The Sheriffs Office: Writs, Fees and Force Entry

The firm is also known for giving debtors online case access through its own portal, so if you have a case reference, checking it there can be quicker than waiting on the phone.

Who are The Sheriffs Office?

SHCE Ltd, trading as The Sheriffs Office, has its registered office in Cardiff and its operating office in Colwyn Bay, working nationally. Since 31 January 2016 the business has been part of High Court Enforcement Group, which holds 75% or more of its shares and voting rights (Companies House persons-with-significant-control notice, 15 April 2026; HCE Group's own acquisition announcement), although the two continue to trade under their own names. The firm is recorded in the Enforcement Conduct Board's accreditation directory since October 2023 and is listed on the High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) member directory, with David Asker named there as the firm's High Court Enforcement Officer. Both records are checkable independently with the ECB and the HCEOA.

This page does not carry SHCE Ltd's Companies House registration number, registered office or other director details, since that record has not been independently verified for this build. Check the company number on your own letter against the public register if you need to confirm it.

Are The Sheriffs Office bailiffs or debt collectors?

For writ of control work, enforcement agents, acting under the authority of a High Court Enforcement Officer. A debt collection agency has no power to enter a property or remove goods; it can only ask for payment, and would need to sue and win a judgment first.

Once a county court judgment has been transferred to the High Court and a writ of control issued, The Sheriffs Office act under Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, the same statutory framework as any other enforcement firm's taking-control-of-goods work. Their possession and delivery of goods work sits under separate authority again and should not be assumed to carry the same rules.

If you are unsure which kind of letter you have, see bailiffs and debt collectors.

Which kind of letter have you received?

The document itself should say which of these applies. Look for the words writ of control, writ of possession, or writ of delivery, since each triggers a different set of rules.

Which County Court judgments can reach a High Court writ of control?

Article 8 of the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991, as amended, sets the position for a money judgment:

The last row matters most where the sum is large. Paragraph (1A) of article 8 keeps a judgment from a regulated credit agreement in the County Court regardless of amount. If you believe your original judgment came from a regulated credit agreement and a High Court writ has still been issued, check the underlying agreement and get advice promptly.

Our High Court enforcement officers guide covers this threshold and the writ of control process in full detail.

Writs of possession and writs of delivery: different processes

The Sheriffs Office's caseload includes possession work, evicting occupants under a court order to give up land or premises, and delivery of goods, enforcing a court order that specific goods be handed over rather than sold to satisfy a debt.

Neither is the taking-control-of-goods procedure this page mostly describes. Neither follows the fee scale below, and neither follows the entry and notice rules that apply to a writ of control. If your document says writ of possession or writ of delivery rather than writ of control, treat the rest of this page's fee and force-entry guidance as not applicable to your case, and seek advice specific to that process instead.

What each High Court enforcement stage costs

For writ of control work, fees follow the High Court scale, which is different from the scale used for county-court-only enforcement such as council tax.

These figures apply to instructions taken on under the scale in force from 1 May 2026. Note that the percentage threshold here is £1,200, not the £1,900 that applies to ordinary county-court-only enforcement.

If The Sheriffs Office hold more than one enforcement power against you

Regulation 11 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 allows the £79 compliance fee to be charged once for each enforcement power, but the first enforcement stage fee and the sale fee may only be charged once, where the debts can reasonably be enforced together.

Can The Sheriffs Office force entry?

Not for an ordinary writ of control at a private home, on a first visit. Entry must be peaceable, through a door you choose to open or one already unlocked. Nobody is obliged to answer the door.

An agent who cannot get in peaceably has to leave. They can still take control of an accessible vehicle parked outside, and return another day.

The exceptions are narrow. Where the debtor carries on a trade or business on the premises, paragraph 18A of Schedule 12 allows reasonable force to enter, aimed at commercial premises rather than a private home. Separately, paragraph 19A allows reasonable force for re-entry where a controlled goods agreement has already been signed and then broken. Neither applies to an ordinary first visit enforcing a writ of control at a home. See when bailiffs can force entry.

