enforcing ccj

[Advicepleas]

Hello beagles. I have a ccj against someone for £16,000 which I am struggling to enforce. He lives in rented accommodation with few assets other than a car worth around £8000. He has moved the car to a friends garage to hide it there as he has refused to sell it to part pay the debt. HCEO have been to his rented house, there were no assets to take and he refused to offer any sort of repayment at all. They have also been to his friends house who wouldn’t answer the door and so HCEO want to close the case. I could get an attachment of earnings but how much will I receive as there seems to be various calculators online but they relate to council tax?? His net income is around £1400 per month but what is included in the protected earnings rate?? I guess the other option is bankruptcy as then the car will have to come into the calculations?? Any ideas?? Many thanks for any suggestions

[Advicepleas]

I should have mentioned - the car above is definitely free of finance

[ploddertom]

Providing the car was moved before the HCEO became involved then there is not much that can be done about it. Sounds to me as if he is someone who is used to this process and knows how to get round it to avoid paying. The HCEO will only visit a certain number of time before returning the Writ to you as unenforceable, at that stage they will be looking for their "abortive fee" from you and as they have been to 2 addresses then that may be approx £180 for you to pay. You can always instruct another HCEO who may be more proactive or you could choose another form of Enforcement.

Are you aware if he has any other debts as you could find yourself at the bottom of the pile if you try to force Bankruptcy and could end up with nothing or just pennies in the pound for restitution.

[Advicepleas]

Thank you ploddertom for your answer. He has other debts but nothing substantial except my ccj. When you say “another form of Enforcement” could you elaborate?? Could I get a Charging Order on the car for example?? Any idea about the amount I would get with an attachment of earnings? His income is around 1400 per month and so I’m interested in what is included in the protected earnings rate. If the attachment of earnings is a reasonable amount I wonder if he will choose to bankrupt himself. He will almost certainly not list the car as an asset in any bankruptcy proceedings as despite it being in his name and him writing in his witness statement that he owns it he is now saying that he doesn’t own it and it belongs to someone else!!

[ploddertom]

When did the issue with the car arise - before or after the HCEO was engaged. Reason being is that the Defendants goods become "bound" from the time the Writ is issued to prevent the sale or other disposal of any assets. For further enforcement it is worth looking at https://www.hceoa.org.uk/faqs/other-...of-enforcement

Even if he says the car belongs to someone else if he goes BR then the Official Receiver could see the "transaction" as trying to evade the issue and can demand its return. You would possibly need to keep an eye on proceedings for this eventuality.

As for the Attachment of Earnings I believe the PER is approx 60% of his net earnings and he will probably pay 11% of what is left to you. Sometimes those with AEOs will resign, take a lower paid job or even become Self Employed.

[Advicepleas]

Thanks again ploddertom. The car was moved before HCEO became involved. Yes, I’m aware he can’t simply change his mind about who owns the car once he lost the case. Looks like bankruptcy is the best chance of seeing a lump sum as an AEO will take 20 years of repayments without even allowing for any interest!!!