I have a judgement order for payment but my opponent has failed to pay – What are my options?

​You can request that the County Court Bailiff attends your opponent’s premises to request payment. If no payment is made, or payment is insufficient, they can seize the goods for sale. This is called execution.

It is recommended that, if execution is required for significant debts, your request for execution is transferred to the High Court so that collection is put in the hands of certificated High Court enforcement officers, who are much more likely to act quickly and are often far more effective and persuasive than County Court Bailiffs.

Your legal team can also look at other methods of enforcing judgment orders, including applying to the court for an attachment of earnings order, which is where an order is sent to the debtor’s employer so that a specified amount can be taken from the defendant’s earnings each payday and sent to you, until the judgment debt is paid off in full.

Another alternative is to make an application for a third party debt order. This is useful when you know that the defendant is owed money by a third party. An order allows you to step into the shoes of the defendant so that you receive the payment, which you then may apply to the debt owed to you.

Sometimes, however, the defendant may not have enough money or valuable possessions to pay off a debt. It is often the case with individuals that the only significant asset to their name is their home or other properties. In such cases, it is often advisable to apply to the court for a charging order. This prevents the defendant from selling his/her property or land without first paying you what is owed. In some circumstances, you will be able to apply to the court to request an order to force your debtor to sell the asset in order to pay off the debt.