N61 order

[Earthbound]

Hello,

I've received two letters recently in regards to a CCJ from July 2016.

Letter 1 was received about a week ago and just said that my case was being transferred to my local county court for enforcement. It had mentioned an N61 order was going to be served due to failing to complete an N56 form (not received any such form).

Letter 2 was received yesterday (December 23rd 2021). It basically asks for me to get in touch with the bailiff over the phone, or alternatively attend the court's bailiff office. It appears the court is closed for a while due to the Christmas break, so I likely won't be able to get in touch with them yet.

I have some concerns in meantime that can hopefully be answered:

1) I've had a look at the N56 form that's available online and have read through the questions it asks. I am currently an independent contractor. I do remote work for a particular company, but I am not employed by them. It's considered freelance work. Payments are wildly unpredictable. The form asks about my expenditures and income. How do you answer these if you're freelance? I feel it'll be difficult to answer them as what I spend and make varies every month. One month I might have more expenditures due to making a reasonable amount and another I might not. I live at home with my parents currently which helps me out during the months where I end up not making much.

2) The N61 order has not been officially served to me yet. Are you allowed to just fill out the N56 form that's available online and then send it to the court before they serve you with the N61 order? As I am unlikely going to get hold of anyone due to the Christmas break, I figured it might be better to just fill out this form and send it off to them since that's what they need from me.

3) If I can send the N56 without having to wait for the N61 to be served to me, where would I send it? As I don't have the letter they sent with the N56 initially, all I have to go on is the N56 form available online which doesn't say where you send it. Is there also a fee if you send it before they serve the N61?

4) If I can't answer a particular section on the N56 form, or if it doesn't apply to me (e.g. no other outstanding debts), is it OK to just leave it blank, or do you have to write something like "N/A"?

Appreciate any response on this.

[EnglandPi]

Your creditor is applying for an attachment of earnings order which can only be successful if you are employed with a PAYE employer.

Given your circumstances any such order would fail. That said, there are other methods of enforcement that are not so nice so it would be better to come to a payment arrangement with your creditor if at all possible and fill out the form as best you can because ignoring it for long enough can get you imprisioned for contempt.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-man...ing/dmbm667590

[Earthbound]

Can you send the N56 form off without having to wait for the N61 to be served, or do I need to wait for the order to be served to me since that's what their current intent is? The bailiff wants me to get in touch to discuss the matter, but I already know what they want (to tell me about the N61 order).

I'd rather not have them come to my house. If I can avoid that by simply sending off the N56 form to them before they can serve the N61, that'd be a lot more preferable.

I'm still not sure how to fill the expenditure and income section since my expenditure and income largely depend on what I make each month. Do I just write something like "£0-250 per month"?