What happens if debtor has no money to pay back

[dave19621510]

HI,

I received `judgement by default` from a county court for money Mr AW owes me.

 

The amount is less than £500 and judgement was issued 2 month ago.

Now, I am proceeding to obtain information regarding the financial situation of this debtor by N316.

 

The question is what I can do further after N316.

 

I am quite sure that N316 will not provide much information.

The debtor is an English man in his mid-40s who was born and lives in London, never worked, has been depending on benefits all through his life, have 3 kids living in Birmingham, has been declared bankrupt (intentional bankruptcy to earn money from a bank), gaining daily maintenance money by conning people such as disabled people and women, no bank accounts, no property or assets apart from some assets hidden (from authority)in West-india.

 

The debtor most likely changed his address since he received the initial court order.

Is there any way to obtain his latest address from Department of Work and Pensions or Housing benefit office?

EX321 suggests that :

• a warrant of execution;

• an attachment of earnings order;

• a third party debt order; or

• a charging order.

 

Due to above reason, only `a warrant of execution` would be an available option.

It only works if the person actually lives in the address.

Due to safety, I try to avoid direct contact with the debtor unless being supervised.

I will use county court enforcement agent and possible other means to avoid direct contact: all contacts have so far been made through telephone and emails.

 

It would be much appreciated if anyone could advise me.

 

Regards

[AndyOrch]

Hi dave and welcome to CAG

 

And there lies your problem ...not much else you can do...you cant get blood out of a stone....unfortunately.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[dave19621510]

Hi, Andy,

Thanks for your reply.

That is unfortunate in some sense.

 

Regards

 

Dave

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

How much is owed?

[unclebulgaria67]

For a debt of less than £500, is it worth spending money on trying to enforce this debt ?

 

This person will have the CCJ on their record for 6 years and it may cause them problems. e.g getting services, credit, bank accounts, jobs. Perhaps at some point they may look to settle the debt.

 

Based on the information in you post, I think that this person may not be bothered by a CCJ and will not respond to any approach for them to attend the court to provide information. For a small debt and the CCJ only being recent, I am not sure a court would sanction such a move, as holding your debtor in contempt of court for not attending any hearing.

[dave19621510]

How much is owed?

 

 

Hi Brigadier,

It is apprx £200.

Not much but I need it as I am currently unable to work due to spine problem.

 

Regards

[unclebulgaria67]

Hi Brigadier,

It is apprx £200.

Not much but I need it as I am currently unable to work due to spine problem.

 

Regards

 

If you know this person is on benefits, I wonder whether as the claimant, you can ask the court to make an attachment to earnings order and the court then writes to DWP to arrange. DWP then check benefits and if they find a record, they deduct a percentage, which is paid via the court to yourself.

[AndyOrch]

If you know this person is on benefits, I wonder whether as the claimant, you can ask the court to make an attachment to earnings order and the court then writes to DWP to arrange. DWP then check benefits and if they find a record, they deduct a percentage, which is paid via the court to yourself.

 

I think that only applies to DWP overpayments and Crown debts UB.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[steampowered]

You can send bailiffs to make enquiries but unless he has assets it will be a wasted trip and you'll still be stung for the fee. For the sake of £200 it probably isn't worth it, unfortunately.

 

 

Not sure what you mean by 'maintenance money'. If that is going into a bank account you can try for a third party debt order over the account, but you'd have to identify the bank where the account is held first.

[dave19621510]

You can send bailiffs to make enquiries but unless he has assets it will be a wasted trip and you'll still be stung for the fee. For the sake of £200 it probably isn't worth it, unfortunately.

 

 

Not sure what you mean by 'maintenance money'. If that is going into a bank account you can try for a third party debt order over the account, but you'd have to identify the bank where the account is held first.

 

Hi,

Thank you for your advice.

I have been preparing for sending bailiffs, but thought he might have relocated. In this case, as you say, it is waste of money to send bailiffs. Therefore, I am making inquiry here to check the address. The`maintenance money` is money he needs for food, drinks, socializing etc.. It is cash and he is not allowed to set up a bank account.

Appreciate your comment anyway.

Regards

[dave19621510]

Originally Posted by unclebulgaria67

If you know this person is on benefits, I wonder whether as the claimant, you can ask the court to make an attachment to earnings order and the court then writes to DWP to arrange. DWP then check benefits and if they find a record, they deduct a percentage, which is paid via the court to yourself.

 

 

I think that only applies to DWP overpayments and Crown debts UB.

 

Regards

 

Andy

 

Hi,

Thanks UncleBul and Andy, I will research the possibility of deduction from benefits just in case.

 

Regards

[AndyOrch]

Thread moved to General Legal Issues.

[FairWorldCitizen]

As for any similar situation, you should monitor the debtor's circunstances to keep an eye on its financial situation.

Even if your debtor has the profile of someone who would not bother, or perhaps not immediately, there is always a way to recover your money. Some will say it is a low debt, some will say that when the debtor doesn't seem wealthy 200 is easier to recover than 2000.

Remember that you got your judgment recently. Even if it is generally better to move to enforcement within the next months after the judgement, you have 6 years to start enforcement steps. You might notice a change of situation in the debtor in 2 years and then be able to action one of the enforcement options.

Right now it is pointless to apply for an AEO as it won't be accepted for someone on employment benefits. It doesn't mean that the debtor will not get a job later.

A third party debt order can also be considered if you know that the debtor is likely to receive money.

 

You can obtain the latest address / check residency of someone by using a tracing service.

Edited May 8, 2014 by ims21