So you have been awarded a Judgment, what types of legal enforcement are available to you?

When a Judgment is awarded, legal enforcement is granted to collect the outstanding balance owed by the debtor.

This article’s purpose is to enlighten you on the various options and methods of enforcement that are available to you. This article is for guidance only, and we can put you in touch with one of our panel of solicitors who will be happy to help.

Sheriff

• This is the most popular and usual option.
• The warrant lasts 12 months.
• There are never any guarantees of recouping your money, so if the debtor has a lot of things on finance or nothing in their now, this may not be appropriate.
• The sheriff is also sometimes able to negotiate payments, collecting them on a repeat basis.

Attachment of Earnings Order

• If the debtor is in gainful employment, we can apply for an attachment of earnings order. This is where the court will work out what should be paid and take that amount from the debtor’s wages on each payday.
• Unfortunately, if the debtor leaves or changes employment then the order lapses.

Order for Questioning

• This form of enforcement is not one which will directly get you repayment, but it is a way of obtaining more information from the debtor.
• This information can help you decide whether it is worthwhile taking an enforcement step; and if so, which of the methods available is most likely to get you your money.

Charging Order

• If the debtor owns a property, either in their sole name or joint with another, you can apply for a charging order over the property. This can result in an order for sale being made by the court.

Third Party Order

• If you have the belief that the debtor has money but is holding it back, or that they are due to be paid some money which would cover the debt, you can apply for a third-party order. This allows you to take the money that the debtor owes directly from whoever is holding the money.
• Usually, it is the bank or building society that is holding the debtor’s money. However if the debtor is due to obtain a lump sum of money, such as a redundancy settlement, an inheritance or insurance policy pay out, you could get the holder of the money to pay the money to you instead.
• In order to go through with this type of enforcement, you will need to know the details of where the money is being held, for example: the bank account, employer, solicitor or insurance company.

Please note that each of these options come with their own costs and fees. If you would like to know more about these fees or anything else in this article, contact us.

Published: 27th July 2023