Most people are familiar with the Channel 5 series Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away! but what is it all about?
The answer is that the show features the work of High Court Enforcement officers. They are from a private company (Direct Collections Bailiffs Limited or DCBL) who are licenced to operate in a role that used to be known as the High Court Sheriff.
here are a number of different private companies who are authorised by the courts to do this work in England & Wales.
The great appeal of them, for someone who is owed money, is that when it comes to enforcement action, whether it is collecting unpaid debt or re-possessing a property, they tend to be much quicker than County Court Bailiffs.
There can be some confusion here as many people see the name 'the High Court' and think that it only applies to high value Court proceedings and only in London. That is not the case, however, and it can be relatively quick and easy to transfer a case from the County Court to the High Court in order to speed up enforcement action.
I have recently instructed DCBL in a couple of cases to re-possess properties on behalf of landlords. In one case the tenants left before the Court Order (Writ of Possession) was executed. In the other the tenant had left the property but had left some personal property behind. In both cases, however, possession was quickly recovered for the landlord once the Court Order had been obtained. This does not make for good television, but did mean a swift and effective outcome for the creditor!
If you are a landlord seeking possession of your property then you can contact me, or Ben Whelan, of FDC Law’s civil litigation department and we can provide you with expert advice and assistance, and help you to lawfully and efficiently regain posession.
