High Court Enforcement companies across the UK have effectively been unable to operate for almost 3 months due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
In addition, tenants and debtors have seen unprecedented protection from creditors, with the suspension of High Court Writs being issued and a general softening of the use of laws around debt collection.
High Court Enforcement Officers are responsible for the enforcement of ‘Writs of Execution’ issued by the High Court, the most common of which is a ‘Writ of Control’.
Writs of Execution allow for the recovery of land, possessions, money or specific assets.
Russell Hamblin-Boone, Chief Executive of The Civil Enforcement Association, or CIVEA, wrote to the government in April to state that: ‘public High Court Enforcement is rapidly being scaled back.’ Mr Boone confirmed that enforcement visits have been completely suspended, ‘in order to protect staff and the public.’
The pressure this has put on the industry is significant, with most bailiffs furloughed and no income for the foreseeable future for these firms. The companies you have been watching on your screens for the last few years may soon be gone, or at least significantly reduced in numbers.
In light of the redundancies of staff from well known TV Bailiffs as highlighted this week on the LinkedIn platform from a recently redundant Bailiff Allocations Manager at a well known High Court Enforcement company consumer confidence is at an all time low. Without the courts issuing writs, and with a huge backlog once things open up again, companies will not have the resources capital and staff to service these clients. With an estimate of 30% of High Court operations struggling to continue operations the question is asked ‘ Where Do We Go From Here?’
For now, the industry is suspended, before long it’s likely to suffer from significant challenges as redundancies across the board of High Court Companies have already begun. It is looking more like an Autumn or even Winter restart for these companies. An independent business consultant recently quoted during a recent online podcast ‘With a well known TV High Court Company letting 40% of staff go it is an indicator of the trend that is going to follow, they won’t be chasing rainbows anymore, they will be joining the signing on line’.
Unlike High Court Enforcement Officers, here at Nightfox we are able to act, with or without a Writ and even without an initial CCJ, to get your money back quickly.
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