London Warrant Enforcement: Fees and LWE Collections

Who are London Warrant Enforcement?

London Warrant Enforcement Ltd. is registered at Companies House under company number 04388195, with its registered office at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU. The company was incorporated on 6 March 2002, originally under the name John Caldon Limited, and changed to its current name in November 2007. Its recorded business activity is "activities of collection agencies."

London Warrant Enforcement has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023, and describes itself as established since 2002, which matches the incorporation date on the public register even though the trading name changed some years later.

London Warrant Enforcement or LWE Collections: which one has contacted you?

If your letter concerns council tax, business rates or commercial rent and refers to a liability order, warrant of control or CRAR notice, you are dealing with the enforcement side, and everything below about fees, force entry and notice periods applies.

If your letter is chasing an ordinary unpaid bill with no court order or warrant behind it, and it comes from LWE Collections, you are more likely dealing with straightforward debt collection, which carries none of the enforcement powers described here: no power to enter your home, no power to take goods, and no fixed statutory fee scale. See bailiffs and debt collectors for how to tell the two apart from the letter itself.

What London Warrant Enforcement is instructed to collect

The firm's own site states it serves local authorities, Magistrates' Courts and private landlords, and operates nationally from its London base (checked 22 Aug 2026); we have not independently verified named clients beyond that self-description.

Council tax and business rates work

Both routes require the council to first obtain a liability order from the magistrates' court. That order confirms the sum is due; it is not authority to force entry, and it opens the taking control of goods procedure rather than starting it automatically.

Regulation 34(3) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 sets a six-year limit on when a council may apply for a liability order, running from the date the sum became due. The limit governs that application only; a liability order, once granted, carries no expiry date, and London Warrant Enforcement's involvement typically begins well after that point. See council tax bailiffs.

Commercial rent arrears

A landlord can only use CRAR against a business tenant, never a residential one, and two conditions have to hold at both the notice stage and the point goods are first taken control of: a written lease, and at least seven days' net unpaid rent outstanding. Unlike forfeiture, which brings the tenancy to an end, CRAR is designed to recover the rent while the tenancy carries on.

Can London Warrant Enforcement force entry?

Not into a private home, for council tax or business rates, on a first visit. Entry must be peaceable, through a door you choose to open or one already unlocked, and you are not obliged to answer.

Business premises carry wider entry powers under Schedule 12 than a private home, which is relevant to the commercial rent side of this firm's work. A broken controlled goods agreement can also permit reasonable force on re-entry, under paragraph 19A. See when bailiffs can force entry.

What a London Warrant Enforcement case costs

Fees for the certificated enforcement side of this firm's work are fixed by regulation and identical across every firm in England and Wales.

These figures apply to instructions taken on under the scale in force from 1 May 2026. This scale does not apply to LWE Collections' ordinary debt collection work, which carries no fixed statutory fee because it is not enforcement.

More than one debt with London Warrant Enforcement

Regulation 11 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 treats the three fee stages differently once more than one power is in play: the £79 charge is payable against each power, whereas the £247 and £116 charges are capped at one instance between them, as long as the debts can reasonably be dealt with on the same visit. So a council tax debt run alongside a business rates debt should generate two £79 charges and a lone £247 charge, not double everything.

How much notice you are given

Nothing can be taken into control until a Notice of Enforcement has been served, and that notice must give you a minimum of 14 clear days where the instruction was taken on from 1 May 2026 onward. That window extends to a minimum of 28 clear days if a recognised debt advice provider makes a timely request on the statutory terms, unless the debt is a non-eligible business debt.

The count excludes the day of service itself and the last day of the period, so build a little extra time into any deadline worked out from the letter.

Which goods are protected, and which vehicles

Only goods belonging to the debtor can be taken into control. On business premises, goods belonging to a customer or a separate business sharing the site are not available simply because they are present, though this usually needs paperwork to establish.

Certain goods stay out of reach whatever the debt, under regulation 4 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013: clothing and bedding needed day to day, essential household equipment, items required for medical care or for looking after a child, a disabled person or an older person, and pets, assistance dogs and a vehicle bearing a valid disabled badge. A single aggregate cap of £1,350 applies to tools or equipment claimed as necessary for work.

