Shergroup launches new debt recovery service for landlords
The UK’s largest team of ‘super bailiffs’, Shergroup, has pioneered a new ground-breaking service to help unlucky landlords deal with troublesome tenants.
Shergroup, a High Court enforcement agency, has developed a new system to help landlords evict their tenants more quickly, by enabling a County Court writ of possession to be transferred up to the High Court.
Shergroup Chief Executive Claire Sandbrook explained: “Landlords who want to evict tenants usually go to the County Court for a possession order, but it can take several weeks for the bailiffs to act.”
“Under our new system, we can ask the County Court to transfer the possession order automatically to the High Court, enabling our team of enforcement officers – who have more powers than bailiffs, hence being referred to as super bailiffs ? to respond almost immediately.”
As well as carrying out evictions through their Sherbond division, Shergroup also handles debt recovery of unpaid rent and other debt through its Sherforce division. This may include removing the tenant’s goods and selling them at auction to repay debts. And if the tenant has disappeared, then the aptly named Sherlock team is on hand to trace the tenant to a new address – and carry on enforcement action.
To highlight the range of services on offer to both tenants and landlords, including local authorities and housing associations, Shergroup has teamed up with leading property lawyer Tessa Shepperson.
Ms Shepperson’s Landlord-Law website (www.landlordlaw.co.uk) is one of the most popular legal websites on property letting in the UK. The Landlord-Law service provides information and fixed fee legal services to residential landlords and tenants, including free tenancy agreements for members, plus the Landlord-Law repossession service provides for enforcement via Sherforce as standard. Landlord-Law also offers advice on other ways to recoup money, such as through an Attachment of Earnings Order, a Third Party Debt Order or a Charging Order.
Ms Shepperson explained: “We are delighted to be able to offer our members direct access to Sherforce’s expert enforcement service, enabling landlords to recover judgments for rent arrears which they have obtained via our services. Many landlords are owed substantial sums of money which are never paid due to difficulties with enforcement. The integrated enforcement and tracing services provided by Sherforce will give them their best chance of recovery.”
Shergroup is based in Colchester, London, Leeds, and Delhi, and is the largest High Court enforcement agency in the UK. It is the only enforcement firm in the top 200 law firms, and is the sixth oldest law firm in the UK, dating back to 1780.
For further information, please call Shergroup on 0845 890 9200; or see www.shergroup.net.