 pounds.
00:20Can you come to the bill, Blake?
00:21Cases can end up at the High Court.
00:23Nothing can conquer the writ.
00:25Where a judgement commands enforcement officers to recover what's owed.
00:29Our agents are the last chance to lose.
00:31Let's go.
00:32A High Court writ.
00:33All check-in debts are going to be closed until this matter is resolved.
00:36Gives agents the authority to enter unlocked homes and businesses.
00:40We've made contact. We know they're there.
00:42We're important, agent.
00:43Everybody leaves a trail.
00:45And to seize and sell property.
00:47If you think there's something there, you go call the police.
00:49They're trying to do everything they can apart from actually paying the bill.
00:51To finally get debts paid.
00:53They want us to get their money back.
00:5556,000 pounds and 76 pence outstanding.
00:58In these difficult times.
01:00I need to go home.
01:01Agents find ways for people to clear their debts.
01:04We're not ogres.
01:05We're nice people.
01:06Hopefully it'll be a weight of the shoulders in.
01:08But every day.
01:09Call the police now.
01:10They face aggression.
01:11You wanna put it in me?
01:12Don't do this again.
01:13Hey.
01:14And abuse.
01:15Get out of my way.
01:16As they try to settle debts.
01:18Watch your back, Chris.
01:19This is 70 grand here.
01:20That no one else can.
01:21He thinks he can fight me.
01:22Let's see.
01:23I know.
01:24What are we doing?
01:25Come on, Casey.
01:26Let's go.
01:27People seek legal advice for all sorts of reasons.
01:28But more than a quarter of all inquiries to law firms relate to defective goods or services.
01:41We're being issued of a High Court writ.
01:43Your company owes a substantial amount of money.
01:46In 2020, Citizens Advice dealt with over 32,000 consumer issues and complaints relating to the home improvement sector.
01:55We find it quite a lot.
01:57You know, with people who do garden work and builders have done a job for someone and it's not been up to the quality it should have been.
02:04How do they get the money back?
02:06When all else fails, the High Court can authorise enforcement officers to help customers reclaim cash.
02:13If they don't get this money paid, they're going to be on the poverty line.
02:17Let's get back to business.
02:22Let's go.
02:25All right.
02:26Let's do this.
02:31Hello there.
02:32Hey, it's Raz from the office. I've got a new case to send across to you.
02:35If you can get this one attended as soon as possible for me.
02:41Armed with a High Court writ, enforcement agents Chris and Sam are heading to the last known address of a builder and landscape gardener.
02:49An agent has previously visited and got no response.
02:54Let's see if they've got ten grand cash sitting around.
02:57The man named on the writ was taken to court over a dispute about work he'd carried out for the claimant.
03:03Hopefully it's a van.
03:04Nice car.
03:05Now it's down to the agents to recoup the cash that's owed.
03:10Let's see what he has to say about it.
03:12Right, you ready?
03:13Yeah.
03:14There's a little CCTV just in by the kitchen window.
03:33You can do the honors.
03:34Hello there.
03:35Can you come to the door, please?
03:40See, there's no one around at the moment.
03:42It sounds like no one's around.
03:43There's certainly some dogs barking in there.
03:46So we'll make ourselves scarce.
03:47Yeah.
03:4820 minutes.
03:49Come back.
03:50Hopefully they're back.
03:52And see if he can then deal with his debt.
03:55Watch your back, Chris.
03:56Here you go.
03:57Hello there.
03:58I want to know why you're knocking off your way.
03:59OK.
04:00Because we've got a high call rate, sir.
04:01What's your name, sir?
04:02Doesn't matter.
04:03No?
04:04But you live there, yeah?
04:05No, I didn't say I did live there.
04:06It's my house.
04:07What does it matter?
04:08I know what you're here for.
04:09What am I here for?
04:10I suggest you go away and do your homework.
04:12One thing that's forgotten about is there is actually a claimant there.
04:16There is actually someone else in the background that is owed this money.
04:19And if they don't get this money back, that could put them in a financially bad position.
04:23What my problem is with this, right, the whole situation.
04:27Yeah.
04:28Yeah.
04:29You guys turn up, right, because he's told you to.
04:32He's gone to court.
04:33He's not proven anything.
04:35And it ain't fair.
04:36We try and make sure we are firm but fair.
04:39You know, we're there to deal with the case in a lawful way.
04:42Enforcing it on high court writs to get that money back.
04:45If I'm for that one to you guys.
04:47I'm not saying it to you personally.
04:48Yeah.
04:49I'll make you guys.
04:50Situation is, I did have my own business.
04:52Yep.
04:53Covid cost me my business.
04:54I have no experience.
04:55OK, hear me out.
04:56That's what I'm saying.
04:57If we can work with you, we certainly will.
04:58Do I feel sorry for people?
05:00Absolutely.
05:01I hear the stories from them having a bad year, a bad day.
05:06Of course I can empathise.
05:07I'm human.
05:08If the man doesn't have the cash to clear the debt, the agents have the power to seize
05:15and sell his property to repay what's owed.
05:19You can't come in my house and take anything.
05:21You can't take anything out of the front room.
05:22OK.
05:23I've got no vehicle in my name.
05:24So what about this vehicle then?
05:25Whose vehicle's?
05:26Whose vehicle's this?
05:27My son-in-law's car.
05:28Your son-in-law's car?
05:29Yeah.
05:30If you want.
05:31I have no car.
05:32I have no vehicle.
05:33OK.
05:34That's what I'm saying.
05:35There's nothing you can do.
05:36There's nothing.
05:37OK.
05:38Yeah?
05:39Do you have any paperwork here?
05:40Insurance details?
05:41Why are you calling me along?
05:42What I'm saying to you, the way you're acting and being quite aggressive, when I'm not being
05:45aggressive to you, OK?
05:46However, if it comes to light that you don't have the assets to clear this debt, then that's
05:50different.
05:51It means then you don't physically have the assets or the money.
