When the Writ has been issued by the High Court Sherforce will still make further checks to ensure that before an Officer visits all the paperwork is in order.
Sherforce will once again check that the Writ has been properly sealed by the court and also the debtor's address given to Sherforce does actually exist and see if they have any different addresses for the debtor on their records.
If the debtor is a company Sherforce will check that it is registered with Companies House and is a valid company and they will also carry out an insolvency search to ensure the company has not been wound up or is subject to some other insolvency procedure which will prevent Sherforce taking any action against it.
If the debtor is an individual or partner trading in a firm then an insolvency check against that person will be carried out as again there is no point in the Sherforce Enforcement Officer attending if the debtor is in some form of insolvency arrangement. The Sherpa system will also be checked to see whether we have received any Writs against the same debtor and we will make a check with the National Information Centre for Enforcement called “NICE Sheriffs” to see whether any other High Court enforcement officer already has a Writ against the same debtor.
Once these checks have been made your Writ will be acknowledged and details of it will be entered into the Sherpa™ system. This award winning enforcement case management system is used to ensure that payments are monitored and all action which is taken in relation to the execution of your Writ is recorded in contemporaneous notes. The system will calculate fees and interest to be added to the Writ.
Full details of how to use the Sherpa system will be given to you by your Client Relationship Manager. You will be given a login and password unique to your organisation which will enable you to look at the progress of your Writ online without having to call or wait for a progress report from Sherforce. We find that Clients like this way of working as it saves them having to chase Sherforce for information.
That said your Client Relationship Manager is always willing to talk to you about the progress of your Writ and to discuss any additional action you wish Sherforce to take.
Please note that the debtor's address cannot be a royal residence, diplomatic premises or the address of someone other than the debtor. It may be an address different from the one shown on the Writ but you must make it clear in an accompanying letter or email that you want enforcement to take place at a new address and not the one on the Writ.
Writs take their priority from the date they are received by the HCEO. Every Writ is timed for priority under the HCEO Regulations. If there are any other Writs against the same debtor but which were received before yours, then they must be enforced first and this includes Writs which have been sent to another High Court enforcement officer. In terms of priority it is also important to remember that Warrants being executed by a county court bailiff, if they were received before the Writ was issued to Sherforce, will also take priority. Again, your Sherforce Client Relationship Manager will advise you on the position of your Writ against any others that have been issued and that may be in priority, to ensure that your Writ is enforced in accordance with the court rules.
