Employer received Earnings Arrestment notification

[vulturu0707]

HI everyone, I registered to this forum to specifically discuss an issue which I have to deal with since today and I really hope that someone with expertise in this particular field could help.

My employer has informed me that he has received a letter from a Sheriff Officer regarding an Earnings Arrestment, basically to deduct earnings from the debtor(me) toa creditor.

The problem is that I haven't been aware of this case and I have never been told/received any letters regarding this. Moreover, the address which appears next to my name is not correct anymore, as I moved out of that place over 2 years ago. I do recognize the name of the creditor, but I have no idea what the case is all about and I find it very unfair to have got to this stage, without me knowing anything about it. I have stopped all the communications with this person quite a while ago.

Could you please advise on what do I have to do now? Also I am not very sure of what are all the rights I have at this stage, am I still able to appeal this case, do I have the right to request all the letters which were sent to the wrong address and see what is all about, is it normal for me to find about this case from my employer?

As I have no experience in this area, every help is very much appreciated.

Thank you.

[ploddertom]

Re: Employer received Earnings Arrestment notification

Your employer has no option and must carry out the Order they have been served with until such time they are told otherwise. If you believe the Judgment has been granted in error then it is you that must try & resolve it. Scottish system is different to us in England.

[vulturu0707]

Re: Employer received Earnings Arrestment notification

Hi ploddertom

Thank you for your reply.

I definitely believe that the judgement has been tranted in error but it has go so far that at this stage I don't know what I can do about it, especially after today:

This morning I went to the Sheriff Officers who sent the Earnings Arrestment Schedule to my employer. Unluckily, the person who was in charge of this case wasn't in and will only be back to work on Thursday. A colleague of him talked with me and she was very surprised to find out that I have never received any letters about this case and that it has gone so far. She was very helpful and provided me with the case reference number and a copy of The Simple Procedure Decision Form (both I have never seen before). She advised me to go to the Sheriff Court to find out more details about the case.

At the court, I have been to the Sheriff Clerks Office and they weren't able to tell me exactly why I haven't been notified of this case and also were very surprised when I told them that the address they had was not correct. I also found out from them that the case started in February 2017 and finished in May 2017. I have moved out from my old address almost 2 years before the case started.

They said that the legislation is not clear enough if I can still submit the 13B Form, as The Simple Procedure Rules states the following:

If the sheriff made a decision (other than dismissal) in the case, a party may apply for recall at any time before the decision of the sheriff has been fully implemented.

They said that it is not very clear what fully implemented means.

After that I went to the in-court Citizen Advice Bureau to ask for legal advice. The person who helped me said that it is very unusual that I haven't heard anything about this case and after going back to the Sheriff Clerks Office with her, they gave us the register of the case with all the documents. The 2 letters which were sent to my old address were both posted back to Royal Mail. So clearly the person who lives in my old flat did the right thing. The this person told me to speak with the Sheriff Officers and check why they formed the view that documents were formally served on you on two occasions, when it obviously didn't. He also said that he never heard something like this before which makes me even more worried.

What I am planning to do now is to send tomorrow the 13B Form and attach a letter to it, explaining the unique situation and asking for a recall of the decree.

On Thursday I am also planning to speak over the phone with the Sheriff Officer who has been dealing with the earnings arrestment.

Any suggestions are very welcomed at this stage as I am quite shocked after what I've been told today.

Many thanks.