05:54If agents reasonably believe an asset belongs to someone named on a high court writ, they
06:00may be able to seize it.
06:01In relation to this car, sir.
06:02Don't touch my.
06:03So Chris takes the car keys from the ignition.
06:06We're going to do some checks in this car first.
06:07So right now, this is.
06:08No, excuse me.
06:09No.
06:10Right now, sir.
06:11You can't do that.
06:12Right now.
06:13You cannot do that.
06:14I can do it.
06:15I'm taking control of this car.
06:16You can't do that.
06:17Get out of my way.
06:18Get out of my way.
06:19As soon as we see proof that this car belongs to someone else, then we can give you the keys
06:21back.
06:22It's not in my name.
06:23It's in my missus' name.
06:24There's a lot of times people will start shouting, screaming, be abusive.
06:28You can't react to that.
06:30If you're going to react to it, then this is not the job for you.
06:33You've got to be able to just step back and just let them just get all that off their
06:38system and then deal with the case in hand.
06:40You can come in, love.
06:41He ain't coming in.
06:42Let's have a talk.
06:43Let's have a talk.
06:44Come on.
06:45I don't think I've even got keys, mate.
06:46So I'll have my car back now because I need to go and get door keys.
06:47Okay.
06:48I'm not giving up the car keys back.
06:49You're getting the car then?
06:50I'm not doing that, sir.
06:51The car is now in our control.
06:52No, it is not.
06:53Where's your paperwork?
06:54I can draw up the paper.
06:55That's not a problem.
06:56Where did you say about you taking the car?
06:57I've done it now.
06:58Have you got my car written down?
06:59No, you don't have to.
07:00Have you got my car written down?
07:01Do you know what?
07:02Get on with it.
07:03Us Brits spend £680 million a year fixing broken mobile phone screens.
07:21Me, personally, I like to have the latest phone.
07:24Kind of a gadget geek.
07:26And 20% of us lived with cracked screens for six months or more before getting them repaired.
07:32Virgil, you had a pink fund.
07:35It was a manly pink.
07:43Hello.
07:44Hey, Mark.
07:45I've just got a written against a phone company.
07:47It's a small phone shop.
07:48We're still trading, so I'm hoping that we can actually get payment in full for our client.
07:53Agents Mark and Virgil are looking to settle a debt owed by a mobile phone business.
07:59See if we're going to pay it.
08:00All they need to do is call us.
08:02Definitely got a phone.
08:03That works, didn't they?
08:04So there's no excuse, really?
08:06No excuse.
08:08The business owes money to a dissatisfied customer who complained that his phone screen wasn't
08:18fixed properly and had to get another shop to carry out additional repairs at further cost.
08:23Hello.
08:24Good morning.
08:25My name is Virgil.
08:26I'm a high court enforcement agent.
08:27This is my colleague, Mr. Mark.
08:29Why is it about?
08:30This gentleman took you to court.
08:31Yes, we have replied to that person.
08:32We haven't had a response yet.
08:33I don't know why you're here.
08:34I think we have a response.
08:35I'm calling the police.
08:36Wait.
08:37Wait.
08:38Wait.
08:39Wait.
08:40Wait.
08:41Wait.
08:42Wait.
08:43Wait.
08:44Wait.
08:45Wait.
08:46Wait.
08:47Wait.
08:48Wait.
08:49Wait.
08:50Wait.
08:51Wait.
08:52Wait.
08:53Wait.
08:54Wait.
08:55Wait.
08:56Wait.
08:57Wait.
08:58I'm calling the police.
08:59Wait.
09:00Wait.
09:01I'm calling the police and I'm coming as well.
09:02We'll wait for you, sir.
09:04From their point of view, the police are the ones who can tell if I'm legally there or
09:08not, if I can do something or not.
09:10It's an advantage for us and it's music to my ears.
09:14If the payment isn't made, the agents may seize goods from the shop, which will be sold
09:19to cover the debt.
09:20We've got a court order stating we need to remove assets.
09:23We're not removing assets yet.
09:25We just like to collect the money.
09:27When the chap comes, obviously he's going to want to relay his end of the story.
09:31We'll always listen.
09:32We'll see, obviously, if this can get paid at the lowest amount.
09:36When we turn up, people try not to pay the debt.
09:39We explain to them, pay it straight away.
09:42Less money, less stress.
09:44So, we can finish early and he doesn't need to pay more fees.
09:50It's not going to happen, are we?
09:51Yeah, unfortunately.
09:56Coming up, Chris and Sam face threats.
09:59Give me that card to his back, right?
10:00No.
10:01Whereas you're going to get put on your arse.
10:02And things don't go smoothly for Mark and Virgil.
10:04I'm not paying anything.
10:05You're not paying anything?
10:06No problems.
10:07No.
10:08You can't take any assets.
10:09Take me to court again.
10:22What's going on?
10:23Get on with it.
10:24Enforcement agents Chris and Sam are trying to recover over £10,000 from a landscape gardener
10:29who was taken to court after a dispute over work he'd carried out.
10:33You shouldn't have took my keys yet.
10:35My only motor transport.
10:36You've got no paperwork.
10:37That ain't on no paperwork.
10:38If no payment is made, the High Court Rick gives the agents the power to seize assets
10:44to cover the value of the debt.
10:46Is that a car?
10:47If someone is going to say they own that vehicle, what do you say?
10:50It's on High Court Rick, right?
10:51Listen, I know where it works.
10:52Do you want to have a tool?
10:53You need to write that down on your paperwork and I have to sign it.
10:57You don't need to sign it.
10:58I've done it.
10:59That's called a control goods agreement.
11:00Right, so you can't do this.
11:01We're taking the car in control.
11:03But how are you taking it in control?
11:04Because I've now...
11:05I've not agreed to that.
11:06I've now got those keys, so I've now...
11:08You stole them keys.
11:09I've taken those keys to their car.
11:10You took them keys.
11:11Do you want me to know Bill?
11:12I don't need the police here.
11:13Try those with my keys.
