Help on enforcing a CCJ

smilem

Hi all, unfortunately got ripped off by a dodgy builder last year who won't pay back £1100 for materials/deposit for work on our house when he cancelled.
We have a CCJ against him in default as he ignored everything, but I was very confident based on evidence anyway.
I'm struggling with best next steps, as don't want to sink more money into a lost cause, but am so angry with what's happened/ this money would make a real impact to our wedding next year.
Please do you have advice/experience on progressing to high court enforcement vs. bailiffs? We can see he's still taking private jobs on Facebook but has previously been very aggressive in phone contact and ignored everything to his address and I'm not sure what actual power either would have if he continues to just ignore!
At a complete lost

macman

Has he got any assets to recover? Is your CCJ in his name, or a company name? If the latter, is that company still trading?

DoaM

Answers to the above are critical. If they suggest that it's worth pursuing then you can elevate this to High Court Enforcement (think The Sheriffs Are Coming) - costs for this are added to what they recover.

garth549

If the CCJ is against his business name then you may struggle to recover anything I'm afraid. A lot of dodgy builders will have no tangible assets (except perhaps a van which may well be in their personal name). A lot will just wind up their company and start afresh rather than pay. Speaking from experience.

I'd do a bit of research to weigh up whether it's worth pursuing further. High court enforcement is expensive and you may well be just chucking money away.

smilem

Thanks for your replies, the CCJ is against him personally registered at his home address.
He Def has a work van and tools and other than that I'm not sure/don't know how to check.
My partner has warned even if he has assets he could transfer into his partners name as there is at least a weeks notification :S
Seems so wrong that it's so hard to get back your well earned money from a crook

waamo

You could uplift to the High Court which would slightly increase your chances of getting the money back however nothing is guaranteed.

I hate to say but only you know your personal circumstances and if it's worth the gamble to you.

You may be minded that you want to cause the guy some grief and so uplift it regardless of the final result. Alternatively you may decide it's just not worth the potential cost.

Whether you get the money is anybodys guess.

da_rule

You could also consider getting a copy of the title register for his property (£3 from the Land Registry) to check he does own a share of the property. If he does then you can also apply for a charging order. There is a fee for this (£110), but it is added to the debt. This will then allow you secure the debt on the property as a charge (mortgage) so it will be repaid when the property is sold (and will just set there gathering interest at 8% on the meantime).

Alternatively, you could have him summonsed to court to answer debtors questions. He will then be compelled to give all of his financial details (property ownership, bank account details etc). There is a cost to this (£55 for the order and £110 if you want a bailiff to serve it - as it has to be personally served or you can arrange a process server), but again these costs are added to the debt.

If the questioning reveals a lot of assets that could be removed then the Bigh Court enforcement may be the way to go.

If he has bank accounts with balances that exceed the debt amount you could seek a third party debt order. Essentially this freezes the debt amount in the bank accounts, gives him a period to pay, and if he doesn’t, the third party (the bank) pays you out of his accounts. The application cost for this is again £110.

This leaflet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/726426/ex325-eng.pdf gives guidance on both charging and third party debt orders.

Personally, I’m a fan of paying the £66 (which is added to the debt) to a high court enforcement agent and having them go round and shake the tree and see what falls out. Some will even deal with a charging order for you if they cannot recover goods.

agrinnall

da_rule wrote: »

Personally, I’m a fan of paying the £66 (which is added to the debt) to a high court enforcement agent and having them go round and shake the tree and see what falls out. Some will even deal with a charging order for you if they cannot recover goods.

Isn't there a lot more to pay in addition to the £66 once HCEA visits start? I found this:


Enforcement Stage 1

If the debtor fails to make contact with the HCEO or requests to pay by instalments during the Compliance Stage, an EA will attend their premises to take control of goods (the new term replacing ‘seizure’).
This stage is known as Enforcement Stage 1 and the fixed charge at this point is £190 plus VAT (£228) plus 7.5% of the sums to be recovered over £1,000, again plus VAT.
For example, if the outstanding debt was £3,000, the 7.5% plus VAT would only be charged on £2,000 (£150 plus VAT [£180]). The sums to be recovered are the judgment debt, court costs, execution costs and interest.
If, when the EA attends, the debtor pays in full immediately or agrees to an acceptable instalment arrangement, then the matter ends there.


https://thesheriffsoffice.com/services/support-centre/enforce-money-judgments/enforcement-fees-and-stages

waamo

agrinnall wrote: »

Isn't there a lot more to pay in addition to the £66 once HCEA visits start? I found this:


Enforcement Stage 1

If the debtor fails to make contact with the HCEO or requests to pay by instalments during the Compliance Stage, an EA will attend their premises to take control of goods (the new term replacing ‘seizure’).
This stage is known as Enforcement Stage 1 and the fixed charge at this point is £190 plus VAT (£228) plus 7.5% of the sums to be recovered over £1,000, again plus VAT.
For example, if the outstanding debt was £3,000, the 7.5% plus VAT would only be charged on £2,000 (£150 plus VAT [£180]). The sums to be recovered are the judgment debt, court costs, execution costs and interest.
If, when the EA attends, the debtor pays in full immediately or agrees to an acceptable instalment arrangement, then the matter ends there.


https://thesheriffsoffice.com/services/support-centre/enforce-money-judgments/enforcement-fees-and-stages

AIUI those fees are only if the HCEO actually seizes goods. They are paid by the debtor. If nothing is seized the fee is £70 plus vat.

Others may be able to clarify though.

agrinnall

waamo wrote: »

AIUI those fees are only if the HCEO actually seizes goods. They are paid by the debtor. If nothing is seized the fee is £70 plus vat.

Others may be able to clarify though.

The reason I looked into it was because when I was taking court action myself it cost me £77 to get County Court bailiffs involved so I was a bit surprised that it could be cheaper for High Court (my own case wasn't for a high enough amount to move to High Court).

smilem

Thank you all, I must admit £60-70ish to shake him up, regardless of getting money back is very tempting lol! I think the varied cost is whether u apply yourself or via a company (they usually charge £25 admin), from what I've found there is then a risk if him appealing to court and dragging everything out but as said I'm confident on all the evidence.
Will take a look at the land registry piece and see if there's any other detective work we can do, u have 5 years to act on a CCJ
Thanks again for all your help!