CM September 2020

HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
SOFTLY SOFTLY
As lockdown restrictions have eased what does this
mean for the civil enforcement industry?
AUTHOR – Andrew Wilson FCICM
UNSURPRISINGLY, civil enforcement
visits pretty much ground to a halt
during the emergency period.
Thanks to the good old-fashioned
common sense which enforcement
agents showed, this was the case
from very early on.
But just to make sure, Government even gave us
our own special statutory instrument to reinforce it.
So, where does that leave the industry now as
lockdown begins to ease? Anxious to return to work,
mainly. As many High Court Enforcement businesses
were left with no other option but to furlough staff
or make redundancies, many more had to work from
home, doing their best to enforce over the phone.
Sub-contracted bailiffs were hit even worse, but
don’t worry, I don’t expect you to weep a bitter tear
for any of us.
Our post-lockdown plan, entitled ‘A Flexible
and Sympathetic Approach to Enforcement’ was
submitted to the Ministry of Justice and adopted as
best practice, which meant that our members and
representatives could get back to work as safely and
as soon as possible.
We were grateful therefore to see the second
statutory instrument giving us a start date of 24
August for business as usual, as well as the restriction
on forfeiture of commercial leases extended to 30
September.
But the problems we faced in lockdown
aren’t going to disappear as we resume civil
enforcement. To quote Russell Hamblin Boon,
CEO of CIVEA, when talking to the British Parking
Association: “The first person to unknowingly clamp
a nurse’s car can expect a strong adverse reaction
from Government.”
So softly, softly is very much the order of the day.
But the reality is, collecting unpaid debt is more
important now than ever. Unpaid creditors are
tomorrow’s debtors (as in a landlord with a tenant
who can’t pay rent) and the commercial world of
UK PLC needs its debt collecting (as, of course, do
Government and local authorities). High Court
Enforcement dealt with over 100,000 Writs in 2018,
collecting just under £114 million of debt, at least
half of which was B2B.
Our post-lockdown plan had a secondary aim of
reassuring Government that we appreciate it will
take time for things to get back to normal, a recession
looms and there may be further problems for the
economy on the horizon (the dreaded prospect of a
No Deal Brexit, anyone? Me neither).
So, what exactly has changed about our normal
approach, which I like to describe as firm, fair
but robust.
RETRAINING STAFF
Well, to start with, we have been re-training all staff -
particularly the front-line bailiffs. In the new reality
of life between the end of lockdown and the return
to normal before any personal visits are made, we
are ensuring our staff and the people they meet stay
as safe and healthy as possible.
This includes the use of personal safety
equipment, social distancing, protection of both
themselves and those they meet, supporting the
vulnerable and recognising mental health issues and
a full understanding of what constitutes permitted
activity.
Pre-lockdown cases, where notice has been given,
have been (or are being) contacted where possible to
see if there has been any change in circumstances
over the emergency period.
The main concern, of course, is visits to residential
addresses – bailiffs will not enter where a member
of the household has coronavirus or is isolating.
The vulnerable, similarly to those severely impacted
financially by the pandemic, will be referred to debt
advice agencies for additional support. For those
who cannot pay in full, bailiffs will be encouraged
to get customers to enter into Controlled Goods
Agreements setting out installment plans, to keep
enforcement fees to a minimum.
For commercial debts, a similar approach has
been (or is being) taken, again looking at installment
arrangements to ease the burden on businesses as
they get back to full strength.
There has already been a trend to move towards
office-based enforcement, rather than bailiff visits
over the last few years. Bailiffs are expensive beasts
to run and need only to be used when they are truly
necessary. This will no doubt continue.
The amount of the average CCJ has reduced in
recent years partly, I think, because of the increase in
court fees on issue and partly because creditors tend
to chase their debts quicker than they used to - they
are more willing to accept installments, backed by
the leverage of further enforcement than they used
to. This is because, and I’m sure many HCEOs will
agree, regular installments are better than nothing
and often there are no goods which can effectively
be taken into control.
What has always been obvious, but exemplified
through this entire experience, is that the landscape
of civil enforcement was always going to change. The
pandemic has simply made us look much harder at
what works, and what doesn’t.
Andrew Wilson FCICM is Chairman of the High
Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA).
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / September 2020 / PAGE 37