Enforcement of Judgments

What is a judgment debt?

If you get a judgment, this means that the Court has decided that the money claimed by the creditor is owed by you, the debtor. The judgment will arrive in the post, and it will explain the amount that you owe, if the amount must be paid in full or instalments and it will also have the deadline for when the amount must be paid by.

If you owe the amount claimed, this will need to be paid back. If you cannot afford to pay the debt you can request to have the terms of the judgement changed, this is called varying the judgment or request that you pay the debt back in instalments.

However, if you believe that you do not owe the money, or you did not receive the original claim form, you can apply to have the judgment set aside.

How can a judgment be enforced?

The onus is on the creditor to enforce the judgment.

An unpaid judgment can be enforced by the creditor if no response or payment is received from the debtor. The creditor can apply at the Court to enforce the judgment by way of a:

• Warrant of Control in the County Court or Writ of Control the High Court – Writs and Warrants of Control allow a creditor to instruct enforcement agents to visit the debtor’s property and seize their property. Warrants are carried out by County Court enforcement officers and Writs are carried out by High Court enforcement officers.
• Charging Order – This is secured by a charging order on the debtor’s property, which in some cases can be enforced by an application for an order of sale.
• Attachment of Earnings – An application can be made to the County Court for an attachment of earnings if the debtor is employed. This would allow deduction to be made directly form the debtor’s salary.
• Third party debt order – This allows a third party such as a Bank or Building Society to pay money belonging to the debtor to the creditor. If an order is made the Court can freeze payments and transfer of money from the debtor’s accounts.

A judgment creditor can apply for an order to obtain information about the debtors’ financial circumstances. For example, how much money they have in the bank or what assets they hold. The debtor must attend the hearing, should the debtor fail to attend a hearing for an order to obtain information, they will be held in contempt of Court and may be issued with a warrant for arrest.

Bankruptcy Petition

An unpaid judgment can also be used by a creditor to issue a Bankruptcy Petition if the amount exceeds £5000. For a bankruptcy petition to be presented the creditor must have attempted to enforce the debt by a Warrant or Writ of Control or the creditor must have served the debtor with a Statutory Demand.

If the debtor is faced with a Bankruptcy Petition, they should seek specialised legal advice from a Solicitor.

How can Hegarty help?

If you have been issued with a judgment and require legal advice, reach out to our team. Our solicitors have the knowledge and expertise in debt claims and we act for creditors as well as debtors. They can assist in disputed money claims and help recover money which may be owed to you.