HCE Group: what a letter means and what to do

A letter headed “High Court” can look more serious than county court enforcement, but HCE Group’s officers have broadly the same powers at your home as any other bailiff. What changes is the cost, which rises quickly with each visit, and the court you deal with if you want enforcement paused. You still have time to pay, agree a plan, ask the court for a stay or challenge the judgment. This guide covers England and Wales.

Who are High Court Enforcement Group?

High Court Enforcement Group is registered at Companies House as HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT GROUP LIMITED, company number 04527630. It is an active private limited company, incorporated on 5 September 2002, with its registered office in Colwyn Bay. It was called Michco 369 Limited and then Cherry’s Limited before taking its current name on 18 February 2004. It calls itself HCE Group and says it is the largest independent, privately owned enforcement company in England and Wales.

Its name sounds official, but it is a private firm. The High Court enforcement officers (HCEOs) who work through it are individuals authorised by the Lord Chancellor. HCE Group’s website lists 16 authorised HCEOs, and the High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) directory lists more than a dozen officers working with the firm.

Who owns HCE Group, and which firms are linked to it?

Since 24 October 2024, HCE Group has been owned (75% or more of the shares) by HCEGH Limited, a company incorporated on 30 August 2024. HCEGH Limited’s own register states that it has no registrable person with significant control.

HCE Group’s website says it owns Excel Civil Enforcement and the National Eviction Team. On the Companies House records:

• Excel Civil Enforcement Limited has the same registered office as HCE Group, in Colwyn Bay, and two of its directors are also directors of HCE Group. Excel’s register of people with significant control lists those two individuals, not HCE Group. See our guide to Excel Civil Enforcement, which handles council and government debts.
• National Eviction Team Limited is recorded as 75% or more owned by HCE Group from 1 April 2026.
• SHCE Limited, which trades as The Sheriffs Office, is recorded as 75% or more owned by HCE Group from 15 April 2026.

Is HCE Group regulated?

High Court Enforcement Group Limited has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) since October 2023. It is a corporate member of CIVEA, the Civil Enforcement Association. The ECB is independent but voluntary, and the HCEOA and CIVEA are trade associations: there is no statutory regulator for bailiffs yet. We found no FCA register entry for the firm.

Why are HCE Group contacting you?

HCE Group lists judgment enforcement under writs of control, employment tribunal awards, international judgments, evictions under writs of possession, removal of trespassers, travellers and protesters, commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR), forfeiture of commercial leases, process serving and vehicle recovery. For most people, a letter will be about a money judgment.

A High Court writ of control

1. A County Court Judgment (CCJ). The creditor sued you and got a judgment. See what a CCJ is.
2. Transfer to the High Court. If the judgment is not paid, the creditor can have it enforced in the High Court. Judgments of £5,000 or more must be enforced there; judgments under £600 must stay in the County Court; between the two, the creditor can choose. HCE Group offers to handle this transfer for creditors.
3. The writ. The High Court seals a writ of control (the creditor pays an £82 court fee) and it is passed to one of HCE Group’s officers.
4. Notice, then visits. You get a notice of enforcement, then agents can visit to take control of goods.

A writ of control lasts 12 months and can be extended by the court.

Two rules protect you. First, any judgment on a regulated consumer credit agreement, such as a credit card, personal loan or catalogue account, can only be enforced in the County Court, whatever the amount. Second, if 6 years or more have passed since the judgment, the creditor needs the court’s permission to issue a writ. Our guide to High Court enforcement officers explains the process in more detail, and the guide to the warrant of control sets out how County Court enforcement differs.

If your letter is about possession of your home under a writ of possession, get housing or debt advice straight away.

Is the debt yours, and is it right?

Check the claim number, the court, the creditor and the judgment amount. HCE Group says complaints about whether a writ is valid, or about the amount on it, are for the court or the creditor, not the firm. If you never knew about the court claim, for example because it went to an old address, you may be able to apply to have the judgment set aside. See how to remove or set aside a CCJ.

HCE Group also says it can only enforce at an address where the debtor lives or trades and where the notice of enforcement was sent, not at a workplace where the debtor is an employee. If the person named is not you, tell the firm in writing and keep proof of who lives at the address.

What can HCE Group do, and what can they not do?

Notice

You must get a notice of enforcement at least 14 clear days before an agent can take control of your goods. If a debt adviser asks on your behalf before those days run out, this extends to at least 28 clear days (not for some business debts). For cases that started before 1 May 2026, the old 7-day notice period still applies.

Fees

Enforcement fees are fixed by law, not by HCE Group, and are added to what you owe. High Court writs have their own, higher scale.

