Enforcing a CCJ against a LTD company

soapywrapper

I have obtained a CCJ against a LTD company who owe me around £1500.


The company is still trading and is in good financial health. They are not paying me because they cannot afford to but because they simply dont want to.


Im not sure bailiffs would be useful as I think they cannot take items that would affect the running of the business (computers etc) and they do not have much else of value at their premises.


I've read about winding up orders but on the .gov website, it says 'I must be able to prove that the company cannot pay me' In this case they can pay me, they are just choosing not to. Its also very expensive and I am not sure if I would get this money back through a court order. So would this be a viable option?



Can anyone offer some advice on how I might be able enforce this CCJ?

waamo

You can uplift the case to the High Court and use an enforcement officer from them. They have far more powers than baliffs.

Have a look here for more details https://thesheriffsoffice.com/

Benight

soapywrapper wrote: »

I have obtained a CCJ against a LTD company who owe me around £1500.


The company is still trading and is in good financial health. They are not paying me because they cannot afford to but because they simply dont want to.


Im not sure bailiffs would be useful as I think they cannot take items that would affect the running of the business (computers etc) and they do not have much else of value at their premises.


I've read about winding up orders but on the .gov website, it says 'I must be able to prove that the company cannot pay me' In this case they can pay me, they are just choosing not to. Its also very expensive and I am not sure if I would get this money back through a court order. So would this be a viable option?



Can anyone offer some advice on how I might be able enforce this CCJ?

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/enforce-a-judgment

(obvs, the possibilty to garnish wages doesn't apply in this instance)

The costs of enforcement are usually added to the amount already judged as owed.

But beware if you only have a judgement by default. Some successful companies like to toy with complainants they feel have little merit, and will allow you to build up as much court charges as possible, then they will apply (usually successfully) to set aside the original judgement, obtain a new judgement finding no fault on their side, and ultimately getting you to pay their own expenses

stragglebod

That would seem like a questionable tactic.

macman

Yes, HCEO's can both enter a commercial premises by force and can seize goods. In the case of most office-based businesses, the computers are worth very little as hardware, but the data on them is crucial. Remove the computers and the business may be unable to trade. The only way they can prevent seizure of goods is by proving that the goods do not belong to the business and are leased.
The point of this is that just the threat to remove goods will very often persuade the debtor to pay up in cash at that point to prevent the disruption of their business: the goods in most offices wouldn't fetch £1500 at auction. Any vehicles owned by the company could be seized, but not if they are on finance or leased.

Benight

To get HCEO involved, I think the claimant first needs to pay the court £66 for the writ, and another £75 to iunstruct the HCEO of their choice
These were ther costs the last tiome I looked, and hope they haven't increased yet, as the claimant will need to instruct the HCEO in order to name them on the writ - no HCEO named, no writ.

And then the defendant can apply for a stay on the writ (so effectively stopping any enforcement by the HCEO named), usually granted if the original judgement was granted in default, whilst they prepare & submit their set aside application at the county court.

Benight

The OP's time, effort and money would be better utilised at this point, imho, in trying to understand why this apparent successful company (its still trading and is "in good financial health" according to the OP so far) does not feel inclined at this point to comply with a live CCJ against them.

Outstanding CCJs and "good financial health" do not usually go hand in hand.

da_rule

The HCEO cost is currently £66 (which you pay upfront but is added to the debt) and you only have to pay the £75 (plus VAT) if the recovery isn’t successful. As has been said, often the disruption that would be caused by having assets seized is enough to compel payment.

You could also apply to wind the company up. Failure to pay a CCJ is prima facie evidence that a company cannot pay its debts, you don’t need to dig much further. However a failed HCEO visit may however add to your evidence.

My first port of call would be a HCEO. Most of them also have tracing abilities so may also be able to advise whether they own any property that you can place charging orders on.

steampowered

Just go ahead and engage bailiffs. Whether that be county court bailiffs or HCEOs.

There are lots of companies who simply stick their head in the sand until a bailiff turns up. Watch a few episodes of "Can't pay, we'll take it away"!!!

Winding up is another option but is more expensive in terms of court fees.

steampowered

Benight wrote: »

The OP's time, effort and money would be better utilised at this point, imho, in trying to understand why this apparent successful company (its still trading and is "in good financial health" according to the OP so far) does not feel inclined at this point to comply with a live CCJ against them.

Outstanding CCJs and "good financial health" do not usually go hand in hand.

All the more reason to get bailiffs in as soon as possible.

If the business is going under, best to enforce aggressively and force them to make full payment to keep trading - rather than waiting until they've gone under and getting nothing as an unsecured creditor in a liquidation.