One of the most likely ways a sheriff officer would be instructed to go about recovering money that you owe is to arrest your bank account. In doing this, they attach your funds (meaning that they are frozen, which is known as Actions of Arrestment) and then the bank – on their instruction – moves the funds to a holding account before giving the recovered funds to your creditors (this is known as the Furthcoming).
This is a two-stage process and the second stage can only go ahead in two situations. Either you authorize this transfer by signing a mandate, which can occur at any point after the arrestment. Or, if 14 weeks have passed after the arrestment where you have made no objection, then by operation of law the funds will be transferred.