11:14I ain't got a chance, brother.
11:15Let me show you.
11:16If you need the police here...
11:17I'll talk to you.
11:18Have you got your phone handy?
11:19It's in the car, I think.
11:20We'll get a lot of times where the debtors will say to us,
11:23if you don't leave, I'm going to call the police.
11:25For me, that makes no difference,
11:26because we know we've got court order,
11:28so we have the illegal authority to be at that property
11:31or it wouldn't be there.
11:34Give me that car to his back, right?
11:35Not...
11:36Because you're going to get put on your arse.
11:37No, no, no, don't do that, don't do that, don't do that.
11:38No, no, no, no, no, don't do that.
11:39Do you think you're good enough?
11:40Don't do that.
11:41Come on, come on, sir.
11:42You think you've got the minerals.
11:43Don't do that.
11:44I hate people like me.
11:45You know...
11:46What do you want to do?
11:47I'm going in the car!
11:48Wait.
11:49This is mine.
11:51Yep.
11:52It's you.
11:53You ain't covering my arm.
11:56Sam, because of the way he's acting,
11:58don't be entering this picture.
11:59I ain't got an issue with you.
12:01Wait now!
12:04Don't come any closer to my arse.
12:06I'm warning you.
12:10Right, I'm going to get some people
12:12to see what's in the boot in that car.
12:14OK.
12:15He doesn't seem like someone you can talk to calmly.
12:17But obviously this vehicle has a value.
12:20So there's no way I'm going to let him just take this vehicle away
12:22and say he's got no assets.
12:24But there's no need for him to be rude and aggressive
12:26and act in that manner.
12:27If he come up and said,
12:28Look, you know what?
12:29You know, Captain Hand, this is what's happening.
12:31I'm in trouble.
12:32Then we can try and work with him.
12:33I can't say he's given me the impression
12:35that he is telling the truth.
12:36So I think this is more likely going to be his car.
12:39Chris calls the office to see if they can get proof
12:41the vehicle belongs to the man.
12:43Well, I literally just said,
12:45Basically, he thinks he can fight me.
12:48What have you?
12:49I don't think I know.
12:50Oh, he knows he can.
12:52Being female, I can de-escalate a situation a lot quicker.
12:56Listen, listen.
12:57Don't sit down for five minutes.
13:00It's people like him though, darling.
13:02Because most men don't generally want to hit a woman.
13:04So I think we defused the situation a lot better.
13:08Who are you there?
13:10With Sam's help, the man realises the agents are there
13:13to talk about a different death than he first thought.
13:16Yeah, but they sent me a letter the other day.
13:18It started off on the wrong foot.
13:20Look, like you said, misunderstanding.
13:22No.
13:23So why didn't you tell me that at the beginning?
13:24We tried to.
13:25We can't say where we're not.
13:26I still don't like us, but that's the end of it.
13:28Listen, I'm sorry, mate.
13:29Oh, OK. Well, we're not here.
13:30I'll be the better person here.
13:31Thank you for that.
13:32But I've showed you, colleague.
13:33You've seen it all.
13:34OK.
13:35There is no money, mate.
13:36If you want to come and have a quick look.
13:37We will, sir.
13:38We will, sir.
13:39Have a look.
13:40Despite the confusion, with no cash to settle the debt,
13:44Chris still has the car in his sights.
13:46Take your document back there.
13:48If you have a look at the front of it, right?
13:49I know what it says.
13:50Yeah, this is not proof of ownership.
13:51I've done this before.
13:52So you're going to take my only mode of transport.
13:55Sadly, it's OK.
13:56So that's what we are.
13:57No, you're not.
13:58It's not worth nothing, mate.
13:59You know it's not.
14:00It's not going to cover the debt.
14:01It's a...
14:02It's got a value to it.
14:03OK.
14:04If you was half a bloke, like a decent guy,
14:06you were going to say to me,
14:07it ain't worth taking.
14:08Well, what I'm saying to you is...
14:09Sometimes you turn up,
14:10it's point blank obvious that they can pay it.
14:12You know, like the Rolex on the wrist.
14:14And there's people that genuinely cannot pay
14:18because they're going through a hard time.
14:20What I'm saying to you now is
14:22you've got over 10 grand's worth of debt here, OK?
14:25When I was talking about the car,
14:27one of the things I said to you is,
14:29well, what can you pay?
14:30What can you offer?
14:31And you went straight away, nothing.
14:32Nothing.
14:33I'm not lying to you.
14:34I've got £1,100.
14:35Right.
14:36I'll survive on that for a month.
14:37Council tax.
14:38Gas.
14:39Electric.
14:40Which, by the way,
14:41our electric's now going up to £300.
14:42OK.
14:43The downside we've got is,
14:45inside the property,
14:46there isn't the assets there to clear the debt.
14:48There isn't assets.
14:49The car has a value.
14:51If we were to take that vehicle away,
14:53store it, then try and sell it,
14:56will it outweigh the costs?
14:59As he's commanded by the court to recover what's owed,
15:02Chris must assess all options before deciding how to proceed.
15:06Good afternoon.
15:07It's Chris here.
15:08We've got to understand it's real life out there.
15:10You know, there are a lot of people out there at the moment
15:12having money issues.
15:13On our case reference here,
15:16the main question,
15:17I don't believe there's going to be finance on this car,
15:19but it's the estimated value.
15:28Agents Virgin and Mark are waiting for the company director of a phone shop.
15:33They're trying to enforce a high court writ
15:36for a customer left out of pocket
15:38after a screen fix went wrong.
15:40All right.
15:41OK, thank you.
15:42OK.
15:43Bye.
15:44Hello, sir. I spoke with you on the phone, didn't I?
15:45Yes, you did.
15:46My name is Virgil.
15:47I'm a high court enforcement agent.
15:48This is my colleague, Mr. Mark.
15:49I have responded to these people with my side of the story.
15:52Yeah, because the court asked you.
15:53OK, no one has got back to me about it.
15:56So why are you here?
