Previous newsletters
Citysync
Following our article in last months newsletter about Citysync, we are pleased to announce that they have been in touch with Empire Enforcement regarding the problems we had encountered. We would like to say thank you to them, and hopefully we can move forward and maybe do some business with them in the future.
Our article has now been removed from the website and we are sure that they are an okay company to deal with.
CCTV Van
Empire Enforcement's CCTV van is working well, on it's first full day in use it stopped one debtor from acting very silly, once made aware he was being filmed he inspected the van the camera and the digital imaging recorder, and calmed down, he quite simply went from being Mr Angry to Mr Passive .
The equipment was fitted to record any incidents were the bailiffs have called at an address and the situation may become volatile. The filming can work to both calm a situation down and if an accusation is made against the bailiffs an instant replay can be made on the scene to clarify to the Police what actually did go on.
Clamp Theif Caught
Empire caught up with a serial offender in Salisbury last month, the debtor had cut two of Empires clamp of a vehicle and took the vehicle, he had told the Police he new nothing about the wheel clamps or where his car had gone?
Having registered himself at four address's in the Town we found him at a fifth and recovered Revenue for five of the six outstanding PCN's. The wheelclamps were not recovered and a Police investigation is ongoing.
10th June 2008
In Brief
May has been a fairly quiet month for Empire Enforcement, still lots of activity on the ground and hard work in the background tracing debtors, The message that we are here and here to stay is finally reaching some local authoritys and some other Bailiff company's.
Replacement Recovery Truck arrives
Empire's replacement recovery truck has finally arrived and was put to work within hours of hitting the office, the truck has a five and a half tonne winch on the rear and has already removed one car with the brakes locked on. The hope is that debtors will avoid the cost of the tow truck by paying the warrants before the truck is called , however our bailiffs have been told to remove any vehicle any age if the debtor refuses to pay, thus sending a strong signal, that if you can pay but refuse, then you must face the consequences.
Empire joins ACEA
Empire Enforcement have become associate members of the Association of Civil Enforcement Agency's , and will conduct itself withion ACEA's guidelines and codes of conduct.
Empire Joins the BPA
Empire Enforcement have become members of The British Parking Association
Wiltshire Evader caught
A serial evader was caught in Warminster last week, the evader had four parking tickets outstanding, because of the remote location of where they lived they assumed no one would come looking for them.
Both the offender and her partner were lost for words as Empire Enforcements recovery truck reversed behind their vehicle and the bailiffs threatened to remove the car, the four PCNS were paid within ten minutes, and the debtor agreed it was a foolish thing to assume she would have got away with it.
10th May 2008
WEY TOO MANY TICKETS
Empire's bailiffs had a successful week in weymouth with the seizure of 3 serial evaders, motor vehicles. within a week all 3 cars had been removed and all 3 cars were over 10 years old, one was a "K" plated car with ten unpaid PCNs issued against it, the car was removed on Thursday, but on the following day the debtor phoned the bailiff and paid all ten to have the car released back to her
the car pictured above proved to be a good tool in the process of re-education of this serial evader, not all of the pcns were at warrant and the debtor was told that unless all the debts were paid the car was still going,she paid all the pcns off and said "it wont happen again, I've learnt my lesson" the Local Civil Enforcement Officers were happy to see the bailiffs in action and to see the pcns being paid in full.
2nd serial evader had 35 unpaid pcns the car was seized and left in situ, during the two hours that the car was left before the recovery truck arrived, the debtor removed the wheel clamp and the car, the Police were informed and the debtor was advised to surrender the goods and the or face prosecution, a stand off between the debtor and the police took place and the debtor finally agreed to surrender the car and all keys and documents to resolve the issue of one Warrant, the remaining 34 would be dealt with by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.
The car pictured is expected to go to auction in mid May.
