Find out more about how an Administration Order works and which debts you can use it for. Then talk to a free debt adviser about whether it’s the best way to pay off or clear your debts.
- How an Administration Order works
- Can I apply for an Administration Order?
- What is a Composition Order?
- Get free debt advice
How an Administration Order works
You can apply to the County Court for an Administration Order if:
- You have at least one County Court Judgment or Higher Court Judgment against you
- You want to stop the people you owe money to (your creditors) from taking further action against you
A judge will decide whether to grant an Administration Order. Depending on the situation, the judge might ask you to go to a court hearing.
If the Order is agreed, all your debts are dealt with together.
You make regular monthly payments to the court for the full amount you owe to all your creditors.
The court then distributes the money between them.
Your creditors are not allowed to get in touch with you without the court’s permission.
Can I apply for an Administration Order?
You might be able to apply to County Court for an Administration Order if you:
- Have at least two debts
- Owe under £5,000 in total
- Have at least one debt that is a County Court Judgment or Higher Court Judgment against you
- Can afford to make regular payments towards your debts – this can be as little as £1 per debt
What is a Composition Order?
If it’s unlikely you’ll be able to pay the debt in full within a reasonable time, the court might agree to grant a Composition Order.
This Order allows you to pay back part of what you owe and the rest of your debt is written off.
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It’s always best to talk things through with an experienced debt adviser before you decide to apply for an Administration or Composition Order.
This is because the debt solution that is best for you depends on your personal circumstances.
Free debt advisers can help you make the right decisions – meaning you could be debt free sooner than you thought.
A debt adviser will:
- Treat everything you say in confidence
- Give advice about better ways of managing your money
- Never judge you or make you feel bad about your situation
- Suggest ways of dealing with debts that you might not know about
- Always be happy to talk to you, however big or small your problem is
- Check you have applied for all the benefits and entitlements available to you
“It is a scary thing to pick up the phone and say you have debt problems, but most people feel a huge sense of relief when they do.”
Debt Camel – personal finance and debt blogger.
You might only need to have one conversation with an experienced debt adviser to make sure that your plan to manage or clear your debts is the right one for you.
If you need more support or don’t know where to start, you’re not alone.
Nearly half of people in debt told us they aren’t sure about the best way to pay off their debts, and that is where a debt adviser can really help you.
Over eight out of ten people who have got debt advice tell us they feel less stressed or anxious and more in control of their life again.
“Debt advice just changed the way I dealt with it. Getting rid of the shame. I am only sorry it took me so long.”
A debt advice client.
The people that let debts build up before they seek advice often find:
- Their cards are maxed out
- No-one else will lend to them
- Things have spiralled out of control
- It takes much longer to pay back what they owe.
You can contact a debt adviser in a way that’s best for you – online, over the phone or face-to-face.
So join one of the hundreds of thousands of people we help each year and take the first step to being debt free.
This article is provided by the Money Advice Service.
