Direct Access Barrister
Disputes & Advocacy
Dispute guide · please read and keep
Enforcing a judgmentWinning is only half the battle — turning the court’s order into money in your account
The court gives you a judgment; it does not give you the money. Enforcement is a separate step, chosen and paid for by you, and choosing the right method for the right debtor is the difference between recovery and an expensive piece of paper. This note explains the main tools, what each costs and suits, and how to find out what a debtor actually has. It is general information, not advice on a particular judgment.
01
First, find out what the debtor hasEnforcement is aiming: pick the method that matches the asset. Before spending, look at what is knowable — does the debtor own property (a Land Registry search answers it for a few pounds)? Are they employed, and by whom? Is the company still trading, and what do its filed accounts show? If the picture is murky, the court will make the debtor answer: an order to attend court for questioning compels them to attend and disclose their means on oath, with documents. It produces no money itself, but it tells you where to point the tools below — and the summons alone sometimes produces an offer to pay.
02
The tools, and what each suitsTaking control of goods — bailiffs and HCEOsEnforcement agents attend and, failing payment, seize and sell goods. Judgments over £600 can be transferred to the High Court for enforcement by High Court Enforcement Officers, who are generally faster and more motivated (their fees come from the debtor). Best for: debtors with visible assets — vehicles, stock, equipment. Weak against: debtors with nothing seizable, or goods on finance. Third-party debt order — intercepting the bank accountFreezes and takes money someone else owes the debtor — usually the balance in their bank account on the day it lands. Powerful and fast, but it is a snapshot: it catches what is there that day, so timing (payday, invoice-payment day) is everything. Best for: debtors with income arriving predictably into a known account. Attachment of earnings — the payroll deductionOrders the debtor’s employer to deduct from wages each month until the debt is paid. Slow but steady, and hard to evade while they stay employed. Best for: employed individuals with modest but regular income. Not available against the self-employed. Charging order — securing against propertyRegisters the judgment as a charge over the debtor’s land, like a mortgage: you are paid (with interest) when the property is sold or remortgaged, and in a strong case you can apply for an order for sale. Best for: property-owning debtors, and for patience — it converts an unsecured debt into a secured one that waits. Insolvency — the last resortBankruptcy (individuals, debts over £5,000) or winding-up (companies, over £750) ends the debtor’s control of their affairs entirely. But you join a queue of creditors and often recover pennies in the pound — it is pressure and principle more than recovery, and it extinguishes any better route. Take advice before starting down it.
03
Choosing well: the matching tableThree practical points. Methods can be combined — a charging order securing the debt while an attachment of earnings chips at it. County-court judgments carry interest (at 8%) only in limited cases below £5,000, but High Court transfer brings judgment interest with it. And a judgment is enforceable for years, but do not sit on it: assets move, companies fold, and the best enforcement is prompt enforcement.
Where we come in
A fixed-fee enforcement plan: what is knowable about your debtor, which tool fits, in what order, and what each step will cost against what it is likely to recover — plus the applications drafted and, where a hearing is needed, argued. The judgment was the expensive part; make it pay. This note is general information about enforcing civil judgments in England and Wales and does not constitute advice on a particular case. Fees, thresholds and interest rules change; check the current position before applying. |