The 3rd serial offender has about 32 unpaid PCNs on various vehicles the car removed was an "N" registered Vauxhall Astra, the vehicle has no resale value at auction, although it will still go to auction to try and recover money for the council, the idea has been adopted that even though the car has no value , Empire are doing the council a service by removing a serial offenders vehicle thus removing at least one problem from the streets of Weymouth, an idea the council seem very pleased about.
no value but still removed
Dorset traffic set to boom
Traffic in Dorset is set to rise as preparation's for the 2012 Olympics gets underway, towns like Weymouth Dorchester, Bridport and Wareham can all expect Higher volumes of traffic, as both construction and tourist traffic makes its way through the County.
Dorset already enjoys a high volume of tourism traffic, but as the sailing Events for the Olympics are being held in Weymouth, that traffic can expect to increase, this will with out a doubt create higher volumes of parking problems and parking tickets being issued, the knock on effect of the Olympics will be that most of the Towns in Dorset including Bournemouth and Poole can expect a higher volume of traffic during the months the Olympics are being held.
One of the main problems with the road infrastructure in Dorset is that it will not be able to cope as most of the county is Rural, places like Bridport quite often clogg up in the summer months as the volume of traffic is tenfold. A new road is planned to bring traffic into Weymouth, however the roads leading up to the new road still need upgrading, but at this stage no plans have been made to do so.
Dorset may be hosting one of the greatest events of modern British sporting history, but I fear people heading to it can expect to be sitting in traffic for a long time.
further information about the Olympics in Weymouth and events surrounding it can be found at
http://www.weymouth.gov.uklondon2012/
or
www.dorsetforyou.com/london2012
8 k recovered for Mendip
Empire have recovered over £8000 for Mendip District Council in the last 3 months, the debts which were dealt with by our sundry debt division have been coming in thick and fast. Mendip District Council are pleased with the results.
Bailiffs not transparrant enough
Empire Enforcement prides itself on our Transparancy Policy and open policy statement (see website), Most bailiff company's claim to be transparrant, especially after the BBC's whistleblower programme which exposed some troublesome practices within two of the largest bailiff company's in this country.
However to date most will say one thing but do another, there is very little evidence of being transparrant, you only have to look at their websites to see whats missing, most will not publish a list of bailiffs charges for fear of lost revenue, I have yet to find another bailiff company that like Empire Enforcement, sends its first letters out with a list of bailiff charges printed on the reverse. The BPA and ACEA should call upon all bailiff companys to do this as standard practice, and as part of the agreement to become a member of their organisations.
Without such a policy they too could be open to criticism as it is fairly simple thing to do and makes common sence that their members should be doing this as standard.
The Problem is Bailiff companys do not like the idea of exposing what the bailiff can charge, either through fear of lost revenue, or in case the bailiff has overcharged, since Empire Enforcement set itself up we have sent our letter of introduction with the list of charges, to date we have not been accused once of overcharging, and i do not think we have lost any revenue as a result.
We have been complimented by two groups who deal with bailiffs, and who normally have nothing good to say, whilst we do not claim to be perfect we are always looking for ways to better our transparancy policy, which is far more then most bailiff companys. One company has started putting the list of charges on the back of their warrants, but in all the time I personally have been a bailiff, I have yet to meet a debtor that wants to see the back of a warrant, and very few who want to see the front.
Local Authoritys should also demand that their approved enforcement agencys comply with such a simple procedure, its only fair play, and they will find as we have , debtors who are in severe financial trouble are more likely to contact you before the warrant go's to bailiff then allow them to knock on the door and charge for the privillige.
The Bailiff Industry still has a big hill to climb, before it convinces anyone that it is on the straight and narrow. To any Bailiff companys who do already or who adopt the same Policy as Empire Enforcement, we salute you, to all those who dont, ask yourself a question, What have you got to hide?
Welcome to Empire Enforcements News letter for March2008
Updated March 7th 2008
Empire Win Weymouth and Portland Borough Council tender
Empire Enforcement are pleased to announce that we have won the tender for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and we look forward to providing the service and support that this local Authority deserve.
