What is a County Court Judgement (CCJ)?
If someone takes court action against you saying you owe them money and you do not respond, you may get a county court judgment (CCJ), meaning that the court has decided that you owe the money. A CCJ, if entered against you, will be entered onto the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, where it will remain for a period of 6 years.
If a CCJ is registered against you, then this will affect your credit rating and will appear on any credit searches that are undertaken against you. Banks, finance and loan companies will use this information to determine whether to give you a loan or credit. If you have an unsatisfied CCJ, therefore, it can be very difficult to obtain a mortgage or loan.
If, within the first month of the CCJ being registered against you, you make full payment of it to the claimant, the record can be removed from the register altogether. If full payment is made after the first month, then the CCJ will remain on the register, however you can apply to the court to have the judgment marked as satisfied and any credit searches undertaken against you will show the judgment as paid.
Sometimes, a CCJ can be obtained against a person without their knowledge. The person may not be aware a claim has been issued, know what the claim is in relation to or even who issued it. This type of default judgement can occur if a claim is issued against a person and they do not respond to the claim by filing an admission, defence or acknowledgement of service. If the person has not received a copy of the claim or judgment if, for example, they moved address, they may not be aware it has been entered until it comes to light when a credit check is undertaken or if enforcement action is commenced. In some circumstances, if a judgment has been entered without a person’s knowledge, it can be possible to apply to the court to have the judgment set aside (removed).
Applying for the judgment to be removed
If a CCJ has been entered against you without your knowledge, we can assist in undertaking the following steps for you:
- Taking your instructions and undertaking a search of the register;
- If necessary, going onto the court record to obtain details about the claim, reasons why the claim was issued and by whom;
- Liaising with the claimant, arranging for payment to be made to satisfy the CCJ, and obtaining confirmation that payment has been made or seeking thier agreement (consent) to the judgement being set aside;
- Making an application to the court for the judgment to be ‘set aside’ (removed from the register); and
- Undertaking a final search of the register once the application has been made to confirm it has been removed.
Costs
Our costs, including disbursements (for applications to the court and to the register) can be between £1,500.00 and £3,000.00 + VAT. We can provide you with a more accurate estimate when we consider the facts.
Added to the cost of undertaking the above, the court will also require payment of a fee. This is presently £255.00 where the application is made and £100.00 where the setting aside of the judgement is by consent.
Please note there is no guarantee that such an application will be successful as a district judge will have to be satisfied that there is a good reason why the claim was not responded to or that the person has a defence to the claim that has a real prospect of being successful. Any order is always at the discretion of the court.
Contact Us
If you believe a CCJ has been entered against you and wish for our assistance, please contact us on 01773 882800 or email via [email protected].
If you do not accept the CCJ and wish to dispute it, please do contact us for advice in relation to making an application to the court to set the judgment aside and seek to defend the claim.