15:58Because I have a live high court writ
16:00saying that a judge said that you owe this money.
16:02OK.
16:03Whether you think you owe it or you don't,
16:05that's your right.
16:06My problem here is that I'm commanded by the writ
16:08to come here and either collect payment
16:11or seize assets.
16:12I don't understand.
16:13Let me explain.
16:14So, you know, when he went to court,
16:16the court sent you some documents.
16:18The judge said that you owe the money.
16:20This law killing our business.
16:22If anyone comes to our shop for repairing their phone,
16:25we repair their phone.
16:27The phone is water damaged.
16:28We showed him the screen before we put it on.
16:30We have changed it now because your phone was water damaged
16:33and he took us to court.
16:35He is 100% in the wrong and we have to pay the cost for it.
16:38Oh, I got no idea.
16:39We know there's always three sides.
16:41Their side, their side and what really happened.
16:44Now, obviously, it depends how a person explains it
16:48with how much passion and emotion they explain it,
16:50but we can't really get personally involved.
16:53A notice of enforcement has been sent here saying,
16:55can you pay this amount by this time, by this day?
16:57No, no.
16:58This law is completely wrong.
16:59We didn't make it wrong.
17:00We didn't make it wrong.
17:01Complain too many is for justice.
17:02No problem.
17:03I'm not paying anything.
17:04You're not paying anything.
17:05No problems.
17:06No.
17:07You can't take any assets either.
17:08Take me to court again.
17:09Out of respect, we're going to give it to half past ten,
17:10as we said, for the money to hit our bank.
17:12If it doesn't hit our bank,
17:13we'll be escalating in extra fees and costs be added.
17:15Do you understand?
17:16No?
17:17No.
17:18Do you want to say it again?
17:19No.
17:20Right.
17:21I don't understand because you're wrong.
17:22You can't call the police.
17:23They will explain to you.
17:24The police said you have warranted your right to be here,
17:26but no one responded to me.
17:28If I didn't pay and then you turned up,
17:31I was saying, take everything.
17:33But now you are wrong to be here.
17:36My job is to enforce the live high court writ.
17:38I do listen to the story,
17:40let them get it off their chest.
17:41Then once they got it off their chest,
17:43I will tell them if I need to pay.
17:45Have you got a thing to stop the enforcement?
17:46Yes or no?
17:47Oh, I don't have any money.
17:49The only thing that we can do is give you until 10.30.
17:52Can't go back on our work.
17:53The time 30 is another 15 minutes.
17:55Exactly.
17:56Okay?
17:57If it's paid by then, it's not a problem.
17:58And then afterwards, another half an hour,
18:00it will go to £2,900.
18:02And then we will remove.
18:03Okay?
18:04I hate the way this works.
18:05That's not all.
18:06The decision hasn't come through and you're here.
18:09That is the decision.
18:10We personally can't get involved.
18:12We can't turn around and say we didn't enforce
18:14because a nice gentleman said he doesn't over money.
18:16It's a wrong decision.
18:17We can't do that.
18:18The subject of a high court writ
18:20usually has 21 days to appeal the enforcement,
18:23even after making payments.
18:25So if I pay now, what do I do?
18:27How do I pursue?
18:28The only advice I can give you is contact the solicitor.
18:31Finally, he agrees to pay the debt in full.
18:35Okay, what's the price?
18:37Amount is 1592.55.
18:44Okay.
18:45It's okay.
18:46Can you check?
18:47Hi, Kayleigh.
18:48It's Virgil.
18:49Can you please verify the account?
18:51Perfect.
18:52All right.
18:53No worries.
18:54Thank you very much.
18:55Any issues?
18:56Yeah, we got it.
18:57Do it, yeah?
18:58Good luck anyway.
19:00The company director may have paid up,
19:03but he maintains that he provided a good service to the customer
19:06who took the action against the business.
19:09He wasn't happy with the outcome,
19:12and then he's taking us to court.
19:14Well, where does the law stand to protect us?
19:17I'll try to pursue and see if I can get my money back.
19:21If there's any justice, I should win.
19:24We like to educate people as well,
19:26because we don't want to come back there again.
19:28Maybe one day we can represent him and get money for him.
19:34Coming up, it's crunch time for Chris.
19:37It depends if we want to actually press the button
19:40and get the trucks down here and take the vehicle away.
19:43And Casey and Alex do their homework.
19:45Do you know what this is about?
19:47No, I have no idea.
19:48On a student debt.
19:50This is quite a lot of money.
19:51It's over £5,000.
19:53Enforcement agents Chris and Sam are trying to collect a debt
20:10for over £10,000 from a landscape gardener and builder.
20:15Depending on what the value is,
20:17depends if we want to actually, you know,
20:19press the button and get the trucks down here
20:21and take the vehicle away.
20:23The man named on the high court, Ritt,
20:25says he doesn't have any cash.
20:27So the agents have seized the keys to the car he was driving.
20:30£1,310.
20:34OK, so we know roughly, and that's the trade value, yeah?
20:38At the moment, it's going for about two-thirds of that,
20:41so about £900 is what we're probably looking at roughly.
20:44OK.
20:46The situation is, there isn't the assets inside the property
20:49to clear the debt.
20:50The car has a value.
20:52By the time we actually remove the vehicle,
20:54store the vehicle, sell the vehicle,
20:56it's only going to have a few hundred quid,
20:58which is going to go towards this debt.
20:59So I need to weigh up all the kind of pros and cons on enforcing.
21:02So now we're going to try and see if we can work together.
21:05The agents decide to try and work with the man
21:08by offering him a repayment plan.
21:11What I'm going to say is,
21:13if we agree to this £20 a month,
21:16I need you to make sure you try and make every effort to do it.
21:20I'm going to give you my contact details
21:22so you can literally speak to me on the phone.
21:25So if we say by the 25th it's already bank transferred over, yeah?
21:28Now, we will review this,
21:31so it'll probably be like every six months.
