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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