Enforcement Proceedings

Once we have obtained a Court Judgment in your favour and against the debtor, we can assist you in enforcing the Court judgment. You normally have 6 years to enforce a judgment. There are different methods of enforcement and we can assist you with any of these:

Financial Assessment Hearing

This is a hearing of debtor’s financial circumstances and to establish their ability to pay the debt. The Court Registrar undertakes an enquiry of the debtor financial position by taking into account their income and expenses. Following the hearing, the Registrar makes an order against the debtor to pay the debt in instalments of a specified sum or make an Attachment Order.

Attachment order

An attachment order informs the debtor’s employer or Work and Income (for those receiving benefit) requiring them to transfer money directly from the debtor’s salary, benefit or ACC payments to pay the debt owed to the creditor. An attachment order can be made at the application of the creditor and/or following a financial assessment hearing of the debtor. The attachment order allows deduction of a certain sum paid on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.

Warrant to seize property

If the debtor owns any property, a warrant to seize property allows a bailiff to take that property and sell it to pay the debt. This is also called Distress Warrant. A bailiff can only take property that belongs to the debtor and you may need to provide us information that the debtor own such property. A bailiff cannot seize property which are essential tools of trade up to $5,000, essential household furniture and items and clothing up to $10,000. We can also carry out a check on the Personal Property Securities Register to check if the debtor owns a motor vehicle and whether anyone else has a financial interest in the vehicle. The seized property is sold at public auction and the proceeds of sale is used to pay the costs of seizing property and then your debt is paid from the remaining balance.

Charging order

A charging order is placed on the debtor’s land or property which will prevent the debtor from selling the same. The charging order remains on the property until the debt is paid in full or when the property is sold by the creditor and debt is paid from the proceeds of sale.

Garnishee order

If someone owes the debtor money, garnishee proceedings allow you to ask the court to have that money paid to you instead.