Glossary – The Credit Manager’s Dictionary For Legal Terms

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Expression	Meaning
Acknowledgement of Service	A document by which the defendant can acknowledge receipt of the Claim. The usual reason the defendant files this is to extend the time for defence by 14 days
Administration	Administration is an insolvency procedure under which an Administrator is appointed to try and rescue an insolvent company
Administrative Receivership	A lender who holds a floating charge dated before 15/9/2003 can appoint someone to take control of the company to recover the money due to the lender
Admission	A document by which the defendant admits owing all or part of the debt
Admission of Part	If a debtor admits part of the debt the Claimant must choose whether to accept that amount in full settlement. If he chooses not to do so he can pursue the rest of the claim and apply for summary judgment for the admitted amount
Affidavit	A document in which a witness sets out their evidence and confirms it with an oath
Allocation Questionnaire	See Direction Questionnaire
Alternative dispute resolution	Methods of resolving disputes otherwise than through court action
Arbitration	Arbitration is a method of resolving a dispute without going to court. The parties to a contract can agree that, if there is dispute, they won’t go to court but will appoint someone themselves to decide the case for them
Bailiff	A bailiff is a county court officer who is employed mainly to enforce county court judgments by removing and selling a debtor’s goods
Bankrupt	An individual becomes bankrupt when they cannot pay their debts and the court makes an order putting their assets under the control of the Official Receiver
Bankruptcy petition	The document by which proceedings are started to make an individual bankrupt
Base rate	The interest rate set by the Bank of England which is used as the basis for other banks’ rates
Case management	The process by which the court manages cases before trial
Charging order	An order securing a judgment debt on property – rather like a mortgage
Claim Form (N1)	Document which starts court proceedings
Claim Production Centre (CPC)	The automated centre in Northampton for issuing Claims electronically
Claimant	Person who brings a Claim
Consent Order	An order signed by all parties which demonstrates an agreement to the terms contained within it
Counterclaim	A claim brought by the defendant against the claimant
County Court Bulk Centre (CCBC)	The automated centre in Northampton for issuing Claims, entering judgment and issuing warrants electronically
CPR	The Civil Procedure Rules 1998
CVA / Corporate Voluntary Agreement	A CVA is an arrangement agreed by at least 75% of a company’s creditors to enable the company to survive and trade its way out of difficulties
Default judgment	Judgment obtained because the defendant has not filed a defence
Defence	The document which sets out the defendants reasons for not paying
Defendant	The person against whom an action in brought
Direction Questionnaire	A document the court sends out when a defence has been filed. It seeks details of the case so the court can decide to which track to allocate the case. Formerly known as an Allocation Questionnaire
Discontinue	To stop an action
Fast Track Case	A claim for £10000 – £25000
Freezing Injunction	A freezing injunction is an order that stops someone moving their assets out of the country or prevents them dealing with their assets, wherever those assets are
Goods and Services Claims	A Claim Form issued by a claimant where one party has provided goods and/or services to another party but the invoices remain unpaid.
High Court Enforcement Officer	From 1st April 2004 High Court Enforcement Officers took over from the sheriff the enforcement of judgments
Information Order	Formerly known as Oral Examination. An order requiring a debtor to attend court and give details of their means
IVA / Individual Voluntary Agreement	An IVA is an arrangement agreed by an individual’s creditors to enable the individual to continue working without going bankrupt
Judgment (N30)	Judgment is the formal confirmation from the court that the money is due to you. A judgment enables you to take steps to “force” the debtor to pay
Late Payment Demand	A letter before action issued against a company where interest and compensation is being claimed under The Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act 1998. The Act only applies to the late payment of trade to trade debts.
Late Payment Interest and Compensation	Interest and Compensation payable under The Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act 1998
Letter before Action (LBA)	A letter warning the debtor that court proceedings will be started if the debt is not paid
Limitation period	The period within which a claim must be brought – usually six years in the case of a debt
Listing Questionnaire	A questionnaire which the court uses to decide how to list the case for hearing
Mediation	Process by which parties to a court case are helped to reach a settlement. The mediator is independent and cannot force the parties into settlement.
Money Claims	A Claim Form issued for the recovery of money owed to a claimant – this could be for unpaid invoices, money lent but not returned, or for the overpayment of salary.