We would like to thank Weymouth Council for supporting local business and we are more than confident they will reap the benefits.
ANPR Arrives
Empire have subcontracted an ANPR camera which we are sure all our clients will benefit from. This will enable Empire Enforcement to show that we are established and can provide an even better service to our Clients.
A frames prove great asset
The towing A frames which Empire have bought have proven invaluable. The idea behind the equipment was so that the bailiffs could move a vehicle out of an area away from the debtors house, before a removal truck arrived, to help defuse a situation, if the debtor was angry and aggressive. It would also help avoid any embarrassment if the debtors car was removed to an area where the neighbours could not see what was happening.
The Frames are easily portable and fold away. They sit in the back of the bailiffs van and simply hook onto the cross member of the car behing towed. Locked into position, the car can be towed away without a driver.
Bank back expansion
As the company's first year of trading fast approaches, the bank have expressed an interest in helping expand the company. The first years turnover has exceeded expectation with excellent results and an increase in our clients revenue.
The company along with its trading partner DBS who deal with sundrie debts, has proven that we are able to do the job and do it very well.
The sudrie debts have produced fantastic results, recovering over £4000 in written off debt in its first month of operation for Mendip District Council.
January 2008 Newsletter
We would just like to start by wishing everyone a happy new year.
Comment on news article BBC 19 01 2008
The BBC news run an article about Bailiffs on Saturday 19 January 2008 about a bailiff in Essex who would appear to have abused his powers, lets remember there are always two sides to every story? however the bailiff involved should have used extreme caution , if as it would appear , the debtor was disabled. If the bailiff has pushed past an assaulted Mr Cousins then the the Bailiff should at the least be reprimanded by his superiors, and no one within the bailiff industry should support his actions.
Like we have said there are always two sides to every story, and no one knows for certain what actually went on, apart from the two partys involved, however seeing that Mr cousins is disabled the bailiff should have used common sense and withdrawn from the situation.
Jamie Waller's comments on advice given to debtors was spot on, debt charitys should not be advising debtors to lock the doors and windows and avoiding the bailiffs visit, they should act responsibly and advice the debtors to at least contact the bailiffs after the first point of contact which is normally a letter. lets remember that bailiffs are knocking at doors with a warrant or court liability order, and the bigger picture is , that people with these warrants etc are hiding from the courts , or avoiding their responsibility's to pay debts , fines or council tax, and on the latter what they don't pay, those who do pay , pay more the following year to catch up on the councils shortfall from the previous year.
The overall true'th is that debtors and Bailiffs both have to act within the laws of this land , both have to act responsibly, and whats more so do debt helplines and charity's, maybe it would be sensible if the bailiff industry, the government and the debt charitys all got together and set guidelines that work for each other, however I would suggest that the PC brigade stay away unless they have common sense, as this always seems to be a stumbling block, again it works both ways.
IN THE DOGHOUSE?
The following sign was seen in a house of disrepute in Wiltshire, the sign was attached to the back of the front door, we still cannot work out whether this was a warning to any punters, or if the sign had been placed on the wrong side of the door,.
WRECK REMOVED TO CLEAR DEBT
the following picture shows a vehicle which Empire Enforcement removed and sold to recover an unpaid PCN for one one of our clients.
The debtor was a known trouble maker and had the police after him at the same time the bailiffs called, it became clear that entry to the house was not going to happen so Empire seized the debtors car, the vehicle which is pictured was a wreck. The car had no rear screen, the passenger seats were broken the front windscreen was smashed, and the gearbox was duff, along with a few other problems. The car was also a "K" registered vehicle.
the bailiffs recognized that despite this the car which was a Ford RS2000, even in this condition would have some resale value. The car was lifted back to Ferndown and put to Auction, needless to say the car sold and the debt recovered.
The removal of the vehicle was seen as a great success, not only for our client but for the community, the car was parked on a grass verge and was clearly a danger to anyone who ventured near it, any child could easily have cut their hands had they touched the car, especially as the car was parked opposite a school.
