Ethical enforcement Coming of age Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd (DCBL) has come a long way since CEO Gary Robinson founded it in 2001. Now with 340 employees, five offices and 85 TV episodes to its name, Louise Parfitt finds out more about the journey from one-man band to on- and offscreen UK-wide success hen I started DCBL in 2001, it was just me in my car with a phone and a back seat full of A-Zs. I was the driver, the salesman, and the recovery agent. My biggest expansion came when I could afford a driver because, overnight, that doubled the workforce! says DCBLs CEO Gary Robinson. By 2010, the company had grown to 40 employees and provided a range of bailiff and high court enforcement services, along with issuing an ever growing number of debt-collection letters. In 2011, it branched out into security services (Direct Security), and, in 2017, opened its own law firm (DCB Legal), which specialises in high-volume parking litigation. W Stardom beckons Of course, many people know DCBL from the Channel 5 TV series Cant pay? Well Take it Away! Robinson is incredibly proud of what the company achieved it humanised what has been regarded as a very cloak-and-dagger industry but he admits The TV show [Cant pay? Well take it away!] humanised what has been regarded as a very cloak-and-dagger industry The DCBL stadium can seat 13,350 people and hosts a range of sporting events and concerts for the local community pre-show nerves: When I sat down to watch the first episode in 2014, I wondered what on earth I had done. The idea started off as a couple of pilot shows and eventually ran to 85 episodes over five years. Robinson and his team knew it would bring in business, but also scrutiny. We became the media face of the UK enforcement industry, he says. What the team didnt foresee was the credibility that also came with it. This credibility, gained as a result of increased brand awareness, reduces consumer detriment by encouraging early engagement partly because, when people receive the letter, they recognise the company, know it is genuine, and have faith in it, which is a massive positive for our clients and ourselves, says DCBL managing director Darren Connor. Robinson says the show also gave him renewed faith in the British public because the majority of the feedback the firm got showed they believed that people should pay their bills. Of course, the downside is that it turned the enforcement agents into divas, he jokes. Ethical enforcement Behind Robinsons humour is a passion and commitment to the business he has created, and its legacy. He is pleased that the companys fairness came across in the show, as that has underpinned its principles from the start. An argument never gets a debt paid, he says. You need 36 britishparking.co.uk PN Mar 2021 pp36-37 DCBL Feature.indd 36 22/02/2021 14:25