How are freezing orders served?

Two audiences, one urgent timetable

A freezing injunction restrains the respondent from dissipating assets, and it carries a penal notice, so enforcement by committal depends on proving service and knowledge. At the same time, its practical force usually comes from the banks: once a bank has notice, it will freeze the relevant accounts rather than risk contempt. Service strategy therefore runs on parallel tracks, personal service on the respondent by a process server, and immediate written notice to each institution identified in the order, sequenced so assets cannot move in the gap.

The mechanics on the respondent

These are respondents with every incentive to avoid the doorstep, so the attempt is planned: address verified, movements considered, timing chosen, and the full pack served, order, application, evidence and any undertakings, because the standard form requires the respondent to be given the material on which the order was obtained. The affidavit of service then records the encounter in detail, ready for the return date and for any committal application that follows.

Out of hours and multi address operations

Freezing orders are frequently granted late in the day, and respondents may need serving at home, at business premises, or in more than one place at once where associates hold assets. We field multiple servers simultaneously, work evenings and weekends, and report in real time to the solicitors coordinating the bank notices, so the whole operation lands as one event rather than a sequence the respondent can outrun.