Attachment of earnings /ccj.. Prison ?

Boooobah

I have had a county court form saying I owe £1514 and the judgement creditor has applied for an attachment of earnings . It says if I don't complete the attachment 'it will result in your employer being contacted and you also may be sent to prison for 14 days'

My question is , how likely is it that I will be sent to prison if I do not complete the form ? Is it a threat or a reality ? I'm really worried

HappyMJ

Boooobah wrote: »

I have had a county court form saying I owe £1514 and the judgement creditor has applied for an attachment of earnings . It says if I don't complete the attachment 'it will result in your employer being contacted and you also may be sent to prison for 14 days'

My question is , how likely is it that I will be sent to prison if I do not complete the form ? Is it a threat or a reality ? I'm really worried

Unlikely but the court can arrest you and put you in a cell until you can be brought before the court. Declining to fill in the form then would cause you to be detained longer.

I would fill in the form. An attachment of earnings is only possible if the deduction isn't going to cause you financial hardship. You need to engage with the court so a high level of earnings can be protected. Those earnings you can keep and use towards your essential bills. The amount that can be protected can be 100% of your normal monthly pay so no payment would be able to be deducted and handed to your creditors.

They will give you enough so your rent is paid, the bills are paid there's no need to turn the heating down and the court will make sure you have more than enough to put food on the table. If you have a car they'll ensure you have enough to insure and maintain it and put fuel in it each week so you can get to and from work. If you've got children they'll ensure you have enough to look after them.

It's nothing to worry about. I would put slightly higher figures for most things than you actually spend to give you some leeway. If you're currently on a discount tariff for any of your suppliers (energy, phone, mobile or broadband) I would put the full standard tariff cost down....just in case you can't switch when it comes time to renew.

National_Debtline

Hi

You should definitely reply to the N56 attachment of earnings application, it's an offence to not respond within 8 days. If you failed to do so the court would use bailiffs to serve you with an order to complete it. If you still didn't provide the court with the information they would order you to attend a hearing to explain why, and if you didn't attend that hearing they could order you arrest.

As Happy MJ says, it shouldn't be something to worry over as long as you return the form in time. The payment amount the court sets will be based on how much you can afford after essential living costs. If you're worried about your employer being contacted because it might affect your job you can request a suspended attachment of earnings where your employer wouldn't be involved as long as you kept up the payments.

This factsheet goes into more detail:
www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/countycourtattachmentofearningsorders/attachmentofearningsorders.aspx

James
@natdebtline

poppasmurf_bewdley

Why worry?

Why hesitate about filling in the form?

Never mind whether it's a threat or a reality.

Fill in the form!