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Enforcement

In all accounts where the debtor is an individual, we recommend proceeding for an Instalment Order. Regardless of the jurisdiction in which Judgement was obtained, all enforcement proceedings are dealt with by the District Court.

Proceedings are commenced after the swearing of a Declaration by us and we then obtain a Summons for Attendance of Debtor which is served on the debtor, requiring him or her to attend Court on a certain date to be cross-examined as to their means, so that a reasonable Instalment Order can be fixed by the Court.

If you have any information on the debtor's income or assets, then he or she can be cross-examined about this at the hearing. The debtor is required to lodge a statement of means in Court prior to the hearing; in practice this rarely happens but the debtor can be asked about his or her means at the hearing. The Judge will then decide what the debtor can afford to pay, and fix an appropriate amount per month or week.

The debtor may fail to turn up for the Instalment Hearing. If that happens we make our application based on the information we have on file. We will always try and secure an Order for the largest possible instalment which the Court will allow, often for payment in one sum.

When the Instalment Order is taken up and served, the debtor is then required to pay the account as directed by the Court. If he fails to do this he is in contempt, and we can then apply to court for a Committal Order to have him committed to prison. At this application most debtors do turn up and plead for time to pay. The Judge can only imprison them if they refuse to pay, not if they are unable to.

Once an Order is made we cannot, under any circumstances accept monies from the debtor. We would be interfering with an Order of the court. You do not have to execute the Order, it may be sufficient to threaten the debtor with execution.