As the judgment creditor, the only thing on your mind is to enforce your judgment and receive your cash as soon as possible. Writ of Control is a powerful tool in your hand which when used at the right place and time, can get you positive results. Shergroup is an enforcement specialist with more than 200 years of heritage. The company is headed by Claire Sandbrook, CEO of Shergroup whose also an Authorised High Court Enforcement Officer.
Claire is now in her fifth decade of working in the enforcement industry. Her passion is giving judgment creditors and claimants, access to justice through the High Court enforcement system is legendary. She works to push the boundaries on the law and its application to achieve the right outcome.
Every time we enforce a judgment or collect the money on our client’s behalf it gives us a sense of satisfaction. Whether you want to enforce a Writ of Control for yourself or your business we can help you do it quickly using our High Court Enforcement solutions.
What is the Writ of Control?
Writ of Control is the High Court version of a Warrant of Control. A Writ of Control commands a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) to take control of and sell at auction enough of the debtor’s goods to obtain the funds to satisfy a money judgment.
A Writ of Control was previously called a Writ of Fieri Facias (FiFa).
A Writ of Control is the equivalent of a Warrant of Execution issued by the County Court but is used to enforce a judgment in the High Court rather than the County Court and those County Court judgments pro-actively transferred to the High Court for enforcement.
Where enforcement is by way of a Writ of Control a High Court Enforcement Officer will attend the judgment debtor’s home or premises instead of an Enforcement Agent (Bailiff).
It is also known as execution against goods. In addition to providing a command to take control of and sell debtor’s goods and chattels to the value of the judgment debt, the Writ includes 8% per annum interest and costs.
How to obtain a Writ of Control?
- Get N293A Combined certificate of judgment and request for a writ of control or writ of possession’ and No. 53 – Writ of Control.
- Complete the form N293A Combined certificate of judgment and request for a writ of control or writ of possession’ and send it to the court that issued your judgment.
- The court will stamp the N293A form and return it to you. Complete form No. 53 Writ of Control
Send the following documents |
- Completed No. 53 – Writ of Control
- Court stamped N293A Form
- A cheque for £66 made payable to ‘HMCTS’
Send this to |
Royal Courts of Justice
Enforcement Section
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Once the High Court returns your sealed No. 53 – Writ of Control then you can send the original sealed Writ to us for allocation of an enforcement officer.
What Does Taking Legal Control of Goods Mean?
That is an excellent question. The Writ of Control is directed to a named High Court Enforcement Officer. In our case, this is our CEO, and resident Sheriff, Claire Sandbrook.
Claire’s name is added to the Writ of Control, and Team Shergroup enters judgments and orders into their system. This implies she is in charge of enforcing the Writ according to stringent legal guidelines.
Team Shergroup, on Claire’s behalf, instruct a local High Court Enforcement Agent to attend at the address of the Judgment Debtor which will usually be a home or business address. The High Court Enforcement Agent will review what goods are at the address and subject to one or two limitations, the goods will be placed under Claire’s control. This means that the Judgment Debtor cannot sell or transfer those goods to a third party until the judgment has been sorted out.
The High Court Enforcement Agent will make an inventory of the goods that are taken into legal control and invite the Judgment Debtor to sign a Controlled Goods Agreement. The goods will also be given an initial valuation.
What are the advantages of enforcement by way of a Writ of Control?
- forced entry into commercial premises can also be with no prior warning
- provides a command to take control of and sell debtor’s goods and chattels to the value of the judgment debt, plus 8% per annum interest and costs
- relatively inexpensive
What are the disadvantages of enforcement by way of a Writ of Control?
- the main disadvantage is that not all types of goods can be controlled, this includes tools of the judgment debtor’s trade, basic clothing, bedding, basic furniture, or basic household goods
- a creditor should be reasonably certain that sufficient assets will be available to control. Assets include a debtor’s car, caravan, motorhome, boat or garden equipment as well as those belongings inside the home
How Does the Writ of Control Help You?
On many occasions, this is a simple question because a Writ of Control will get you the money you’re owed if goods are there, and your debtor is at the address.
Let’s go back to before you issued your proceedings to get the most out of the system. Did you double-check that you were suing the correct legal entity? Have you double-checked the address where they resided or operated their business?
If that’s the case, you’re on your way to being a law enforcement rockstar! Taking the time to get these details correct at the start of your claim will help you avoid issues with payment enforcement.
If the Writ is issued against the correct legal entity and includes an address where the Judgment Debtor’s goods will be located, you’ve just boosted your chances of being paid in full.
If you don’t double-check everything before filing your claim. Issuing a claim against the wrong legal person can result in the genuine owner claiming the goods, causing delays and possibly leading to an attempt to have your judgment set aside.
Furthermore, if you provide the High Court Enforcement Officer with the incorrect address or fail to predict what things may be present at the address, your chances of effectively enforcing a judgment are in danger.
How Can I Improve My Chances of Recovery?
First, make sure you know who you’re suing. If it’s a business debt, look through your contract, invoices, and quotations to find the debtor’s legal name.
If you’re utilising a sole trader or an individual, double-check your papers or look it up online to make sure you’ve got the right name.
Second, if you believe the person has the property to seize, such as an aircraft or a fancy car, conduct some research and see what you think will be accessible. We provide a free, no-obligation review service at any step of the process to ensure that these facts are verified and in place for a better enforcement experience.
Facts about the writ of control
The writ of control was organised in April 2014, under the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 Part 3, 62 (4). It replaced the writ of fieri facias with the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 and Taking Control of Goods Regulations (Fees) 2014, brought in many changes |
There are now four stages of enforcement, these are |
- Compliance,
- Enforcement stage 1,
- Enforcement stage 2
- Sale or disposal stage
- An enforcement agent may now enforce 365 days a year.
- The writ of control is now valid for 12 months from the date of the Notice of Enforcement
- It is likely to apply to the court to extend the writ; however, it can only be done once
- The validity of the writ of control automatically extends to 12 months if the payment arrangement is breached
- The term “taking control of goods” replaces previous terms such as distress, distraint, seizure,
Summing-up
When you obtain a judgment, there are several ways to improve your chances of getting paid via a Writ of Control. We are pleased to assist you with all of the system’s peculiarities. As a team of enforcement experts, we have over 100 years of operational expertise. We believe we’ve seen just about every situation imaginable, and we know how to help things get back on track.
We charge a one-time cost of £156 including VAT to join our service, which includes all of the assistance and service we provide pleasantly and professionally. This is the total sum you’ll have to pay us to have your judgment turned into a Writ of Control.
Contact our business solutions advisors for additional information or go to www.shergroup.com and send us a message or start a live chat.
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