Cars are usually the first thing weighed up, precisely because dealing with one does not require entering anyone's home. Whether it can be taken comes down to who owns it: a Motability agreement means it is leased rather than owned, finance still running on hire purchase or PCP can put ownership with the lender, and a vehicle registered to a different household member is not the debtor's asset at all. See what bailiffs can take and can bailiffs take my car.

Arranging payment with London Warrant Enforcement

An arrangement usually takes the form of a controlled goods agreement, under which listed goods stay with you while you keep to the terms. Before signing, check every listed item genuinely belongs to you, that nothing exempt has been included, and that the balance and fees are correct.

Breaking the agreement matters more than missing an ordinary payment would, since it can trigger the paragraph 19A re-entry power described above. Contact London Warrant Enforcement before a payment is due to be missed, not after.

If the balance is unaffordable

The earlier affordability is raised, the better, and a figure supported by real income and expenditure detail carries far more weight than a general statement that you cannot pay. National Debtline, StepChange and Citizens Advice can help build that case without charge.

Disputing a London Warrant Enforcement balance, or the debt itself

Whoever is actually owed the money, council or landlord, is the right place to raise a dispute about the underlying debt, not London Warrant Enforcement in isolation. An enforcement agent simply collects what it has been instructed to collect and has no authority to amend a council tax account, a rates bill or a rent ledger.

Ask for the billing history, the date and amount of the liability order or CRAR notice, and a full breakdown of the balance and every fee applied. Tell London Warrant Enforcement in writing at the same time that the amount is disputed.

If you are not the person named

Correct it early, backed by proof of who currently lives at the property, a council tax bill, tenancy agreement or recent utility bill in your name works well. Settling someone else's debt just to end the contact is not the answer, and neither is silence, since an address query left unresolved can turn into a dispute about your own goods.

Raising vulnerability with London Warrant Enforcement

Raise it with London Warrant Enforcement and with the creditor as soon as you reasonably can, in writing if possible. There is no single checklist for what counts as vulnerable: serious illness, disability, bereavement, pregnancy, age-related difficulty, language or literacy barriers, recent trauma and a household crisis have all been recognised as relevant, frequently more than one together.

Outcomes can include welfare team handling, additional time, adjusted communication, a more affordable arrangement, or a temporary hold. None of this cancels the debt; it changes how enforcement is carried out.

Checking a London Warrant Enforcement letter is genuine

Given that the group trades under two names, the most useful first check is which power the letter actually invokes: a liability order or warrant number points to the enforcement side, while an ordinary account reference with no court order points to LWE Collections. Use contact details obtained independently, from the firm's own website or the council's published list of enforcement agents, rather than a number found only on the letter.

Before paying, confirm which debt the payment settles, what stage the case has reached and which fees are included, get a reference, and keep the receipt.

Complaining about London Warrant Enforcement

Raise it first through London Warrant Enforcement's own complaints route. Include the date and time, the agent's name, the case reference, a clear account of events, and the specific rule or factual error at issue. A complaint that cites the regulation carries more force than one that only describes the experience.

Then take it to the creditor, council or landlord, who instructed them, a step frequently missed even though it is often the one that actually resolves things.

Third, the oversight route. London Warrant Enforcement has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023, so the ECB can consider a complaint once the firm's own process is exhausted. A complaint about LWE Collections' ordinary debt collection conduct, rather than enforcement, falls outside the ECB's enforcement remit and is better directed to the creditor or the Financial Ombudsman Service if the underlying debt is a regulated credit agreement.

Your next steps

1. Work out which side of the business has contacted you: enforcement, or LWE Collections debt collection.
2. If it is enforcement, identify which debt this is and check the stage and fees against the tables above.
3. If the debt is wrong, write to the creditor today, not just to London Warrant Enforcement.
4. If it is correct but unaffordable, prepare figures and make a realistic offer.
5. If you are vulnerable, say so now, in writing.
6. Protect any vehicle that is not yours to lose, with the paperwork ready.