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With the cost of living increasing, there might come a time when everything gets too much to cope with and bills, demands for payment and final notices get ignored resulting in your creditor taking you to court and obtaining a CCJ against you.
While you might feel your best option would be to ignore a CCJ while you try and sort things out, there are far-reaching consequences in doing so, which could have a long term impact not only on your finances but your wellbeing too.
I’m not offering financial or legal advice in this post, it is only written based on my own experiences.
What is a CCJ
A County Court Judgment (CCJ) is an order given to your creditor or claimant by the County Court, against you as the debtor (defendant) as a result of you not paying money owed.
Your creditors cannot just take you to court to get a CCJ, they have to follow the Pre-Action Protocol, which is a set of steps that they must follow to allow you to deal with matters outside of the court process and before they begin proceedings.
If they have made attempts to contact you and wish to begin proceedings the protocol states make sure that they send you a letter of claim, which gives you 30 days to reply. If you fail to respond it is only then that they can begin proceedings for the recovery of the money that they believe is owed.
How do you pay a CCJ?
Though you will receive documentation from the court concerning the CCJ, it is the claimant, creditor, that you have to pay directly, so you will have to get in contact with them to discuss how this needs to be paid.
If you do did not respond to the claim and they obtained a default judgment against you, it is more than likely that they would have asked the court on their request for judgment that you pay this immediately.
If you are unable to pay the CCJ immediately you could complete a court form that would make the request for this change. Be mindful though that this isn’t a given and the courts will base their decision on the details that you provide to them evidencing that you are unable to pay under the judgment terms.
How will you know whether you’ve got a CCJ?
There are a few ways that you can find out whether a CCJ has been made against you.
- By obtaining a copy of your credit report
- Searching the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines
- Being rejected for credit
What happens if you ignore a CCJ made against you?
A County Court Judgment doesn’t just happen.
The courts will forward you the claimant’s claim against you in which you will be given 14 days to respond, 28 days if you file an Acknowledgment of Service.
If you fail to respond within the prescribed timeframe the claimant can request judgment against you, also known as a default judgment, resulting in you receiving a County Court Judgment.
How long does a CCJ last?
If you don’t pay your CCJ it will stay on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for six years, which will affect your credit score and possible make it difficult to obtain credit.
Once you get a judgment made against you, if you pay it within one month and get proof of payment from who you owe money, you can apply to have it removed from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines.
If you pay after one month, again, so long as you get proof of payment from the person that you owed money to, then you can ask it to be removed. Be mindful of the fact that this will only be marked as satisfied and lenders will still be able to see it on the register for six years.
Can a claimant remove a CCJ?
Once you have paid the judgment the Claimant should notify the courts that you have made payment of the CCJ.
Once the courts have been notified of the payment they will notify the Registry of Trusts and it will be either removed from the register if paid within one month or marked as satisfied if paid after.
Can I get a mortgage or rent a property if my partner has a CCJ?
This isn’t so straightforward.
While it might be possible to get a mortgage if one of you has CCJ, it will be made a little bit more difficult as mortgage lenders will check your credit report and see that one of you has this CCJ against you.
This doesn’t mean that you won’t be offered a mortgage, but it could mean that you aren’t offered one of their more favourable deals.
Mortgages can be a difficult financial product to understand without going into a mortgage with someone with a CCJ, so it would be wise to use a whole of market mortgage broker in these instances as they will be able to check a range of lenders to get the best for your circumstances.
Unfortunately, the same is true about renting. The landlord will want to know that you’re going to pay the rent on time, so not only will they ask for references they might also check your credit report.
Again this isn’t to say that you will be passed by for a property that you would like to rent but is something that you have to be conscious of.
Other consequences of ignoring a CCJ
A CCJ doesn’t sit on your credit file while a claimant waits for their money.
If you fail to make payment, they will seek court remedy to try and enforce the debt, which could include:
- Bailiff Action (Warrant of Control)
- A Charge over your property
- Attachment of Earnings
- Freeze money in your account.
If the debt is over £600, they might also seek the services of High Court Enforcement Company that use Enforcement Officers (HCEOs), which will result in having to pay more as they will add fees.
They will also have greater powers than bailiffs employed by the County Court.
Where can I get help if I have a CCJ?
If you’re able to always seek the help of your local Citizens Advice or StepChange, both offer free advice on ways to deal with the CCJ.
While they might not be able to assist in dealing with the CCJ, talk to friends and family about any financial issues that brought you to this situation.
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