CCJs explained

CCJs or county court judgements are judgements handed out by courts in England and Wales for when people owe money to others. All CCJs are recorded on the Register of County Court Judgements. There are certain reasons a person may be handed one and there are also certain steps which must take place beforehand. In these steps the person who is under threat of a CCJ is given a chance to rectify the situation and prevent it.

CCJs are usually used as a threat when someone doesn’t make payments on a credit agreement they have. The creditor will normally make several attempts to recover the financial debt themselves through letters and phone calls to the debtor before proceeding and asking for a county court judgement. If the person doesn’t make payment within 30 days of being threatened with this, then the court will go ahead with the CCJ and attempt to recover the outstanding debt.

Once a person receives a CCJ it will stay on the register for six years and can be seen by any credit reference agencies which check people’s eligibility when they apply for credit. It is very likely a person will be deemed unsuitable for credit if they have a CCJ against their name so it is better for the person to clear the debt before one is sought or as soon as possible after it is handed down so it can be removed immediately.

Courts have a number of ways to recover a debt depending on how cooperative the debtor is with their proceedings. If the debtor is happy to make substantial and routine payments then the court may agree to this. If the debtor isn’t cooperative then the court may ask the debtor’s employer to remove an amount from the person’s earnings each month and pay it to the creditor. Failing this there is also the option of recovering the debt through using a bailiff to recover property to the value of the debt.

There is no way that a person can get around a CCJ other than by paying whatever money it is they owe. Because of the added financial difficulties it will create for a person in the future, it is a much better option for them to be cooperative and arrange to make payments before it reaches this stage.

Get some help with debt management here.