HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION End of the line? Making the move to call centre enforcement. AUTHOR – Andrew Wilson MCICM HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) will introduce 12 new Warrant of Control Support Centres across England and Wales ‘to engage with debtors early with the aim of providing support and resolving the warrant as soon as possible, reducing the need for a bailiff to visit the debtor at their home address’. The decision to open these enforcement call centres was based on the success of two pilots, one in the North West and the other in the North East of England. (I am always intrigued by the definition of success). Once a warrant is issued it will be diverted for ‘approximately 12 days’ to a support centre for staff to attempt to engage with the debtor. Only if this is unsuccessful will the warrant be sent out to the County Court Bailiff in the usual way. NEW APPROACH To be positive about this initiative, use of enforcement against goods in this day and age is inappropriate and disproportionate in dealing with small debts. Generally, these debtors no longer have goods available which would justify the cost of removal and sale. The main asset of a household tends to be a car, which may well be held on finance or not worth removal; so the sensible approach with increasingly indebted households, is to set up a reasonable instalment arrangement so that the judgment debt can be added to the other instalments being juggled at the end of each month. This means the creditor will have to wait a little, but they should get interest if the debt is paid in full. What about business debt, I hear you cry?! And the fact that today’s creditor can easily turn into tomorrow’s debtor, if he is not paid? To be more realistic (I hesitate to say cynical) HMCTS had to do something about Lord Briggs’ uncontested conclusion that County Court Bailiff Departments were failing to provide an adequate service. HMCTS does not allow bonuses based on successful collection of judgment debt for existing and newly recruited bailiffs, which is a standard method of incentive and reward in the wider bailiff world. If County Court Bailiffs are only collecting the easy money judgments, they might as well be collected in a call centre. CALL CENTRES Haven’t credit control departments already tried to collect over the telephone? The days of simply sending outstanding debts off to the lawyers have long gone. It is far too expensive and only the hard cases will go legal where there is a realistic chance of recovery, otherwise they will be written off. I do not, of course, believe that County Court Bailiffs should be trying to enforce bulk money judgments, but I would say that, wouldn’t I? Increasingly, those agencies that traditionally used the County Court, such as housing associations and utilities companies, are transferring to the High Court. We are dealing with consumer debtors in our dayto-day work, as well as our original core of business debt. We are very capable of dealing with the vulnerable in a sensitive way. Vulnerability is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card, it simply means that more time and consideration is needed to engage with the vulnerable debtor to resolve the indebtedness. All of our staff are trained in dealing with sensitive situations. But the HCEO call centres are also staying in touch with the enforcement agents in the field, providing information while at a debtor’s premises, receiving payments and arranging for removal contractors to attend. Can anyone provide me with a case when a County Court Bailiff arranged for removal and sale of goods in recent years? OTHER OPTIONS? Instead of spending money on call centres, why doesn’t HMCTS allow its customers to decide how they want to enforce their CCJs, by removing the artificial restrictions between County Court and High Court enforcement of CCJs. County Court Bailiffs need to concentrate on enforcing orders of possession of private houses within a reasonable time. All it needs is an amendment to the High Court and County Court Jurisdiction Order 1991. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and HMCTS have already been supplied with the rationale and the detailed drafting required to make the change. As we wait for the Government response for the call for ewvidence following the 2014 reforms on taking control of goods, allowing court users (the funders of Civil Justice in England and Wales) to choose, should be a clear option. Andrew Wilson MCICM is Chairman of the High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA). To be positive about this initiative, use of enforcement against goods in this day and age is inappropriate and disproportionate in dealing with small debts. The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / <strong>September</strong> <strong>2019</strong> / PAGE 14
presents www.ddisoftware.co.uk sales@ddisoftware.co.uk The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / <strong>September</strong> <strong>2019</strong> / PAGE 15