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What to do if you get a CCJ

If you get a letter which says Judgment for Claimant at the top, a County Court Judgment (CCJ) has been made against you.

You may also find out you have a CCJ by checking your credit record or be told that a credit application such as a mortgage application has been refused because your records show you have a CCJ.

There were more than a million CCJs against consumers in England and Wales in 2017, nearly 25% more than in 2016.

When your letter says Claim Form at the top, you don’t yet have a CCJ. Here a creditor is taking you to court trying to get a CCJ. If you do not do anything, you will get a CCJ even you do not owe the money or the debt is very old. So don’t ignore it, see What to do if you get a Claim Form for details.

ccj - judgment for claimant

What is a CCJ?

A CCJ is a decision by a judge that you (“the defendant”) should pay someone (“the claimant”) an amount of money. This decision will either say:

  • you have to pay this all immediately, called a “forthwith judgment”; or
  • it will say what monthly payments, called instalments, you have to make.

A CCJ is not a criminal offence. You can’t get sent to prison for not being able to pay this money.

But if you ignore a CCJ, your creditor may send bailiffs round to your house or try to get money deducted from your wages. If you take action speedily, these can usually be avoided.

What you need to do now depends on whether you owe the money and if you can afford to pay it. This article looks at the most common scenarios using some invented cases.

Five common situations

Mrs Blue – owes the money and can pay it

Mrs Blue had a dispute with a builder over some work and an unpaid bill. He sued her, she defended the claim because she said it should be lower. The judge accepted this so she got a judgment for an amount that she agrees she owes. She can pay it in full.

Next steps Mrs Blue should pay the claimant the money ordered as soon as possible. She should send a cheque to the “Name and Address for Payment” on the form or phone them to get bank details if she wants to make a transfer from her bank.

If this is done within 30 days, the CCJ’s entry in the Register of Judgments, Fines and Defaults will be removed and the CCJ will not damage her credit record.

Mr Green – agrees he owes the money but can’t pay it all at once

Mr Green stopped paying a loan when his income fell. He didn’t reply to the Claim form because he was worried as he couldn’t pay the debt. He thinks he can afford to pay £70 a month.

Next Steps  Mr Green needs to make an application to the court to pay monthly – this is sometimes called an “application for an Instalment Order” or “varying a judgment”. To do this he has to complete Form N245 which he can download.

This will cost £50. If Mr Green is not working or has a low income he can apply online for this to be reduced.

National Debtline has a fact sheet that describes how to vary a court order.  If Mr Green isn’t sure what amounts to put on the form, eg for housekeeping, or how much he can afford to pay each month, then he should call National Debtline.

If Mr Green had admitted the debt and offered monthly payments on the forms included with the Claim Form (which he didn’t, he ignored the Claim Form) but his payments have been set at a higher level he may be able to ask for a “redetermination” of the amount he should pay. There is no fee for this but it has to be done very quickly – within 14 days. National Debtline can explain if this is a suitable option for you.

Ms Red – has a lot of debts and isn’t sure what she can afford

Ms Red lost her job a year ago and since then hasn’t paid anything to her credit cards debts. She is struggling to live on JSA. Other debt collectors are also threatening CCJs and she is worried about bailiffs.

Next Steps  Ms Red needs good debt advice urgently. She could make an offer of monthly repayment to the CCJ like Mr Green – her offer would be low, perhaps £5 a month.

But she may have better alternatives such as a Debt Relief Order which will sort out all her debts, not just this one.  She should contact National Debtline for help with her situation.

Dr Purple – didn’t receiver the original papers in time and disputes the debt

Dr Purple has been abroad and returned to find that a judgment has already been made.  She doesn’t agree she owes the money as she says the loan was paid in full several years ago.

Next Steps Dr Purple has a good reason to ask for the judgment to be “set aside” as it was recent, she has a reason for not having returned the original court papers and she has a defence to the claim.

National Debtline has a fact sheet on how to set aside a CCJ which looks at when you should do this. It also includes an example of a completed N244 form. There is a fee to pay, currently £255, and Dr Purple is not on a low income so she won’t qualify for a reduction.

When the judgment is set aside, the court case still exists, it is just goes back to the stage before the judgment so Dr Purple will then need to submit a Defence to the Claim.

Mr Orange – has just found out he received a CCJ a year ago

Mr Orange moved a couple of years ago and didn’t tell his creditors his new address.  He was recently refused a new mobile contract. When he checked his credit score, he discovered he has a CCJ from one of the credit cards that he had stopped paying.

Next Steps Mr Orange wants to get rid of the CCJ as he never received the court papers. However he doesn’t have a reason to defend the claim and he should have informed his creditors when he moved.

