What is a Warrant of Execution

A Warrant of Execution is a legal document issued by the courts of England and Wales which orders a court bailiff or other authorised officer to take control of goods or property of a debtor in order to satisfy an unpaid debt. Typically, a Warrant of Execution will order the bailiff or officer to seize goods or property of the debtor up to the value of the debt, such as furniture, cars, jewellery, or money in bank accounts. The goods or property are then sold at auction in order to raise funds to pay the debt. The Warrant of Execution will state any restrictions on what goods or property may be taken and the amount of any fees which can be charged for the execution.

What to Do if You Receive a Warrant of Execution

The first thing that you will need to do is act immediately, do not think for a moment that this will go away. You will need to get hold of and complete Court Form N245 Application for suspension of a warrant and/or variation of an order, which can be downloaded from this site or it may be worth checking on the government web site to see if you have the latest version. An internet search for: Application for suspension of a warrant and/or variation of an order, will bring up the government web site where the form is located.
Do not just rely on completing form N245, it is always advisable to back this up with additional documentation. Complete an Income and Expenditure, a copy of which can be found in DIY Debt Management Plan. By completing the Income and Expenditure, you will know exactly how much you can afford to pay each creditor, including the creditor who issued the Warrant of Execution. Also get copies of any other information that you think may help, this could be medical documents etc. By doing all this, you will be showing the courts that you are serious about resolving this problem in making an offer of payment.
It is always advisable to also contact the Bailiffs and inform them what you are doing, their number is usually on the Warrant of Execution. Once you have done that, get the documents to the courts ASAP! Often the courts will deal with your case as soon as the judge has a slot available.

How to Stop the Bailiffs with Form N245

In this particular case an “Application for suspension of a warrant and/or variation of an order” was submitted to the courts with additional documents, offering evidence of the client being in a debt management plan. Often when you submit the Form N245 and the evidence, your case could well be heard within the hour.
As you will see form the Court document below, after reviewing all the evidence, the defendant did not have to pay the full amount of £385.90, the court ruled that the defendant should pay £1.00 per month.

Never let a debt get to this stage, it is always better to deal with your debts sooner. Citizens Advice are only a phone call away and offer good advice.

Stopping a Warrant of Execution

For further reading you may be interested in this post on Stopping a Warrant of Execution, as it will give you more insight of what is required to to stop a bailiff visit!