ANPR ON THE HORIZON
Empire Enforcement are currently seeking the best deal to purchase an ANPR camera system, we would hope that the system is in place and fully functional by the end of May , this allows the company the time to seek a system that is right for the company.
The Camera system will be used in Enforcement operations, jointly run with the local Authority's , placed in strategic places. the camera will also be deployed at night, and will operate between the hours of midnight to six AM, carrying out mobile sweeps of target areas, and would be moved from client area to client area, either daily or weekly.
It is clear that the camera system offers a benefit which our clients will enjoy, and these systems appear to be the way ahead for catching offenders, who like to place cat and mouse. Other bailiff company's have expressed an interest in hiring the system from us, when it is purchased.
Advertising to commence soon
Empire are to start advertising, to draw attention to the company and increase our profile, until now we have not felt the need to advertise as word of mouth , and client satisfaction have been sufficient, as the company approaches it's first year of trading, and has established itself, it was felt the time to to raise the company profile was right.
Letters have been sent out to local authoritys explaining that Big company's are not always best, and that smaller company's like Empire can offer a s good if not a better service then our bigger rivals.
we are hoping to run a campaign with the use of a Bassett Hound, as everyone loves a puppy, the final pictures have not yet chosen.
The advert's will run a slogan along the lines of not looking happy , you will understand when you see the picture's , something like the one below.
News Update
Empire Enforcement Have increased it's non statuatory charges , the increase is due to the rise in fuel prices and the company's overheads increasing, some charges such as contracted tow truck recovery charges and daily vehicle storage are a direct increase from the contractors.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the charges are kept to a minimum the overall effect on the companie's operating cost's has to be taken into account. The charges have been put off until now to see if there was a decrease in fuel duty etc, and the company has tryed not to pass on the expence.
The "What will I be charged" page on this web site has been updated and our clients informed of the changes.
Big Is not always best
Empire Enforcement will start the new year by introducing an advertising program that is aimed at local authority's and is designed to show that big is not always best. we have proven that Big company's do not always provide the best service, this statement is made after recovery of over £5000 for one particular client, on warrants that had been returned by one of the largest bailiff company's in the country, but collected on by Empire Enforcement. And all this since July 2007.
Most local authority's are missing out on a rise in their collection rates because they use large national company's, where by a small local company can offer just as many benefits, and as proven with two clients who took on Empire Enforcement have seen their collection rates increase.
One local authority who uses our services have seen an increase in revenue of £5000 this year in comparison with the same time last year, purely on the collection rates that Empire have provided.
It is a shame that more local Authority's do not back local business, as most of the local contracts have been awarded to large bailiff company's that have no local connection, this would be the basis of the campaign, and a process of re education of these Authority.
If you are a local Authority and would like to back local Business or discuss what Empire Enforcement can offer you why not get in touch with us.
New Headquarters of to a good start
Empire’s new headquarters at the Arena Business Centre in Ferndown are now functional, the company started the moving process on the first of November and had completed the move by the 15th, IT was installed 2 days later, the centre is in an ideal location for the south and southwest, with good road links into Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, this allows for easy access in to Devon and Somerset to our west, Sussex, Surrey and South London to our East.
The Complex offers a reception Area where Clients can be met, and entertained if need be.
And any visitors can call at the reception area, where they will be met with a friendly smile and a warm welcome.
Empire Enforcements aim is to help and support local business, by being based in Ferndown we can support Business’s in 3 county’s, all our domestic needs are served by local company’s , and this helps to keep the local economy get stronger and keep growing.
We hope to develop and establish a more permanent office in
New company Recovery Truck Planned For
Plans to replace the company tow truck are being drawn up and a directors meeting will take place early in the New Year to decide on a replacement and authorize the funding.
