Credit Management magazine October 2017

HOW I GOT INTO CREDIT MANAGEMENT
What a difference
a year makes
In the second in the series of ‘how I got into credit
management’, Morgan Sheldon tells how he swapped the
Police for the enforcement industry.
AUTHOR – Morgan Sheldon – morgan@morgansheldon.com
OCTOBER 2016, shortly
after my 37th birthday,
I made the decision to
venture into a new career
in enforcement.
Well I say a new career,
when in fact it was more of a return as I
previously served six years as a Police Constable
with Hampshire Constabulary before
leaving to go into business.
I initially undertook and passed some
Bailiff training sourced from an online
search at the same time I made contact
with Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal
Service (HMCTS) to arrange a hearing.
Apparently, this isn't the usual route into
this kind of work, but I wasn't going to let
it stop me.
I secured my bond, complied with the
checks and references and printed off
all of the forms ready for my hearing at
Southampton County Court in December.
Fortunately, before attending the hearing
I discovered the CICM and the L2 Taking
Control of Goods qualification. I am
fortunate for two reasons; I obtained a
qualification that is nationally recognised
and I saved myself a great deal of
embarrassment by not turning up and
standing in front of the judge with my
original ‘qualification’. I mean we aren’t
even referred to as Bailiffs anymore!
Following a slight adjournment
and some very intense revision for the
short notice exam, I was granted my
Enforcement Agents Certificate on 19
December 2016. The very same day I
started looking for work, I attended several
interviews looking for the right part-time
position that would allow me to continue
studying. I eventually discovered the right
role with Marston High Court, and have
been a self-employed Enforcement Agent
(EA) for the past six months, working three
days a week and studying the days I am not
out on the road.
You could say I got the enforcement
study bug; in February 2017, I passed
my LIBF L3 certificate in Consumer
Debt Collection, followed by the CLT
L6 Paralegal Practice Qualification in
Debt Recovery in April 2017. I have just
two further CICM units to complete my
ACICM. More recently, and I am very
proud to say, I was accepted as a student
member of the High Court Enforcement
Officers Association (HCEOA) and I am
now studying towards the L4 CICM High
Court studies. As I complete the academic
modules, I am aware I will need to have
a log book signed off by a current HCEO,
which may mean I need to come off the
road.
Fortunately, before
attending the hearing
I discovered the CICM
and the L2 Taking
Control of Goods
qualification.
In addition to the enforcement side of
things, having met with many vulnerable
debtors and those struggling to repay their
debts, I have been working on a completely
amicable, pre-legal recovery process that I
hope will offer some creditors an initial,
less formal way to allow their customers
to repay what they owe without the need
for litigation. While it is still a very new
project, I have been in talks with a leading
debt charity, gained the support of my MP
and presented the idea to the leader of my
local council.
I know I have quite some way to go,
but one day I would love to own my own
enforcement company. So far, it’s a big
thank you to the CICM (especially Tanya)
for the ongoing support and guidance,
the HCEOA for accepting me as a student
member, and Marston High Court for
giving me my first taste of enforcement
work.
Morgan is a self-employed Enforcement
Agent who has been enforcing High Court
Writs across the south of England, and
Taken Control of Goods at both commercial
and residential premises.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / October 2017 / PAGE 54