Moratorium	When a CVA is being proposed, and before it is approved, papers can be lodged with the court and the company will be protected from hostile action for 28 days (can be extended by 2 months)
Multi-Track Case	A claim for over £25000
Part 20 claims	Another name for a counterclaim. Alternatively the name for a connected claim against a third party.
Part 36 offer/payment	A formal offer or payment into court under Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules. These are offers to settle a case. They can have severe cost consequences if rejected.
Particulars of Claim	Document setting out details of what the Claimant claims. In debt recovery cases the particulars of claim are usually set out on the back of the Claim
Pre-action protocol	A list of steps to be taken by the parties before they will be permitted to take Court proceedings
Register of County Court Judgments	The register of county court judgments kept by Registry Trust Ltd
Registered office	The address a company must register at Companies House at which documents can be served
Registry Trust Ltd	The body that keeps the register of county court judgments
Regulated Agreement under the Consumer Credit Act	Most types of credit and hire agreements are regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which gives a borrower some important rights (see below). An agreement covered by the Act is called a regulated agreement. An agreement will be regulated if:the borrower is an individual, not a company; andit is not an exempt agreementIf you signed a credit agreement before 6 April 2008, it could only be a regulated agreement if it was for credit under a certain amount.
Search Order	An order giving someone access to premises for the purpose of preserving evidence
Set aside	An order of the court cancelling a judgment or order or a step taken by a party in the proceedings
Sheriff	Sheriffs used to be responsible for enforcing High Court judgments. They have now been replaced by High Court Enforcement Officers
Small Claims Costs Rules	In Small Claims the court will normally only award the court fees, the solicitor’s fixed costs endorsed on the Claim Form and witnesses’ expenses by way of costs. If the Defendant has acted unreasonably the court can make a bigger costs order but this is unusual. Lovetts’ fixed price products for Small Claims often make litigation economic where it would otherwise not be
Small Claims Track Case	A claim for under £10000
Statement of case	A general term for the documents that set out a party’s case. The particulars of claim and defence are both statements of case
Statement of truth	A declaration in a Statement of Case or Witness Statement confirming that the person giving instructions has an honest belief in the truth of the document
Statutory Demand	A formal demand for payment of a debt made under the Insolvency Act. A statutory demand must always be served before a bankruptcy petition can be presented
Stay of Execution	An order made by the Court which will suspend the execution of a court order, i.e. enforcement of a Judgment Order
Stay of Proceedings	In cases issued through the CCBC the court puts the case on ice if the Defendant admits part and the Claimant fails to tell the court that it wishes to proceed for the full amount. The Claimant can only proceed with the permission of the court which may not be granted
Strike out	An order that the whole, or part of a party’s case be deleted so that it can no longer be relied upon. If the Defence is struck out the Claimant is entitled to default judgment.
Summary judgment	An application made by one party to get judgment against the other party before the full trial on the basis that the other party’s case is very weak
Third party debt order	Formerly known as a garnishee order. An order requiring someone who owes the defendant money to pay the claimant instead
Transferring judgment	The process of transferring a court judgment to the High Court so it can be enforced by a High Court Enforcement Officer
“Unless” Order	Typically issued against a party which has failed to comply with a previous order of the court. It says that unless the party complies by a particular time and date his case will be struck out automatically. Breaching an “unless order” is usually fatal to a party’s case.
Warrant of execution	Document issued to a county court bailiff directing him to enforce a judgment
Winding up petition	The document by which proceedings are started to wind up a company
Without prejudice	Negotiations are usually conducted “without prejudice”. This means that, if the negotiations fail, neither party can refer to them at trial
Witness statement	A document in which a witness sets out their evidence. A witness statement is broadly the same as an affidavit except that the maker has not confirmed it with an oath
Writ of fi-fa/Writ of execution	Document issued by the court directing the High Court Enforcement Officer to enforce a judgment

Glossary of Scottish Terms

Expression	English Equivalent
Action	Claim
Defender	Defendant
Diligence	Judgment
Poinding	Instructions to High Court Enforcement Officer or bailiff
Pursuer	Claimant
Sheriff	Judge