DMBM666180 - Enforcement action: country court proceedings: appearing in court: attending a disposal hearing
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General information
At the disposal hearing you will need to
- state your reasons for rejecting the defendant's offer of payment or the court's order
- produce evidence of the defendant’s means but do not include any information supplied by a third party other than the defendant’s employer or contractor (DMBM666170)
- question the defendant as necessary
- ask for the rate of payment offered to be increased
- ask the court for judgment to be entered, including interest to the date of judgment (be prepared to give the court and the defendant a calculation of the interest accrued since starting the action).
Questioning the defendant
Although you should not use third party information held by Customer Ops as evidence, or specifically refer to it, it may help you when you come to question the defendant. For example, if you have evidence of a bank deposit account with a named bank, ask the defendant whether he or she has a bank deposit account.
(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
Unless the defendant's tax return or other documents refer to a recent period they will be useful only as a basis for framing questions. For example, where the return shows a source of unearned income you should ask the defendant whether the source still exists. If the defendant has declared assets such as
- Premium Bonds
- National Savings Certificates
- Shares
- Government Securities
ask why he or she does not dispose of some or all of these to settle your claim. If the defendant confirms that such assets have already been disposed of, or you already know that from another source, you should ask what became of the proceeds.
You should also ask whether or not the defendant has any PEPs, or ISAs (including TESSA - only ISAs). Although these do not have to be declared on the return you will be able to obtain such information from TPI data mart.
Outcome of the hearing
After hearing all the evidence from both parties, the district judge will decide the rate of payment and enter judgment accordingly. As soon as you are able you should make a report of the hearing on form C20C including a precise note of the order given (DMBM666240).