If you don’t have a defence, there is little point in trying to set aside the judgment – this is a waste of time, money and the Court may refuse anyway. Mr Orange should work out if he can afford to pay the full debt (like Mrs Blue) or if he should apply to make a monthly payment (like Mr Green.)

More complicated cases

Your situation may not fit one of the above scenarios or there may be some extra complications, for example the debt may be a joint debt, or it may be very old and you think it may be statute barred.

National Debtline is an excellent source of advice on all matters relating to CCJs, so if you don’t know what to do, or you think you do but you would like to check to be sure, give them a ring on 0808 808 4000.

More Debt Camel articles:

Letters from a debt collector?

How to stop a debt being sent to bailiffs

Being asked for your income & expenditure?

Author: Sara Williams Tagged With:

Comments

  1. I have recently been contacted about debts that are older than 6 years old and they both were going down the route of a CCJ. Due to this, I panicked and have started making payments, hoping I could just clear the debt over time, even though I know it is over 6 years, but thinking then a CCJ wouldn’t be applied to my name. This isn’t the case and now I have 2 added to my credit file. As I have started making payments, is it too late to dispute that they shouldn’t have been chasing me for this and especially adding the CCJ’s to my file?
    Thanks in advance

    Reply

    • Did you get the Claim Form (court papers at the start of the CC case) and if so, did you respond or ignore them?

      Reply

    • I assume they went to my previous address and by the time the debt company sent a letter to my current address it was confirming the process was already happening

      Reply

    • “by the time the debt company sent a letter to my current address it was confirming the process was already happening” so you did get letters about the court case BEFORE the CCJ was awarded? Perhaps it was one of these letters that led you to start making payments?

      Sorry, you do need to try to remember what happened and when here… the only way to dispute these debts now is first to apply for the CCJs to be “set aside” after which the court case then starts again and you can defend it on the grounds that the debts were statute barred.

      But applying for a set aside costs £255 for each CCJ (unless you are on a very low income in which case this can be reduced or free). If the creditor can show you knew there was a court case (because you were sent the forms and started making payments), then you may not win the set-aside application because the court will say you should have defended the previous case.

      And you also need to be very sure the debts were statute barred, as otherwise you can get the CCJ set aside and then lose the new court case, getting a CCJ in 6 months time, which would have been a lot of cost and stress for no purpose at all. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/statute-barred-debt/

      I think you should try to search for as many letters as you have about these debts. Even if you think they don’t help your case, you need to get them all together. Then call National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and ask if (a) they think the debts are likely to have been statute barred and (b) if you should apply for a set aside. If the answers are Yes and Yes they can also help with what you should put on the N244 form to ask for a set aside. See https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/howtosetasideacountycourtjudgment/settingasideaccj.aspx

      Reply

  2. Great article thanks. I’m a sole trader who didn’t receive payment from a customer which has resulted in her getting a CCJ. I have just (at the wrong time I know!) searched the register and she has a history of unsatisfied CCJ’s, 13 totalling £40k in the last 6 years alone so I have no chance of getting my £600!

    Although I’ve applied for a warrant I’ve accepted I’ll never see the money again. However, what does the law say about someone like this. Surely there is more that can be done to stop her ripping off more people in the future?

    Thanks.

    Reply

  3. So I’m not sure what to do with my situation.

    My dad ran up a debt in my name to a catolgue company which he brought a number of items totalling around £300, He purchased these items in 2006. The 1st I hear about this debt is within the last couple of days and now the debt is nearly £1400. I obviously don’t want to take any legal action against my father.

    This really only leaves me with one option as he cannot pay the debt, I have to pay this debt, This is super unfair though. If I found out about the debt when it was at around £300 I may have just paid it, but now it’s £1400 I maybe having to pay this debt off for the next couple of years.

    I’m not sure what to do.

    Reply

    • Is the debt currently with a debt collector?

      You have posted on an article about CCJs – has the creditor gone to court or are you just worried about this?

      Reply

    • So that looks as though you do have a CCJ. Presumably, you never got the court papers for this as they went somewhere else? Any idea when your dad last made a payment to this debt?

      One approach would be to set aside the CCJ – on the grounds that you never received the court papers and you have no knowledge of ever having a mail order account. When the CCJ is set aside, you can then ask Cabot to produce the CCA agreement for the debt – for a catalogue debt that old, it is very possible that they can’t do this. If they can, you can then see when the last payment was made as it could well be statute barred, or say it’s identity theft.

      I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 to discuss all this – they can explain how to apply for a setaside and how to ask for a copy of the CCA agreement.

      Reply

      • Thanks again for the reply.

