A Third Party Debt Order will prevent the judgement debtor from having access to any credit balances until the Court has decided whether to pay anything to the judgement creditor. This can not be applied to a joint account unless both parties owe money to the same creditor.

When the bank or building society has been served with the interim Third Party Debt Order they have seven days to locate all accounts in their sole name. These details will be passed to the court and the judgement creditor, and will include bank account numbers, the overdraft or credit balance, and whether there is sufficient balance to pay the debt. They will also include how much is owed to them, and they have priority on any money owed.

The judgement debtor will have the opportunity to object to the Third Party Debt Order and have up until 3 days prior to the court hearing to raise any objections. Details of objections will need to be sent to the court and to the judgement creditor.

In some cases the judgement debtor can apply for a hardship payment order. In this case they will have to prove that freezing of their accounts has caused them or the judgement debtor’s family hardship and they are unable to meet day to day living costs. Should this order is granted the bank or building society will release a set amount of funds to the judgement debtor.