Third Party Debt Order - is it enforcable?

[PurpleBadger]

Hello, I wonder if anyone can advise me.

 

 

I had a CCJ against a debtor. I applied for a Third Party Debt Order against...a well known high street bank. The bank apparently told the court that there were no funds in the account, however, the court granted the order. I now have a Final Third Party Debt Order which states "The Third Party to pay the claimant (the judgment creditor) £[amount]".

 

 

I have sent this to the bank who keep saying they have no obligation to pay as there was / is no money in the account. I have said this as may be but this is an issue for them to reclaim it from their customer; there is a valid court order stating they should pay. They have sent me another letter talking about their obligations in respect of an Interim Third Party Debt Order, but seem to have missed the point that this is a Final Order.

 

 

My question is, can I enforce against the bank? I've never seen their letter to the court but they say they sent it. They also told me that there was no money in the account, so I suspect the court shouldn't have granted the order - nonetheless they did. The bank says if I try to enforce they will "draw the court's attention to my conduct when it comes to the issue of costs".

 

 

Should I just ask for judgment to be entered against the bank? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Thanks

 

 

PB

[steampowered]

Why was a final TPDO granted if the bank already said, in response to the interim order, that there were no funds in the account? Did they object to a final TPDO and was there a hearing?

 

CPR 72.9 states 'A final third party debt order shall be enforceable as an order to pay money.'. This suggests that the order can be enforced against the bank without any further need to enter judgment.

 

This does seem to me to be a very odd result. The bank is not a guarantor for the judgment debtor so it is difficult to see how why they should pay you when there is no money in the account. Though I guess if they didn't object to the making of a final TPDO that is their fault. The risk of enforcing is that they might make an application to have the final TPDO set aside and may try to claim their costs.