21:33Ultimately, you understand,
21:34we need to try and get the claimant's money back.
21:35Now, looking at everything now,
21:37I want to try and work with you
21:38and just basically start chipping away this debt.
21:40I do feel sorry for the people,
21:43but I'm not only there for our own clients,
21:47but I'm there, you know, to also talk them through this.
21:50It's got to be resolved at the end of the day.
21:53So I'm happy to do that.
21:55So if we agree to that,
21:57what I'm going to do then is basically give your car keys back,
21:59and we won't take the car away,
22:02and we'll work together.
22:04There's your keys.
22:05You set it up within the next two days.
22:07All right.
22:08And then we'll work together to try and get this cleared off.
22:10All right, no worries.
22:11It's getting cleared off, all right?
22:13Sorry for the outburst, guys.
22:15No worries. Take care.
22:17See you soon.
22:18Bye.
22:19Cheers.
22:22So, for me, that's a really frustrating case.
22:25However, he's agreed to pay a low £20 a month arrangement.
22:30I think that's probably the best scenario.
22:32Yeah, the gentleman calmed down and got payment arrangement,
22:35which was the best outcome.
22:41All right.
22:42Hopefully the next one's a bit more of a friendlier, happier soul.
22:47The average total debt per UK household, including mortgage,
22:54stands at £63,500.
22:57We hear about it, the financial side of things,
23:00companies struggling, people struggling.
23:02Between December 2021 and February 2022,
23:06one person every five minutes was declared insolvent or bankrupt.
23:11A lot of the time they bury their head in their sand.
23:13They don't know what to do.
23:14And so this is why it is important to say,
23:17look, it may not feel like it,
23:19but we are here to try and help you through it.
23:29Hi, yes.
23:30This particular one, it's in relation to rent arrears.
23:32I need an urgent attendance.
23:34Thanks.
23:35Enforcement agents Alex and Casey
23:37are heading to recover money from a man
23:39who fell into rent arrears on his student accommodation.
23:42So we are in New Southampton, Hampshire,
23:44and they owe £5,182.09.
23:49I don't know why they can round it up to ten.
23:52Let's hope that they are there.
23:55Turning a la gauche.
23:57A la gauche.
23:58When they arrive, the agents spot a woman working on a car
24:02outside the address they've been sent to.
24:04Ah, hello there, madam.
24:08Oh, we're getting the windows done, are we?
24:11Get all the bubbles out.
24:12Alex quickly identifies the woman
24:14as one of the two people named on the writ.
24:17So, do you know what this is about?
24:20No, I have no idea.
24:21Right.
24:22Have you ever had any rent arrears problems,
24:23anything like that?
24:24No.
24:25Never?
24:26No.
24:27You've got a High Court writ been issued against you.
24:30Okay.
24:31No, no, no, no, no, that's fine.
24:32This is quite a lot of money.
24:34It's over £5,000.
24:36So, we're trying to establish from you why this money is owed.
24:41We generally tend to try and find out from the defendant
24:46exactly what's gone on, why it's got to this stage,
24:49to try and build a rapport up with people to soften the blow, as it were.
24:57Alex asked the woman if she knows the other person named on the writ.
25:00Is that your partner or son or...?
25:02That's my son.
25:03It's your son, okay.
25:04We've been together six years, seven years.
25:06So, we kind of know how each other works.
25:08And that's a good thing to bounce off each other.
25:10But, at times, me and my colleague have to go good cop, bad cop.
25:14We have to take control of any possessions that we see,
25:17until we obviously resolve this.
25:20So, just to let you know, don't move your vehicle,
25:22because it will smash the end of the car.
25:25If they don't pay the debts, just don't bother.
25:27If they bury their head in the sand, what's going to happen is
25:29they're just never going to get paid.
25:30And at that point, it's just going to continue to increase in financial amount
25:33and continue to increase the stress that they're going to feel
25:36that isn't helpful or any good for anybody's mental health.
25:39They actually sent you paperwork that you would have had
25:42about two weeks before we even come.
25:44And prior to that, they would have sent you paperwork
25:47in regards to a county court judgment
25:49to give you the opportunity to challenge it.
25:51And neither one of those has been responded to.
25:53So, that's why now it's gone to the High Court
25:55and why they've sent this down to look to remove goods.
25:57I haven't received any paperwork.
25:59Right, OK.
26:00How old is your son?
26:01He is 22.
26:03Did you guarantor a flat or residence for him, maybe at college or...?
26:07University.
26:08Right, you guarantored it.
26:09So, that's what's happened.
26:11Research shows that UK students are in £171 million worth of rent debt,
26:17with 11% of students in rent arrears.
26:20So, basically, yeah, so he didn't pay it.
26:23As the guarantor, they'll come after both of you.
26:26Anyone acting as a guarantor in a rent agreement or loan
26:30is immediately liable for any debt
26:32if the contract is breached or payments fall into arrears.
26:36Well, we've got one half of the jury.
26:39The other half is her son, apparently.
26:41So, you might want to get him on the phone
26:43and find out exactly what happened,
26:44because at this point, there's been no payment arrangement,
26:47nothing set up, and now they've taken it to the High Court,
26:49which increased the cost.
26:51The woman calls her son.
26:53For the rent, for the house.
26:54What's happening with that?
26:56What do you mean?
26:59I'm trying to get Dad on the phone,
27:00and then I have some people here.
27:02Why is it I've got enforcement agent come...
27:05Why have I got enforcement...?
27:10Well, at the moment, they come here to see stuff, yeah?
27:13So, I try to get Dad, I can't get him.
27:15So, I need this to be resolved, yeah?
27:18OK.
27:20So, does he know what he's doing about it?
27:22He said he sent off some sort of stuff,
27:25and he never got a response from them or something like that.
27:28OK, so what's his next move? What's he doing now?
27:30He's just waiting for Dad to ring.
27:33At that point, we say, right, who have you got in your life?
27:36Who's your...? There's my son.
27:37Get the family member on the phone.
