What to do if…
you learn your wages or bank account are being garnished or frozen

What to do now

1. Get the exact paperwork and capture what is happening.
   Find the letter, email, court notice, payroll message, bank message, or enforcement notice. Note the creditor name, court or office name, case or reference number, dates, and whether it mentions wages, earnings, salary, bank, building society, arrestment, attachment, or third party debt. If your bank balance is restricted, screenshot the message and recent transactions, and note the date and time it changed.

2. Work out which UK system the wording points to.

   • England and Wales: wages may be described as an “attachment of earnings order”. A bank or building society freeze may be described as an “interim third party debt order” or “third party debt order”.
   • Scotland: wages may be described as “earnings arrestment”. A bank freeze may be described as “bank arrestment”. You may also see “charge for payment”, “charge to pay”, or “Debt Advice and Information Package”.
   • Northern Ireland: enforcement is often through the Enforcement of Judgments Office. Wages may be described as an “attachment of earnings order” and a bank freeze may be described as an “attachment of debt order” or “garnishee order”.

3. Verify it using contact details you find independently.
   Use contact details from GOV.UK, the court, the tribunal, the Enforcement of Judgments Office, your bank app, your bank card, or your employer’s normal payroll channel. Do not rely only on a phone number or payment link in a demand message. Ask them to confirm the case or reference number, your name and address, what order exists, when it was made or received, and what it allows.

4. If wages are being deducted or payroll has received papers, ask payroll for written details.
   Ask for the name of the court, office, or creditor who sent the order, the date payroll received it, the deduction amount or calculation, when deductions start, how often they will be made, and a copy of any paperwork they can provide you.

5. If your bank account is frozen or money is blocked, call your bank through a trusted route.
   Use the number on your card, statement, or banking app. Ask for the team that handles legal orders. Ask what order they received, when they received it, the exact amount restricted, whether the restriction affects later incoming money, and what will happen to direct debits, standing orders, rent, mortgage, food, travel, childcare, or utilities while the restriction is in place. In England and Wales, a third party debt order generally affects money in the account when the bank receives the interim order, not money paid in later, but still ask the bank what has been applied to your account.

6. If essentials are at risk in England or Wales, ask the court what urgent application is available.

   • Wages: if you have received an attachment of earnings order and cannot afford the deductions, you can usually apply to reduce the payments. If you have just received the order, act within 14 days if possible. You can also apply later if your circumstances change.
   • Bank freeze: if an interim third party debt order leaves you unable to meet day-to-day living costs, you may be able to ask the court for a hardship payment order so some money can be released. Form N244 is commonly used for these applications; check the court’s current instructions before sending it.
   • Take evidence of hardship, such as payslips, bank statements, rent or mortgage details, council tax, utilities, childcare, food, travel costs, and anything showing who depends on the money. If a court fee is a barrier, check Help with Fees before delaying.

7. If you are in Scotland and the notice looks like diligence, do a quick validity check.
   For many creditor diligences, the creditor should have sent a charge for payment or charge to pay and a Debt Advice and Information Package before earnings arrestment. Some government debts can have different rules. If you did not receive these, or you are unsure, get specialist debt advice urgently before assuming the arrestment is valid or that you have no options.

8. If you are in Northern Ireland, contact the Enforcement of Judgments Office or a free debt adviser promptly.
   Ask what order has been made, whether there is a protected earnings rate for wages, whether you can object, ask for the terms to be varied, or ask what hearing or application route applies. Keep the focus on what must be paid for essentials before the next payday or bill date.

9. Make a same-day essentials list.
   Write down what must be paid in the next 14 days: rent or mortgage, council tax or rates, utilities, food, travel to work, childcare, medicine, and any priority debt. Add your next pay date and any benefits or income due. Use this list when speaking to the court, bank, payroll, Enforcement of Judgments Office, Citizens Advice, National Debtline, StepChange, or a local money adviser.