THE UK INSOLVENCY HELPLINE

REDUCING PAYMENTS OR SUSPENDING A BAILIFFS

WARRANT ON A COUNTY COURT JUDGMENT

F WHEN DO I NEED TO
MAKE THIS KIND OF
A APPLICATION?
• If the county court has already
C ordered you to pay a set amount
each month on a credit debt and
From January 2006 you will have to
pay a £35.00 fee to the court when
you make your application. If you
are on a low income or certain
benefits you may not have to pay the
fee. See the section on fees at the
end of this factsheet.

you cannot afford the amount set.

T OR
• You could try negotiating
• If the county court has informed
you that a creditor has issued a
‘Warrant of Execution’ or you have
S been visited by a county court
bailiff.
directly with the creditor to see if
they will accept reduced
payments without going back to
court. Send them your personal
budget. This could save you
paying the fee to the court.

H Some courts will make you pay two

sets of fees if you want to suspend a
APPLYING TO SUSPEND A
WARRANT OF EXECUTION
warrant and reduce instalments.
E This should not happen. Complain
to the court manager or  Phone us
If you do not make payments as
ordered by the court the creditor may

E for advice. issue a ‘Warrant of Execution’ This

APPLYING TO REDUCE AN
T INSTALMENT ORDER
• Use the “Dealing with your
Debts” pack to work out offers
of repayment on all your credit
N debts. If any of your creditors
have already taken court action,
the amount you have been
O ordered to pay may be more than
the amount you have worked out
you can afford.
warrant authorises a county court
bailiff to take away your possessions
and have them sold at auction.
Usually, you will have some warning
such as note from the bailiffs telling
you they intend to visit. It is usually
quite easy to stop this happening.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO LET THE
BAILIFF IN.
The bailiffs are not allowed to force
their way into your home unless you
have let them in on a previous visit.

8 • You will need to apply for a

reduction of the instalment order.
This application must be made
on court form N245 which is
available from your local county
court. See the sample
application form attached.
Reduction of Instalment/Warrant 1

WHAT IF I HAVE ALREADY LET
THE BAILIFF INTO MY HOME?
There are some goods that the bailiff cannot
take: e.g. tools, books, vehicles and
equipment necessary for use personally in
employment. Other exemptions include
clothing, bedding, furniture, household
equipment and provisions for “basic domestic
needs”. The bailiff won’t usually take away
goods on a first visit. They are likely to ask
you to sign a “Walking Possession
Agreement”. This allows you to keep using
the items listed on the agreement, but means
that the bailiff can return and take the goods
by breaking in if necessary.
Even if you have signed a Walking
Possession Agreement you can still apply to
the court for the warrant to be suspended.
WHAT IF THERE ARE NO
GOODS TO TAKE?
When the bailiffs come into your home they
may decide that your goods are not worth
enough to cover their costs of coming out
with a van and removing and selling them. If
this is the case the bailiff will return the
warrant to court with a note to say there are
goods of insufficient value. The bailiffs
should not take any further action.
GOODS ON HIRE
PURCHASE/CONDITIONAL SALE
The bailiff should not take goods that belong
to other people. You should explain that the
goods do not belong to you. Show a receipt
or credit agreement as proof. They can take
goods that are jointly owned by you and your
partner but they are only entitled to your share
of the goods.
Most bailiffs will not take goods on hire
purchase or conditional sale type agreements.
They may be able to take goods if they think
the goods are worth more than the amount
you owe to the hire purchase/conditional sale
company.
Reduction of Instalment/warrant
The bailiff could then sell the goods and keep
the difference. This is very unusual and can
only happen in certain circumstances. 
Phone us for advice.
HOW DO I APPLY TO SUSPEND
THE ‘WARRANT OF
EXECUTION’?
This application must be made on a form
N245 which is available from the county
court. The court cannot refuse to accept the
application just because the bailiff has not yet
visited or managed to get in but the bailiff can
continue to call round until the court agrees to
suspend the warrant. See the sample N245
application form attached.
FILLING IN THE N245
APPLICATION FORM
Use the “Dealing with your Debts” pack to
work out your personal budget. Make sure
you include all your income and expenses
from your personal budget on form N245. If
you are a couple it is usually best to include
your total household income and expenses.
Make sure you have included details of all
payments you make on your debts. This will
make it clear to the court that you can only
afford to pay the amount you have offered. 
Phone us for advice if you have any
difficulties filling in the form.
If you have applied to suspend a Warrant
of Execution, the bailiffs will not remove
any of your goods before your application
has been decided. But they can keep trying
to make a list of your saleable goods (a
levy), so may keep calling even if you don’t
let them in.
FEES
There will usually be a fee of £35.00 to pay
with your application. If you are on a low
income or certain benefits you may not have
to pay the fee. See the section on fees at the
end of this factsheet.
2
 WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? • If the creditor objects to the warrant of
execution being suspended at all.

