Stop Attachment of Earnings Order

Received a N56 court form? Get the help you need to protect your wages from creditors.

Know your rights and stop attachment of earnings

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What is an Attachment of Earnings Order?

An attachment of earnings order is where your employer is instructed to stop money from your wages to pay back your debt.
Your employer will send payments directly to the court and the court forwards it on to your creditor.
Having an attachment of earnings order can be daunting and feel as if you have lost control.
If you have received an N56 court form, take back control and call our expert team today for help. 

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Attachment Of Earnings FAQs

Need to know more about attachment of earnings? Read our Frequently Asked Questions.

When can a creditor apply for an attachment of earnings order?

Your creditor may apply for an attachment of earnings order if you have any of the following debts:

  • Credit card debt, banks loans and hire purchase agreements
  • Student loans
  • Rent or mortgage arrears
  • Income tax, VAT or TV License arrears

If you have Council Tax or child maintenance debts, your creditors can also apply for an attachment of earnings order, however the rules for these differ slightly from the rules set out on this page.

If you have arrears for child maintenance, the Child Support Agency (CSA) or Child Maintenance Service (CMS) don’t have to apply for a court order to be able to take money from your wages. They can make one themselves, which is known as a deduction from earnings order.

Your creditor is unable to apply for an attachment order if you’re:

  • Self employed
  • Unemployed
  • In the army, air force or navy
  • In the merchant navy

What happens if my creditor applies for an attachment of earnings order?

If your creditor does apply for an attachment of earnings order, you will be sent court form N56. You’re required to fill in this form detailing your financial circumstances.

These will include your employer’s details and whether or not you have any other outstanding debt. You will have to include your partner’s financial details too. You have eight days to return this information back to the court.

A court officer will use the information you’ve provided to make an attachment of earnings order. If you fail to give enough information on form N56, you may be required to attend a hearing with a judge.

What happens if I fail to return form N56?

It is an offence not to send back form N56 or to provide false information. If you don’t send back the form, the county bailiffs will serve you with an order to fill it in.

If you still don’t send back the required information, then you will be sent a notice to appear in a court hearing to explain why you have not provided the information you are required to about your financial circumstances.

You MUST attend this hearing. If you fail to do so the court can issue a warrant for your arrest and you can be brought to court or even sent straight to prison for up to 14 days.

If your creditor is aware of your employer’s address, which they could already be from details you’ve given them, they can pass this information straight to the court.

The court can then go directly to your employer to ask them to provide details of your earnings if you fail to return the N56 form back to the court.

In some circumstances, your creditor can apply to the court for an order to obtain information to find out more about your finances or obtain your employer’s details. You will have to go to court to swear an oath that the financial information you are providing is correct.

Can I stop an attachment of earnings order?

You can ask the court not to issue an attachment of earnings order if your creditor agrees to a new payment plan for you to pay back what you owe.

This is known as asking for a suspended attachment of earnings order.

There is a box to tick on form N56 if you want to ask for a suspended attachment of earnings order. You must also detail your reasons.

If the court accepts your request for suspending the attachment of earnings order, the court won’t start taking any money from your wages unless you don’t keep up the repayments you have agreed to.

Can I do anything about an attachment of earnings order once it has been made?

I can’t afford the payments

If you think the amount of money being taken is too much, you can tell the court that you don’t agree with the amount the creditor is asking for.

You have 14 days from the date the original order is made if you want to do this. If the order has been in place for a while and your circumstances change, you may still apply to the court to ask them to change the terms of the order. A hearing will be arranged and the judge could make a different order.

Asking for a consolidation attachment of earnings order

You can ask the court for a consolidation attachment of earnings order.

You may choose to do this if you have other CCJs and making one payment is easier for you to manage. Instead of you paying different creditors yourself, one monthly payment is taken out of your wages by your employer and it is sent to the court.

The court will then divide up the money and send it to all the creditors who have County Court Judgements against you.

A consolidation attachment of earnings order is only a good move if:

  • You have an attachment of earnings order in place and want to add a debt(s) that has a County Court Judgement against it (them).
  • You have no problem with money being taken directly out of your bank to pay back your debt(s).

You can apply to the court for a consolidated attachment of earnings order by contacting the court in writing. In the letter, you should:

  • Give details of all the attachment of earnings orders and CCJs against you that you want the court to consolidate.
  • Include a budget sheet to show your income and expenditure of your household. You should also make it clear how much you can pay in total on the new order.

No hearing will be held. Your creditors have 14 days to object to the order being made. It is unusual for the court to turn down a request to make a consolidated attachment of earnings order and details of the new order will be sent by the court.

Will an attachment of earnings order affect my job?

If you leave your job, for any reason, the attachment of earnings order stops being paid but it isn’t cancelled or written off. It will come back into force when you get a new job.

It is a criminal offence not to inform the court of your new job and employer.

What are the implications of an attachment of earnings order on my job?

It could have serious implications, depending on what type of job you have, if your employer discovers an attachment of earnings order has been made against you.

If you work in a job with money, financial advice or a job that requires a lot of trust, such as a security job, you may find your employer has a policy of dismissing employees if a court order is made against them.

Attachment Of Earning:
Bailiff Action

If you have an attachment of earnings for Council Tax arrears or debts owed you may also be facing enforcement action. Local Councils and creditors instruct bailiffs to visit your home in order to seize goods to repay the debt(s) owed.

People are often confused and unsure about the powers bailiffs hold, so follow these four steps to deal with the bailiff:

DO NOT
let them in

You are not obliged to let anyone into your home regardless of what they say.

DO NOT
be intimidated

You are under no obligation to speak with a bailiff so do not respond to their intimidation.

DO NOT
sign anything

Never sign anything a bailiff hands to you whatsoever.

CALL US
on 0800 368 9596

We will take care of the bailiff, stop the harassment and organise a payment plan affordable to you.

About Us

We understand being in debt and having the threat of bailiffs is a worrying time in anyone’s life. Debt worries can leave us feeling isolated from the world and unsure which way to turn. This is where we come in – to steer you in the right direction towards debt recovery.

Our Aim

To help you understand the options available to you and help you on your road to debt recovery.

Experienced Team

We have many years experience helping our customers improve their circumstances and deal with their debts.

Experts On

Bailiff enforcement action; Council Tax arrears; court fines; parking fines; gas, electric and water arrears; debt consolidation; and all debt solutions.

Discover how we can help you by either calling us today or completing this form and we’ll call you back.

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