What Is a County Court Judgment (CCJ)?

A County Court Judgment – or CCJ – is a court order that can be filed against you when you fail to repay your creditors.

A CCJ serves as a kind of official recognition by the Court that a debt is due. It outlines what payments are owed and can serve as a precursor to further legal action, such as debt collection.

In this guide, we’ll be exploring how a CCJ works and what you can do when you receive one.

What Is the Process of a CCJ?

1. Letter of Claim

When a creditor applies for a County Court Judgment against you, you’ll be notified with a letter of claim.

The letter of claim will outline all aspects of the CCJ. It will detail what you owe, who you owe it to, the date the CCJ was filed, and by what you point you need to make repayment.

You’ll have to respond within 30 days. You can either challenge the payment or agree to repay. You can pay the amount upfront or arrange to pay in instalments.

2. Default Notice

Failure to respond or failure to come to terms with your creditor will result in the receipt of a default notice. This serves as a warning of legal action.

The Consumer Credit Act states you have to be served with a default notice at least 14 days prior to any legal action being taken.

3. Claim Form

At the end of this notice period, your creditor will issue a claim form. This outlines what legal action is being taken against you and what you can do about it. Ignoring the claim form will result in the CCJ going ahead.

If you haven’t been communicating with your creditors, these terms will often be unfavourable. They might demand you make payments beyond your means, either through instalments you can’t afford or by making you pay the entire amount upfront.

What Are the Consequences of a CCJ?

The most immediate effect of a County Court Judgment is the negative impact it has on your credit score. This will make it harder to take out loans, including mortgages. You may also find it harder to rent, as some landlords will want to carry out a credit check on potential tenants.

A CCJ may also affect your employment. Some positions, particularly those in financial industries, require you to have a clean credit record. This means employers may have no choice but to dismiss you or reject your application.

Ignoring a CCJ may also warrant further legal action to be taken against you:

Warrant of Control: enables bailiffs to come to your address to collect outstanding debt
Attachment of Earnings: allows payments towards your debt to be taken directly from your wages
Charging Orders: secures the debt against your property (in some cases, creditors may then pursue an ‘order for sale’ forcing you to sell your property so they can collect the amount owed from the proceeds)

How Can I Resolve a CCJ?

If you pay your debt within 30 days, the County Court Judgment will be resolved and completely removed from your credit score. It will also be removed from the Register of Judgments, Orders, and Fines.

If you pay after 30 days, the CCJ will not be removed but will instead be marked as resolved. This will lessen the impact on your credit score but it won’t nullify it. In this case, your CCJ will remain on your credit report for 6 years. It will also remain on the Register of Judgements, Orders, and Fines for 6 years.

If you don’t pay the debt, it will be removed automatically after 6 years.

How Can I Resolve a Disputed CCJ?

In cases where you don’t owe the debt, the resolution process differs. You shouldn’t pay to resolve the County Court Judgment if it is illegitimate.

Instead, you should ask the court to reopen your case. You will need to pay a small fee to do this. You can then ask the court to “set aside” your CCJ by filling in an N244 Form.

If the court agrees the debt isn’t legitimate, they’ll remove the CCJ from the Register of Judgements, Orders, and Fines. This may take up to 4 weeks. You may need to take further action to get your credit score restored.

How to Obtain Proof of Resolution

In some cases, you’ll need to contract credit agencies with proof of resolution in order to amend your credit score.

The Court will provide you with either a Certificate of Cancellation or a Certificate of Satisfaction. A Certificate of Cancellation is given in cases where the debt is resolved with 30 days. A Certificate of Satisfaction is given in cases where the debt is resolved after 30 days.

You’ll need to complete an N443 Form. This will outline how the matter has been resolved, with the relevant evidence.

You’ll need to pay a small fee of £14. If you’re on a low income, this can be lowered or waived.

How to Check if You've Got a CCJ

Sometimes you might be unaware that you’ve been issued with a CCJ. For example, the Letter of Claim may have been sent to an address you no longer live in or don’t frequently visit.

If you’re in debt and suspect you might have a CCJ, there are a few ways to double-check.

You can find out if you have a CCJ by checking the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. You can search the register for a small £6 fee.

Alternatively, you can find out by getting a free credit report. You can look this up on Transunion or Experian.

Get Free Advice Today

If you’re facing a County Court Judgment that you can’t afford to pay, you should look to get expert advice as soon as possible.

Early action can help to minimise the impact and allow you to get ahead of any potential court orders.

Whether you’re struggling with personal or corporate debt, our insolvency experts can help to guide you back to a debt-free life.

Get in touch to book a free, no-obligation consultation today.