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 your mortgage application has been refused because of a CCJ.
You may have a letter that says Claim Form at the top. Here a creditor is taking you to court trying to get a CCJ, but you don’t have one yet. If you don’t reply, you will get a CCJ, it’s that simple, so don’t ignore it, see What to do if you get a Claim Form for details.
What is a CCJ?
A CCJ is a decision by a judge that you (“the defendant”) should pay someone (“the claimant”) a sum of money, either immediately or by monthly payments called instalments.
There were 1,138,058 CCJs against consumers in England and Wales in 2017, nearly 25% more than in 2016.
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.
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 consolidation loan when his hours were cut. He didn’t reply to the Claim form because he was worried as he could 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 get from his local county court.
This will cost £50, but as Mr Green 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 made an offer to the creditor (which he didn’t because he ignored the Claim Form) which the creditor had rejected and there was no hearing in the case, then he could ask for a “redetermination” of the amount he should pay. this has to be done quickly – within 14 days – but there is no fee involved. 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.
Next Steps Ms Red needs to get 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. 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 and 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 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 situations
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.
Letters from a debt collector?
How to stop a debt being sent to bailiffs
Being asked for your income & expenditure?
Saidi says
Hi,
I also have University debt to the tune of £22,000 (tuition fee). I have asked this to be set aside through consent / Tomlin Order. They are open to the idea, however, have asked this to be a “realistic” amount. They also explained that they are not going to guarantee that they will accept my tomlin draft. It costs £750 to draft an order through a solicitor- seems high risk to guess what they see as substantive.
How best to negotiate the payment schedule?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could talk to National Debtline 0808 808 4000 or ask on the legal Beagles forum: http://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/court-claims-and-issues
Sarah says
I received my wage slip to find an AOE on it. I had no idea about it. I had to contact HR to get details and all they could provide me with was a court letter outlining what they had to do. I contacted the court enforcement department and they informed me that the DVLA had fined me. I changed my car registration from a private plate and didn’t notify the insurance company. They fined me (I’m still unaware if it was for no road tax or no insurance) but I hadn’t sent my V5 back to change address. So the documentation went to my old property. I was still paying road tax and insurance at the time. I’m unsure what to do and if I can do anything. Please could you advise me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you need to talk to National Debtline 0808 808 4000 to see if there is anything you can do.
Sarah says
I will do thank you for your help.
Kerry Thomas says
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
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you get the Claim Form (court papers at the start of the CC case) and if so, did you respond or ignore them?
Kerry Thomas says
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
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“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
Nick says
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.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are other ways of enforcing a judgment apart from bailiffs, see https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/.
Simon says
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.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
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?
Simon says
So it’s with a company called Cabot Financial as far as I understand. Last night I did take the time to look up my scores these are from 2 different sites https://gyazo.com/77baa2a74da6358313fa92ad41a3903a (Please copy and paste) I’m not sure what to do next.
Simon says
Thanks for talking me through this much appreciated :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
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.
Simon says
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?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It wouldn’t have looked exactly like that as that is where someone turned up to defend a court case, more like this http://i64.tinypic.com/2s8jsxj.jpg.
Does your dad live in the same house as you?
Simon says
Yeah I haven’t seen anything like that. Yes he does live with me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
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?
Simon says
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)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
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.