3rd Party Debt Order
If you don’t keep to the terms of a Court Order, your creditor has options to try and get their money back – such as a 3rd Party Debt Order.
Can Pay, But Won’t Pay?
If a creditor thinks you can pay but won’t pay – they can get to your money before you can. Please contact Swift for assistance.
A creditor may think you have means to pay them – but are choosing not to. They may know (or suspect) you are due to receive money which would cover the debt, but don’t believe you’ll use it for this reason.
In such circumstances the creditor may seek to get a 3rd Party Debt Order which cuts you out of the loop allowing them to get payment from whomever is holding your money for you.
Usually, it’s your bank or building society that is holding your money. If your creditor knows you are due to get a lump sum such as a redundancy, an inheritance or insurance payout, they can force your employer, solicitor or insurance company to pay the money to them instead of you. They can only take enough to clear the debt.
Interim 3rd party debt order
To get a third party debt order, the creditor needs to firstly get a interim 3rd party debt order.
This is a temporary order to stop payment to you of any money held. A hearing for the full order will follow within 28 days.
In the case of money held by your bank – the creditor does not need to know account details. They just need to know you have an account with a given bank/building society. If you’ve paid them from your bank by cheque, direct debit or standing order – they’ll know who you bank with.
Frozen Bank Account
To find yourself subject to frozen accounts can cause lots of problems as any other direct debts and standing orders will fail.
If you can’t meet your daily living expenses due to frozen accounts you can make an application to court for a hardship payment order. But of course – if at all possible you want to avoid all of this if you can.