Attachment of Earnings...unsure?

Aymz

Hello..apologies if this is in the wrong thread as i have not posted on here before!
I have been trying to make a proper effort to clear my debts now that I am back in full time work, and have been on the net, gathering various bits of information needed.
One thing that caught my eye when i was reading up on Attachment of Earnings orders was that when one was applied for, the courts would send out a statement of means to be filled in showing income/expenditure etc and that if that it isnt filled in, then the courts could send bailiffs round to make you fill in the form and if that doesnt happen then a warrant can be put out for arrest to make you fill it in (source : HM Courts Service website)

The thing is, I have had an AoE which started...46,47 months ago. I really, really do not remember filling in a statement of means, and i certainly didnt have a bailiff come or i wasnt arrested either. I remember feeling surprised that i ended up having an AoE for that amount (£100 a month, loan was for £9500) as although i was working full time then, i wasnt on a huge wage either.

Would I be able to get this looked at at all? At the time, i just didnt do anything, thought once it was done it was done, but im older and wiser now (hopefully lol) so im not sure whether one could have been issued without the statement of means, whether the ordered payments could have been deemed unfair?

on top of that, I am not even sure whether i really should be paying for it - the original loan was taken out (for £2000) back in 2002 by my husband (although we werent married at the time) as we were getting ready for the birth of our son. A few months later we moved and he was unable to find work in our new town so fell behind a little with the payments. The bank agreed to consolidate the loan somehow, i know a bit more was borrowed on top, and it the repayments were over a longer period and slightly lower, but im sure i wasnt there with him when he had it consolidated either, so surely it should be in his name and not mine? Yet it seems to have fallen to me to pay it. At the time of the issue of the AoE, we were both working.

If anyone has any advice, even if its just to say 'give up, its done and dusted!' that would really be most appreciated.

Apologies for the essay!!

fatbelly

Hopefully this factsheet answers some of your questions:

Factsheet | Attachment of Earnings in the county court

Note:

What if I want to change the terms of the attachment of earnings order in the future?

You can apply to the court on an N244 to ‘vary’ or change the order if you find that you cannot afford the deduction rate on the attachment of earnings order because your circumstances have changed. You will have to give full details of your personal budget and why you cannot afford the deductions set by the court. You can also use this form if your circumstances at work change and you want the court to look at suspending the attachment of earnings order.

Phone us for advice 0808 808 4000

Fees

There will usually be a fee of £75 to pay with your application. If you are on a low income or certain types of benefits you may not have to pay the fee.

I suspect they got a ccj on a joint loan. Ring National Debtline on that number and have a chat to them.

Aymz

Thanks for that, will have a look at that