Court fees are set to rise again following a decision made by the House of Lords last night. The House of Lords approved The Civil Proceedings, First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal and Employment Tribunals Fees (Amendment) Order 2016
The fee increases come into effect on Monday 25th July 2016.
Whilst many Court fees to issue new claims in the County Court were increased in 2014 and 2015, the latest increase affects the Court fees payable to enforce Judgments. Once you have obtained your Judgment, there are a variety of enforcement options available.
The Court fee to issue a High Court writ of execution has increased by 10%, from £60 to £66. The increase will relate to writs of control, writs of delivery and writs of possession, all of which are very useful tools in recovering money or property.
If you obtain a Judgment and wish to secure the same by obtaining a Charging Order over the debtor’s property, the fee has increased from £100 to £110. Whilst the Charging Order itself will not secure payment of the debt, it prevents the debtor from selling the property without paying you.
If you wish to apply for an oral examination of a debtor, the fee has also risen by 10% from £50 to £55. An oral examination of a debtor allows you to obtain more information about their finances and then use this information to try and recover your Judgment.
As a result of the information provided by the debtor, you may decide to make an application for a third party debt order. This type of order used to be called a ‘garnishee order’ and is used to force a third party who either holds money belonging to the debtor or owes the debtor money, to give it to you. However, a third party debt order is only effective once, at the moment it is served. If there is no money in a bank account at the time it is served then the order fails. The cost of applying for a third party debt order has also risen from £100 to £110.
For further information on any of the above contact us here or call 0845 287 0939