Send or take your completed N245
application form to the county court that sent
the warrant to you. You will have to pay a
£35.00 fee to the court when you give them
the application unless you are exempt or don’t
have to pay on grounds of hardship (see
section on “Fees”). Try to keep a copy of the
completed form for yourself. The court will
send a copy of your application form to the
creditor.
• If your creditor agrees to your
application.
They will notify the court. The court will
then send you details of what has been agreed
and how to pay.
• If the creditor does not agree to the offer
of payment on your application.
The court will work out how much you
should pay from the information you have
provided on the form.
There will a short hearing for the district
judge to decide what to do. You must go
along and explain your circumstances in
person. Take a copy of your personal budget
with you.
• If the court orders you to pay more than
you have offered.
If you do not agree with the amount the court
orders you to pay you can ask for a hearing to
explain your offer to the district judge. You
need to use a general application form called
an N244 which is available from your local
county court and ask for the court to
reconsider the offer you have made. There
should not be another fee to pay at this stage.
You must do this within 14 days of receiving
the order to pay. You should go along to the
hearing, take a copy of your personal budget
with you.

COUNTY COURT FEES

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

There will usually be a fee to pay with your application. You can ask the court not to pay the fee in
some circumstances. The form you will need to fill in is called an EX160 "Application for a fee
exemption or remission." This form needs to go to the court with your main application. If the
court agrees your application you will not have to pay the fee. If you pay a fee when you should
have been exempt or would have qualified for a remission, then you have six months to apply to the
court for a refund.

EXEMPTIONS

If you are on income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) you can ask the court
for exemption from the fee. You need to give the court proof that you are getting the benefit. You
will be exempt if you or your partner are on the guarantee credit element of pension credit.
If you are on working tax credit you will be exempt from the court fee in these circumstances:
if you are also on child tax credit,
or
you receive the disability or severe disability element in your working tax credit,
and in either case
your gross annual income taken into account for working tax credit is £15,460 or less (from 6 April
2006).

Reduction of Instalment/warrant 3
You will need to show the court your tax credit award notice to qualify.
If you do not qualify under these rules for an exemption then you can ask for the fee to be remitted
or waived by the court. See below.

REMISSIONS
Ask the court for the fee to be remitted (or waived) if it will cause you what the court calls “undue
financial hardship”. You can use the same EX160 application form. You may be on a low income
or a benefit that does not automatically exempt you from paying the fee. Give as much information
about your circumstances as you can. Explain your financial situation on the application form and
any exceptional circumstances that apply in your case. The court can remit all or part of the fee
depending on what they decide you can afford.

REMEMBER: You can always contact us for advice about any difficulty you have in
dealing with your debts.

Freephone: 0800 074 6918

Website: www.insolvencyhelpline.org
© Copyright Money Advice Trust (updated May 2006)

Whilst we endeavour to keep our factsheets as up to date as possible, The UK Insolvency

Helpline cannot be held responsible for changes in legislation or for developments in
case law since this edition of the factsheet was issued.

