High Court Enforcement Group (HCE Group)
Whenever our financial health becomes hard to manage, it adds an increased amount of pressure and stress to our daily life, and getting a letter warning of a visit from an enforcement agent or bailiff only adds to that stress.
If you’ve recently received notification that an agent or bailiff from the High Court Enforcement Group is going to visit your home, the following information will help you prepare for what’s coming.
A bailiff can remove your belongings and take away your valuables, but that’s not always the case. We’re here to explain how you can avoid that and what you need to do instead. We’ll also offer a few suggestions on how to keep your vehicle safe.
For a complete plan on the best way to deal with your unique situation, our professional team of advisors will offer you simple and straightforward advice. We can help you deal with your bailiff visit and to get you back into clear financial health.
The golden rule when dealing with the bailiffs
Never give bailiffs access to your home or your belongings.
In simple terms: DON’T LET THEM IN.
Prevention is better than cure. That’s true of your bailiff visit too. If you prevent the bailiff from entering your home, they can’t make the list of goods they plan to take before they are entitled to remove them.
You don’t have to let a bailiff or enforcement officer into your home, so talk to them outside—just make sure you don’t let them anywhere near an open or unlocked door in the process. They know every trick in the book to get inside—and to stay there until they get what they need.
High Court Enforcement Group contact details:
Company Name: High Court Enforcement Group
Other Names: HCE Group, HCE Enforcement Agents, Excel Civil Enforcement, Excel Enforcement
Address:
Marine House,
2 Marine Road,
Colwyn Bay
LL29 8PH
Main Contact Number(s): 0151 236 4751
Fax: 01492 534289
Website: https://hcegroup.co.uk
Email: liverpool@hcegroup.co.uk
Opening hours:
Monday–Friday: 8:00am–8:00pm
Saturday–Sunday: 8:00am–1:00pm
Who is the High Court Enforcement Group?
High Court Enforcement Group is the largest independent and privately owned enforcement company in England and Wales.
They hold over 250 years of combined experience in High Court enforcement.
Their group of companies include Excel Civil Enforcement and the National Eviction Team.
Excel Civil Enforcement carries out services to local authorities and central Government departments. The National Eviction Team carries out all types of eviction, and specialise in large-scale protestor evictions.
The Ministry of Justice regulates all bailiffs and enforcement agencies.
Why would High Court Enforcement (HCE Group) contact you?
If you’ve fallen into debt or arrears on accounts, you’re more likely to receive a visit from HCE Group’s partner Excel Civil Enforcement. It’s their job to collect unpaid debts for local authorities and Government departments.
If you’re receiving a visit from HCE Group, it could be for any of the following:
- Enforcement of High Court or County Court judgements
- Enforcing unpaid employment tribunal awards
- International judgements
- Possessions
- Evictions
- Compulsory Purchase Order enforcement
- Commercial forfeiture
- Security services
- Vehicle recovery
- Commercial rent arrears recovery
When recovering outstanding debt, enforcement officers are entitled to sell your belongings, but there are exceptions to what they’re allowed to take.
They CAN TAKE cash, valuables and jewellery. They can also take electrical goods, including TVs and games consoles, but they can’t take your heating and lighting appliances, nor can they take your landline or mobile.
They must leave you with the items you need for a reasonable quality of daily life. That includes things like your kitchen appliances and dining table.
They can only take what belongs to you, so any joint-owned items should be safe—although this can be very hard to prove.
What happens to the goods HCE Group take from you?
If you fail to find a way to pay the money you owe, your belongings will be sold to pay towards the debt. The bailiff will also remove goods to help pay towards the cost of their services.
They can’t take anything until they’ve made a Controlled Goods Agreement. This list of items includes all the goods they plan to take. It acts as a threat of what’s to come if you don’t find a way to repay the money.
If you’d like to find out all of your options, our team are ready to talk to you. We can guide you into financial freedom, and we’ll even deal with the bailiffs for you.
What happens when High Court Enforcement want to take your car?
Given the value of a car, HCE Group will have it high on their list of items to confiscate.
To keep your vehicle safe, we suggest you park it in a neighbours garage or driveway. A bailiff isn’t granted automatic access to anyone else’s property without a court order.
You can also try hiding the vehicle somewhere you believe your enforcement agent will never find it. But be careful as many bailiffs use number plate tracking technologies; you could be surprised at just how efficient they are.
Your enforcement officer cant’ take a car displaying neither a Blue Disabled Badge nor one that is still under a hire purchase agreement. They can’t take a car that doesn’t belong to you either, even if you use it on a daily basis.
If they do find your car and clamp it for removal, never interfere with the clamp or the agents. There are laws to govern vehicle recovery, and you could even be left facing a prison sentence.
Bailiff’s fees
A bailiff or enforcement agency fees accumulate very quickly. Under the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, there is a list of charges that come into effect the moment the court grants access for recovery.
From as much as £75 for merely sending your letter of notification, to £235 for a visit to your home, the charges are high and keep coming.
If you’ve been contacted by HCE and need some help or advice, talk to TAD today. Support from our trusted debt advice partners will help you determine the state of your debt to be certain you do owe the money, or if it has been statute-barred.
If they can challenge the debt, they will make sure you don’t have to pay them a penny.
If, however, the debt is live, then they can help you find a debt solution that suits your circumstances to help regain control of your finances.
Your debt solution will allow you to repay what you owe with monthly payments based on what you can realistically afford each month.
For help dealing with your debt, talk to TAD to be connected with one of our trusted debt partners.
