How your case is enforced
by David Carter on 19 November 2010
Once you have transferred your judgment to the High Court for enforcement by a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO), here is what you can expect to happen next.
Pre-attendance checks
Once your HCEO has been instructed, they normally conduct some checks to make sure that the enforcement has the greatest chance of success – for example, they will check the address provided to see that the debtor is registered there, either on the Electoral Roll or with Companies House. If there are assets such as a vehicle and the registration number has been provided, they will check ownership and any outstanding hire purchase arrangements.
Attendance
Then an officer local to the debtor will attend – without warning – to enforce the writ. The time scale will vary from HCEO to HCEO, but it would be reasonable to expect enforcement to take place within 5 working days of receipt of the writ of Fi Fa (fieri facias).
Seizure of goods
Should the debtor be unwilling or unable to pay, then the officer will seize goods that he estimates will raise enough at auction to cover the judgment debt plus fees and interest. The officer will list these goods on a Notice of Seizure. The goods seized are now in the custody of the enforcement officer and may not be removed or sold.
Request for payment
The officer will request payment in full there and then. If payment is not made or a suitable arrangement cannot be agreed the officer may remove the seized goods to auction.
If a payment arrangement is agreed, the officer will ask the debtor to sign a Walking Possession Agreement. In this document the debtor signs acknowledgement of the seizure and agrees not to sell or remove the seized goods. If the payment arrangement is broken the HCEO may force entry on a future visit to remove the goods for sale and is also entitled to inspect them. A Walking Possession Agreement does not need to be signed for a seizure to be effective.
If the debtor agrees to pay, then the officer will take payment and the goods are released from seizure. At The Sheriffs Office, all our officers have chip and pin machines to take instant payment by card; this avoids the risk of the debtor subsequently making a ‘charge back’ via their bank or credit card company (a known trick by unscrupulous debtors).
Sale of goods
If no payment or arrangement for payment by instalments is made, then the HCEO will remove the goods and put them for sale by public auction, which can include eBay. Large items may be auctioned in situ, rather than removed. The sale of the goods needs to be advertised for a minimum of three days before the sale. If the officer believes the best price would be raised by a private sale, for example specialist items or cases where there is an interested buyer, then he can apply to Court for permission to sell by private treaty.
Payment to creditor
Once the money has been recovered, either through payment (in 99% of cases) or through the sale of the goods, then the cleared funds will be held by the HCEO for 14 days (a legal requirement in case bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings start while enforcement is taking place), before being paid to the creditor.
The HCEO will report the outcome of the enforcement to the Ministry of Justice, and these figures are included in the overall statistics on enforcement and recovery rates.
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Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd, trading as The Sheriffs Office. Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. The author will not be held responsible for any comments posted by visitors to this site. Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice. The author has used his best endeavours to make this article as accurate and complete as possible, but requests that the reader be aware that the law of England and Wales frequently changes. The author strongly advises the reader to take legal advice before embarking on any enforcement action.
