AnswersCourt, and what comes after
What is a warrant of control, and how do bailiffs collect a business debt?
The short answer
Goods, sold at auction. If the company owns goods where it trades, a warrant of control1 orders a court enforcement agent, the bailiff, to take control of them and sell them at auction. You ask on one form and pay a £96 court fee2; the agent's fees are the company's to pay, out of the sale. On business premises the agent can use reasonable force to get in3, unlike at a home.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
The numbers
The numbers behind a warrant.
What you can add
A £3,304 judgment, goods taken and sold
Say a scaffold-hire company owes you a £3,304 county court judgment and has not paid. You ask the agent to collect £3,400: the judgment plus the £96 court fee, which you can hope to get back from the company1. The company still does not pay, so the agent takes goods and sells them at auction. The percentage fees are worked on the £1,500 of the warrant above £1,900, and each is rounded up to the next whole pound7.
- Judgment debt£3,304.00
- Court fee for the warrant2£96.00
- Agent, compliance stage8£79.00
- Agent, enforcement stage: £247 + 7.5% of £1,5008£360.00
- Agent, sale stage: £116 + 7.5% of £1,5008£229.00
- The company then owes, before VAT and auction costs£4,068.00
You pay £96 up front. If the sale raises less than the company owes, the auctioneer's costs (commission of up to 15% of the price) and the agent's £79 come off first, then your debt and the agent's other fees share the rest in proportion7. To be paid in full, the goods must fetch £4,068 plus the auction costs and any storage. Those fees are before VAT; if you are not VAT-registered, the agent may add a sum equal to VAT6. Auction prices are usually low, and the agent may take nothing.
The road ahead
Seven steps. One court fee to start.
Step 1: Check a warrant fits your judgment
A county court warrant is for collecting less than £5,0009. At £5,000 or more, goods are taken only through the High Court.
If the judgment is six years old or more10, you need the court's permission first.
Step 3: Check what the agent can take
The agent takes goods the company owns or part-owns1, not leased, rented or hire-purchase goods1. It takes goods only if the sale should cover its own costs and leave something over.
GOV.UK says1 the agent cannot take items the defendant needs for its job or business. The Regulations are narrower: tools and equipment the debtor needs to use personally in its work, up to £1,350 in all5. How that fits a company's machinery is unclear, so do not count on either answer.
Step 5: Let the notice run
The agent must give the company notice at least 14 clear days4 before taking control of any goods. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count. In that time the company can pay, offer instalments, or ask the court to suspend the warrant1.
If it is suspended and the company stops paying, you can ask the court to reissue it1 at no charge.
Step 6: Let the agent call and take control
The agent asks for payment first. If none comes, they take control of goods at the address and sell them at auction1. The auctioneer's costs and the agent's £79 come off first7; the court sends you your share of the rest.
Where the agent reasonably believes the company trades from the premises3, reasonable force to get in is allowed, if no living accommodation is attached1. At a home, the agent must be let in or, if nobody is in, find a door not locked1.
Step 7: If it comes back empty, change tool
When there are no more goods, the agent can do no more on the warrant1. A further attempt at a new address costs £382.
A warrant returned unsatisfied11 counts as the company being unable to pay its debts, the ground for a winding-up petition.
A letter you can copy
Email before you ask for a warrant
Send it once the date to pay in the judgment has passed and the company has not paid.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Send it by email so it is dated, and post a copy to the company's registered office. Keep both with the judgment. If the company pays you anything after you apply for a warrant, tell the court at once.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- The company has nothing of its own at the address. If it is all leased, rented or on hire purchase1, the agent cannot take it. Try its bank account.
- The company is already failing. If it is wound up first, the liquidator usually wins12. Read whether suing a company with no money is worth it before paying £96.
- The judgment is small. £96 and a wait is a poor bet on a few hundred pounds, and the agent takes goods only if the sale should cover its costs1 and leave something over.
- The judgment is six years old or more. You need the court's permission10 before a warrant can be issued, and you will need to explain the delay.
- The company is in Scotland or Northern Ireland. This is the route for England and Wales; the others work differently.
The Wolf's note
A warrant only turns up what is already there. The court fee is the same whether the yard is full or empty, so spend the first hour finding where the company really trades and what it owns. After that, the agent's visit is arithmetic.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
I won in court but they still haven't paid. How do I make them pay?
Three routes to enforce a CCJ against a company: bailiffs for its goods, a third-party debt order for its bank balance, a charging order for its land.
7 min read · Letter included
What is a third-party debt order, and can it freeze their bank account?
Partly. A third-party debt order makes a bank hold what a company has in credit on the day it is served.
5 min read
Should I use High Court enforcement officers instead of county court bailiffs?
Usually not. From £600 to under £5,000 you may pick either court, and the High Court costs more.
5 min read
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.