The tow truck pictured is getting to old and costing to much, The company currently provides towing A Frames for any Bailiffs if they require one, these small foldaway towing bars as used by the RAC and the AA, are a valuable asset and can be taken by Bailiffs on enforcement operations, which helps to cut the cost down to the debtors.
The New Tow truck will allow for enforcement operations to be more effective, and will also allow the company to progress into other areas of civil enforcement which we have been approached about.
Again as with the current vehicle, it will operate under the DBS Recovery Banner.
Bailiffs Program
The BBC are currently showing a bailiffs documentary every Wednesday evening, we would just like to let our clients and debtors know that Empire Enforcement, will remove an offenders vehicle, if no offer of payment is made, despite the age and condition of the car. This refers to last weeks show where the bailiffs from the company on the show saw a Peugeot motor vehicle and claimed it was too old and of no value, they were missing the point, it was clear that the Bailiff company had the means to remove this vehicle at what would have been minimal cost to the bailiff firm.
This would have removed a problem vehicle of the street for their clients and who knows it may have even prompted a payment or a response from the debtor.
Most Bailiff Companies do not see the bigger picture. Empire Enforcement took action against a vehicle of similar age and condition (see picture)
The car was removed and sold and it recovered the PCN for the issuing Authority, It also meant that the vehicle was no longer a problem for the Council, it had picked up 16 PCN’s, the offender has not picked up any since.
There are several points to all of this, First and what Drives Empire, is client satisfaction, I am sure that the Bailiff company in this show will have satisfied their client if they had removed the vehicle, But they did not as the bailiff was only interested in making money, and although the bigger picture for Bailiff firms is to make money, if you have an infrastructure in Place which allows for easy removal, then you should use it.
Second point is they have invested money into the ANPR system which picked up this vehicle, then surely it would make sense to at least try and allow for the ANPR system to be effective and pay for itself, instead of being a tool which looks good, and effective against vehicles which are of value, more likely to be an easy payment.
If the Bailiff company have allowed this vehicle to go on its merry way then they have effectively failed in the proactive enforcement and reeducation of a persistent offender, If however they have called at this debtors address and collected payment against all the outstanding warrants and the bailiffs fee’s, Then we at Empire take our hats of to them, the problem remains, the car is still with the offender and therefore the offender still has the means to offend, this doesn’t means that by removing the car the debtor would not go and buy another car, it certainly means it would be harder for them and it will have cost them more in the long term, this may at least make them think about the next time they park.
Monthly story
Bailiffs called at an address In Hampshire for the collection of an unpaid parking ticket, the male was in his early twenty’s and very cocky, once approached he locked himself in a garage for over two hours, and phoned his friends up to come along and tell the bailiffs that he was no longer around, this despite the fact the bailiff could see the debtor sitting in his car.
As hour number three fast approached the bailiff decided that the situation was going nowhere and decided to leave.
The following day the bailiffs re-attended and this time caught the offender outside the garage, it was decided that the debtor’s vehicle would be levied on and remain in situ with the debtor, a time and date was set for payment to be made.
On the day the bailiffs called to collect payment neither the debtor or the motor vehicle was to be seen, Once again the debtor had locked himself in the garage and ignored all phonecalls and request from the bailiffs.
The windows to the debtors house were open on the first level and it was decided that we would enforce the rule of open invitation, as the bailiffs climbed up a ladder, the County court bailiffs arrived, they to had unpaid warrants for the male, wishing us well, and seeing the situation that we were in they decided to leave and pursue their warrants through other means.
We were now in the offender’s house he was still locked in his garage, and we had spent a total of six hours on the job, the debtor’s girlfriend was now on the scene and was not too impressed, after speaking to her boyfriend he emerged looking very Sheepish, which was ironic, as they lived on a farm.
Needless to say Empire Enforcement took payment against the warrant, which was another warrant returned as uncollectible by the Authority’s other service provider, the moral of this story is quite simple “persistence”.
