What does it cost to use an HCEO?
by David Carter on 01 December 2011
The short answer is: nothing!
If you transfer your judgment or order to the High Court for enforcement by a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) and enforcement is successful, then the debtor pays the associated costs and court fee, as well as the original debt and judgment interest.
Court fee
Once you have your judgment or order, you use form N293A to transfer it to the High Court for enforcement. There is a £60 court fee for the transfer. If enforcement is successful, then we will recover this court fee for you from the debtor.
Abortive fee
Sometimes enforcement is not possible: the debtor may have disappeared, gone bankrupt, or there are just no assets available to sell. In this case, you will pay an abortive fee of £60 plus VAT. You will have also paid your initial court fee to transfer the CCJ. So, even if enforcement is unsuccessful, your outlay will have only been the £60 court fee and £60 plus VAT abortive fee.
Successful enforcement
When enforcement is successful, then the HCEO will not only recover the money you are owed, he will also recover your court fee and judgment interest at 8% from the debtor. The costs of enforcement are also paid by the debtor. So the HCEO will seize goods of sufficient value to cover the original debt, the court fee, judgment interest and enforcement costs.
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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.
