Circuit Civil Bill for debts between €15,000 to €75,000

How do I respond to a Circuit Civil Bill?

You have three options if you've received a bill:

1. Agree with the amount and pay within 6 days
If you agree with the amount stated on the bill, you can pay within 6 days of receiving it and it'll stop any further proceedings. You won't need to go to court, and you'll also avoid any further fees.

2. Agree with the amount and ask for more time to pay
You can call the lender or their solicitor (if appropriate) straight away and try to reach an agreement with them. If you can't reach an agreement, you'll need to continue with option three.

3. Defend the proceedings within 10 days
Sometimes the amount a creditor claims isn’t right, or you don’t actually owe the money. For example, this happens when the debt isn’t yours. If you don't agree with the amount claimed, you can 'defend' the claim and notify the court you want to appear in court in person. You should:

• Fill in a Form 5 Circuit Appearance to notify the court you intend to defend the judgment
• Send a statement explaining your defence on a Form 6A Circuit Defence. This needs to be sent within 10 days of sending the Appearance form

Both forms should be sent to the County Registrar and the lender or their solicitor. It's important you complete and return the Appearance form within 10 days of receiving the bill, followed by the Defence statement within another 10 days. If you don't, the lender will be able to ask the Circuit Court to issue the judgment.

By entering an 'Appearance', you're informing the court that you want to defend the judgment in court in person. If you decided to defend the proceedings, a hearing will take place. After a discussion with you and your lender, the judge will make a decision. If the judge feels you can't pay the amount, they may grant a stay of execution, which delays the enforcement for a set amount of time. Or, the judge can order for payment by instalments.

If you're not sure which option is right for you, we can help.

What happens if I don't respond to the Circuit Civil Bill?

If you don't enter an Appearance, or enter one and don't follow up with a Defence, the lender may apply to the court for a Judgment in Default of Appearance.

Once the judgment has been granted, the lender may then apply for an 'execution order' to enforce action.

It’s very important to respond in the timeframe given, as if you don’t the court could order you to pay the debt back at a rate you can’t afford and this could lead to further enforcement action.