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Source: Fair Go -
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So you've been to the Disputes Tribunal and you've won? But, like the people we featured on Fair Go last week, you haven't been able to get your money? Well, the bad news is you're pretty much on you're own. A Disputes Tribunal Order is just a civil debt. The police aren't going to arrest the other guy if he doesn't pay, and it's not like the ads on TV for unpaid fines - they're not going to clamp his car.
It's all up to you
You have to do all the legwork to find the person, identify what
they personally own, and instruct the court system to go out and
physically collect for you, if they can.
Gordon wanted to point out he's had a great deal to do with the
Courts system in recent months, and the people he's dealt with have
been extremely helpful. Our gripe isn't with the people in
the Courts, but the rules. They don't allow the people to
seek or give you the information you need to get your money.
What can I do to get my money?
You're going to have to go back to court to get what you're
after. The best bit of advice we can give you is get as much
information about the other party as you can, BEFORE the
hearing.
- Phone numbers
- Residential address
- Registration number for the respondent's vehicle(s)
With that information, you can then seek information on their
assets if the money doesn't come through. You've got
the following options:
1. Order for Examination
This is a hearing where the other party's ability to pay is
assessed. If they don't turn up, they can be arrested.
2. Distress Warrant
It's up to you to identify the location and the assets to be
seized. As we've said, the Courts won't do this for
you. And it's got to be owned personally by the other party -
not a company and not a finance outfit.
Be prepared for the Bailiffs to come back with a "nulla bona"
notice - basically, there was nothing to seize and sell.
And even if there are heaps of goodies to sell, if there are unpaid
fines outstanding, your debt goes to the back of the
queue.
3. Attachment Order
This is the nuclear (or probably mildly explosive) option.
The court can order deductions from wages. Of course the
other party has to be earning them, and you might only get a small
weekly amount.
For more information, have a look at this:
http://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/disputes-tribunal/hearing-process/when-a-decision-is-made-in-your-favour-1/how-to-recover-your-debt
Or you can go private ... get in the Debt Collectors
A debt collection company will do the job for you, but at a
cost. There are lots of companies out there - Baycorp is
probably the best known, but we talked to Tim Levchenko-Scott from
New Plymouth. He runs a company called
Total Debt Solutions , and he'll
help you collect - for a fee. His charge is 20% plus
GST.
Most of the work his company does is commercial work - finance
companies and the like - but he does a few Disputes Tribunal
jobs. He says the main difference is his fee is added to the
debt with private jobs, but he's not allowed to do that with
Tribunal orders. So, unfortunately, it comes out of
what you've been awarded.
And by the way, Tim isn't exactly a monster. Let's just say
that if he played rugby, he'd be a halfback. He favours the
quiet communication and negotiation method, not the heavy handed
approach.
So how do I find where they live, and what they own?
If you're going to do it yourself, there are some very useful
tools. I feel like I'm giving away secrets of the Fair Go
reporter's job, but these tools are all available to you - for a
small cost.
Motochek
http://motochek.landtransport.govt.nz/
This is operated by Land Transport NZ - and frequently used by
Fair Go. You have to subscribe, and a "current owner" check will
cost you around $2.
If you've got their rego number, this will tell you the current
owner, and lots of other good stuff which will allow you to use
...
Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR)
http://www.ppsr.govt.nz/cms
This is operated by the Ministry for Economic Development.
Again, you need to subscribe and each check will cost you $1.00 or
thereabouts.
If you're lucky, the vehicle is personally registered to the other
party. The PPSR will tell you if they or a finance company actually
own it. The bailiffs can't sell off something the other party
doesn't own.
You'll need the chassis or VIN number, which you can get from the
Motochek site, above.
Terranet
http://www.terranet.co.nz/terranet3/
This is owned by Terralink, a privatised former government
company. You can search for all sorts of property
information, and find out if the other party owns any property in
their own name.
Electoral Roll & Habitation Index
No website for this - it's old school, on paper only. Use
this link to find out where you go to view the printed rolls and
indexes:
http://www.elections.org.nz/enrolment/roe-contacts.html
Courts and Criminal Matters Bill
This is the one bit of good news we can find so far. This
Bill is currently before Parliament, and it will make getting an
Attachment Order slightly easier to get.
Read
the full response to our list of questions to the Minister
.
