Respond to a third party debt order
Updated 26 March 2024
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Third party debt order
A third party debt order is an order of the court that freezes money held by a ‘third party’ because the ‘debtor’ has failed to make payments owed to the ‘creditor’ under the terms of a judgment.
The person or organisation (such as a bank or building society) holding the money is called the third party. The person who owes the money is the debtor, and the person who is owed the money is the creditor.
You have received this order because the creditor has told the court that you have failed to either:
- pay the amount of the judgment when it was due
- pay one or more of the instalments due under the terms of the judgment
The order will prevent you from having access to the money in the bank or building society until the court makes a judgment.
Oppose a third party debt order
You can oppose the order by filing written evidence of your objections at least 3 days before the hearing. You must send copies to the court and creditor. You will be expected to attend the hearing. You may have to pay a court fee.
Apply for a hardship payment
A hardship payment order is made by a judge. It tells the third party to release some of the money frozen to the debtor or another named person. A hardship payment order may release:
- a single amount of money
- specific sums of money over a period of weeks until the hearing
You can make an application for a hardship payment if you are one person (not a firm, company or corporation) and the third party is a bank or building society. You must be able to prove that you or your family are not able to meet your daily living expenses.
You can make an application at any court. It does not have to be the court where you made your application. For example, if the proceeds are taking place in:
- the county court, you can apply to any county court hearing centre
- the High Court, you can apply to the Royal Courts of Justice or any district registry
At the third party debt order hearing
The judge will consider the creditor’s case together with evidence that you or the creditor have filed.
If the judge agrees that a final order should be made, the court will draw the order.
If the creditor is awarded costs, the third party may pay the creditor from the money that has been frozen.