        I’ve never seen anything like this if this is what you mean by CCJ court paper. https://gyazo.com/1e133942703651a3766bbc63bea45dc3

        Last night I did go through my dads desk and find a letter by Cabot Financial, Basically stating they have issued a CCJ against me. but again I’ve never seen a court paper like the one in the link, There could be a chance that my dad received it and has never shown me.

        I’m not sure on when or if he made any payments, To me it it looks like he never made 1 payment. Is there a way I can find this out?

        Reply

        • You may have a lot of problems if the letters have been coming to your house, in your name, but your dad has been opening them. Is this what happened to the letter from Cabot?

          Reply

      • No he actually gave me the letter I then opened took it upstairs read through it, Researched the company and all that and then I gave the letter back to him hoping he would deal with it, but the fact they keep ringing me tells me he hasn’t done anything. (I haven’t answered a call yet)

        Reply

        • OK, well as I said, I suggest you call National Debtline and ask for their help. the question is can you set aside the CCJ. Normally this is possible but as the letters have been coming to your house, it may be more difficult if you don’t want to explain the identity theft by your dad.

          Reply

  4. I am in the process of selling my house. Today I found out there was a charge on my house from 2010 owing to a finance company.
    As far as I am concerned this was dealt with and the charge had not been taken off. I called the company concerned but they were no longer in buisness and had been taken over in 2011. The company could find no paper work or legal charges anywhere on their files and stated they had no records from when it was the company I originally dealt with.
    Should they remove the charge on my house?

    Reply

    • Yes, I think they should remove it.

      The Land Registry Customer Support helpline can be useful in tricky situations 0300 0060411.

      Do you have the bank statement showing the transfer that repaid this money?

      Reply

  5. I had ccj registered but it was for a company that i was operating. Why is it registered in my name instead of the company name.I

    Reply

  6. I found out I had a CCJ 4 months after it was served and paid immediately – not stopping to think of whether it was worth disputing. Can I still challenge this or is my payment effectively an acceptance of guilt?

    Also – if the CCJ was enforced by a lender who has accepted irresponsible lending towards me do i have any recourse in terms of challenging it?

    Reply

    • “a lender who has accepted irresponsible lending towards me” could you explain more about this?

      Reply

      • Let’s say i have a strong claim against a payday lender to prove they lent irresponsibly and I claim back interest paid and so on (via the F Ombudsman). If that case is ‘approved’, and it’s deemed that the lender should reimburse X amount, can i also then ask for the CCJ to be rescinded/set aside? I see there is some scope for updating credit reference agencies in light of these judgments and wanted to know if this could be extended to CCJs. Cheers

        Reply

        • ok, so the lender hasn’t yet accepted that they loaned irresponsibly, you are just hoping they will.

          You can ask for the lender to agree to set aside the judgment. If the complaint goes to the ombudsman you can ask for this. A couple of people have succeeded but it’s a pretty rare situation. Which lender was it? Payday lenders don’t usually go to court, they normally sell on the defaulted loans.

          Reply

          • Well, it’s not 100% clear – initial contact (via email) about the outstanding debt was made by 1st Stop Recoveries, was then followed up by Clear Recoveries, and then I actually paid TM Legal Services. From searching around it seems this was all the same company but with different names. I called TM Legal services to check who the original creditor was and they said Uncle Buck, but couldn’t give me any more information….and needless to say the original debt amount bore no resemblance to the figure I paid them. Is there a way I can 100% check who the original creditor was?

          • You can send TM Legal Services a Subject Access Request asking for a copy of all the personal information they have about you.

            But if you remember borrowing from uncle Buck, then I suggest you also send them an affordabilty complaint at the same time. And any other payday lenders you used.

          • OK thanks. Yes I’ve already asked Uncle Buck to provide all loan details for me as I used them in 3 separate stints across 8 or 9 years. I will ask TM Legal for all the information they have on me too and hopefully this will confirm that it was the Uncle Buck debt resulted in the CCJ. Thanks for your advice!

  7. If you go for a set a side there is a a big fee. Attached to it also other party can ask for costs if you lose. They will argue that paying it is an admission and you can afford it. However I succeeded in having ccj removed after paying it and an appeal from them. It saps your energy as its one man agains a corporation. Be careful that you don’t give your strategy away on the public forum as the companies read them.
    Good luck

    Reply

    • “If you go for a set a side there is a big fee.” yes, although people on a low income can get this reduced or free.

      “Attached to it also other party can ask for costs if you lose. ” I don’t remember a case where this has happened.

      “However I succeeded in having ccj removed after paying it and an appeal from them.” That is pretty rare!

