WHAT IS AN ATTACHMENT OF EARNINGS ORDER?

An Attachment of Earnings Order is a judgment which can be enforced by your creditor once you fail to handle your County Court Judgment (CCJ) obligations. The order is filed to the County Court as a reinforcement of the CCJ. The Attachment of Earnings order summons your employer to make deductions from your salary to pay for your remaining credits. The deductions made in your earnings is submitted to the County Court, who forwards the payment to your creditor. Aside from the monthly dues, an extra £1.00 will also be taken out from your salary to pay for the cost of administering the Attachment of Earnings Order.

The conditions in which an Attachment of Earnings Order could be made against you include:
- Failure to comply with the CCJ.
- An employee status.
- A credit amounting to £50 or more on the CCJ.

FILLING IN THE COURT FORMS

Once the application for an Attachment of Earnings Order is submitted, you will receive a court form to fill in. The N56 will ask for your personal data such as:
- name, address, and dependants
- employment details
- income and expenses
- any other debt or court order apart from this one

Aside from the above mentioned information, a section of the court form will ask you to make a suggestion on a payment scheme that you can comply with. You must fill in this section, especially taking note of all the other financial obligations you adhere to. Also, you can avail of a postponement by ticking the appropriate box and laying out all the reasons that call for a Suspended Attachment of Earnings Order. Acceptable reasons for a Suspended Order include employment risk such as ineligibility for a promotion or losing the job altogether.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T SEND THE FORM BACK?

The County Court expects to receive the filled in N56 form back within eight days. If you choose not to comply with the court order, you will be served with a notice to a hearing that will ask you to explain your reasons for not submitting the requested information. Ignoring this notice will force the court to issue a warrant for your arrest, which may bring you straight to prison. If the arrest warrant is already issued, you can spend at least 14 days in jail or pay reasonable fines.

Another bad scenario that can happen if you do not send back the N56 form is for the County Court to go straight to you employer and extract all the necessary information from there. You sure would not want your employee status to be at risk once your employer gets wind of a standing court order against you.

I HAVE SENT BACK THE FORM -- WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

The filled in N56 form will be the basis for a court officer to make an Attachment of Earnings Order. If you hit the "protected rate", which is based on your actual take home pay, it will prohibit the court to issue the order immediately. As much as the court wanted to summon you to pay your standing debts, it will also make some considerations if you have shown inability to adhere to an Attachment of Earnings scheme. Once the County Court studied your case well enough and made the necessary calculations, you will receive a written notice. The notice should also carry the court's decision whether to agree with you for a Suspended Order or not.

WHAT IF I DISAGREE WITH THE ORDER MADE BY THE COURT?

After the notice has been issued, the County Court will allot 14 days for you and your creditor to react to its contents. If you disagree with the terms of the Attachment of Earnings Order, you can write a letter to the court upon which a hearing will be arranged. The hearing will be administered by the District Judge so you can explain the reasons of your disagreement. When attending the hearing, you must bring substantial evidences that will prove your incapacity to adhere to the terms of the order. These evidences may include details of your other debts, your itemized expenditures, and proofs that the Attachment of Earnings Order or merely not suspending it could create damage to your employee status.

CONSOLIDATED ATTACHMENT OF EARNINGS ORDERS

If you have existing Attachment of Earnings Orders apart from this new one, you can apply for a Consolidated Attachment of Earnings Order. This order is created to rule out a single monthly payment to your different creditors. With the Consolidated Attachment of Earnings Order, your employer only needs to deduct a specific amount in your earnings once. The deduction will be sent to the County Court, who will then divide it to your different creditors. Please note, however, that only your credits that were brought to court are allowed to be consolidated. The other creditors who do not have a CCJ against you needs to be paid through your personal budget or whatever is left of your earnings.

To apply for a Consolidated Attachment of Earnings Order, you will need to file an N244 form which bears the details of your other Attachment of Earnings Orders and County Court Judgments. A fee upfront is not required. However, 10 pence is deducted from the £1.00 Attachment of Earnings Order monthly fee to pay for the application. When applying for the consolidated order, you must make clear the amount of monthly payment you can only afford. If you intend to maintain your existing Attachments of Earnings Order payment and divide it into your consolidated credits because that is the only amount that fits your budget, then you must make the suggestion. No hearing is required for the Consolidated Attachment of Earnings Order to be approved as it is very unlikely for the court to refuse such a recommendation. Your creditors have 14 days to object the order after which a written notice on the details of the new order will be dispersed.

WHAT IF I WANT TO CHANGE THE TERMS OF THE ATTACHMENT OF EARNINGS ORDER IN THE FUTURE?

To change the existing terms of the Attachment of Earnings Order, you will need to use the same form for the consolidated application. The N244 can be submitted for a motion to vary or change your Attachment of Earnings Order. With it should be a detailed report on the circumstances that made you ask for different terms. If you can no longer afford the deduction rate or needs a Suspended Order, you must state your reasons and explain why the court should agree with you. Unlike the application for Consolidated Order, the petition to change the terms of the order charges a certain amount.

FEES

Certain applications charge a specific fee of £60. Some circumstances like low income status and the presence of privileges may keep you from paying the required fee.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I LEAVE MY JOB?

Automatically, the Attachment of Earnings Order stops once you lose or leave your job. This does not mean, however, that the order is cancelled altogether. Your creditor could use it again immediately after you get another job. If you refuse to submit details of your new job to the court, you are committing an offence that could easily put you to jail or be fined with necessary fees.

COUNTY COURT FEES

DO I HAVE TO PAY A FEE FOR AN APPLICATION IN THE COUNTY COURT?

Usually, a fee is charged with each application. You can petition the court not to collect fees by filing the EX160 or the "Application for a fee exemption or remission". If approved, you will be exempted to pay the necessary fees. If you have been asked to pay a fee when you have been exempted to or is qualified for remission, you can apply for a refund within six months.

EXEMPTIONS

The County Court allows exemptions from paying court fees based on the following circumstances:
- If you are on income support or income based job seekers' allowance (JSA).
- If you are on working tax credit.

To qualify for exemptions, you must show the court some proofs that you are getting such benefits or privileges. If you are on income support, you must provide an evidence that you or your partner is on the guarantee credit element of the pension. If you are on working tax credit, on the other hand, you must provide the court with a notice that tells your gross annual income taken into account is not more than £14,600. If you did not qualify for both, your next move is to ask the court for remission, which is explained below.

REMISSIONS

The court fee can be waived if you can prove that it will cause "undue financial hardship". The same EX160 application is used to file for this petition. If you are on a low income status or on a benefit that does not exempt you automatically from paying a fee, you can use this chance to lay down the reasons why you are asking the court to remit or waive the fee. To be approved, you must explain to the court the financial difficulty that you may be going through or any other exceptional circumstances that are applicable in your case. The court may rule to remit a part or all of the fees collected from depending on the weight of your case.