27:39And that's the point where you generally start to get some kind of resolution.
27:45The woman speaks with her son's father,
27:47who says they have engaged with the court and are awaiting a response.
27:51OK, how long ago was that?
27:52Sometimes last year.
27:53Is there a way of affording the amount that's outstanding?
27:56Does your son...?
27:57Yeah, are you able to pay the amount that's outstanding?
28:00No.
28:01We need to figure out about financially what we're able to do.
28:04Are you able to help him at all?
28:06Not at the moment, no.
28:07Right, maybe you could kind of put together to maybe...
28:10or speak to your son about what you could maybe raise
28:12to try to get an amount that we could pay
28:14and maybe offer it as an arrangement.
28:16The thing is, they'll want to take that...
28:18What plate is it?
28:19Oh, no.
28:20Yeah, they'll want to take that and sell that
28:22because that would cover it.
28:23We don't want to do that, though.
28:24So you don't have anything to put towards it at all?
28:26I have nothing.
28:27If the woman can't pay the debt today,
28:30Casey and Alex may be forced to seize and sell her car
28:33to help recover the money owed.
28:35Agent Sam and Chris are trying to trace a businessman
28:45named on a high court writ.
28:47I don't like driving in London.
28:49There's too many cars.
28:51Everyone wants to cut you up.
28:53She sent me out to Norfolk.
28:55Much nicer.
28:57They've already been to a residential address
29:00in search of the man.
29:02Their next stop is one of his businesses.
29:04A shop specialising in global money transfers
29:07and currency exchange.
29:09You've seen some pictures of the shop inside, haven't you?
29:12Yeah.
29:13And it looks like the assets are.
29:14That's the thing.
29:15Can't really see much.
29:16A lot of computers.
29:17So it's saints just up here on the left.
29:19There it is.
29:21Alright, let's do it.
29:29Hello.
29:30How are you guys doing? Good?
29:32Yeah.
29:33Is the boss about at all?
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 him about.
29:41My name's Chris.
29:42This is Sam.
29:43We're enforcement agents.
29:45In the meantime, what I'm going to do is have a quick look around
29:47and see what items are here and stuff.
29:49Okay?
29:50The staff try to reach the man named on the Ritz.
29:52Chris uses the opportunity to search for potential assets.
29:55So we've got iMac.
29:56They could seize to clear the debt.
29:58Very good second hand value.
30:00That just underneath it is a nice printer.
30:02Obviously that alone is not going to clear the debt.
30:04So we need to try and see what else is here.
30:06You never know.
30:07We might even find a safe here.
30:09Which would hopefully have the money inside to pay the debt.
30:12Oh.
30:13Here we go.
30:14Surprise, surprise.
30:15A safe.
30:16Honestly did not see that before I said that.
30:21The shop have managed to contact their boss.
30:25Do you mind quit on speaking?
30:27I can talk to him.
30:28Okay.
30:29Hello, sir.
30:30Hello.
30:31My name's Chris.
30:32I'm an enforcement agent issued with a High Court writ.
30:36So it's in relation to RIA, Financial Services Limited.
30:41You owe them a sum of money.
30:43I don't own any money to find a service limit.
30:46Sadly you do.
30:48So what's happened is they're taking it to County Court.
30:51And it's been awarded in their favour.
30:54But now what's actually happened, it's been escalated to High Court.
30:57And that's where I've now been appointed to remove your goods.
31:01At the moment you're looking at £2,800.
31:05So this is the first time that I own money to find a service limit.
31:10Up to four letters of warning will be sent to someone before agents arrive to enforce a High Court writ.
31:19If you can't pay it or refuse to pay it, then it will mean I have to go through the stages of listing items, taking control and actually removing these items.
31:28I don't have the amount to pay right now.
31:31You don't have the £2,800?
31:32No.
31:33No?
31:34There is a safe here, sir.
31:35So why don't we open this safe and let's have a look in the safe, see if there's cash in here.
31:39Whilst Chris has been on the phone, Sam has seized a large amount of cash from a filing cabinet.
31:45Can I talk to him?
31:46Yeah.
31:47Fine.
31:48The option is a payment in full, sir, today.
31:51Right?
31:52I've found £1,000 so far.
31:53You have money.
31:54Yeah?
31:55That's lying around around the tills.
31:58I need to know why are you looking for there.
32:01He's refused to pay and we've located some of the money.
32:06So we've got half the money now in cash and we just now need the additional £1,400 to close us off and that'll be the end of the matter.
32:13£1,025.
32:14So do you want to settle this?
32:16No, I don't want.
32:17You can't make a payment of £2,308.20 today, no?
32:20That's fine.
32:21It's less than that now.
32:22But if you can't pay that, then I'm sorry, sir.
32:24What's going to happen is we're going to have no choice but to go to the next stage.
32:29What do you have in your bank account now?
32:32I don't have money in my bank account.
32:34Do you want to send me?
32:35You've got your quite a nice computer sitting here, the big Apple iMac.
32:39It is a company staff.
32:40I don't have nothing there.
32:41If we do remove goods from here, then ultimately the debt is going to increase.
32:46Let me cut you back.
32:47I'll give you five, ten minutes, sir.
32:48We'll speak to you in a bit.
32:49I'm sure they will come up with the money.
32:52They've just seen if you're bright before them.
32:54So he's literally just sent me a couple of messages.
32:57One saying that he's got three months' worth of rent to pay.
33:01The other thing is saying about the money that was in the till is owned by a different company.
33:06So I'm going to give him a bit more time and let's see if we can get this paid.
33:10Okay, Lord my call.
33:11I'm going to start listing some of these items.
33:12Alex, quick.
33:13Coming up, Alex and Casey are under pressure to get payment.
33:30First of all, the point is we can't let this move until we've resolved it.
33:33And Chris and Sam tighten the screw.
33:36If you show me your bank account, all right, and I see you've got thousands of pounds sitting
33:40in your bank account right now, yes, I'm going to tell you to pay it all.
