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When in the process of recovering debt, you may find yourself choosing to go down the route of a County Court Judgement. This stage will be reached if initial communications with your debtor are not successful and the debt remains outstanding.

Once a County Court Judgement has been successfully obtained, you have six years to enforce it, and it is important to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible.  Enforcement can be the most difficult part of the litigation process as the debtor may be well versed in hiding from creditors or they may not have any assets to take.

There are several possible enforcement options available and it’s important to choose the correct one.  The more information you have about your debtor and their circumstances, the easier the decision will be to make.

Sometimes the mere threat of enforcement may prompt payment, but if not, the following options are available to choose from.

An Order to Obtain Information

In the event that you have little or no information regarding the debtor, an application can be made to the Court to order that they attend Court for questioning.  The judgement debtor is ordered to attend Court to be questioned by a Court official regarding their financial circumstances. In theory, this would provide enough information to make an informed decision about the means of enforcement to pursue.

In the event a debtor fails to attend or if they refuse to answer any questions, then a judge may make a committal order against them (for the debtor’s committal to prison) this is suspended provided the debtor complies with the order and attends a rescheduled appointment to attend court at a later date.

Taking Control of Goods

The amount of the judgement dictates which court it can be enforced in.

• Judgements of £5,000 or above must be enforced in the High Court by obtaining a writ of control. This is then enforced by High Court Enforcement Officers.
• Judgements under £600 must be enforced in the County Court by obtaining a warrant of control. This can then be enforced by a County Court Enforcement Agent (also known as bailiffs).
• For judgements between £600 – £5,000 either court options can be used, and guidance should be taken as to which to instruct, to ensure the best possible outcome.

High Court Enforcement Officers or County Court Bailiffs are officers of the court who are empowered to carry out certain functions including serving documents and seizing goods to satisfy judgements. They can attend the premises of a debtor and seize goods if possible, take control of goods (this means to leave them on premises to allow time for the debtor to pay) and they can also take payments towards the judgements or set up payment plans.

Goods seized are sold at a public auction, the amount of the judgement and the associated costs will be deducted from any money raised and any surplus is then sent back to the debtor.

Attachment of Earnings Orders

Where a debtor is in employment, it is possible to obtain a deduction from their earnings.  The application is usually successful, assuming that the debtor can be served and that the employer responds to any information sent by the Court.

If the judgement debtor does not make payment of the sum assessed voluntarily, the sum can be deducted from the debtor’s earnings direct. This results in the Court making an Attachment of Earnings Order final.

The Court will assess the debtor’s income and expenditure, then decide a figure to be deducted on a weekly or monthly basis.

Please note that if the debtor’s income falls below the protected earnings rate, then unfortunately an order will not be made, but if you are aware your debtor is in a good job then this type of enforcement is worth pursuing.

Third Party Debt Orders

A Third-Party Debt Order allows a creditor who has judgement to freeze and take money directly from a debtor’s bank account, building society account or business account to repay a debt.

At the point of making the application, and the Court then processing the application, it is probably not known what sums, if any, the debtor has in their account. It is therefore important, where possible, that the application be made at a certain point in the month, if it is understood when the debtor is likely to have been paid or have money in his bank account.

Charging Orders

This form of enforcement is very useful if you know a debtor owns property or land.

A Charging Order enables a creditor to obtain security over an asset of the debtor.  When property or land is sold subject to the Charging Order, payment would be received at that point.

This option may not be useful if you are aware there is no equity in the land or property. It is also important to understand that no immediate payment comes from obtaining a charging order. You can however apply for an order for sale of the land or property to recover the funds due to you under the judgement.

Statutory Demand

In some circumstances, it is possible to serve a Statutory Demand on a debtor, this demands payment of an outstanding sum due to a creditor.

The purpose of serving the Statutory Demand is to enable a creditor to pursue bankruptcy/insolvency proceedings and is a useful pressure tactic to demand payment.

If there is no response from the debtor, this demand is then used as evidence in bankruptcy/insolvency proceedings to bankrupt an individual or wind up a company. This process is labour intensive and would require legal advice before action could be taken.

Collecting money owed to you and your business can be time consuming and stressful.  Our recovery solutions team have a successful track record of creating a practical, tailored solution to your case, saving you the time and pressure of recovering what is owed to you.  Our team have the hands-on experience to guide you throughout the entire process of your debt recovery, including all the aforementioned means of enforcement.

To speak to our debt recovery specialists, give us a call today on 01228 711888.