High court and Magistrates'
Court
The High Court is a part of the Supreme Court. It is based
in London and has District Registries in larger towns. This can
make this court less accessible than the county court.
Debts of over £15000, and some county court judgments
may be commenced or enforced via the High Court.
The procedures involved in issuing claims and enforcing judgments
are now similar to those in the county court .
Bailiffs
- All creditors except for Inland Revenue
and VAT must obtain a court order before using bailiffs.
- Bailiffs may usually NOT break in to your home unless they
have already been let in peaceably.
- Bailiffs may legally seize goods to be sold if they have
followed the correct procedure.
- If you fail to pay a county court order, the creditor can
request that county court bailiffs visit your home to seize
goods.
- It is possible to apply to the court to have this action
suspended.
- If you owe council tax, your local council may obtain permission
from the magistrates' court to use bailiffs to seize goods.
- The magistrates' court itself uses bailiffs to collect unpaid
fines.
- Bailiffs may also be used to collect unpaid maintenance/CSA
payments.
- Some landlords can use bailiffs to collect rent arrears.
This area of law is very complicated. The Money Advice Unit
factsheet on Bailiffs will give further help.
Administration Orders
If you have at least one county court judgment and unsecured debts of under £5000,
it may be possible to place all of these debts on to one court order called
an administration order.
This can assist in controlling debts and simplifying repayments
as a single payment can be made to the county court every week/
month.
See the Money Advice Unit factsheet 'administration orders'.
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is one method of dealing with the financial affairs of someone
who cannot pay their debts. Bankruptcy can free the debtor from an overwhelming
situation, enable them to make a fresh start and make sure that any available
resources are fairly distributed among creditors.
However bankruptcy can have wide implications for a debtor's
home, job, future credit and reputation. Some debts do still
have to be paid even when someone is discharged from bankruptcy.
It is therefore important to consider personal circumstances
before deciding whether bankruptcy is an appropriate option.
Anyone considering bankruptcy should seek advice as there are
fees to pay for the bankruptcy petition (currently £370
in total) as well as additional costs during the bankruptcy and
the possibility of the loss of assets such as the home.
If you have received a statutory demand seek
advice at once. You have, in practical terms, 18 days to take
action to avoid a bankruptcy order.
There are possible alternatives to bankruptcy in some circumstances,
which would also require advice.
The Insolvency Service provides a rage of leaflets explaining
bankruptcy.
The Magistrates' Court
For the purposes of this guide, this court deals with arrears of fines,
council tax and maintenance/CSA. Similar proceedings can apply for
recovering court costs and compensation orders.
If these remain unpaid after bailiff action, proceedings may
be taken to compel you to attend a court hearing to answer detailed
questions on oath concerning your income, expenditure and assets.
This is the start of a process which can lead to committal
to prison. However, the court can only impose a prison
sentence if it is satisfied that you are guilty either of wilful
refusal to pay, or of culpable neglect (eg.
you had the money but spent it recklessly on something else).
The court also has the power to set new payment arrangements,
or even to write off part or all of the debt, if there are good
reasons for doing so. The court cannot write off compensation
orders.
If you are summonsed to such a hearing, you must attend,
as failure to do so can result in your arrest.
In order to attend a hearing, you will need to prepare income
and expenditure details, show evidence of your income and bills,
and you will need to explain your reasons for non-payment as
well as offering a new payment to pay off the arrears.
It may be helpful to seek advice before such a hearing.
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