Getting Paid

Winning your case can often be the easy part compared to actually getting the money from the other side.  Ideally you will have been thinking about how you will get paid from the start and know about the other person's circumstances.  However, if you do not then you should apply for an Order to obtain information about the other party's finances.  This link will take you to the Court Service guide on this.

There are a number of options for enforcement of a debt.  We provide only a very simple guide to debt recovery here.  Considerable information is already available on the Court Service website, although we would recommend that you read the following first to get a feel for the options available.

If the other party owns property you can apply for a Charging Order on their property.  This prevents them from selling the property without paying you and is also a first step in applying for their property to be sold to pay you.  If you have details of their bank account or anyone who owes them money you can also apply for a Third Party Debt Order, meaning that they have to pay any money owed to you instead.  This link will take you to the Court Service guide on these options.

If the amount you are owed is more than £750 you can bring insolvency proceedings.  Bankruptcy is actually a bad thing, because if they are made bankrupt you line up with all the other debtors.  However, the threat of bankruptcy is a powerful weapon in itself. We recommend you take legal advice if considering going down this route.

For debts up to £5,000 you can use the County Court bailiffs to obtain payment. They can be quite effective, although there are limitations on what they can seize. This link will take you to the Court Service guide on this.

If the other party is employed it may be possible to attach their earnings. This means the employer would have to pay a certain amount out of their wages to you each week/month. This link will take you to the Court Service guide on this.

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