Serial Offender caught
A serial offender was caught in Hampshire this month, after his vehicle was put on vehicle watch with the local Authority, eleven unpaid PCNS were recovered by the bailiffs, this proves that the vehicle watch system we have in place works and it shows that by working more in partnership with a local authority, better results are achieved.
And Finally, Everyone at Empire Enforcement would like to wish all our Clients, sub contractors associates and all their family’s a Very
Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year
Previous Newsletter
New Headquarters for Empire Enforcement
Work is well under way for the new headquarters of Empire Enforcement, at the Arena business Park in Ferndown, this modern business facility offers everything, a young vibrant business like Empire Enforcement needs.
This modern office blocks, offer all facility including reception, security, IT support, Training rooms, ample parking. nearby storage is at hand. The office is almost ready to move into and will be functional from Mid November.
Empire have chosen a ground floor office which allows easy access, should anyone want to visit.
This modern , fresh office will have a reception area for clients with refreshments on hand. and a warm friendly welcome .
The decision to move to these offices was made when Empire out grew its current site in Ferndown. This will allow the company to grow, and offers a more corporate image, with many new and exciting developments on the horizon, Empire Enforcement will be able to achieve a far better service for our clients.
The Arena Business centre in Ferndown, offers everything, a business needs,.
A thorough Job
Empire Enforcement are pleased to announce we have achieved a 38% paid rate for one of our clients, on Warrants that had been written off and returned by their other service Provider. This has meant the recovery of £4560 in revenue that would otherwise have been lost. And all this in only 3 months, the client was asked why they thought Empire had such a success rate, they replied "because you are more thorough".
We asked one of the bailiffs why he thought we were achieving such a high paid rate he replied " its the bailiff on the ground, local knowledge, and its not just a case of knocking on the door, you have to do some background research, its clear that the other bailiff company was just dropping letters".
In fact we had found that they had not even been knocking, in one case they had put the flat as being empty, when this was clearly not the case, the fact that the debtors car was parked outside on all occasion's that our officers had called may have been a hint that the offender still resided, needless to say for an empty property it was yet another successful payment for Empire Enforcement.
Still only 38% on pre-returned warrants for this client we are still aiming to match the 45% we have achieved for another client who uses our services, on written off warrants.
Serial offender caught
Empire Enforcement caught a serial offender in Salisbury last month, the debtor had 18 outstanding PCN's and had evaded collection over three years, he had moved address, registered the vehicle ands failed to respond to any request for payment.
Working closely with the local authority Empire Enforcement put a vehicle watch system in place, ensuring that if the vehicle was seen by either a Parking Attendant or the bailiffs, Empire would offer a quick response and seize the vehicle.
Within an hour of the debtors vehicle being spotted the vehicle was seized, a HPI check done and the vehicle was ready to be removed, to a secure site in Poole.
All the Penalty Charge Notices were paid to have the vehicle released, and Salisbury District Council were paid within seven days from the date of seizure. The offender has since picked up another four parking tickets.
2nd serial offender caught
Not another one, yes that's right a second serial offender was caught in Salisbury this time the bailiffs cleared up 15 unpaid PCN's for Salisbury District Council, two of those had been warrants returned by another bailiff company, come on lads, its not hard.
Boss this guy lives in a caravan
Bailiffs were met with a difficult situation in Winchester , when they came across an offender who lived in a run down caravan, in a field with 6 unpaid PCNs.
The warrants had been returned to Winchester City Council as uncollectible by their other service provider, never taking things at face value, Empire Enforcement took on the challenge.
The bailiffs were met with a stand off when the offender tried to ram their vehicle, saved by a metal bar swing gate, the situation was taken into control when the boys in blue arrived.
The debtor was refusing to pay , and it was clear we could not take his caravan, so we opted to seize the debtors motor vehicle, as payment against one of the parking tickets.
The situation was resolved when Empire Enforcement accepted payment in full for all the tickets and bailiffs cost's. And needless to say Winchester City Council; were happy to receive the £570 which they were going to write off.
Before you print think about the PENVIRONMENTP