33:55Casey and Alex are at the home of a mother who had acted as guarantor on her son's student
34:01accommodation.
34:02It's about the property that I think your son stayed at.
34:05When her son fell into arrears with the property company, both of them ended up named on a
34:10high court writ.
34:11He should have chased it up.
34:13So this is the problem that we're going to have now.
34:15They're going to look for us to retrieve the amount.
34:18With the mother unable to pay anything towards the £5,000 debt, the agents decide to focus
34:23on the father.
34:24Hello, sir.
34:25My name's Alex.
34:28Your dad, right, okay.
34:29So, he's obviously got himself in a bit of a mess, isn't he, with this, and, well, it's
34:33quite a high amount.
34:34I understand that.
34:35So, what about, is there an amount of money that someone could pay towards this, and then
34:40we could perhaps put them in an arrangement ourselves?
34:42I think that people should try and engage with people like us, and to try and resolve
34:48the matter amicably.
34:50I'd rather resolve the matter on the phone with someone than have to go around to their
34:53house.
34:54Quite happy for people to tell us what happened, and we do empathise.
34:57Okay, no worries.
34:58All right.
34:59That's fine.
35:00Just don't want to hold you up.
35:01That's all.
35:02Although not his debt.
35:03The father offers to pay £200.
35:05What I'm going to do, I'm going to make a phone call to see how much is the minimum
35:11they'd accept today.
35:12Okay?
35:13I'll speak to you soon.
35:14All right.
35:15Cheers.
35:16Bye-bye.
35:17Dad reckons he's got a couple of hundred quid.
35:20Is there anyone else who can...
35:21How much is it at?
35:22What's it at, though?
35:23Five?
35:24Five, one, eight, nine.
35:25They won't do anything unless it's hit half.
35:26So, even if we try to ask them if it's for £1,000, and do, what, like, £200 a month
35:30or something, that's the only other thing that they'll do.
35:32Do you want to speak to the dad for a minute, and see between the two of you what's the most
35:37you can come up with?
35:38I mean, he's got a couple hundred.
35:40And maybe he, you might have some ideas where he might be able to get more money, but unfortunately,
35:43with you being listed on the writ, we can't let this move until we've resolved it.
35:47They need someone to help them.
35:49Bailiffs aren't the ones to help them, but we will assist trying to get them in an arrangement
35:53to bring that head out of the sand and go forward.
35:55The mother gets her son's father on the phone again.
35:59Hello, sir.
36:00Alex, quick.
36:01Right, I've just spoken to them.
36:04The best that I can do for you is that they'll accept a £500 payment, and they'll put him
36:10in an arrangement.
36:11I don't know, what's affordable, do you think, for him at the moment, a month?
36:14You tell me how much, as a family, you guys can pay towards it a month for the time being.
36:19No, we can't afford it.
36:20Okay.
36:21Well, then let's put that in place for you.
36:23Okay, but they have asked for a £500 payment today.
36:26Well, I don't know what to suggest.
36:28To be fair, the debt is over £5,000.
36:31So for them to say, okay, you know, and take our advice and take £500 is actually quite
36:36a good deal.
36:37See what you can do.
36:38All right, no worries.
36:39Bye-bye.
36:40I'd rather you call me up and put something in place like that, because the enforcement
36:44stops.
36:45Well, he's going to try and raise her £500, and then we're going to get her.
36:47We're going to release her, aren't we, yeah?
36:49With the promise of payment, the agents released the clam from the car.
36:53And we'll speak to you in a minute.
36:56Yeah.
36:57Oh, he's there.
36:58Perfect.
37:00The father transfers £500 into the mother's account.
37:03Okay, no worries.
37:04Apparently, he's put it in your account.
37:05So, do you want to grab your card and we can...
37:06As long as we get this, we're going.
37:07Yeah, that's right.
37:08We're going to leave you.
37:09Leave your receipt, we'll put it in your son.
37:10Put it in there.
37:11Put it in there.
37:12Put it in.
37:13Put the money in your account now.
37:14Put it in my account.
37:15Put your card in.
37:16He's just transferred the money for you.
37:17There's no card in here.
37:18Where's your card?
37:19In the house.
37:20Well, then, ma'am, we've got...
37:21We're trying to leave as well.
37:22You're just making it difficult for me at the moment.
37:24No, no, I understand, but ma'am, it's not our fault.
37:26So, what I'm trying to say is go get the card.
37:27Leave him.
37:28Mine either.
37:29He's transferred the money for him to be able to pay the £500.
37:31If you can get the card, pay it, and then you'll be on your way.
37:34Just run and quickly get the card.
37:35It's simple.
37:36What we're going to do is stick the receipt to the door.
37:41There you go.
37:46All good?
37:47Perfect.
37:48Card holder?
37:49That's yours.
37:50Perfect.
37:51Right.
37:52We've got your number.
37:53Thank you very much.
37:54Sorry about the delay.
37:55£500.
37:56I mean, he was offering £200.
37:58We'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
38:00For now.
38:01We'll give him the opportunity to make the payments to...
38:04Yeah.
38:05...stick to the arrangement, and then we'll take it from there.
38:08It's time that he pays his own debt to not leave it for his mother.
38:12I think, personally, it'll be sorted.
38:15The father seems quite cooperative.
38:17She seems quite...
38:18We've got their numbers.
38:19I don't think that we'd have to come back here.
38:28Agents Chris and Sam are trying to collect money owed to a financial services company
38:33for a money transfer fee which was never paid.
38:36Hello.
38:37Hello, sir.
38:38It's Chris here, the enforcement agent again.
38:40We spoke early on the phone.
38:42They have recovered half the cash owed from the shop,
38:45leaving £1,400 still outstanding.
38:48I think by the time we turn up, they think, oh, it's all smoke and mirrors.
38:52So they think they can almost play the game with us and say, well, you know, fill your boots,
38:56take out whatever you want to take out.
38:58Only until we start physically removing those assets do they then realise we do mean business
39:03and we will do what we're saying we're going to do.
