Our members, and the Board of the HCEOA are aware that some individuals and businesses have been called by fraudsters posing as Enforcement Agents (EA’s)..Typically these calls ask for money to be paid over the phone to prevent the bailiffs coming around to the premises within the next hour. The fraudsters are well informed and can be very convincing.
No legitimate EA will undertake enforcement in this manner: if you have any doubts whatsoever, for any reason, do not make any payment, take contact details for the EA, and business they represent and verify those details yourself and call back on a number which you have separately identified. You may find the Members page of use in identifying the business and number to call.
The EA and his or her employer will be able to clearly identify the EA and quote the Court action number, the date of the judgment and the Court which sealed the writ of control.
Note that the EA will be able to give full details of their Enforcement Agents certificate, including the Court which issued it, the dates of issue and expiry and their employer. You can use the Ministry of Justice register of Enforcement Agents to check the validity of their certificate using these details.. You can find the register on https://certificatedbailiffs.justice.gov.uk/ Note, when entering the EA’s name, the search option uses the EA’s surname – for example, if I search for my own certificate details, the search engine doesn’t find “David Asker”, but finds all the relevant details by inputting “Asker”.
Whilst different enforcement companies will have slightly different methods of operation, all enforcement agencies have an obligation to ensure that they make clear who they are, why they are calling and the precise details of the writ which they are seeking to enforce.
National Police services are aware of this fraud. You can also report instances to your local Police Station and or the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre at http://www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