The old scale applies to cases started before 1 May 2026, because the 2026 regulations do not affect enforcement action taken before that date. For example, on a £2,500 judgment in a new case, the compliance fee is £79. A first visit adds £200 plus 7.5% of £1,300 (£97.50), so £297.50, and a second visit adds another £520. Enforcement that is not under a High Court writ, such as CRAR, uses the lower standard scale (£79, £247 and £116) covered in our bailiffs guide. Ask for a written breakdown if the charges do not match, and if you think the fees are wrong you can ask the court to assess them.

Entry and goods

You usually do not have to let an enforcement agent in. They cannot come in by pushing past you, when only children under 16 or vulnerable people are present, between 9pm and 6am, or through anything except a door. They can only force entry to a home to collect criminal fines, Income Tax or Stamp Duty, as a last resort, and a High Court writ for an ordinary debt is not on that list.

If you let them in, they can take control of goods you own that are not protected. They cannot take essentials such as clothes, beds, a cooker or fridge, work tools and equipment together worth less than £1,350, or anything belonging to someone else. They could take a car you own from outside, but HCE Group says it cannot take a vehicle subject to finance or not registered to the person named on the writ. It also says it only removes goods for sale where they are likely to raise all or most of the debt and fees. Different rules apply to business premises.

What should you do at each stage?

When the notice of enforcement arrives

Note the date and act before the notice period ends. Contact HCE Group, using the details on your paperwork, and the creditor with an offer you can afford. Agreeing before the first visit avoids the enforcement fee.

If you cannot pay, or the judgment is wrong

You can ask the High Court to stay (pause) the writ if you are unable to pay or there are special circumstances. Your witness statement must set out your income, spending and assets. You apply on form N244, and a court fee applies, although you may be able to get help with fees. If you never knew about the original claim, apply to set the judgment aside as well. Tell the firm as soon as you apply.

If an agent visits

Ask for identification. A genuine notice will name the court, the claim number and the officer; you can check HCEOs in the HCEOA directory, and certificated enforcement agents on the official register. If you sign a controlled goods agreement, only agree to payments you can keep up. If you break it, the agent must give you at least 2 clear days of written notice before coming back to remove the goods.

Is this letter or visit really from HCE Group?

• HCE Group warns about scammers posing as HCEOs, enforcement agents and county court bailiffs, and says it will never phone you to ask for your bank details (except to set up a direct debit) or ask you to make a bank transfer over the phone.
• It also warns about overseas scammers who falsely claim to work with it to enforce foreign judgments.
• Use the contact details on your own paperwork, or on the creditor’s or HCE Group’s official website, and check that the creditor has instructed the firm. This page deliberately does not list the firm’s contact details.
• Check that the court, claim number and officer on the notice match your case.

How do debt solutions affect HCE Group?

• Breathing Space pauses enforcement action and stops creditors contacting you about included debts for up to 60 days. A creditor cannot enforce a judgment during it.
• A debt management plan is informal; creditors can still take action even if you keep up the payments.
• An IVA is a legally binding agreement under the Insolvency Act 1986. Creditors bound by it cannot take further action to recover the debts included in it; secured debts, and debts that cannot be included, are outside it.
• During a debt relief order, a creditor owed a listed debt has no remedy for it without the court’s permission. DROs are free, for people with debts under £50,000, less than £75 a month spare, assets under £2,000 and a vehicle worth less than £4,000.
• After a bankruptcy order, creditors owed debts in the bankruptcy have no remedy against your property or you personally for those debts. Bankruptcy costs £680 to apply for.

Each has costs, conditions and long-term effects on your credit file. The debt solutions comparison sets them side by side.

How do you complain about High Court Enforcement Group?

1. Complain to HCE Group first, with your reference number, the parties to the writ, the dates of any visits and what you want to happen. Its procedure for events from 1 January 2025 says it acknowledges complaints within 2 working days, tries to resolve them informally within 5 working days, and completes a formal investigation within 20 working days. It will only consider complaints made within 3 months of when you became aware of the problem.
2. The Enforcement Conduct Board: if the firm’s process does not resolve it, you can refer the complaint to the ECB, within 3 months of becoming aware of the problem or 1 month of the firm’s final response.
3. The HCEOA: you can also complain to the High Court Enforcement Officers Association about an officer.
4. The creditor and the court: complain to the creditor too, because the firm acts on its instructions. For serious misconduct, GOV.UK says you can ask a High Court judge to consider whether the officer should carry on working.

Our guide to dealing with debt collectors covers collection agencies, which follow a different route.

What to do next

1. Read the notice of enforcement. Check the court, the claim number, the creditor, the amount and whether the debt was a regulated credit agreement.
2. Contact the firm before the notice period ends, using the details on your paperwork, and offer what you can afford. Get any agreement in writing.
3. Get free, impartial debt advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline. An adviser can ask for the 28-day notice period and help with a stay application. See where to get free debt advice.