HCEO Ltd: High Value and Foreign Judgments

A one-director company, cleanly matched

HCEO Ltd is registered at Companies House under company number 13112735, incorporated on 5 January 2021, with its registered office at Seven Grange Lane, Pitsford, Northampton, NN6 9AP. That is also the address the High Court Enforcement Officers Association's own directory gives for the business, and the company's own website states the same company number in its footer, so all three sources agree without needing to be reconciled against each other. Morgan David Sheldon is the sole director, appointed the same day the company was incorporated, and the HCEOA directory names him as the firm's authorised High Court Enforcement Officer.

Checked directly against the Enforcement Conduct Board's accredited firms register and CIVEA's published member list, HCEO Ltd does not appear on either. It is listed on the HCEOA directory under Morgan Sheldon.

What HCEO Ltd actually does

Its own site describes a caseload built around foreign and offshore judgments, high-value writs on commercial debts, cases described as involving public figures or high-net-worth individuals, and writs of possession for both residential and commercial property. None of that is council tax, business rates or a parking penalty, so the usual advice for a household bailiff letter often will not apply to a case this firm is handling.

Which court a case belongs in

Article 8 of the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991 draws the line: below £600 stays in the County Court, £5,000 or more must go to the High Court, and the middle ground can go either way. Given this firm's own description of its work as high-value, most of its writ of control cases are likely to sit well above that £5,000 threshold in any event, though a regulated Consumer Credit Act judgment stays in the County Court regardless of size.

What a writ of control case costs

This scale applies to instructions taken on from 1 May 2026. Regulation 11 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 allows a separate £79 compliance fee for each enforcement power, but the enforcement and sale fees are usually charged once only where several debts are reasonably dealt with together. A writ of possession does not carry these fees at all, since nothing is being taken and sold.

Peaceable entry, and the narrow exceptions

For a writ of control against a home, entry must be peaceable on a first visit: through a door voluntarily opened, with no obligation on anyone to answer. Paragraph 18A of Schedule 12 allows reasonable force onto business premises where a trade is carried on there and the debt is not a traffic contravention. Paragraph 19A allows forced re-entry only once a signed controlled goods agreement has been broken. Given the commercial and high-value focus of this firm's caseload, a business premises case is arguably more likely here than for a typical household enforcement firm, which makes checking which of these provisions actually applies worthwhile rather than assuming the general home rule covers it.

Possession orders, not goods enforcement

Recovering residential or commercial property runs under a writ of possession, not the goods-taking process above. Civil Procedure Rules rule 83.8A usually requires a notice of eviction at least 14 days before the writ is executed, or 7 days before a further attempt. Under rule 55.1, a tenant, including a former tenant, is never treated as a trespasser for this purpose, whatever the reason the tenancy ended, which affects the timescale and procedure that apply.

Whose property is actually at risk

Only goods actually belonging to the debtor can be taken under a writ of control. Regulation 4 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 protects everyday clothing and bedding, equipment needed to run a household, items for medical or child care, pets, assistance dogs, and a vehicle displaying a valid disabled badge, with work tools protected up to a combined £1,350. On a commercial case, stock or equipment belonging to a supplier or finance company on the same premises is not automatically available either, though establishing that usually needs paperwork rather than assertion.

Paying, or disputing the underlying judgment

A controlled goods agreement allows listed goods to stay with the debtor while agreed payments continue, though everything on it should be checked as genuinely theirs first. The underlying judgment, including a foreign judgment's recognition in England and Wales, is a matter for the originating or recognising court, not something HCEO Ltd itself can revisit.

Vulnerability, even in a commercial case

Given the commercial and high-value focus of this firm's typical caseload, vulnerability concerns are less often raised here than on a council tax enforcement page, but the same principle applies where an individual debtor is involved: raise it in writing, early, with whoever instructed the case. Illness, disability, bereavement, age and language barriers have all been treated as relevant elsewhere. None of it removes a debt genuinely owed.

Confirming a specific case is real

The company's own site, its Companies House record and the HCEOA directory all state the same company number and Northampton address, which is a cleaner match than many firms in this sector show. Even so, confirm a specific case through the issuing or recognising court's own reference rather than relying on the letter alone.

How a complaint about HCEO Ltd is handled

Begin with HCEO Ltd's own complaints procedure, citing the case reference and the specific point in dispute. Checked directly, the firm does not appear on the ECB's accredited firms register or CIVEA's member list, so neither of those routes applies here. It is listed on the HCEOA directory under Morgan Sheldon, so conduct by the named High Court Enforcement Officer can be raised there once the firm's own process is exhausted. Enforcement under a defective writ, or breach of the Schedule 12 rules, is separately a matter the debtor can raise with the court under paragraph 66 of Schedule 12, which can order goods returned or damages paid.

A quick checklist for this kind of case

1. Confirm this is genuinely a High Court, foreign-judgment or possession matter, since the usual council tax or parking advice on this site will not apply.
2. Check the fee stage reached against the table above, for a writ of control case.
3. For a possession case, check whether a 14-day eviction notice applies.
4. Query the underlying judgment with the originating or recognising court, not HCEO Ltd.
5. If correct but unaffordable, prepare figures and make a realistic offer.
6. Put any vulnerability in writing now.