CCJ in my favour...how to collect the monies owed??

[Fenland]

I've never had to resort to to court action to recoup a debt, but did on this ocassion.

I have a CCJ in my favour for all outstanding money to be paid immediately. Debtor was a customer i.e. not a business.

Now they didnt pay previsouly so why will they pay now?? How exactly do I collect the monies owed?

Or is this where the real problems start.....

[Rhyl Lightworks]

In my experience this is where the real problems start. There are various options offered by the small claims court, if this is where you made the action. If the person is in employment and gets a regular income, it is probably best to go for an attachment of earnings order. This is usually automatic if you have a court judgement against this person, and the employer must pay direct to you whatever the court decides per month.

If the person is self-employed or non-employed, it is more difficult, and your choice is to use court bailiffs (in my experience pretty useless) to sieze assets which they will sell to release the money owed to you, or get the court to force their their bank to pay the money to you if they have an account with sufficient money in it.

If you do not know about the person's circumstances, you can get the court to order a personal examination, in which they will ask the person to answer a standard set of questions such as employment, assets, bank details, etc. You can attend this and table extra questions if you wish.

All these options will cost you money which you must pay up front, and then will be added to the debt.

Barrie

[Maslins]

It's also quite likely that if the person "allowed" the CCJ to arise, they quite possibly can't, rather than won't pay the debt. Whether I thought a bill was fair or not, if I could afford it, I'd far rather pay it than have a CCJ against my name.

I once sued a US firm over undelivered goods, got to the same stage you're at now, and then the legal costs just seemed to keep on coming in with no guarantee of getting the money, so I gave it up.

Do some research on the person, and if you think they have the money/a good job, follow the advice above. If you think they might not have the money/any income, it's quite possibly better to cut your losses now. Sorry to not be more positive, and I wish you luck.