Bailiffs not executing my warrant

[NZJames]

Hi there,

I sold my business a year ago now and at the time, the buyer had to pay an additional £1500 for the stock. Naively I agreed that this could be paid at the end of the month as the buyer had a cashflow problem and I completed, however not without getting a fully signed and witnessed document agreeing the payment and timescale.

The payment was, needless to say, never made. I wrote many letters to the new owners demanding payment of the debt, to constant put-offs and excuses. Finally I took legal action and opened a small claims case against them from www.moneyclaim.gov.uk.

I submitted my documents and won the case as the defendant failed to respond or provide any evidence of their innocence to the debt. I then requested a warrant of execution which was granted and was told the bailiffs would be collecting the debt.

That was a year ago and I have not been contacted by bailiffs once. I have tried exhaustively to contact the local bailiff office that I have traced the case to, and I have a name of the bailiff in charge of the case, however on the very very rare occasion someone in the office picks up, the named bailiff is not present and the most I have gotten out of anyone else is that bailiffs have visited the business property twice, but the outcome of those visits is known only to the bailiff in charge who I have been unable to speak with.

What can I now do, given that I have a legitimate warrant of execution to recover the debt, however the bailiffs do not appear to be doing so and are nearly uncontactable to chase it up?

Many thanks

[bluebottle]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

Did you ask court bailiffs or private bailiffs to execute the warrant? If court bailiffs, ask to speak to the Bailiff Manager at the court where they are based. He or she should have records. Unfortunately, whether you are using court or private bailiffs, if a debtor refuses to let them in, there is very little you can do as the debtor is not obliged to let them in.

A route you could pursue is a Writ of FiFa in the High Court. You have a CCJ and could apply to have the matter transferred to the High Court for enforcement, in which case HCEOs get involved and they can force entry to business premises. We have a member who is very knowledgeable in High Court enforcement matters and, hopefully, he will be along later.

[labman]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

As above, if the County Court bailiffs cannot collect the debt, apply to move it to the High Court and get HCEO's collecting the debt. They are more likely to take an active interest in it.

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

Did you ask court bailiffs or private bailiffs to execute the warrant? If court bailiffs, ask to speak to the Bailiff Manager at the court where they are based. He or she should have records. Unfortunately, whether you are using court or private bailiffs, if a debtor refuses to let them in, there is very little you can do as the debtor is not obliged to let them in.

For CCJ's they can only be enforced by the County Court Bailiff unless it has been transferred up to the High Court if over £600. Private Bailiffs can take no part in enforcing CCJ's.

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

The County Court Bailiff is a salaried employee of the Court Service and has no real incentive to carry out enforcement, he is likely to believe what is told to him by the debtor.

If a Judgment is for more than £600 then it can transferred to the High Court for enforcement - cost £60. Once a Writ is obtained the first the debtor knows is when the HCEO attends, he may force entry to commercial premises providing they are not attached to the debtors residence, he may even remove goods immediately. The downsides - if he is unsuccessful in obtaining payment then you will have an abortive fee to pay - £60 +VAT, if your debtor applies for and is successful in applying for Set Aside you may then become responsible for their fees to that date.

[NZJames]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

Thanks for the replies. It is with county court bailiffs and the difficulty I have trying to chase up the office manager is the phone almost never answers and the occasional one or two times in 4 months I have gotten an answer, the required person is out of office.

Transferring to the high court sounds a good option, is there information somewhere on how I can do that?

Thanks again

[labman]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

You need to complete Form 293A, pay your £60, then it normally takes between 1-3 weeks to be transferred.

http://hmctscourtfinder.justice.gov....t_forms_id=536

[bluebottle]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

The MoJ holds a register of HCEOs. The most up-to-date copy is attached to this post. If using HCEOs to recover the debt you are owed, please ensure you choose one or an HCEO firm that is reputable and acts lawfully. There are some HCEOs and HCEO firms who are best-described as non-compliant or barely-compliant in the way they go about things, so choose carefully as you could be held liable if they foul-up. We have a member on the LB forums and this thread who is more knowledgeable about High Court Enforcement matters than I am and should be able to point you in the right direction.

[labman]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

We have a member on the LB forums and this thread who is more knowledgeable about High Court Enforcement matters than I am and should be able to point you in the right direction.

Guess that's a shout for you PT!!!!!:beagle:

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

Far be it from me to suggest where to go but I will say biggest is not always best. If it were me I would be looking close to Gatwick.

[bluebottle]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

I didn't know Ryanair was adding civil enforcement to its portfolio. LOL! Seriously, you wouldn't happen to be referring to an entry on Page 112 of the list attached to my post above, would you, PT?

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

Thanks for the replies. It is with county court bailiffs and the difficulty I have trying to chase up the office manager is the phone almost never answers and the occasional one or two times in 4 months I have gotten an answer, the required person is out of office.

Transferring to the high court sounds a good option, is there information somewhere on how I can do that?

Thanks again

Have aread of some of the questions here http://www.thesheriffsoffice.com/faq/

[ploddertom]

Re: Bailiffs not executing my warrant

I didn't know Ryanair was adding civil enforcement to its portfolio. LOL! Seriously, you wouldn't happen to be referring to an entry on Page 112 of the list attached to my post above, would you, PT?

Had a good chuckle with that one, I suppose there are 1 or 2 of these companies very akin as to how Mr O'Leary operates. As to who, yes you are spot on, may not be everyones cup of tea but have found them to be more up front & reasonable than most. I appreciate everyone has their own opinion as there are some who have issues with them.