Sorry guys you've had to wait for my reply - I have to work long hours these days to try and keep things ticking over these days. I think that at the end of the day there are good and bad HCEOs exactly as there are good and bad debtors. There are Bailiffs who break the rules and intimidate etc and there are debtors who play the system to get out of paying. My understanding of this programme is to highlight the HCEOs who work within the law and it is trying to highlight the debtors who try to evade their responsiblities. There have been plenty of programmes in the past showing us all first hand the bully boy tactics of some bailiffs and I believe this programme was commissioned to try and dispel some of those beliefs. To Caledfwlch - I am interested in everything you posted above and I agree it's not right. It's no more right than the debtors who can pay but who wont pay and who close companies down and re-open the next day as a new entity whilst the single mum with the 4 kids working 3 jobs still doesn't get the wages due to her! At the end of the day we may have to agree to disagree.

I don't think it's about "avoiding" responsibilities at all. People looking for help and advice here and on other forums are the ones who aren't avoiding their responsibilities (I think). My point is that there is loads of support and advice out there for people who are in debt and any Court action could potentially be avoided if people looked for that help and faced up to their responsibilities instead of ignoring it. On another forum this evening, I found several ideas about how people can avoid paying debts when bailiffs come knocking - I think that's the subject of another thread though. Anyway, I need to get off my soap box now and go to bed.

I agree why people don't like any underhand tactics but there are plenty of reasons to like the HCEOs too - maybe it depends upon which side of the fence you're on. Anyway, I'm off now to pursue my research.

There are so many ways for people to not pay their debts IF they face up to them. If someone has made a legitimate and reasonable offer to pay a debt, a creditor won't usually involve a court. It's a tedious and long process that most creditors would prefer to avoid. But, if people get into debt and bury their head in the sand then it's likely a CCJ will follow court action. But even a CCJ doesn't mean the debt will be paid. As a claimant, to try and enforce payment, I have had to pay the Court another £40 here, another £50 there. It costs £60 to pass the claim to the High Court, so yes the costs are mounting up before the HCEOs get anywhere near it...but only if the claimants bury their heads in the sand. But check out the information on the CCB web site...there is so much help out there for people in debt that I honestly cannot believe that people get visits from the HCEOs unless a) they've acted like an ostrich or b) they can pay but just don't want to. There is also a tariff of what the HCEOs are able to charge but I suppose you're going to come back and tell us that none of them stick to that!

I've read lots of posts this evening about people getting upset with their fees but as far as I'm concerned they earn them. They have overheads exactly the same as every other business does (wages, premises etc etc). I've not really seen much about praise for the good job they're doing on behalf people like me. The people they are trying to get money from have already been proven to owe the money. As far as I'm concerned if the debt ends up costing them twice as much - tough. I'm not able to claim for the extra hours I've had to put in chasing the debt, filling out Court papers, attending court etc etc etc...so let the Sheriffs get it...good for them. Why are my posts suspicious?? Yes I am a new poster. I have actually been trawling the web tonight to try and find out more information about how to collect in the debts owed to me and a couple of threads caught my eye. FYI - A link for this site was posted on moneysavingexpert.com on another forum. Not quite sure why I feel I have to justify myself to you though!!

As far as I'm concerned the High Court Enforcement Officers are doing a good job collecting money on behalf of people like me who have been robbed by the nasty takers out there who seem to think it's acceptable to run up a debt then walk away from it. I'd like to note here that I've not had a holiday for several years, I drive a 9 year old car and I'm struggling to make ends meet and keep my business afloat each month. Why - because of people such as the ones receiving visits on a daily basis from the HCEOs. If any of you have actually bothered to watch this programme, note the number of people who say they can't pay because they don't have the money, then when they realise that they may too end up driving an 8year old car like mine instead of their 2year old Range Rover on the drive, they pop upstairs and return with a massive wad of cash to pay the debt THEY OWE!!! I hope that the Inland Revenue watch this programme and target these dishonest liars!

I agree with Bunnymen. I own a small business and currently have x3 bad debts totaling £12k. I have sent one of these debts to the HCEOs for action. I have struggled to keep my business afloat in recent years but have done so because when times were good, I saved instead of spending our profits on an extravagant lifestyle. In today's climate, I'm running out of savings and have had to sacrifice holidays, a bigger house a new car etc. BUT - one of my debtors drives a £30k car, owns several properties locally as well as a holiday home in Florida and afforded to fly Business class to New Zealand at Christmas. He acknowledges the debt he owes me but thinks he's above the law and refuses to pay. I'm hoping that the HCEOs will be able to seize goods (hopefully his "status" car) to sell at auction and it is likely that with their fees as well as what I've spent on Court costs so far, his £5k debt to me, will become £6k+. And do you know what - it serves him right!!! I'm fed up with people dodging their debts. People on these forums give advice to others about how NOT to pay!!! But, people like me and Bunnymen get forgotten about!! If people don't pay me for the goods I've have provided, then eventually my business will end up another tragic victim of today's culture where people don't take responsibility for their actions and think it acceptable to live on credit. So please stop slagging off these Sheriffs - they are working on behalf of people who are already victims - and if you don't believe me, watch the programme and remember Bunnymen when you do! In the meanwhile, I'll be back at my desk tomorrow morning phoning my customers and listening to their sob stories about why their payments are late. At the same time, I'll have my own suppliers putting my account on stop if I can't pay them. Then I'll go home and try not to worry about how we're going to pay next month's mortgage!!