HCEO and bailiff powers: enforcement against companies

• ›Creditor obtains a CCJ or High Court judgment.
• ›Judgments of £600 or more may be transferred up to enforcement by HCEO under a writ of control (certain regulated agreements and consumer credit judgments may not be transferred).
• ›Below £600 — or where the County Court route is chosen — enforcement is by warrant of control issued from the County Court Business Centre.
• ›The agent attends the company’s premises to take control of goods sufficient to satisfy the judgment, costs, and statutory fees.

The Notice of Enforcement must comply with prescribed form and content. During the 7-day compliance period the company may pay or enter a controlled goods agreement (CGA). At Stage 2, the agent may enter peacefully — force is available to enter commercial premises in limited circumstances but agents generally rely on consensual or default access. Stage 3 sale must follow a further 7-day notice; proceeds apply first to costs, then to the judgment debt, with any surplus returned to the company.

• ›Goods not the company’s property — leased equipment, RoT goods (subject to the supplier proving title), goods on consignment.
• ›Tools, books, vehicles, computer equipment, and other items necessary for use in the company’s trade — capped at £1,350 aggregate (indexed).
• ›Goods belonging to third parties on the premises (e.g., a director’s personal vehicle).

Where ownership is disputed, the agent should not take control until ownership is established. Interpleader proceedings (in the County Court or High Court) resolve contested cases.

1. Once a winding-up petition is presented

After presentation, any disposition of company property (and any execution against it) is void unless validated by the court — s.127 IA 1986. HCEOs and bailiffs should not complete enforcement after presentation. Where they have, funds (or goods) may be recovered by a subsequent liquidator. See Validation orders.

2. Once an administration moratorium attaches

Paragraph 43 Sch.B1 prevents further enforcement without consent or court permission. An HCEO who has taken control but not yet sold must cease. The Notice of Intention triggers an interim moratorium for 10 business days under paragraph 44 (see Notice of Intention).

3. Once a CVL or compulsory winding-up takes effect

Liquidation halts most enforcement. The complexity lies in the transitional period — goods taken into control before the relevant date may still be sold by the agent and proceeds distributed to the executing creditor, subject to ss.183–184 IA 1986 timing rules. A notoriously technical area; contested cases require specialist insolvency litigation advice.

• ›Do not ignore the Notice of Enforcement. The 7-day window is short; HCEO attendance is typically aggressive.
• ›Verify the judgment debt — accuracy, service of proceedings, defence justifying a set-aside application.
• ›Negotiate. HCEOs have considerable latitude to accept payment plans during compliance. A structured arrangement avoids the enforcement fee uplift.
• ›Assess solvency. If the debt is unmanageable and other creditor pressure exists, take formal insolvency advice before attendance — a Notice of Intention can attach the interim moratorium.
• ›Do not move or conceal goods after the Notice of Enforcement. Disposal to defeat enforcement is an offence and creates CDDA exposure.

• ›The first creditor to crystallise enforcement before any moratorium attaches is in a substantially better position.
• ›HCEO enforcement is generally faster and more effective than county court bailiff enforcement, justifying the transfer-up fee in most cases.
• ›Where the company is plainly insolvent, a winding-up petition may produce a better outcome — the petition triggers s.127 voidance and gives some influence over liquidator appointment.
• ›Coordinate with insolvency counsel where borderline. A petition can crystallise collapse but exposes the petitioning creditor to costs if dismissed.

For RoT claims that may exempt supplier goods, see Retention of title. For landlord remedies, see Landlord forfeiture and CRAR. For the NOI moratorium gateway, see Notice of Intention to appoint administrators. For frozen accounts after petition, see Bank account frozen by petition.