What is difference between Bailiffs & High Court Enforcement Officer

Key points:

• High Court Enforcement Officers have greater powers than both Certificated Enforcement Agents and the County Court’s bailiffs.
• The County Court’s bailiffs cannot enforce CCJs over £5,000, whereas High Court Enforcement Officers can.
• HCEOs work within private companies and are only paid on result, meaning they are far more motivated to act quickly.

High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs)

Formerly known as ‘Sheriffs’, High Court Enforcement Officers are the only people who have direct authorisation from the Ministry of Justice to enforce writs from the High Court, such as Writs of Possession for evicting tenants from residential properties, and Writs of Control for recovering debt on all County Court Judgements with a value over £600.

As there are only forty-five High Court Enforcement Officers across England and Wales (with three of them working here at Enforcement Bailiffs Ltd), their most important role is the delegation of powers to Certificated Enforcement Agents, allowing them to enforce writs from the High Court on their behalf.

Have a look at the list of HCEOs available to you here.

Certificated Enforcement Agents (CEAs)

Still commonly referred to as ‘bailiffs’, Certificated Enforcement Agents come under the direct authorisation of HCEOs. This means they can enforce both Writs of Control for debt recovery on all CCJs over £600, and Writs of Possession for evicting tenants, trespassers, and squatters from residential properties, on their behalf.

There are approximately two-thousand CEAs across England and Wales – a higher number than both HCEOs and County Court bailiffs combined. Furthermore, in order to become a Certificated Enforcement Agent, they each will have gained the Level 2 qualification in Taking Control of Goods and will have been DBS-checked by the court. These checks are repeated every two years.

County Court bailiffs

Therfe are less than 200 County Court bailiffs are directly employed by the HM Court and Tribunals Service, and they are only responsible to their local district judge. They deal with much smaller claims such as CCJs with a value up to £5,000. Therefore, if you have a CCJ valued over this amount, you can only instruct a HCEO to recover it.

Currently, the County Court bailiffs are only numbered between 150-200 across England and Wales. Unfortunately for any claimants, this means that they could be waiting months or even years before a bailiff can enforce their judgements from the court. Generally, the farther down South you are, the longer you might be waiting.

Why instruct a High Court Enforcement Officer?

According to the High Court Enforcement Officers Association, there has been a dramatic increase in recent years in the amount of claimants instructing High Court Enforcement Officers over the County Court’s bailiffs. In fact, there have been over 100,000 writs received by the MOJ each year since 2019. Previously, this figure stood between 70-80,000. In speaking with our claimants, this major influx was down to three pressing factors:

1. A High Court Enforcement Officer can enforce a CCJ over £5,000; the County Court’s bailiffs cannot.
2. Due to the backlog following Covid-19, the County Court’s waiting list can be extremely long – it is often months before claimants get a result.
3. A HCEO is far motivated to enforce judgements quickly because they are only paid on result.

In sum, although it is the cheaper option to use the County Court’s bailiffs, your chances of success when enforcing judgements from the court are far greater when you instruct a High Court Enforcement Officer.

Professional Associations and Certifications

Professional associations and certifications can provide reassurance of a companies credibility and competence. Look for affiliations with industry organisations such as the Association of British Investigators and the High Court Enforcement Officers Association

Choose a company who is recognised by reputable professional associations and holds relevant certifications to ensure that they adhere to industry standards and best practices. Frank G Whitworth and its sister company Quality Bailiffs are true professionals .Some of our team of agents on the ground include Luke, Grant James and Ben

About the Author

This article was written by Andy Coates, Authorised High Court Enforcement Officer and full member of The High Court Enforcement Officers Association, and current CEO of Quality Bailiffs.

Andy has a Level 4 diploma in High Court Enforcement, and over twenty five years of experience in the bailiff and investigation industry. He is a former governing council member of both CIVEA and ABI.

Contact Frank G Whitworth now to discuss using our Writ of Possession Service.

 0208 106 5397 sales@frankgwhitworth.co.uk 124 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX

Other great reads from our blog include:

How long does it take to evict tenants

The Sheriffs are Coming High Court Enforcement Officer

High Court Enforcement Writs of Control and possession

Instructing a bailiff to recover debt