39:05The problem is we're going to struggle to clear just either that £1,400 worth of debt with the items here.
39:10Time is certainly running out and our patience will be running out.
39:15So, you know, if we do find assets then we'll just take these items away.
39:20No boxes or cash, is there?
39:22No, not yet.
39:24Chargers, adapters.
39:26It's bits and bobs.
39:28So it's just a computer, really.
39:31For me, it's to see what's in that safe.
39:33Yeah.
39:34Sadly, that's a little bit too heavy for me.
39:37So I won't be carrying out my shoulder out the door.
39:39Have you ever seen them before?
39:41What, 50 pence?
39:43Have you ever seen them go for that, though?
39:45I'll behave.
39:47This is from the till.
39:491,900.
39:53It's definitely worth 50 pence.
39:55You're so funny.
39:56I'm still thinking it's only worth 50 pence.
39:59Sam's thinking it might be worth 1,900.
40:02So we might as well take it with the 1,400 pounds.
40:06If the rare edition 50 pence piece is worth nearly 2,000 pounds,
40:10the debt could be settled in one fell swoop.
40:13In the meantime, the agents need to pursue payment from the business owner.
40:18Let's see if we can get him on the phone now.
40:23Are you able to pay it yet, sir?
40:25I'll try in your time to get it.
40:27Do you have a way now to show me what is in your bank?
40:30So see, so you can prove to me that you're being honest with me.
40:33Take what you want from there.
40:35Take what we want from here.
40:37Okay.
40:38Do you have money in your bank?
40:39Is that what it is?
40:40You don't want to show me the account because you do have money in there.
40:42Yeah, but that I got money in my bank account doesn't mean that I have money to pay you now.
40:48If you show me your bank account, alright, and I see you've got thousands of pounds sitting in your bank account right now,
40:52yes, I'm going to tell you to pay it all.
40:55In some of the cases, it is like a chess game.
40:57One of the things I like to do is I like to ask the question, I listen to their answer,
41:02and then I may ask that question again, but in a bit of a different way, and listen to what the answer is.
41:07And a lot of times, they'll forget what they told you first of all, and they'll slip themselves up.
41:12Do you want me to send the bank statement straight away?
41:15Yeah, if you can do that now, screenshot on your phone, show me the bank statement, I can see where you're at.
41:20One second.
41:23This is a bank account showing that you just, one of your limited businesses has paid you 4,500,
41:29but then you've actually then transferred out 3,770 pounds.
41:34This is not the account that you transferred that 3,000 pounds into, sir.
41:38With the agent seeing movements of money between the accounts, they pushed for a payment plan.
41:44I'm asking you a question, so how much can you afford per week to try and close off this debt?
41:57You can do 400 pounds right now, and then you, in one month's time, on the 10th,
42:02you can pay the 1,000 pounds and close this off.
42:05I'll tell you what, sir, we'll agree to that, and that's the end of it.
42:09I will pay the full amount right now.
42:11You're going to do the full amount right now?
42:13It happens so often where someone who's refusing to pay, but we've clearly seen their numbers,
42:18seen their bank accounts, but when it comes down to it, suddenly, surprise, surprise,
42:22they do have the money to pay.
42:24After hours of negotiation...
42:26So it's 1,400, and there's actually 80 pence on it as well.
42:30Just get that smacked across, and I'll give you a receipt, and that's the end of the matter.
42:35The owner suddenly agrees to settle the debt in full.
42:39All right.
42:40I'll do.
42:41Speak to you in a second, sir.
42:43Do you know what?
42:44This is what is so frustrating.
42:45I even actually felt sorry for him at one point.
42:46He's a businessman, having hard times.
42:47Couldn't, really couldn't afford it.
42:48Then suddenly, he just goes, actually, do you know what?
42:49I'll pay in full.
42:50Maybe he's paying all this money because he wants his 50 pence back.
42:51Maybe he was onto something.
42:52I mean, as long as the money's in the bank, I'm happy.
42:53Me too.
42:54Hi, mate.
42:55I've just had a message from the debtor saying he's now paid it in full.
42:58Can you confirm if that's in the account?
42:59Okay.
43:00We've had a payment for £1,480.
43:02Fantastic.
43:03Thanks for that.
43:22Fantastic.
43:23Thanks for that.
43:24No worries.
43:25All the best.
43:26Bye.
43:27Come on, Chris.
43:28Give me that 50p that I'm going to hand back.
43:32Bye.
43:33Have a good day.
43:34All the best.
43:36Tell you what, I'm glad that one's over.
43:39But we've now walked away from this job with a really happy client who knows that they're
43:43going to get all of their money back.
43:45I'm tired.
43:46I'm ready to go home.
43:48That was a really, really long one.
43:51How are we doing?
43:52I'm going to write my receipt out.
43:53Next time.
43:54There's obviously no intention of paying.
43:55Mark and Virgil face delays.
43:56We are going to start removing stuff, stacking up here, and it's going.
43:57At a multi-million pound company.
43:58Nothing can conquer the writ.
43:59Miss and Sam track down an elusive chef.
44:00There we go.
44:01And Casey and Alex take a deep dive.
44:02Is he making the phone call to take it?
44:03To recover a 56k debt from a swimming pool builder.
44:04I despair, really.
44:05Really.
44:06I despair, really.
44:07I despair, really.
44:08I despair, really.
44:09I despair, really.
44:10I despair, really.
44:11I despair, really.
44:12The end.
44:13This is the end of the day.
44:14Yeah, nothing can conquer the writ.
44:15Mr. Sam and Sam track down an elusive chef.
44:16I agree with you, I agree with you.
44:17I'm sorry.
44:18I agree with you.
44:19I agree with you.
44:20This is a death.
44:21I'm sorry.
44:22What's going on, Sam?
44:23There we go.
44:24And Casey and Alex take a deep dive.
44:25To recover a 56k debt from a swimming pool builder.
44:29I despair, really.
44:55To recover a 56k debt from a swimming pool.