When a Creditor:

• Obtains a court order against you for the payment of money (a “judgment”); and you do not pay;
  
  That Creditor can ask the High Court to issue a Writ of Execution ("Writ of Fieri Facias”). The Writ is addressed to an Authorised High Court Enforcement Officer. It asks the Authorised High Court Enforcement Officer who will be named on the Writ to enforce the judgment. The Writ is the Authorised High Court Enforcement Officer’s authority to “execute” the Writ by either:
  

• Collecting the money owed from you; or
• Taking (“impounding”) sufficient of your goods to be sold to auction to raise what is owed.
  
  It is important to appreciate that the main aim of all High Court Enforcement Officers is to collect the money owed, not to deprive you of possession and use of your goods. They will try, so far as it is possible, to protect both your interest and those of your Creditor. They can help and advise you best if you are honest about your circumstances from the outset.
  
  

You can pay the High Court Enforcement Officer by a number of methods. He or she will explain to you how they would like payment to be made. Make sure that when making payment the High Court Enforcement Officer’s reference number for the case is noted in any paperwork.

If the judgment against you was obtained in either the County Court or the High Court it will be registered with Registry Trust. Once listed that entry remains for a period of six years on the register. The fact that you have a judgment registered against you may make it difficult for you to obtain credit. Banks, building societies and other lenders search the information held by the registry before deciding whether to grant a loan.

Once you have paid the judgment in full you can apply to have the entry against you marked as “satisfied”. This will be an indication to anyone making a search that although you have owed money you have since paid it. Details of how to have the registration mark satisfied can be obtained by clicking on the link below. You should also make enquiries at Registry Trust who will be able to help you. Any application to have the judgment marked as satisfied must be made to the County Court that last dealt with your case.

The High Court Enforcement Officer can execute:

• Any High Court Judgment or;
• Any County Court Judgment where the amount to be enforced is £600 or more and the original claim did not arise from the Consumer Credit Agreement.
  
  

If the judgment was obtained in a County Court it can be transferred to the High Court and registered as a High Court Judgment. The High Court Enforcement Officer can then enforce it. All High Court Judgments attract interest from the date of judgment or transfer from the County Court to the High Court until they are paid in full. Interest is added to the debt on a daily basis and it follows that the sooner you pay the judgment the less interest you will pay.

You will. The High Court Enforcement Officer’s fees will be added to the amount you already owe. They will be collected by the High Court Enforcement Officer at the same time as the amount that is owed on the judgment and the interest on it.

The fees charged are set out in The High Court Enforcement Officer’s Regulations 2004. This is a list of charges approved by parliament to reflect the amount of work the High Court Enforcement Officers have to do to collect payment. If for example, the High Court Enforcement Officer has to call on you more than once, or has to remove goods for sale, the fees you will have to pay will increase accordingly. The sooner you pay the judgment and the High Court Enforcement Officer’s fees the less the total fees and interest will be.

If you want to know more about how fees are calculated you should ring the High Court Enforcement Officer who is responsible for enforcing the judgment.

If you do not agree the fees charged you can apply to the court for the court fees to be assessed. However you must consider carefully the amount of costs being awarded against you if the court decides the fee charged are fair and reasonable. It will be better to pay the High Court Enforcement Officer as soon as possible in order to prevent further unnecessary fees being charged.

Yes there are. You and your family cannot be deprived of all your goods and particularly those you need to be able to live and work on a daily basis. The law says that a High Court Enforcement Officer cannot take:

• Vehicles and other goods subject to hire purchase or rental agreements
• Tools, books, vehicles and other items of equipment that are necessary for your personal use in connection with your employment, business or vocation
• Clothing, bedding, furniture and other items of equipment that are necessary for satisfying the basic domestic needs of you or your family
• Goods belonging to someone other than yourself, commonly called “the Third Party”
  
  

The High Court Enforcement Officer will try to come to an agreement with you about when payment is to be made. At the same time, the High Court Enforcement Officer will identify a list, (an inventory), of any of your goods that might be sold if the debt is not paid. This process is called “levying”. There are two reasons why this is done:

• It allows you to retain and use the goods while you raise the money and, if you pay, will mean you do not have to pay the High Court Enforcement Officer’s fees of taking the goods for sale; and
• It protects your Creditor’s interest in the event you are unable to find the money to pay all of the debt. The goods can still be taken and sold as necessary. Whenever the High Court Enforcement Officer levies on goods you will be asked to sign an agreement called a “Walking Possession Agreement”. This is your undertaking not to remove or dispose of any of the goods listed in the inventory until payment has been made in full. It is a serious offence to ignore your undertaking it can lead to a fine or your imprisonment.

If you can only offer payment by instalments over a period of time, the High Court Enforcement Officer will have to contact the Creditor to ask if the terms you are offering are acceptable. You will normally be asked to pay an amount on account as a sign of your intention to pay. If the Creditor does agree to your terms, you must pay, on time, as agreed. Remember, an agreement to pay by instalment does not prevent the Writ being reactivated immediately if you do not keep the arrangements. If you are going to fall down on the arrangement you should contact the High Court Enforcement Officer responsible for the enforcement of the Writ as soon as possible.

We would encourage you to think carefully before complaining. Remember that the High Court Enforcement Officer is acting on the instructions of the court and the Creditor. If, for example, you think you do not owe the money being claimed, or you are upset because your offer of payment by instalments has been turned down, this is not the High Court Enforcement Officer’s fault. These are matters which you have to sort out with the Creditor either by direct contact or through applications to the appropriate court.

If you still wish to continue with your complaint you must follow the High Court Enforcement Officer’s complaints procedure which is set out elsewhere on this website.