AnswersCourt, and what comes after
Should I use High Court enforcement officers instead of county court bailiffs?
The short answer
Usually not. From £600 to just under £5,000 you can pick either court1, and the High Court's fee ladder is steeper7. At £5,000 or more you can't pick: enforcement against goods has to go through the High Court1. Under £600 only the county court is open1.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
The numbers
The numbers that decide it.
What you can add
A £4,200 judgment, goods sold in the High Court
Say a company owes you £4,200 on a county court judgment, and its goods have to be sold. High Court fees come in stages, and the percentage applies to the part above £1,200. The agent's fees are the company's to pay. If a sale falls short, they share what it raises with your debt6. All fees here are before VAT.
- Court fee: sealing the writ of control9£82.00
- Compliance stage7£79.00
- First enforcement stage: £200 + 7.5% of £3,0007£425.00
- Second enforcement stage7£520.00
- Sale stage: £550 + 7.5% of £3,0007£775.00
- Cost of a full High Court run£1,881.00
The same £4,200 through a county court warrant: £96 + £79 + £420 + £289 = £884, because that ladder has no second stage and the percentage applies only above £1,900. If the company pays in full or keeps to an arrangement, the £520 second stage and the sale stage do not arise.
The road ahead
Five steps. One court fee up front.
Step 1: Work out the sum to be enforced
Add up the judgment, the costs the court has allowed since, and the interest that has built up2. That is the sum you ask the court to enforce, and the Order tests that sum1.
Under £600, stop: a warrant of control in the county court is your only road. At £5,000 or more, go to step 3.
Step 2: Choose the court, if you have a choice
From £600 to just under £5,000 either court is open, and court staff cannot say which is more likely to get your money2. Price both ladders on your own figure, as in the worked example.
GOV.UK says the High Court route can be complicated and more expensive2 and says you may need legal advice3. None of the official pages behind this answer calls it quicker.
Step 3: Ask for a certificate of judgment
Complete part 1 of form N293A2, the combined certificate and request for a writ. Send it to the court that gave judgment or the Civil National Business Centre. Once the certificate is granted, the case counts as transferred to the High Court4.
If six years or more have passed since the judgment4, you need the court's permission first.
Step 5: Let the stages run
The agent's fees are the company's to pay5. If the company pays in full or keeps to an arrangement, only the first enforcement stage fee is added5.
If a sale falls short, any auction costs and the £79 compliance fee come off first, then your debt and the agent's other charges share the rest in proportion6.
Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day don't count towards the 14 days.
The letter
Nothing goes to the company from you. This page is a choice and one court form, N293A; the notice of enforcement comes later, as part of the enforcement itself.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- It's under £600. A judgment that size can be enforced only in the county court1, so the choice is already made.
- There is nothing of theirs at the address. Either court sends the agent to the same door, so a dearer ladder only costs more. For a bank account, look at a third-party debt order.
- The company may be wound up before the sale. Unless the sale is done first, the liquidator wins10. Over £500, the agent holds the balance for 14 days11 in case a petition arrives.
- The judgment is £600 to £1,200. A full High Court run costs £1,349 in agent's fees7 plus the £82 court fee, against £442 plus £96 in the county court. If a sale falls short, your debt shares what it raises with the agent's fees.
- The company's goods are in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Both routes here work only in England and Wales1, so ask a solicitor there who does debt recovery.
The Wolf's note
Both roads end at the same door and the same goods. What differs is the toll, and when a sale falls short, the bigger toll takes the bigger share. Price the goods first, then pick the road.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
What is a warrant of control, and how do bailiffs collect a business debt?
A court order that sends an enforcement agent to take a company's goods and sell them at auction.
6 min read · Letter included
I won in court but they still haven't paid. How do I make them pay?
Three routes to enforce a CCJ against a company: bailiffs for its goods, a third-party debt order for its bank balance, a charging order for its land.
7 min read · Letter included
What is a third-party debt order, and can it freeze their bank account?
Partly. A third-party debt order makes a bank hold what a company has in credit on the day it is served.
5 min read
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.