County Court Judgements (CCJs)

County Court Judgements or CCJs applies only in England & Wales. The Scottish equivalent of a CCJ is called a Decree and is granted in a Sheriff Court. CCJs granted in England or Wales against a Scottish resident cannot be enforced.

Dealing with County Court Judgements (CCJs)

A County Court Judgement (CCJ) is a result of a creditor taking a county court action against you to recover money you owe them. Once you receive the claim paperwork, you have 5 options:

  1. Pay the amount in full immediately and avoid a County Court Judgement. You may also have to pay court expenses and some interest. The creditor will have exhausted their own internal collection procedures before taking this step, so it may be unlikely you will be able to pay the debt in full and avoid the CCJ at this point.
  2. You can make an offer to repay in instalments and the County Court will then decide whether you have a debt to pay and, if so, what's the fairest way to repay. A CCJ will be issued if the Court agrees that you have a debt to pay. If you don't propose an amount, the Court may decide on payment amounts for you, or order you to pay in one lump sum.
  3. Dispute the amount owed by sending the forms back giving the reasons for the dispute. It would be helpful if you paid what you felt you owed immediately, or asked for time to pay this amount. If the court disagrees with you, a County Court Judgement will be issued.
  4. Dispute the entire debt by sending the forms back giving the reasons for the dispute. The court will make a decision based on the evidence. If the court disagrees with you, a CCJ will be issued.
  5. Counterclaim the creditor - for example if someone sues you for non-payment but you think you're owed money for breach of contract you can lodge a counterclaim.

It's essential to observe the timescales involved as a default judgement (the granting of a CCJ in your absence) will probably be granted and you may be ordered to pay the debt in a lump sum. If you return your forms, you don't need to appear at the hearing (which is straightforward and held in private) unless you're disputing the debt. The court will consider the evidence contained in your paperwork in all other cases. If the court decides you owe the money, a County Court Judgement will be issued. This is a court order stating you must repay the debt and gives details on repayments.

The Court will have decided upon repayments based largely on the information you provided on your income and expenditure but if you can't afford the repayments, you can ask the court to change or suspend the repayment amounts. If you don't pay, the creditor can ask the Court for permission to enforce the CCJ, which could lead to earnings arrestments, or even a visit from bailiffs.

Help with County Court Judgements (CCJs)

CCJs will be recorded on the Register of Judgements, Order and Fines for 6 years, and will affect your credit rating. You may be refused credit completely, or only offered high interest rates. However, the County Court Judgement would be removed from the register if you paid the debt in full within one month of the CCJ being granted. If you pay the CCJ after the first month, it will show as having been 'satisfied'. If you don't pay it will show as 'unsatisfied'.

The only way to remove a CCJ is to ask the Court to do so because you have a good reason for dispute.

If County Court Judgements (CCJs) are something you're worried about, please contact us for some free, no obligation advice.

We can also offer advice and assistance with all kinds of debt problems, with debt solutions such as debt management, remortgaging and consolidation as well as those specifically available in Scotland (protected trust deed, sequestration, The Debt Arrangement Scheme) and England & Wales (IVA, bankruptcy, Debt Relief Order and Administration Order).

Campbell Dallas Debt Solutions - if you have debt problems, we have debt solutions.

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