The little communication I have has with them indicates that they 'believe' they do not have to got to court to do this. This could be mis-information, but it does appear they have taken action without court action.

That is a good question.. I do not know enough about the court process to know if they can do that. However I will contact my local court to find out. Many thanks

This question is not specific to Landlord or Tenants, but hopefully someone can help. I have a property which comprises of commercial and residential spaces, i.e. ground floor shop and residential flat above. Due to arrears on the mortgage, the mortgage company have changed the locks and put a gate across the front door. The door is the only access to both the commercial and residential areas. The building is currently unoccupied. I have never been taken to court over the arrears allowing a re-possession to take place. I am also in possision of the property's deeds. I have spoken to the Police about the situation and the say that it is a civil matter if it involves money/mortgage and they cannot help. My first question is, can a mortgage company (or their agents) gain entry, replace the locks and barricade the front door without going to court first? My second question is can I lawfully regain access by removing the gate and changing the locks myself? Any advice if gratefully appreciated.

Yes - they receive the 8% interest, and their own legal costs. There's no cost or risk to myself. There were other companies out there who wanted a larger percentage of the overall figure.

Thanks for the tip Lucid If anyone wants to know the company are please ask!

Just a quick update on my original post starting this thread. I decided to use a company called '********* *******' in Cardiff in December 06. I DO NOT RECOMMEND using this company for the task of recovering bank fees. They are seriously over-whelmed with work and are unable to offer any kind of suitable service. From sending all of my carefully prepared statements and documents (recorded) I never received any contact from them in over 3 months. I called 50+ times, several letters, countless faxes and emails. None of which were answered. I spoke to The Law Society and Trading Standards with no luck and the Information Commissioner regarding my data protection. I sent them a fax treating to report them to the IC and they called the next day with an update.. To cut a long on short. They hadn't done much and I was in an unknown pile of claims. It made my blood boil. Apparently the claim is in courts and I am awaiting an outcome any day. I would not recommend using one of these companies in my experience as they are either unable to cope or just unprofessional in their business. I would be happy to try and help anyone who is experiencing similar problem with a similar company.

Hello All, I've been working on my statements and spreadsheets for a while now and have come to the point where I'm ready to start the process. From reading this forum, experience of face-less companies and court proceeding, the process is time-consuming and stressful. I've little time to spare each week and am thinking about using a recovery company to act on my behalf. I would like to know if anyone has any experience and advice of choosing and using a suitable company. Having googled it, there are several UK companies in this field. None look particularly credible.. My claim is with Barclays - approx £4k plus interest.