Once a Judgement has been issued against the debtor the creditor can apply for a Warrant of Execution at any point if the debt is between £50 and £5,000 (in Scotland between £600-£5,000). If the debt is over £5,000 then the High Court would enforce the debt in the same way but this is known as a Writ of FiFa.
The Warrant of Execution will be calculated by the amount of the judgment; plus the court fees and if granted, the creditor’s costs. Statutory interest cannot be sought of judgement debts of less than £5,000.
Once the Warrant of Execution has been issued the court will transfer the judgement to the debtor’s local County Court, in turn they will write to the debtor informing them of the Warrant of Execution. This letter gives the debtor 7 days to pay the amount of the Warrant in full without further action. If the debtor pays within this time frame then the Warrant of Execution is cancelled and the monies are paid to the creditor.
During the 7 day period the debtor may apply for the Warrant of Execution to be suspended. This application must state a valid reason (i.e. offer to pay the judgment by instalments). The court would then notify the creditor of the application to suspend the Warrant. If the creditor contests the application the court will list the application for a hearing. The court would then decide whether to uphold the application to suspend or whether the Warrant of Execution still stands. (The debtor has to pay a fee to the court to apply to suspend the Warrant of Execution).
If the debtor fails to pay or apply for the Warrant of Execution to be suspended, the bailiff will usually within 15 working days visit the debtor at their home address. They will attempt to identify items which can be sold to recover the debt. Certain items are unable to be taken and the County Court Bailiff has to follow strict guidelines as to how they can take the goods. They are not allowed to break into any property – entry must be via a “peaceable” method such as unlocked door, window. If the bailiff is let into the property by a bailiff he can take payment there and then or may take an inventory of goods. This is known as a “walking possession order”. This means that if payment is not made the bailiff may / will revisit and take the goods. At this point the bailiff is allowed to break into the property if he has entered the property “peacefully” before.
A Warrant of Execution lasts for a period of one year from the date of issue. If the creditor wishes to extend the Warrants life beyond one year they must supply the court with sufficient reasons for this to be granted and unless there are exceptional circumstances this should be done prior to the Warrant of Execution expiring. There is a fee to extend the Warrant of Execution.
