I Have Obtained a Judgment That a Defendant Should Pay Me Money, but They Still Haven’t Paid. What Can I Do Now?

If a court has ordered someone to pay you and they still haven’t (the judgment alone isn’t always enough), you may need to take enforcement action. There are a number of different enforcement options. You will need to consider the most appropriate depending on the assets of the debtor. Generally speaking you have 6 years from the date of the Judgment to enforce the courts order, and the good news is you don’t have to compromise, and there are several options available, depending on the circumstances.

One of most effective enforcement options can be to apply for a Charging Order over a debtors property and/or assets. This process seeks to secure the debt against the defendant’s property. This is then registered at Land Registry and ultimately where we pursue this route and the debt remains unpaid, we can then force sale of the assets in addition to recovery of costs and interest. This makes this an incredibly attractive route for creditors.

Other enforcement options include applying for a Third Party Debt Order to freeze money held in their bank account, or seeking an Attachment of Earnings Order, where money is taken directly from a debtors’ wages.

We also find that threatening and pursuing either bankruptcy (in the case of an individual) or winding up (in the case of a company) can force an opponent to come to the negotiating table.

As specialist litigation solicitors we’re adept at forcing people to do things they don’t want to for the benefit of our clients’.