Form 15B Scotland: Alternative Decision When the Defender Won't Comply

When You Need Form 15B

Not every Simple Procedure decision orders a payment. Sometimes the sheriff orders the respondent to deliver specific property — return a laptop, hand over retained goods, complete unfinished work — with an alternative monetary sum specified if they fail to comply.

If the respondent ignores that order, you cannot automatically switch to enforcing the money amount. The decision says "deliver the goods or pay £X," but you need the court's permission to treat it as a straightforward money order before you can instruct diligence.

Form 15B — the Alternative Decision Application — is how you get that permission.

How the Application Works

You submit Form 15B to the Sheriff Court that made the original decision. The application asks the sheriff to convert the non-monetary order into an enforceable decree for the alternative monetary amount.

The sheriff has three options:

1. Grant the application and convert the decision into a money order. You can then serve a Charge for Payment and execute diligence as normal
2. Refuse the application if the circumstances do not justify conversion
3. Order a hearing to consider the matter further, particularly if there is a dispute about whether the respondent genuinely failed to comply

What to Include

Your Form 15B should explain what the original order required, what the respondent was supposed to deliver or do, and the fact that they have not complied. Attach evidence of non-compliance if you have it — correspondence showing you asked them to perform the order, photographs of undelivered goods, or a timeline showing the deadline has passed.

You are not reopening the merits of the case. The court already decided the respondent must comply. This application is about confirming that they have not done so and authorising the monetary alternative.

After the Alternative Decision Is Granted

Once the sheriff grants the alternative decision, you follow the same enforcement pathway as any other money order:

• Wait the four-week period (if the conversion creates a new decision date)
• Instruct a Sheriff Officer to serve a Charge for Payment
• If the debtor still does not pay after the Charge expires, instruct diligence — bank arrestment, earnings arrestment, attachment, or inhibition

The full enforcement process from Charge for Payment through to closing the case is covered in the enforcement guide.

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