What are Attachment of Earnings Orders?
An Attachment of Earnings order is a method creditors can use to claw back debt that is the subject of a County Court Judgement (CCJ). If a CCJ has been granted, you owe more than £50 on it, and you are behind on your payments, then the creditor can apply to have the payments deducted from your salary or wage and paid to the court, which will then forward it to the lender.
This can only happen if you are working as an employee, and not if you are self employed or on benefits. Your employer has the right to deduct a further £1 from your wage every time a payment is made to the court, to cover the administration costs involved.
Creditor Applies to the Court
When a creditor applies to the county court for an attachment of earnings order, the court will send you a form to fill in giving details of your personal circumstances, including the address of your employer and your income and outgoings. You will at this point have the chance to make an offer of payment that is affordable to you. It is a legal requirement to fill in this form and return it within 8 days, or further legal action can be taken which can even result in imprisonment for up to 14 days.
Once the court receives this form, they will determine what amount of money can be deducted from your earnings according to a defined set of criteria, and will then send you the attachment order in writing.
You have up to 14 days to appeal against the level of deductions, and if you do so you will be granted a personal hearing where you can argue your case before a district judge.
Changing Jobs
Once an attachment order is granted, it remains in place until the debt is cleared. If you change jobs, the order can be used to deduct money from your new wage. You are legally required to keep the court informed of your employment situation.
If you find that you can't afford to keep up with the installments because of a change in your circumstances, you can apply to 'vary' the order. This will involve filling in another form giving details of your new circumstances, which the court will use to decide whether to change or even suspend the previously granted attachment of earnings.
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