      “It saps your energy as its one man against a corporation.” that is why it really helps to advice from a public forum such as Legal Beagles. Lots of people there who are experts or who have been through the same thing. the moral support really helps even if you could manage it all yourself.

      “Be careful that you don’t give your strategy away on the public forum as the companies read them.” I think you can get too paranoid about this. And Legal Beagles has a VIP section which is closed if it really worries you.

      Reply

  8. Hi Sara, I have made a full payment for my CCJ on 27/11/18 and CCJ is due on 14/12/18. I have paid to the Claimant’s Solicitor, they said they will call to the court to remove the CCJ from a public register. Just wondering how long it would take to remove the CCJ from a public register? Do I need to call to the court to cancel it? I have checked my credit file the state of my CCJ still active. Please advise. Many Thanks.

    Reply

        • ok so you are well within the 30 days to pay. The creditor should inform the court that it has been paid, the court then tells Registry Trust and that is where the credit reference agencies get their information from. You don’t need to do anything and I don’t think there is anything at the moment you can do to speed this up. This isn’t a situation that tends to cause problems, try not to worry!

          Reply

          • Checkmyfile reports are only updated monthly and Noddle weekly – if you keep looking everyday you will probably be seeing the copy you have already seen and can’t see if anything has changed in the meanwhile.

            (By the way it isn’t worth paying £14.99 a month for Checkmyfile. It doesn’t give you Experian details, only the calculated credit score, and Crediva isn’t worth bothering with. Cancel it and use free ways to see your detailed credit infomration from the three CRAs that matter: https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/)

  9. Sara, thanks for your advice. I did what you said before writing to you. Just managed to register with noddle will register clearscore and credit club when I have time. Thanks again.

    Reply

  10. My mum got a parking ticket whilst using my car, in a supermarket car park, so they used to be unenforceable. Or so we thought. It turned out to be a car park monitored by Parking Eye who seem to be able to take matters into their own hands (not sure why they can enforce when supermarkets can’t). Anyhow, we received some notifications and didn’t realise they were any different to the letters supermarkets used to send if you didn’t pay but nothing ever came of them. I went off travelling, and by the time I got back, found I had had a court summons and they’d ruled against me giving me a CCJ. I paid up as it was nearly a year after the ruling so didn’t have a choice to appeal. But I cant help but wonder if they would have ‘transferred’ it to my mum if she’d have admitted to it afterwards. would they still accept an appeal now or in paying have I admitted fault? Or would I have had to pay the appeal fee an then my mum have to pick up the costs?

    Reply

    • I am sorry you have found out the hard way that ignoring private parking ticket is now a mistake.

      I am afraid you don’t have any grounds to challenge the CCJ now. The court papers were correctly sent to your address. And you have paid it.

      Reply

  11. I’ve finally had my CCJ fall off my credit report! After 7 years it is no longer visable.

    However, my credit score hasnt changed? This is very worrying? Surely it will change? When will this happen? I’ve been waiting on this so I can look at a mortgage?

    Reply

    • What is your credit score? What other problems are showing on your credit record – defaults? missed payments?

      Reply

  12. Hello Sara
    Wonder if you can guide me.. I am expecting a notice of warrant of execution which I presume will lead to a bailiff visiting my premise..
    I have been advised I need to fill in a form to suspend this from happening.. I want to know who do I send the form to? The original ccj is from Northampton business court but I am still waiting for this new Notice to turn up to advise me of the visit. Also how long before the court processes and suspends the bailifff action as if they were to visit in 7 working days would that be enough time for me to submit the form and get it processed?

    Reply

  13. Hi. I appreciate this may have been answered several times earlier, but asking in case there is a possibility the Law has changed?

    I’ve a CCJ issued May 2017, for the amount of £5800 to a CC, to an address I’ve not lived at since Dec 2010. I’ve no paperwork re; the CC but assume it may be Statute Barred. My old Bank Accounts are closed now so no idea when my last payment to them might have been or to what amount.

    I’ve heard nothing at all about it. I noticed it late 2017 and called the Northampton County Court who advised me that that could not advise me!

    It’s obviously coming up to 2 years since the CCJ was issued and still i’ve heard nothing. I’m registered to my current address and on the Electoral Register.

    What should I do, or what should I expect moving forward?

    My life is a bit of wreck. I’ve got no income to pay any of it.

    Thanks

    Reply

    • There hasn’t been a change in the law. It a shame you didn’t follow this up in late 2017. At that point it may have been easy to get the CCJ “set aside” – legal jargon for removed. But you have to act “promptly” to do this… I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 on Monday to find out if you have any options – including looking at whether you have any other debts.

      Reply

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