Reduction of Instalment/Warrant 4
 Application for suspension of In the

a warrant and/or variation Court

of an order
Claim Number
• Read these notes carefully before completing the
form. Warrant No. Local No.

• Tick the correct boxes and give as much information Claimant (including ref.)
as you can. It will help the court make a fair decision
about how much you can afford to pay if the plaintiff Defendant
refuses your offer.
• If you do not complete all the details and sign the form, For court
the court will not be able to deal with your application. use only Date copy sent to claimant

• The court will send you an order giving details of how

and when to pay or will tell you when to come to court. 3 Employment
You will be informed of the court's decision.
I am employed as a
• You will have to pay a fee for your application. You can
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
get details of the fee to pay and information about what to
do if you cannot pay all or part of a fee from any county My employer is
court office. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jobs other than

I cannot pay the amount ordered and main job (give details)
I wish to apply for
suspension of the warrant I am self employed as a

and /or Annual turnover is . . . . . . . . . £

a reduction in the instalment order
I am not in arrears with my national insurance
contributions, income tax and VAT
1 Personal details
I am in arrears and I owe . . . £
Surname
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Give details of:
Forename (a) contracts and
other work in hand
Mr Mrs Miss Ms (b) any sums due
for work done
Married Single Other (specify)
I have been unemployed for years months
Age
I am a pensioner
Address

4 Bank accounts and savings

I have a bank account
. . . . . . .
Postcode
.

The account is in credit by . £. . . . . . . .

.

2 Dependants (people you look after financially) The account is overdrawn by £

Children (under 19) Others (give details) I have a savings account or building society account
Age Date of Birth £
The amount in the account is

5 Property
I live in my own property lodgings
jointly owned property council
property
rented property
(If more continue on a separate sheet)

Reduction of Instalment/warrant 5
6 Income 8 Priority debts (This section is for arrears only. Do not
include regular expenses listed in box 7).
My usual take home pay (including £
overtime, commission, bonuses etc) Rent arrears £ per
Mortgage arrears £ per
Income support £ per Council tax arrears £ per
Child benefit(s) £ per Water charges arrears £ per
Other state benefit(s) £ per Fuel debts: Gas £ per
My pension(s) £ per Electricity £ per
Other £ per
Others living in my home give me £ per
Maintenance arrears £ per
Other income (give details below)
Others (give details below)
£ per
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £ per
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
£ per £ per
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £ per
Total priority debts £ per
Total income £ per
9 Court orders

.
Court Claim No. £ per

.
7 Expenses

.
.
. .
(Do not include any payments made by other members of
the household out of their own income)
Total court order instalments £ per
I have regular expenses as follows:
Of the payments
Mortgage (including second mortgage) £ per above, I am behind
with payments to
Rent £ per (please list)
Council tax £ per
10 Credit debts
Gas £ per
Loans and credit card debts (please list)

.
Electricity £ per £ per
Water charges £ per .
.
£ per
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.

TV rental and licence £ per

.

£ per
.

HP repayments £ per
Mail order £ per Of the payments
above, I am behind
Housekeeping,
.. . . . . . .food,
. . school
. . . meals
. . . .
£. . . . .
per
. . . . . with payments to
(please list)
Travelling expenses £ per
Children's clothing £ per
11 Offer of payment
Maintenance payments £ per
Others (not court orders or credit • If you take away the totals of boxes 7, 8 and 9 and the
debts listed in boxes 9 and 10)
payments you are making in box 10 from the total in
box 6, you will get some idea of the sort of sum you should offer.
£ per The offer you make should be one you can afford.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
£ per I can pay £ a month
£ per
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (and I enclose £ )
Total expenses £ per
I also enclose the fee of £

12 Declaration I declare that the details I have given above are true to the best of my knowledge

Signed Date
Reduction of Instalment/Warrant 6