HCEO
Protection and consultancy for people, businesses and property.
HCEO is the firm of an Authorised High Court Enforcement Officer, one of fewer than fifty appointed by the Lord Chancellor for England and Wales, a former priority crime police investigator, and a qualified risk manager.
Six years as a police investigator. Eight years in enforcement, the last five as one of fewer than fifty officers authorised to sign for the work. I have seen what a business or a household looks like after the week nobody planned for.
I now help people, businesses and property owners get ahead of that. I write and keep three public reference sites, on policing law, on enforcement law and on civil resilience. And I run a resilience network on the south coast, so when the power or the phones go, people already know each other.
Enforcement
- Commercial rent arrears
Rent recovered from a commercial tenant under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, without a court order.
- Forfeiture and re-entry
Peaceable re-entry to commercial premises where the lease allows it, carried out with a locksmith and recorded so that it stands up in court.
- Possession and eviction
Possession orders enforced under a High Court writ directed to the authorised officer named on it, with the day planned in advance.
- High-value writs of control
Writs of control for judgments of £100,000 and above, against companies with more than one site and more than one kind of asset.
- High-profile cases
Enforcement involving public figures, politically exposed persons or well-known businesses, where reputation and timing matter as much as the writ.
Investigations
- Theft or fraud inside a business
Stock, cash, a supplier nobody has met, a bookkeeper who never takes a holiday. I find out what has gone and who knew before anyone is tipped off.
- A partner or a director gone
Fallen out, fallen ill, or died, and the business still has to trade. I carry it through the weeks that matter on the directors' instructions.
- Checking who you are dealing with
A partner, a buyer, a supplier or a senior hire. The public record checked against the story, and a short note on what I would ask.
- The police have said it is a civil matter
You reported it and got a crime number, or nothing at all. I write the file the police did not, so that it can go back to them or on to a solicitor.
- Police liaison
A written request to the police, on HCEO LTD letterhead, in the form an investigator recognises, addressed to the right desk.
Resilience
- A continuity plan for a building that has to stay open
Written for the building you actually have, so that it covers what the regulator expects and what your staff would do.
- An exercise with the staff on duty
The plan tested with the staff on duty in the working day, written up and dated, so the file shows it exists and has been checked, and anything that did not work is changed.
- South Coast Civil Resilience
A network for people on the south coast who would rather get ready now, who have done the basics at home and know each other's names before anything happens. Membership is free.
- Any other matter
Something has gone wrong and you want a safe pair of hands before it goes further. I read what there is and tell you where you stand and what I would do first.
policing.uk
The reference work on policing law in England and Wales: powers, offences, PACE, rights and the forces.
Visit policing.uk
enforcement.uk
The reference work on High Court enforcement and the civil enforcement of judgments in England and Wales.
Visit enforcement.uk
civilresilience.uk
Civil resilience for the UK: being ready at home and at work for the week the services stop.
Visit civilresilience.uk