As covered above, none of this applies to a writ of possession, which follows an entirely different process.

Goods, vehicles and what cannot be touched

Only goods belonging to the debtor can be taken into control. Something owned by a partner, another household member, or, on business premises, a supplier or finance company, is not available simply because it is on site.

Regulation 4 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 keeps certain essentials out of reach: everyday clothing and bedding, household equipment a home needs to run, items needed for medical care or for looking after a child, a disabled person or an older person, domestic pets and assistance dogs, and a vehicle displaying a valid disabled person's badge. Tools or equipment genuinely needed for work are exempt only up to £1,350 in total.

Ownership decides most vehicle disputes: a Motability vehicle is leased rather than owned, a car still on hire purchase or PCP may belong to the finance company, and a vehicle belonging to someone else in the household is not the debtor's to lose. See what bailiffs can take and can bailiffs take my car.

Reaching an arrangement with The Sheriffs Office

An arrangement over enforceable debt usually takes the form of a controlled goods agreement: listed items stay in your possession as long as agreed payments are kept up. Check every item genuinely belongs to you, that nothing exempt is included, and that the balance and fee stages are correct before signing. See controlled goods agreements.

Breaking the agreement matters more than missing an ordinary payment, since it engages the paragraph 19A re-entry power described above. Get in touch before a payment is due to be missed, not afterwards.

If the amount is unaffordable

Say so as early as possible, backed by figures rather than a general statement that you cannot pay. Free help is available from National Debtline, StepChange and Citizens Advice.

Disputing a balance with The Sheriffs Office

Take a dispute about the underlying debt to the creditor or claimant who obtained the judgment, not only to The Sheriffs Office. An enforcement agent collects what it has been instructed to collect and has no power to reopen the judgment behind it.

Ask for the writ reference, the judgment being enforced, the date the writ was issued, and a full breakdown of the balance and fees charged so far. Tell them in writing at the same time that the amount is disputed.

Telling The Sheriffs Office about vulnerability

Put it in writing as early as you can. Vulnerability is judged on individual circumstances: serious illness, disability, bereavement, pregnancy, age related difficulty, language or literacy barriers, recent trauma and household crisis can all be relevant, and more than one factor is often present together.

The response can include extra 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 letter from The Sheriffs Office is genuine

The firm is recorded in the Enforcement Conduct Board's accreditation directory and its High Court Enforcement Officer, David Asker, is listed on the HCEOA member directory, both reasonable signals of a genuine firm though neither confirms an individual letter by itself.

Use The Sheriffs Office's own website to find contact details, or use the online case portal the firm operates, rather than a number printed only on an unexpected letter. Before paying, confirm which judgment or writ the payment covers, what stage the case has reached, get a reference, and keep the receipt. If an agent is at the door, you can pay without letting them into the property.

Complaining about The Sheriffs Office

Start with the firm's own complaints procedure, describing the date, the agent's name, the reference, and the specific rule or factual error you rely on.

Then the oversight route. The Sheriffs Office is recorded in the Enforcement Conduct Board's accreditation directory, so the ECB can consider an unresolved complaint once the firm's own process is exhausted. A dispute over an individual High Court Enforcement Officer's authorisation is a separate matter for the HCEOA or the court that made the underlying order.

Keep dates, correspondence, photographs and the names of anyone you speak to.

Where to start

1. Work out which document you have: writ of control, writ of possession, or writ of delivery, since each follows different rules.
2. If it is a writ of control, check the stage reached and the fees charged against the tables above.
3. If it is a writ of possession or delivery, treat this page's fee and force-entry sections as not applicable, and seek process-specific advice.
4. If the underlying judgment or debt is wrong, raise it with the creditor or the court, not only with The Sheriffs Office.
5. If it is correct but you cannot afford it, put together an income and expenditure position and make a realistic offer.
6. If you are vulnerable, say so now, in writing.